WCAG 2.2 Demo SuiteReading Level
Where text requires reading ability more advanced than the lower secondary education level, supplemental content or a simpler version is available.
Who this affects
Users with cognitive and learning disabilities, users with low literacy, and readers in a second language. Dense legal or medical prose excludes far more people than most authors assume.
The failure and the fix
Each example below is a self-contained page, loaded in a frame so its markup cannot affect this page. Open either one on its own to test it with a keyboard or screen reader.
Fails 3.1.5
Open the failing example in a new tab
fail.html — the problem
<h1>Returns policy</h1>
<!-- FAILURE: dense, clause-heavy prose written well above lower secondary
reading level, with no plain-language summary, no glossary and no
illustration.
Note that everything here is grammatically correct and legally precise.
That is exactly the problem: precision has been prioritised over
comprehension, and no simpler alternative is offered alongside. Sentences
run to forty words, the voice is passive throughout, and the key
obligations are buried in subordinate clauses. -->
<p>Notwithstanding any statutory rights which may accrue to the purchaser, the
vendor's liability in respect of any item found to be defective shall be limited
to the replacement thereof or, at the vendor's sole discretion, the refund of
the purchase price, provided that notification of such defect is received in
writing within a period not exceeding thirty days from the date of dispatch,
and provided further that the item is returned in a condition substantially
equivalent to that in which it was supplied.</p>
<p>In circumstances where the aforementioned notification period has elapsed, no
obligation shall subsist on the part of the vendor, save where the defect
complained of could not reasonably have been ascertained upon inspection at the
time of receipt, in which case the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall
apply mutatis mutandis from the date upon which the defect became apparent.</p>Meets 3.1.5
Open the passing example in a new tab
pass.html — the fix
<h1>Returns policy</h1>
<!-- FIX: a plain-language summary FIRST, carrying the same obligations in
short sentences and the active voice. The legal text is kept below for
anyone who needs it - 3.1.5 does not require you to delete precise
wording, only to supplement it. -->
<div class="summary">
<h2>In short</h2>
<ul>
<li>If something is wrong with your book, tell us within <strong>30 days</strong>.</li>
<li>We will replace it or refund you.</li>
<li>Send it back in the same condition you received it.</li>
<li>If the fault was hidden and you could not have spotted it at first, the
30 days start when you find it.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="#full">Read the full policy</a></p>
</div>
<h2 id="full">Full policy</h2>
<p>Notwithstanding any statutory rights which may accrue to the purchaser, the
vendor's liability in respect of any item found to be defective shall be limited
to the replacement thereof or, at the vendor's sole discretion, the refund of
the purchase price, provided that notification of such defect is received in
writing within a period not exceeding thirty days from the date of dispatch.</p>
<!-- What the criterion actually asks: where text requires reading ability above
LOWER SECONDARY EDUCATION LEVEL - roughly nine years of schooling, about
ages 11 to 14 - provide supplemental content. That supplement can be:
- a plain-language summary (used here)
- a spoken version of the text
- illustrations or diagrams that convey the same information
- a version written at the lower level
On readability scores: formulas such as Flesch-Kincaid measure word and
sentence LENGTH, not comprehensibility. They are a useful smoke alarm and
a poor judge - a short sentence full of jargon scores well and communicates
nothing. Use them to find suspicious passages, then read those passages.
Techniques that genuinely lower reading level: short sentences, one idea
each; the active voice; common words; second person; and putting the
action before the conditions. -->How to test it
Run a readability measure as a rough indicator, then read critically. Where the text is above roughly a 9-year-schooling level, confirm a plain-language summary, a glossary, or illustrations are provided.
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Automated
Readability formulas can be computed automatically, but they measure sentence and word length rather than actual comprehensibility, and the required supplement must be judged by a human.
No axe rule maps to this criterion. It has to be checked by a person.
-
Keyboard
Unplug the mouse. Move through the page with Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, Space and the arrow keys. See the keyboard testing script.
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Screen reader
Listen to both examples with NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver or TalkBack and compare what is announced. See the screen reader cheat sheets.
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Visual
Zoom to 200% and 400%, narrow the viewport to 320 px, and apply the text-spacing overrides. See the visual testing procedures.
Related criteria
In the specification
- Understanding 3.1.5 Reading Level — the W3C explanation, intent and exceptions
- 3.1.5 in the WCAG 2.2 Recommendation — the normative wording