· Understanding Guideline 3.1 L2 SC4
· Techniques for meeting Guideline 3.1 L2 SC4
· Benefits and Examples of Guideline 3.1 L2 SC4
- One or more of the following alternative versions is available when text content requires the reading ability expected of native speakers who have completed at least nine years of school:
- A text summary that can be read by adults with the reading ability expected of native speakers who have completed fewer than seven years of school.
- One or more simplified graphical illustrations.
- A spoken version of the text content.
Note: This success criterion is in DRAFT form. It has not yet been presented to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group as a formal proposal, has not been discussed by the Working Group, and does not appear in the current Public Working Draft at http://www.w3.org/tr/wcag20. It is presented here for discussion only. It must not be cited as a normative reference.
A version of content which some users may choose instead of or in addition to another version of the content. Alternative versions may use different media. For example, there may be versions in text, graphics, and audio.
The people for whom the Web site, application, or other resource has been created. The audience may be large or small, local or global. The intended audience may be deeply knowledgeable about the topic, or completely uninformed.
Years of school completed, or highest degree achieved.
There are people with disabilities at every education level. They include people with learning disabilities and cognitive impairments as well as people with physical and sensory limitations.
Readability formulas measure whether text will be easy or difficult to read. A high readability score usually means that the text should be easy to read, while a low score means that the text is difficult. Readability formulas assume that longer sentences are more complex than shorter ones, and therefore harder to read. Readability formulas also assume that shorter words are easier to read than longer ones.
In some languages, readability formulas measure sentence-length by counting characters instead of words. Readability formulas for languages that use multiple scripts within a single document (such as Japanese katakana and hiragana)may also consider the number of different scripts used in the text as a measure of difficulty.
Readability formulas can help authors write content that matches the education level or reading ability of the intended audience. Results of readability tests are often expressed in terms of the education level needed to recognize words andsentences in the text.
A set of material transferred between two cooperating web programs as the response to a single HTTP request. The transfer might, for example, be between an origin server and a user agent.
The intent of this success criterion is to ensure that alternatives are provided for complex text.
This success criterion leaves authors free to present complex ideas and information while meeting the needs of readers with learning disabilities and cognitive impairments.
This success criterion applies when text in the main content area requires the reading ability expected of someone who has completed at least nine years of school.
· Benefits of Guideline 3.1 L2 SC4
· Examples of Guideline 3.1 L2 SC4
Follow these steps to measure how the difficulty of text content:
Note: The following are techniques, not rules. Like any other technique, they must be used with skill and understanding in order to achieve good results.
Users with disabilities that lead them to concentrate on decoding words and sentences are likely to have trouble understanding complex text. Charts, diagrams, animations, photographs, graphic organizers, or other visual materials often help these users visualize ideas, relationships, processes, trends, events, etc. For example:
Charts and graphs help users understand complex data.
Diagrams, flowcharts, videos, and animations help users understand processes.
Concept maps and other graphic organizers help users understand how ideas are related to each other.
Photographs, videos, and drawings can help users understand natural or historical events or objects.
Some users who have difficulty sounding out (decoding) words in written text find it very helpful to hear the text read aloud. This service can now be provided easily using synthetic as well as recorded human speech. For example, there are a number of products that convert text to synthetic speech, then save the spoken version as an audio file. Cost depends in part on the quality of the voice used and whether the text is likely to change frequently.
The method below is effective for small amounts of text and for longer documents that do not change often.
A server-side solution may be helpful when documents change frequently or when text is dynamically generated. Several companies provide server-based tools that allow users to select any text they are interested in and listen to it. Typically, the user selects an icon or button. This launches the text-to-speech conversion.
The success criteria for Guideline 3.1 Level 3 indicate how to go beyond what is sufficient to satisfy the requirements of this success criterion.
This success criterion benefits people with learning disabilities and cognitive impairments who can understand complex ideas and processes presented in highly readable text or by other means, such as graphics illustrating relationships and processes or through the spoken word.
Learning disabilities such as dyslexia affect the ability to recognize individual words. Decoding must be automatic in order for people to read fluently. The act of decoding text word by word consumes much of the mental energy that most people are able to use for understanding what they read.
People with learning disabilities are able to understand very complex ideas and processes. People with learning disabilities have become successful scientists, engineers, artists, actors, attorneys, surgeons, and skilled professionals in many other fields. But they are often at a significant disadvantage when ideas and information they need are available only in complex textual presentations. This success criterion does not limit the complexity of textual presentation. Instead, it asks authors and other content providers to present ideas and information more than one way in addition to the textual presentation.
Example 1: A scientific journal including readable summaries of complex research articles
A scientific journal includes articles written in highly technical language aimed at specialists in the field. The journal’s Table of Contents page includes a plain-language summary of each article. The summaries are intended for a general audience with an education level of eight years. The metadata for the journal uses the Dublin Core specification to identify the education level of the articles’ intended audience as “Doctoral level” and the education level of the intended audience for the summaries as “eight years of school.”
