Research Guides: LibGuides Accessibility: Readability

Overview

Making our content clear and concise benefits all our users!

Use simple and concise language when you can.
- Double check that your instructions are clear and easy to follow.
- Avoid acronyms and jargon.
Break up big blocks of text for easier reading.
- Better to have the page be longer than packed and hard to read.
Don’t bury the lede. Put the main point of your text at the beginning.

Web accessibility perspectives: Understandable content
Full set of resources (transcripts, captions, etc.) that accompany this video can be found on YouTube's website.
LibGuides Best Practices: Writing Style

WebAIM: Writing clearly and simply
Clear and simple writing is essential to the understandability of web content. Unclear writing is a barrier to all readers and can be especially difficult for people with reading disorders or cognitive disabilities. Follow these guidelines to improve readability.
Digital.gov: Plain language web writing tips
Users are usually skimming and scanning on the web, looking for fast answers to their questions. Help your readers with these tips.
A List Apart: Standards for writing accessibly
Easily digestible tips for improving the accessibility of your writing, including: writing for screen readers; writing chronologically, not spatially; writing left to right, top to bottom; don't use colors and icons alone; and describe the action, not the behavior.