Descriptive links help all people, especially those using screen readers, understand where a link will take them without needing extra context. Instead of generic phrases like “click here” or “link” or “read more”, descriptive links provide clear information that benefits all. 

Non-descriptive text in links:
Donald Tapscott, in his paper “Growing Up Digital,” http://www.ncsu.edu/jan98/feat_6/digital.html says these students…

To see how this works, take a look at this link.

Descriptive text in links:
Donald Tapscott, in his paper “Growing Up Digital,” says these students…

To see how this works, take a look at this tutorial for Submitting Assignments.

If you think students will be printing the document and you want them to have the URL, put it in parentheses after the link, but don’t hyperlink it.

Example: For more information go to the NMC website (www.nmc.edu).

For a really great lesson on creating descriptive links, check out this short video from the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, OCR Topic 15: Links (video 3:58 min).