Using headings to create impact
Image: Steve Lieman via Unsplash
Whether you are writing a 100-page report or a one-page fact sheet, effective use of headings can greatly enhance your document.
Headings provide the structure and framework for your document to tell a logical and cohesive story. When your readers scan the headings (or table of contents) they should get a clear idea of what the document is all about, so they can focus on the sections of greatest interest to them. Effective headings in online content aids search engine optimisation which helps your webpage appear higher in search results.
Here are my top 3 tips for creating impact with headings.
Keep headings short, sharp and meaningful
A heading should convey the key idea of the content that follows. Headings like ‘Introduction’, ‘Background’ and ‘Conclusion’ are standard in many reports, especially those with a specialist scientific audience. If you would like to be more specific and signpost more directly to your audience, you can try out headings like ‘About this report’, ‘The evidence base’ and ‘Where to from here’.
The Australian Government Style manual recommends keeping headings to 70 characters or less (including spaces!). If you find yourself writing a very long heading, try putting that content in the first sentence below the heading instead, or consider breaking that section into smaller sections.
Tell a story with your headings
Headings help you, the writer, to organise your content into a logical progression of concepts, ideas and arguments. They’re a key tool to help your reader quickly and easily navigate your document.
At a minimum, your heading structure will consist of a title (and perhaps a subtitle) and level 1 headings. Don’t hesitate to use subheadings to break up the text further. If you find yourself using 3 or 4 levels of subheading though, you probably need to reorganise your content, unless your document is very large.
A great way to test the structure of your document is by reviewing just the headings on their own, in a table of contents or a document map.
Make the most of heading punctuation and style
Minimise punctuation and formatting in your headings to keep them simple and clean. Don’t end headings with full stops or question marks and avoid colons and dashes if possible.
Don’t use underline or bold in heading text and use italics only for titles of standalone published works, legal cases and Acts.
Numbered headings can be useful in long and more complex documents – or where you need regular cross-references to different sections – but otherwise avoid them.
If you’re working in Microsoft Word, use the built-in styles to format your document. Applying styles to your headings will ensure they are formatted consistently and make it much easier and quicker to generate a table of contents.