Example 2: Medical information for members of the public
A medical school operates a Web site that explains recent medical and scientific discoveries. The articles on the site are written for people who are not doctors. Each article uses the Dublin Core metadata specification to identify the education level of the intended audience as having completed 8 years of school and includes the Flesch Reading Ease score for the article. A link on each page displays the education level and other metadata. No alternative representations are required because adults who have completed fewer than 10 years of school can read the articles.
Example 3: An e-learning application.
An online course about Spanish cultural history includes a unit on Moorish architecture. The unit includes text written for students with different reading abilities. Photographs and drawings of buildings illustrate architectural concepts and styles. Graphic organizers are used to illustrate complex relationships, and an audio version using synthetic speech is available. The metadata for each version describes the academic level of the content and includes a readability score based on formulas developed for Spanish-language text. The learning application uses this metadata and metadata about the students to provide versions of instructional content that match the needs of individual students.
Examples of readability in English text content
Example 1: A moderately difficult description of a complex and unfamiliar natural event.
In a dazzling and dramatic portrait painted by the Sun, the long thin shadows of Saturn's rings sweep across the planet's northern latitudes. Within the shadows, bright bands represent areas where the ring material is less dense, while dark strips and wave patterns reveal areas of denser material.
The shadow darkens sharply near upper right, corresponding to the boundary of the thin C ring with the denser B ring. A wide-field, natural color view of these shadows can be seen here.
The globe of Saturn's moon Mimas (398 kilometers, or 247 miles across) has wandered into view near the bottom of the frame. A few of the large craters on this small moon are visible.
Note: The description in Example 1 is taken from NASA – Sun-Striped Saturn, at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia06574.html. Retrieved 2005-03-08.
Note: This description received a Flesch Reading Ease score of 57.9 and a Flesch-Kinkaid Grade Level of 9.9. This result means that people in the United States who have finished almost 10 years of school should be able to recognize the words and sentences.
Example 2: Description of a complex and unfamiliar natural event, rewritten to improve readability
The long thin shadows of Saturn's rings sweep across the planet’s northern latitudes. Bright bands within the shadows show areas where the ring material is less dense. Dark strips and wave patterns reveal areas of denser material.
The shadow darkens sharply near upper right. This corresponds to the boundary of the thin C ring with the denser B ring. A wide-field, natural color view of these shadows can be seen here.
The globe of Saturn's moon Mimas (398 kilometers, or 247 miles across) appears near the bottom of the frame. A few of the large craters on this small moon are visible.
Note: The only differences between the edited version and the original are as follows: Introductory phrases were removed from the first and second sentences in the first paragraph, and the second sentence was divided into two sentences. The first sentence of the second paragraph in the original was also broken into two sentences.
Note: Example 2 received a higher Flesch Reading Ease score than Example 1: 65.3 compared to 57.9. This result means that adults in the United States who have finished fewer than seven years of school should be able to read the description. The first example required almost 10 years of school.]
Example 3. The same description edited again for a lower education level.
The long thin shadows of Saturn's rings sweep across the planet’s northern regions. Bright bands within the shadows show areas where the ring material is less dense. Dark strips and wave patterns show denser areas.
The shadow darkens sharply near the top right. This is where the thin C ring meets the denser B ring. This shows a wide-field, natural color view of these shadows.
The globe of Saturn's moon Mimas (398 kilometers, or 247 miles across) appears near the bottom of the frame. A few of the large craters on this small moon are visible.
[Note: This re-edited version of the description was rated at 72.1 on the Flesch Reading Ease scale, meaning that people beginning their sixth year of school should be able to read the description. The changes this time are more dramatic. Some longer words such as “latitudes” and “reveal” have been replaced by shorter words with similar meanings (“regions,” “show”), and some sentences have been shortened.]
A Plain Language Audit Tool provides a checklist for determining whether documents can be edited for clarity and “plain language.” The checklist includes a readability assessment. Available from the Northwest Territories (Canada) Literacy Council at http://www.nwt.literacy.ca/plainlng/auditool/cover.htm.
The Plain Language Network Web site provides many useful resources to help writers produce documents that communicate clearly in a variety of cultural and rhetorical contexts. See http://www.plainlanguagenetwork.org/.
The US government’s plain language Web site at http://www.plainlanguage.gov provides general information about plain language as well as information about use of plain language in US government documents, including legal requirements
The Plain English Campaign Web site provides useful information and guidance for authors writing in English.
The Swedish government’s Plain Language site provides similar
Hall, T., and Strangman, N. CAST: Graphic organizers. Retrieved 5 April 2005 from http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_go.html#startcontent. This article illustrates several differet kinds of graphic organizers, explains how each type may be useful, and summarizes research findings that graphic organizers support learning, especially among students with learning disabilities.