Three Tips for Equations Everyone Can Read
Maths notation is dense by design, and the way you add it to a page decides whether it reaches every learner or shuts some of them out. These three habits keep your equations open.
Here is where to focus:
- Write equations as real maths, not images
- Explain the maths in plain words
- Make sure equations scale and never rely on colour
Write Equations as Real Maths, Not Images
An image of an equation is a dead end.
A picture cannot be read by a screen reader, converted to braille, enlarged without going blurry, or searched. Real maths markup can do all of that, because it is structured maths rather than a flat image. Use the equation editor that comes with your tool, with MathJax, LaTeX or MathML behind it, and never paste a screenshot of your working.
Some examples:
- A quadratic formula screenshotted from a textbook gives a screen reader user nothing to work with. The same formula typed in LaTeX reads back as proper maths. It can also be enlarged and searched, which a picture never allows.
- In Moodle, the editor’s equation tool outputs MathML and renders it through MathJax. Use it rather than pasting a picture of your working. The result is real, structured maths instead of a flat image.
- A fraction pasted as an image breaks up the moment a learner zooms in to read it. The detail blurs at exactly the point they need it sharp. The same fraction in MathJax stays crisp at any size.
To go further on this, two references:
Explain the Maths in Plain Words
Notation is a compression, and not everyone unpacks it at a glance.
A plain-language description gives a way in for learners who find dense symbols hard going, and a reliable fallback for anyone whose tool reads the maths back awkwardly. Define your symbols the first time they appear, rather than assuming everyone already knows them. A sentence of explanation beside the formula helps the whole class, not only the people who need it most.
Here is what that looks like in practice:
- Set “E = mc²” beside the line “energy equals mass times the speed of light squared.” The plain wording gives a way in for learners who do not parse symbols quickly. It also acts as a fallback when a tool reads the notation back awkwardly.
- For a long integral, add a sentence naming the method and what it works out, not just the symbols on the line. The description tells the reader what they are looking at before they tackle the notation. That framing helps the whole class, not only the people who need it most.
- Define m and c the first time they appear, rather than assuming everyone knows them. A learner is then not left guessing whether c is a constant or a variable. Spelling out the symbols once removes a common source of confusion.
Two resources worth a read:
Make Sure Equations Scale and Never Rely on Colour
Low-vision learners zoom heavily, so maths has to stay readable at 200% and reflow without a sideways scroll.
Real maths markup handles that; an image does not. Colour is the other trap. If you mark one term red and another blue with nothing else to tell them apart, a colour-blind learner loses the distinction entirely. Use markup that scales, and label terms and steps with text rather than colour alone.
How it plays out:
- A diagram that colours one term red and another blue, with nothing else to tell them apart, loses its meaning for a colour-blind learner. The colour is doing all the work. Label the terms in text as well, so the distinction survives.
- A fixed-size equation image pixelates as soon as someone enlarges it. Low-vision learners zoom heavily, so the maths fails them first. Replace it with MathJax, which scales crisply and reflows on a narrow screen.
- Numbering the equations you refer back to lets you write “as shown in equation 2” and have it mean something. Everyone, including screen reader users, then has a clear way to find the one you mean. Without numbers, “the equation above” can be genuinely ambiguous.
Two places to dig deeper:
