Organizing content

• ☐ Content is organized under headings and subheadings.
• ☐ Headings and subheadings are used sequentially (e.g., Heading 1, Heading 2).
• ☐ Bold or italicized text is not used in place of proper headings.
• ☐ Headings are used consistently across all pages to allow for easy navigation by assistive technologies.

Font size and colour

• ☐ Font size is 12 point or higher for body text in Word and PDF documents.
• ☐ Font size is 9 point for footnotes or endnotes in Word and PDF documents.
• ☐ Font size can be enlarged by 200 per cent in webbook or ebook formats without needing to scroll side to side.
• ☐ Colours for text and background have sufficient contrast (WCAG 2.0 Level AA recommends a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text). ^[1]

Links

• ☐ The anchor text of a link describes the destination of the link and does not use generic text such as “click here” or “read more.”
• ☐ Avoid using URLs for anchor text (unless very short).
• ☐ If a link will open or download a file (like a PDF or Excel file), a textual reference is included in the link information (e.g., [PDF]).
• ☐ Links do not open in new windows or tabs.
• ☐ If a link must open in a new window or tab, a textual reference is included in the link information (e.g., [NewTab]).
• ☐ For citations and references, the title of the resource is hyperlinked, and the full URL is not hyperlinked.
• ☐ Underlined text is used only for hyperlinks.
• ☐ Ensure link colour is distinct from surrounding text colour and used consistently across the book.

Tables and lists

• ☐ Tables are used to structure information and not for layout.
• ☐ Tables include row and column headers.
• ☐ Row and column headers have the correct scope assigned.
• ☐ Tables include a caption.
• ☐ Tables avoid merged or split cells.
• ☐ Tables have adequate cell padding.
  
• ☐ The proper list type is used for content (do not simply type bullets or numbers in place of a proper list).

Formulas and mathematical expressions

• ☐ Formulas and mathematical expressions written in plain text use proper symbols (i.e., −, ×, ÷).^[2]
• ☐ For complex formulas and mathematical expressions, one of the following is true:
  • They were written using LaTeX and are rendered with MathJax (Pressbooks).
  • They were written using Microsoft Word’s equation editor.
  • They are presented as images with alternative text descriptions or audio descriptions.
• ☐ Written formulas and mathematical expressions are properly interpreted by text-to-speech tools.^[3]

Images

• ☐ Non-decorative images include alternative text (alt text) descriptions of the image’s content or function.
• ☐ Alt text is concise, does not include unnecessary information, and avoids redundancy.
• ☐ When images are too complex for concise alt text, a description is included elsewhere.
• ☐ Graphs, charts, and maps also include contextual or supporting details in the text surrounding the image.
• ☐ Images do not rely on colour alone to convey information.
• ☐ Decorative do not have alt text descriptions (descriptive text is unnecessary if the image doesn’t convey contextual content information).

Multimedia (audio, video)

• ☐ All audio content includes a transcript. The transcript includes all speech content and relevant descriptions of non-speech audio and speaker names/headings where necessary.
• ☐ Videos have captions of all speech content and relevant non-speech content that has been edited by a human for accuracy.
• ☐ All videos with contextual visuals (graphs, charts, etc.) are described audibly in the video.

Downloadable files (e.g., Word, PDF, Excel, etc.)

• ☐ Downloadable files are accessible and properly structured for screen readers (e.g., using headings, lists, and tables with appropriate markup).
• ☐ PDF files are screen reader compatible, with selectable and searchable text.
• ☐ Excel spreadsheets include headers for rows and columns, and avoid merged cells to ensure compatibility with assistive technologies.

Embedded learning objects (e.g., H5P)

• ☐ Embedded content can be navigated and interacted with via keyboard.
• ☐ Embedded content is screen reader compatible, providing proper labels and instructions for interactive elements.
• ☐ Embedded content includes alternative text, descriptions, and/or captions for non-text elements (e.g., images, videos).