{"id":69451,"date":"2019-03-15T11:19:06","date_gmt":"2019-03-15T10:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.nl\/?p=69451"},"modified":"2023-07-23T15:12:59","modified_gmt":"2023-07-23T13:12:59","slug":"effective-headings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/academic-writing\/effective-headings\/","title":{"rendered":"How to write effective headings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The goal of using headings in a document is not only to divide information, but also to allow easy navigation of the document. In <a href=index-1794.html>academic writing<\/a>, headings help readers find the specific information they want while retaining a sense of how that information fits with everything else in the document.<\/p>\n<p>To test for overall heading clarity, ask yourself the following: from reading your headings in sequence, would an informed reader understand&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul class=\"kb-checklist\">\n<li>The content of the document as a whole?<\/li>\n<li>The specific content of each section?<\/li>\n<li>How each section fits with the others?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If not, your headings aren&#8217;t <a href=index-1757.html>effective<\/a>, and may need some improvement.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Headings vs. titles<\/h2>\n<p>Although heading and titles are similar, they are distinct: A title leads the entire document and captures its content in one or two phrases; a heading leads only a chapter or section and captures only the content of that chapter or section. Read more in our article on <a href=index-4444.html>writing good titles in academic writing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>How long should headings be?<\/h2>\n<p>Headings should be as long as it takes to clearly communicate the content of the sections they head. However, each heading should be as concise as possible\u00a0\u2013 a\u00a0good rule of thumb is to limit the heading length to one line.<\/p>\n<h3>Higher-level vs. lower-level headings<\/h3>\n<p>Higher-level headings often make do with a single word (e.g. \u201c<a href=index-3128.html>Introduction<\/a>\u201d or \u201c<a href=index-1758.html>Methods<\/a>\u201d), while<br \/>\nlower-level headings are often longer. This is because higher-level headings cover more general content and provide an overview. One word is clear enough because everyone already knows what happens in an introduction chapter \u2013 nothing more needs to be said.<\/p>\n<p>Lower-level headings should use more specific terminology to help clarify the content of the section. These headings help readers find the exact information they\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"descriptive-headings\">Using descriptive headings<\/h2>\n<p>The main goal of a heading is to inform the reader of what content they can find in that section, so make your headings as descriptive as possible. The examples below show one non-descriptive heading and three descriptive headings that provide the reader with much more information.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"kb-checklist\">\n<li class=\"error\">GPS<\/li>\n<li>Profile of GPS technology<\/li>\n<li>Function of GPS in aviation<\/li>\n<li>GPS before 1999<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Avoiding repetitive headings<\/h3>\n<p>No two sections should focus on the exact same content, so no two headings should be identical. Instead of closing a chapter with \u201cSummary,\u201d for example, try making the heading little more descriptive: \u201cSummary of <em>X<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Technical terms in headings<\/h2>\n<p>Documents in fields that rely heavily on jargon and technical language will contain headings that might not be clear to every reader. That\u2019s fine as long as you keep your reader&#8217;s knowledge level in mind. However, if you don\u2019t need the jargon to give a specific idea of your content, then avoid it.<\/p>\n<h2>Capitalization, formatting and sequencing<\/h2>\n<p>At the outset, make a plan for how you will deal with matters of\u00a0<a href=index-3573.html>capitalization<\/a>, formatting and sequencing of headings. Headings at the same level should be formatted the same. For instance, \u201cSection 2.2\u201d should get the same treatment as \u201cSection 4.1\u201d. They should also have <a href=index-4015.html>parallel structure<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Often, your style guide or university will offer specific directions on how to approach the capitalization, formatting, and sequencing of headings, so it\u2019s wise to check before you start writing them. For example,\u00a0<a href=index-3461.html>APA headings<\/a> and <a href=index-4445.html#headings-and-subheadings\">MLA headings<\/a>\u00a0require specific formatting.<\/p>\n<h3>Using automatic heading styles in Word<\/h3>\n<p>To avoid having to format each heading separately, it\u2019s smart to use the heading styles feature offered by Microsoft Word, Google Docs and many other word-processing softwares.<\/p>\n<p>An extra benefit of using these heading styles is that you can automatically generate and update a table of contents. This will save you a lot of time later on. Read more about this in our article on creating a\u00a0<a href=index-3259.html>table of contents<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"colorbox\" href=index-4446.html><img decoding=\"async\" src=index-4446.html alt=\"Allocating heading styles\" width=\"600\" class=\"aligncenter\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"other\"><strong>Other interesting articles<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!<\/p>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md\" style=\"background-color: #e8f2fc; padding: 1.27rem 1.56rem; line-height: 1.8; border-radius: .5rem; margin-right: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0.5rem;\">\n<p><strong><em class=\"fa fa-exclamation-triangle\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/em>Fallacies<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding: 5px;\">\n<li><a href=index-1580.html>Ad hominem fallacy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-1581.html>Post hoc fallacy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-1582.html>Appeal to authority fallacy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-1583.html>False cause fallacy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-1584.html>Sunk cost fallacy<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-md\" style=\"background-color: #e8f2fc; padding: 1.27rem 1.56rem; line-height: 1.8; border-radius: .5rem; margin-right: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0.5rem;\">\n<p><strong><em class=\"fa fa-desktop\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/em>\u00a0AI<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding: 5px;\">\n<li><a href=index-1585.html>Deep learning <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-1586.html>Generative AI<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-1587.html>Machine learning<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-1588.html>Reinforcement learning<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-1589.html>Supervised vs. unsupervised learning<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-md\" style=\"background-color: #e8f2fc; padding: 1.27rem 1.56rem; line-height: 1.8; border-radius: .5rem; margin-right: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0.5rem;\">\n<p><strong><em class=\"fa fa-cogs\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/em>\u00a0(AI) Tools<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding: 5px;\">\n<li><a href=index-989.html>Grammar Checker<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-988.html>Paraphrasing Tool<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-990.html>Text Summarizer<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-1590.html>AI Detector<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-931.html>Plagiarism Checker<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-991.html>Citation Generator<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The goal of using headings in a document is not only to divide information, but also to allow easy navigation of the document. In academic writing, headings help readers find the specific information they want while retaining a sense of how that information fits with everything else in the document. To test for overall heading [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>How to Write and Format Headings in Academic Writing<\/title>\n
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