Formatting Text
Formatting Text
Even within the disability community, there is debate about what font is "best." There is no clear consensus. Because of this, when you are selecting a font to use, there are several things you need to keep in mind.
Your fonts should:
Be simple, familiar, and parsed
Avoid complex characters (such as script fonts)
Avoid ambiguous characters, such as:
A font where the letter o and zero are similar
A c that is nearly closed looks similar to a letter o
Use a limited number of fonts in a document
Ideally, no more than three (3) fonts should be used in one document. Each time you change fonts, your reader must adjust their reading pattern (even for typically abled individuals).
Ensure that there is sufficient color contrast between the text and the background
You should not use a font size smaller than 12 point
In addition to selecting an accessible font, there are some formatting basics that you should follow.
All Caps: When all caps are used, the screen reader will read out each individual letter versus reading the word. This makes the content inaccessible.
Abbreviations: When you use an abbreviation, it may not make sense for an individual using a screen reader. For example, September abbreviated as Sept. will be read Sept. by a screen reader.
Acronyms: You must provide both the full spelling of the acronym prior to the acronym. For example, if you were going to abbreviate the FBI, you would want to say Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Special Characters: Screen readers cannot read several special characters. You should never use a special character in place of a bullet. Use the built-in formatting.
Underlines: Underlines should only be used for URLs. For users with color blindness or low vision, they may have trouble distinguishing links from regular text without the underline.
Font Color: Color alone should never be used as the only indicator. If someone has color blindness or low vision, they will not be able to ascertain the information.
Arial is one of the most popular sans-serif fonts, but it is wildly inappropriate for an educational setting. It is impossible to tell the difference between a lowercase L and an uppercase I in Arial. When you are assessing student work, which is often not polished, being able to tell the difference between a typo and a legitimate error is important. Additionally, our students are learning the concepts, and they need to be able to clearly discern the difference between characters.
Arial Example:
l or I
Which is the lowercase L and which is the uppercase I?
Using headings and styles provides the document structure required by assistive technologies such as screen readers; they make it easier to read and navigate for all learners. Headings or styles act as direct links to those sections of a document and are located and visible to sighted users in the "Navigation Pane" of a Microsoft Word document.
Those using assistive technologies such as a screen reader can use those headings to jump from one section to another, making it easier to locate any content they may like to review, but realistically, everyone benefits from the organization and navigation ability.
Adjusting line and paragraph spacing should be achieved using the built-in feature, not simply hitting enter to create the space because a screen reader announces the spaces created by hitting enter as "blank" to the user.
Lists help provide a structured order to a group of connected or sequential content and increase the readability of text by simplifying long sentences or paragraphs. If items are sequential, a numbered (ordered) list should be used; if items are not sequential, a bulleted (unordered) list should be used. Assistive technologies such as screen readers identify items as lists only if the built-in feature is used; otherwise, it is read as plain text.
As a sighted user, you should be considerate of those who are using assistive technology (not to mention, it’s required for your documents to be accessible!), and you should use a descriptive link. A descriptive link is when you tell the user what the link is going to lead to vs. copy and pasting a full URL into a composition space.
While we are focusing a lot on screen reader technology, students who have visual disabilities are not the only ones who use screen readers. Your students who have processing disorders (such as dyslexia) also often use screen reader technologies.
For Links to provide context and purpose so they are understandable, they should use:
Unique descriptive text
Avoid using meaningless text like “click here”, “the website,” “link”, etc.
Identify when linking out to other content the type of file or source next to the descriptive link text (i.e., PDF, PPT, Word, Slides, Google Docs, etc.)
Links should also be the only underlined text in your content because using underlines for anything other than hyperlinks confuses learners as they perceive underlined text to lead to hyperlinked material.
You will also notice that links are underlined and are a different color, and this is because meaning or importance should be conveyed by more than color alone.
Underlines should only be used for URLs. For users with color blindness or low vision, they may have trouble distinguishing links from regular text without the underline. Additionally, users with processing disorders (e.g., dyslexia), the underlines cut the letters making comprehension more difficult.
When all caps are used, the screen reader will read out each individual letter versus reading the word. This makes the content inaccessible.
When you use an abbreviation, it may not make sense for an individual using a screen reader. For example, September abbreviated as Sept. will be read Sept. by a screen reader.
Add a Bulleted or Numbered List (Google Help)
Add a Title, Heading, or Table of Contents in a Document (Google Help)
Apply Built-In Heading Styles (Microsoft Support)
Edit Your Existing Headers and Footers (Microsoft Support)
Headings (University of Minnesota)
Lists (University of Minnesota)
Mysteries of Accessibility: Composing with Microsoft Word and Google Docs (Hawkes Learning YouTube)
Use Bulleted Lists (Microsoft Support)
Word and NVDA Screen Reader Demonstration (eLaHub YouTube)
Word Document Headings (Microsoft Support)
Accessible Typography (APA)
Font Face (Penn State)
Making Design Accessible: Fonts, Color Contrast, and Alt Text (UNC Greensboro)
The Controversy of Accessible Type (Medium)
Typefaces and Fonts (WebAIM)
Use of Color (WebAIM)
Why Text in All Caps is Hard for Users to Read (UX Movement)