[throwaway0a5e]

>What's the gap between an 8th grade reader and a 6th grade reader?

They can both interpret the instructions on the side of an AT4 but the 8th grader will be able to tell you that it did not have any alliterations, foreshadowing, or personification.

People always forget that at some point in middle school "getting better at reading" stops being about interpreting the literal meanings of sentences and paragraphs and starts being about spotting and understanding the more advanced structures that makes for good creative writing and (outside some wordplay the advertising department engages in) is completely superfluous to what it takes to transact business.

[OJFord]

> is completely superfluous to what it takes to transact business.

Except that it makes you aware of the techniques used on you, and able to use them yourself.

I bet English teachers in the UK loved (the 90s Prime Minister) Blair's 'education, education, education' (as a teaching point, aside from how their colleagues might have)!

[Dylan16807]

> Except that it makes you aware of the techniques used on you, and able to use them yourself.

To some extent, but even a really good reading level is only going to give you a shallow understanding of that area. There's probably other aspects you'd want to focus on first.

[lucb1e]

> but the 8th grader will be able to tell you that it did not have any alliterations, foreshadowing, or personification.

I don't know what alliteration and personification means and I miss foreshadowing all the time. TIL I'm a 6th grade reader with a master's degree in a computer field. (Basically I'm reading text off screens for ~14 hours per day, doesn't mean I'm necessarily good at it but it's also not as if I'm likely to be barely average at it.)

[InGoodFaith]

Some lines of work might not need a meta understanding of prose or poetry - but it can be useful to build up a charismatic (almost cult-like) following if you want to play to the masses.

Alliteration especially when paired with "The rule of 3" is an easy example of a technique you can use to disseminate a memorable message to most people.

Is it useful when writing code? Probably not, but it can help your company when you do your fundraising or pitch to investors.

[analyte123]

True, and the result is that a lot of people (even those with high grades) come out of high school not being able to read classics or just primary sources from before the 20th century.