- Important note: This Wiki page is edited by participants of the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines working group (UAWG). It does not necessarily represent consensus and it may have incorrect information or information that is not supported by other Working Group participants, WAI, or W3C. It may also have some very useful information.

Test Writing Style Guide

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Wiki Code

  • Headings are wrapped in = examples: ==heading 2== ===heading 3===
  • Bullet items start with *
  • Numbered steps start with #
  • Nested bullets or numbers start with **, ##, or #*
  • In the editing mode, use an empty line for a line break
  • More complex formatting see Formatting, but try to avoid it.

Updates and Changes

  • Minor and editorial changes should just be made to the wiki page.
  • Before making major or controversial changes copy the old version and paste it under a heading 2 at the bottom labeled "Outdated" (code is ==Outdated==). Keep the most current version at the top.

Language and Style

  • Ensure that every step in the Procedure that is referenced in the Expected Results section is a True-or-False statement or instructions to check whether something is true (e.g. "Check that...")
  • Assume that each step will progress to the next, and the overall Pass or Fail evaluation will occur in the Expected Results section.
  • Do not use terms that are not in the UAAG Glossary
  • Link to Glossary terms
  • If there is a single item under a step, use a bullet rather than a number. (Use this technique where we are saying (for each XYZ: bullet, do this)
  • Use "do have" and "don't have" in bold so it stands out what you want the tester to notice
  • For linking to test documents, use "Sample HTML Test Document:" on its own line, with link to the document.

Standardize Terms

  • "user agent" not "browser"
  • "document" not "page" when referring to a specific web file. Otherwise "content"
  • "form control" not "form element"