Use clear and simple language to help people understand and process information quickly. Simple language makes your writing accessible to people who have cognitive impairments, learning disabilities, and speak other languages. Research shows that most users prefer simple language, including specialists.

Keep sentences and paragraphs short. Aim for around 25 words or less per sentence.

Use NCAS’s brand font, Nunito Sans for all text. It is optimised for legibility in both print and digital formats.

Use sentence case rather than ALL CAPS, and all caps are harder to read.

Leave blank space so content doesn’t feel overwhelming.

Use NCAS’s brand colour palette, but avoid pastel colour text on dark backgrounds, or dark colour text on dark backgrounds.

Make sure the layout follows a logical reading path to assist with cognitive load and navigation.

Documents with single continuous columns of text are easier to make accessible than documents with a complex layout. Make sure the text is left aligned, not justified.

Use clear headings in your writing, and use headings in their logical order. This helps people understand the structure of your content and find what they want more easily.

Put meaningful words first in headings. For example, ‘Accessibility guidance’ not ‘Guidance on accessibility’, because it is quicker for users to understand the meaning when they scan.

Using headings or bold text for emphasis, rather than italics or underlining, means text will be easier for people with dyslexia to read.

When writing for the web, format headings using heading styles (such as ‘heading 2’ or ‘heading 3’), rather than just using bold text. Correctly styled web headings mean that people using screen readers can navigate your content.

Ensure text is large enough to be readable when printed. Be consistent with text size used for different types of text. Headings, sub-headings, body text, and figure/table captions should each have their own set text size.

Where appropriate, use numbered or bulleted lists to display information, as these are easier to scan and comprehend than blocks of text.

If you want readers to do something, include a simple and accurate ‘call to action’ in your writing.

Every figure and diagram should include annotations and a descriptive caption.

Avoid footnotes where possible. Provide explanations in the main body of text instead.

When writing for the web and adding hyperlinks, make sure the link text describes what it is linking to. It should also be understandable on its own, even if read out of context. This is clearer for screen reader users and also helps all readers who are scanning a piece of text. For example, use ‘For further guidance on writing accessible web content, check our writing for the web resources’ rather than ‘For further guidance on writing accessible web content, click here’. Use unique text for hyperlinks with different destinations. Try to use the same text for links that go to the same destination page. Do not use things like colour or shape alone to show meaning. Instructions like ‘click the big green button’ rely on the user to see the page and someone who is colour blind may not see the green button.

PDF documents can make your content harder to find, use and maintain, and do not work well with assistive technologies like screen readers a lot of the time. Under the Equality Act 2010, you are legally required to make sure your documents meet accessibility standards. If you need to produce or keep a PDF, you are legally required to publish an accessible web version with it – this could be a document in HTML format or an accessible webpage.

Provide a QR code on printed posters or flyers that links to the digital version – and make sure the QR code is large enough to scan easily and is accompanied with a caption describing where the QR code links to.

Provide full contact information for presenters or authors, so technical details can be clarified or so they can assist with any specific accessibility requirements or follow-up questions.

If printing, avoid shiny finishes that create reflections or glare.

Try to avoid using idioms, jargon, or metaphorical language. These can be difficult for some readers to understand. For example, instead of writing ‘key points’, use ‘important information’ or ‘essential information’ – a non-native English speaker will likely understand ‘key’ to mean something that unlocks a door, and may not have encountered the more metaphorical use.

Avoid acronyms, initialisms or abbreviations where they are uncommon, unnecessary, ambiguous or only used once. Some readers may not understand them, and they can be hard for screen readers to process. For example, ‘EDI’ should be written as ‘Equity, Diversity and Inclusion’. Avoid writing ‘UoR’ as a shorthand for the University of Reading.

If you need to use an acronym, initialism or abbreviation, write out the term or phrase in full the first time it is used in a piece of writing. Afterwards, you can use the acronym on its own. For example, on first use, write ‘National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS)’. It may be useful to write out acronyms in full whenever they are used in a new page or section, to make sure all readers understand the meaning.

Avoid using Latin phrases or abbreviations where possible, as these are not easily understood by some readers. For example you can use ‘for example’ instead of ‘eg’, ‘that is’ instead of ‘ie’, ‘note’ instead of ‘nb’, ‘per year’ instead of ‘per annum’. Avoid using ‘etc’.

Avoid complex, conditional contractions, negative contractions such as ‘should’ve’, ‘might’ve’, ‘they’d’, ‘shouldn’t’, ‘don’t’ and ‘can’t’ as these can be hard for some readers to understand. Use “will not” instead of “won’t”

Avoid text over busy images or patterns.

Do not use images containing text, as it is not possible to resize the text in the image and screen readers cannot read text which is part of an image.

If you’re using images or charts, think about how you’ll make the content accessible to people with a visual impairment. You can make the same point in the text of the document (so people with visual impairments get the information they need – the image or chart is there as an extra for people who are able to see it). You can also provide alternative text for the image or chart – alternative text is for describing an image and is different to a caption or sentences included in the main body of text. When adding alt text, make sure you end your description with punctuation (such as a full stop). If someone is using a screen reader to view an image, punctuation helps to delineate the description.

Only use tables for data and avoid tables for text. Keep tables simple: avoid splitting or merging cells.

Presentation slides should support what the speaker is saying, not repeat or overload it. Accessible slides help audiences follow along more easily, whether they are in the room, watching remotely, or using assistive technology.

Keep slides simple and uncluttered. Use one main idea per slide where possible.

Use a minimum font size that is readable from the back of the room. Avoid using very small text for references or footnotes.

Use NCAS’s brand font, Nunito Sans, consistently throughout slides.

Use high colour contrast between text and background. Dark text on a light background is generally easiest to read. Avoid placing text on top of images or gradients.

Do not rely on colour alone to convey meaning in charts, diagrams, or annotations. Use labels, patterns, symbols, or direct text to explain differences.

Limit the amount of text on each slide. Avoid full sentences where possible and use short bullet points to highlight key information.

Ensure slides follow a logical structure and order. This helps people process information and reduces cognitive load.

Use built‑in layouts rather than free‑placed objects, and avoid manually positioning text boxes in complex ways.

Avoid excessive animations, transitions, or flashing content, as these can be distracting or cause discomfort for some viewers.

When using images, videos. figures, or charts: make sure they are large enough to be seen clearly, label axes, legends, and key features clearly, explain the key message of the image/figure/chart verbally during the presentation, and make sure that audio and video content includes captions.

Do not embed important text within images. Screen readers cannot access text that is part of an image, and it cannot be resized easily.

Ensure charts and graphs are simple and readable. Avoid overcrowding with too many data series in one figure. When presenting live, say aloud any important information shown, including chart trends or labels – do not assume that everyone can see the content.

If sharing slides in advance or after the presentation: provide an accessible digital version, share editable source files (such as PowerPoint or Google Slides) rather than image‑based or locked formats – this allows users to adapt the content to their own accessibility needs, ensure slide titles are meaningful, as screen reader users often navigate slides by title, and make sure that images in shared slide decks should have alternative text.

Avoid placing important information only in speaker notes, as these may not be available to all audiences.

Include contact details or a final slide with clear information on how to follow up or ask questions after the presentation.