Writing Audio Descriptions in Active Voice
Writing Audio Descriptions in Active Voice records a distinct W3C-supported accessibility writing task while keeping implementation mechanics outside the writing guidance.
Write audio descriptions in active voice unless the scene itself calls for a different grammatical focus.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
This is a style recommendation for audio description, not a claim that passive voice is ungrammatical or forbidden in every sentence.
Further guidance
Content
Prefer direct active constructions that state who or what performs the visible action.
Purpose
Active voice supports concise, immediate narration of visual events in the limited pauses available for description.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Description of Visual Information (opens in a new tab)World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) · W3C WAI guidance for writing descriptions of visual information needed to understand video.