Write Effectively for Accessibility

When creating content, it is important to consider how your writing supports all users. The language, structure, and organization you use can impact how well your content is understood and navigated. When writing for accessibility, use clear, straightforward language and thoughtful organization so that your content is usable to all individuals—including those using assistive technologies.

These best practices focus on how content is written and structured. They can be applied across disciplines, content types, and software platforms to help create a better user experience.

Use Simple and Concise Language

Write content with simple and concise language to ensure it is easy to understand and follow for all users. Some tips and tricks for writing effectively include:

• Use short, structurally simple sentences.
• Focus each paragraph on one main idea.
• Use familiar words and avoid unnecessary jargon or technical language.
• Avoid idioms that may be difficult for non-native English speakers or individuals with cognitive disabilities to understand.
• Define unfamiliar terms when they first appear; consider providing a glossary to define commonly used terms in your content.

Check the Reading Level of Your Content

Use Microsoft Word’s built-in Readability Statistics tool to assess how easy your content is to read. This can help ensure your writing is clear and accessible for all users.

• Get Your Document's Readability and Level Statistics

Define Acronyms

Acronyms can cause difficulty for screen reader users, as some screen readers may pronounce them as words rather than individual letters. For example, CDC (Centers for Disease Control) may be pronounced as “ca-duc” or “sidsee,” which can cause confusion. To improve clarity, avoid using acronyms when possible and write out the full term. If acronyms are used, define them the first time they appear in each new section (primary heading level).

• Example: “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the leading national public health institute in the United States (U.S.). The CDC was designed to protect public safety through the control and prevention of disease, injury, and disability.”

Provide Text Alternatives for Non-Standard Symbols

Symbol recognition is inconsistent across screen readers, making it difficult to predict what symbols will be read correctly and which will not. Some may be skipped or mispronounced depending on the user’s device, screen reader, or settings. Because we can't predict which tools users rely on, it's best to use plain text alternatives when possible.

To ensure your content is clear and accessible, replace or accompany symbols with descriptive text when possible.

• Use "less than or equal to" instead of ≤ 
• Use "Delta Phi Mu" instead of ΔΦΜ 

Screen Reader Friendly Symbols

While some symbols can cause difficulty, there are others that are commonly recognized and read correctly by most screen readers (e.g., JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver). These “safe characters” may not need additional text when used in context. These include:

• @ (the at symbol)
• & (ampersand)
• / (slash)
• © (copyright)
• ® (registered)
• ™ (trademark)
• ¶ (paragraph)
• • (bullet)
• $ (dollar)
• € (Euro)
• £ (British pound)
• ¥ (Yen)
• % (percent)
• ½ (one half)
• ¼ (one fourth)
• ¾ (three fourths)
• ° (degrees)

Avoid Directional Language

Do not write in a way that relies on the user to see the layout or design of a page. Many users rely on assistive technologies to navigate content and may not be able to interpret directional commands. Additionally, layouts and design may change across devices, software, and responsive formatting features.

Provide Clear Instructions

Do not assume users know what to do on your page or how to navigate your content. Provide clear, step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow. Numbered lists can be helpful for guiding users through tasks or a process.

Organize and Structure Content

Apply Headings to Organize Content

Headings are used to divide information into meaningful and digestible chunks. These sections help users navigate the document more easily, especially when using assistive technology. Headings also establish relationships between content by showing hierarchical structure.

• Use Heading 1 level for a document’s title. Ideally, there is only one Heading 1 per document.
• Use Heading 2 level for each main topic.
• Use Heading levels 3 – 6 for all other sub-headings and sub-subheadings. Heading levels 7 -9 should not be used, as they do not translate to HTML formatting.

Headings also help visually break up text, creating a less daunting reading experience and reducing cognitive overload.

• Add a Heading to a Word Document
• Customize or Create New Styles (Word)
• Title a Slide - Heading (PowerPoint)

Use Numbered or Bulleted Lists to Indicate Relationship

Lists help visual users easily scan your content and understand relationships between items. They also help screen reader users identify grouped content.

• Bulleted Lists: Group unordered items and indicate a relationship that is not dependent on sequence
• Numbered Lists: Group items in a specific order and indicate a process or set of steps

Resources:

• Define New Bullets, Numbers, and Multilevel Lists (Word)
• Add Bullets or Numbers to Text (PowerPoint)
• Insert Bullets in a Worksheet (Excel)

Write Descriptive Link Text

Write link text that clearly describes the link's purpose and destination (e.g., Download the accessibility checklist rather than Click here). This helps all users understand where the link will take them; there should be no ambiguity.

Provide Text Alternatives for Information Communicated by Text Formatting or Color

Users often rely on text formatting (capitalization, bold, italics, underline, and strikethrough) and color (font color and highlights) to create emphasis. While this is understood by many visual users, screen readers may not alert their users to these elements, sometimes ignoring them completely. As a result, some users may miss the intended meaning or emphasis of the text. When these elements are used, embed the meaning of the emphasis in the text itself.

• Example: “Important note: I cannot accept late work, so all work must be complete on time.”