[BlindMath] Advice on writing

Thu Feb 19 21:00:06 UTC 2026

Hello Jim,

First of all, thank you for reaching out to this list. I'm sure there are plenty of people who could offer opinions, links to resources, and good examples to draw to your attention. I shall restrict myself to the main point I feel is most often overlooked, that of context.

I suggest that the graph of a function could appear in two places within a book for entirely different reasons. I ask, why is this graph on this page, in this section of the text etc. What in the graph is additional to the text offered around that graph to put it in context?

I'm a statistician, so I'll focus on a normal curve to make my points. In the graphic which first shows the bell curve, I might be emphasising the symmetry and other aspects of the shape etc. and therefore might not need the axes to be labelled with numeric values. On a different page, there might be the same curve with the centre marked with a mu and a sigma indicating the inflection points are one sigma away from mu. I would not describe what an inflection point is because in the context of the graph, my audience should already know what an inflection point is; I've probably reinforced the definition in the written text if I'm worried about the background of my audience. A third graph might then mark extra vertical lines at mu-3sigma, mu-2sigma, mu-1sigma, mu, etc. so that we can add detail about the empirical rules. I may or may not have a graph for the standard normal, a specific distribution with specified values for mu and sigma leading to the x axis being labelled with numbers and so on.

In each of these cases, the shape of the curve doesn't need to be described if the job was done properly the first time. The alt text attached to the graphic must include the visual information not described in the text which a sighted person is gaining by looking at the graph, but it should focus on the intention of the graph and worry much less on the cosmetics. Does it matter that a particular line is coloured not just black? Do we care about the cosmetic appeal of the style of shading used?

I believe it is the author who is in the best position to consider these questions because the author knew why the graph was put into the book and its relevance in context.

I'd go somewhat further and note that what we use in a book would differ to what we'd need for a presentation. Graphics are used in many presentations to attract or keep the audience's attention and so might not need the same alt text because the spoken word is now what is relevant not the written word.

An alt tag ought not be so bland that it adds nothing. If the graph is fully described in the text, then the alt tag can reassure the blind reader that it is fully described in the text. If an author ends up deciding that a graph is just for cosmetics then questions might be asked why it is there. I suggest though, that authors usually don't have the luxury of excessive graphs for cosmetic effect alone. Authors might though, more rigorously ask themselves what they're achieving with each graph and convince themselves that the chosen graph is the best way to deliver the information needed in each context. Thinking like this may well improve the graph for the sighted audience as much as the rest of us.

FWIW, I'm involved in a project to work out what alt text could be usefully added to articles and books when the author has not provided them. We're using LLMs with the image, the code that created it, and most importantly, the context in which that image is placed. Part of that challenge is to recognise who the audience is so that the alt text can be tailored to the need, not a full description of every last visual element in that image.

Given I tend to be the only blind person reading a lot of the content I create, most of my alt tags are the ever so useful text "to fix" which at least tells me the students are seeing the graph I made for them. The salient point for a graph that isn't just cosmetic filler is always made in the written text because I know many of my students won't actually listen to the lecture live or with he sound turned on later. <sigh>

All the best,
Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Jim Hefferon via BlindMath
Sent: Friday, 20 February 2026 9:01 am
To: blindmath at nfbnet.org
Cc: Jim Hefferon <jim.hefferon at gmail.com>
Subject: [BlindMath] Advice on writing

Hello, I have an electronically-available text that I am updating and I'd like to make it accessible.  Is there is a good source how to write to be most effective?  I'm not asking about technical concerns such as output format, but rather what to put on that page.  My audience is college undergraduates who are post-Calculus.  I personally do not have a vision impairment.

In particular, I find writing alt text for mathematical graphics very challenging.  I have seen recommendations to keep it below a certain number of characters, but "graph of the function" cannot be the best thing I can do, surely.

Naturally I've looked for literature (and the archives of this list) and found a fair bit of both papers and video presentations about students at the secondary level, but not much above that.  No doubt my library skills are not up to the task. If someone could share a pointer or two I'd be very grateful.

Regards,
Jim Hefferon

_______________________________________________
BlindMath mailing list
BlindMath at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindmath_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindMath:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/a.j.godfrey%40massey.ac.nz
BlindMath Gems can be found at <http://www.blindscience.org/blindmath-gems-home>