In this paper, we will derive some twist criteria for the periodic solution of a periodic scalar Newtonian equation using the third order approximation. As an application to the forced pendulum x ̈ + ω^2 sin x = p(t), we will find an explicit bound P (ω) for the L1 norm, ∥p∥1, of the periodicforcingp(t)usingthefrequencyωasaparametersuchthattheleastamplitudeperiodic solution of the forced pendulum is of twist type when ∥p∥1 < P (ω). The bound P (ω) has the order of O(ω1/2) when ω is bounded away from resonance of orders ≤ 4 and ω → +∞.