Writing Audio Descriptions in Third-Person Narrative Style
Writing Audio Descriptions in Third-Person Narrative Style records a distinct W3C-supported accessibility writing task while keeping implementation mechanics and unsupported house-style rules outside the guidance.
W3C WAI recommends writing audio description in a third-person narrative style, alongside its present-tense and active-voice guidance.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
This is an audio-description style recommendation, not a universal ban on first-person language in scripts, dialogue, quoted text, or other genres.
Further guidance
Content
Describe visible people and actions from an external narrative perspective rather than shifting into first-person narration unless the content itself requires a different approach.
Practical Application
Use a consistent third-person narrative viewpoint for visible people and actions instead of inserting the describer as “I” or addressing the viewer as “you” without a content reason.
Purpose
A consistent third-person perspective supports concise narration of what is visibly happening.
Reader Check
Does the description neutrally report what is visible from outside the scene while leaving dialogue and quoted first-person language untouched?
Worked Example
Write “Ravi looks toward the door” rather than “I see Ravi look toward the door.”
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.