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Structure: Use Headings and Lists for Organization
Structure: Use Headings and Lists for Organization
What is document structure?
What is document structure?
Structure refers to how information is organized using headings and lists. Proper use of structure helps users quickly understand, navigate, and interpret your content.
Before
Before
No structure provided – this document only appears to be formatted.
In this example, the author used bold text and increased font size to mimic headings and typed dashes manually to simulate a list. However, these are not real heading styles or list formatting. As a result, assistive technologies like screen readers cannot detect or navigate the content's structure.
❌ This approach does not meet WCAG 2.1 AA Success Criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), which requires structural relationships (like headings and lists) to be programmatically determined—not just visually styled.
🔊 What a Screen Reader Will Announce (Simulated Text Version)
🔊 What a Screen Reader Will Announce (Simulated Text Version)
“Instructions. Steps to submit. Dash. Open the assignment in your course. Dash. Click on the ‘Submit’ tab in the top-right corner. Dash. Upload your file and add a comment.”
🛑 Note: The screen reader does not recognize any headings or list elements. The content is read as a continuous block of plain text.
After
After
Structure added – this document uses true headings and a formatted list.
In this example, the document creator used built-in styles to apply a Heading 1 to “Instructions” and a Heading 2 to “Steps to Submit.” The steps themselves are formatted using the numbered list tool, not typed numbers.
✅ This meets WCAG 2.1 AA Success Criterion 1.3.1, which requires headings and lists to be programmatically determined. Screen readers can now detect each heading and list item, enabling users to skip between sections and steps efficiently.
🔊 What a Screen Reader Will Announce
🔊 What a Screen Reader Will Announce
“Heading level 1: Instructions. Heading level 2: Steps to Submit. List with 3 items. 1. Open the assignment in your course. 2. Click on the Submit tab in the top-right corner. 3. Upload your file and add a comment.”
🎧 How This Structure Helps Screen Reader Users
🎧 How This Structure Helps Screen Reader Users
Headings allow users to navigate the document by section using keyboard shortcuts (e.g., H to jump to the next heading).
Lists are presented as grouped elements, with clear indicators of the number of items.
Screen reader users can skip, skim, and find content faster, just like sighted users visually scan formatted text.
WCAG 2.1 AA Guidance
WCAG 2.1 AA Guidance
Success Criterion 1.3.1 – Info and Relationships: Content must use semantic structure (headings, lists) so that information and relationships can be programmatically determined. This benefits users of assistive technologies and those scanning for meaning.
How to fix in Microsoft Word
How to fix in Microsoft Word
Highlight your heading text.
Go to the Styles pane and choose Heading 1, Heading 2, etc. (avoid just bolding text).
Use the Bullets or Numbering features for lists.
Run the Accessibility Checker to verify heading order and structure.
💬 Accessibility Tip: Use headings in logical order (e.g., H1 → H2 → H3) and avoid skipping levels.Accessibility Tip: Good document structure includes styled headings and lists, which allow screen readers and text-to-speech tools to navigate the content and skip to key sections.
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