The headings were created using the Styles option in Word. The examples below illustrate the use of heading sizes and font types, with numbered headings and without, to show the relationship of ideas within the report. Avoid manually designing your headings, unless you do not want them to appear in your Table of Contents.Never start a new section with a pronoun that refers to a previous idea. Begin your sentence as if the heading were not there. Don’t refer to a heading as “this” in the body text below it.Insert a hard page break before your heading to avoid this. Avoid creating “widows and orphans” by leaving a heading at the bottom of the page with no body text below it.Having only one heading at a level is like having only one item in a list. In the example below, there are 2 first-level headings, 2 second-level headings, and 2 third-level headings. Avoid creating “lone headings” at any level of your document.
A list requires a lead-in sentence to explain what this is a list of. You must have text below a heading that introduces and explains the figure or table. Do not use a heading to introduce a table, figure, or list.As a general guideline, aim for roughly 2-4 headings and sub-headings per page. Overuse of headings indicates an inefficient organization of ideas that needs revision. A heading defines a SECTION of the document. Ideally, a heading should have at least one, often several, paragraphs of text below it. Keep in mind that every sentence does not require its own heading, nor does every paragraph. Stacked headings can indicate inefficient organization of information.
A heading is like a chapter title it must have at least a sentence of information below it. Avoid stacking one heading directly below another.
Function headings are used in documents that have consistent structures, such as science lab reports, when each section must fulfill a particular function. Avoid “function” headings when writing technical reports. Increase readability of the document by providing breaks and white space.Įffective headings use concrete, descriptive language to tell the reader what to expect from the content of each section.Allow the reader to scan and read selectively.Show hierarchical relationship of ideas (headings, sub-headings).Provide organizational overview of the document.Headings are standard features of technical documents that serve several important functions: