Extractability
Also known as: passage extraction, quotability
Extractability is how easily one useful passage can leave a page and still make sense on its own.
An extractable passage names its subject and gives a complete answer. A reader, search engine, or AI system should not need the paragraph above it to understand what the passage means.
What an Extractable Passage Looks Like
Before: This matters for several reasons. It helps readers, makes answers clearer, and gives other systems something useful to reuse.
The problem is the first sentence. Once the passage leaves the page, nobody knows what this means.
After: An extractable passage names its subject, gives one complete answer, and keeps the context needed to understand it.
The second version can stand alone. The first one needs the missing paragraph above it.
Try the Copy Out Test
- Copy one section into a blank document.
- Read it without the heading or paragraph above it.
- Ask whether a stranger can name the subject and repeat the answer.
If the passage still works, it is extractable. If it starts with this, that, or another missing reference, rewrite the passage so it carries its own meaning.
What Instant Read Measures
Extractability is broader than one score. Instant Read checks whether a page puts a direct answer near the beginning of its visible text. That answer-first signal is useful, but it does not prove that every section on the page can stand alone.
Length is not the deciding factor. A long article can be easy to quote one useful section at a time. A short page can still make every answer depend on the sentence before it.