Writing & StyleStyle guide

Writing Objective Audio Descriptions

Writing Objective Audio Descriptions records a distinct W3C-supported accessibility writing task while keeping implementation mechanics outside the writing guidance.

Quick answer

Write audio description objectively: report the important visible information without adding interpretation, censorship, or commentary.

Key details

Core IssueW3C WAI advises writing descriptions objectively, without interpretation, censorship, or commentary.
Registerweb accessibility and interface content

Important caveats

Scope Boundary

Objectivity does not mean omitting necessary emotional or expressive information that is visually evident; it means avoiding unsupported interpretation or editorial comment.

Further guidance

Content

State the important visible action or information directly instead of inserting the describer’s opinion, motive-reading, or commentary about what the viewer should think.

Purpose

Objective wording gives users the visual information while leaving interpretation of the scene to them.

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.

  1. 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.

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