In an earlier blog post,
I explained how headings, which APA recommends for organizing ideas, can help guide readers through your paper. The thing
is, it is not just enough to have
headings; you need to have good ones. In this post, I will take you through
some problem examples that I have seen as a Writing Center instructor and
explain three secrets for revising headings to be more successful.
Problem #1: Generic
Example headings:
History
Education
Strategies
Remember that a reader will often scan through your paper to
pre-read it and get an idea of the content, the length, and the flow. If
readers encounter generic headings, they will not know the specific story you
are telling, may become confused, or may lose interest. Generic headings are
those that are so vague they could apply to any paper—not necessarily yours. The
first way readers know what your paper is about is the title; the second way is
the abstract (if your paper has one); the third is the headings. They are important not just for
guiding readers through your work but also luring them in in the first place.
Secret #1: Be specific
So, if I were to revise the above headings for a paper on government
health care, I might write
History of the Affordable Care Act
Patient Education
Advocacy Strategies
Do you see how these specific headings tell a clearer story?
Problem #2: Long
Example headings:
Identify three qualities of transformational
leadership, according to this week’s resources.
Analyze how a chosen public figure has demonstrated those three
qualities. Be specific and give examples to justify your position.
Examine the advantages and disadvantages of transformational
leadership. Is it a viable style for business?
Sometimes I see students using the full assignment
instructions or questions as headings, as shown above. This is a good practice
as you are writing your first draft because the instructions can serve as a de
facto outline. By following the instructions, you ensure that you are addressing
all required components of the assignment. Unless your instructor prefers that
you use these instructions or questions as headings, though, revise them for
the final draft. In most cases, headings should be brief phrases, rather than
full sentences.
Another problem with using the assignment instructions is
that they often contain command-type language or “you,” so they come across as
ordering the reader around.
Secret #2: Be brief
Long, detailed, commanding sentences can be revised to
phrases such as these:
Transformational Leadership Qualities
Obama as a Transformational Leader
Advantages and Disadvantages of Transformational Leadership
With this revision, notice how I have retained key words and
the key point of each assignment instruction, but I have done so in a way that
is more concise and specific to the public figure I have chosen. To get ideas
for headings, highlight the important words and phrases of the assignment.
#Writingtip from @WUWritingCenter: To get heading ideas, highlight the important words and phrases of the assignment.
Problem #3: Disconnected
Take a look at this example heading and paragraph:
Testing’s Impact on Teachers
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was enacted in 2002 to increase
accountability and achievement in U.S. public schools. Each school is tasked
with showing adequate yearly progress through its students’ assessment scores
(U.S. Department of Education, n.d.). According to recent scores, overall
student achievement appears to be improving in reading and mathematics (Jackson
& Mayhall, 2014). However, because NCLB focuses on those subjects, teachers
cannot spend time on other important areas like science, history, and the arts.
Furthermore, the continuity of teachers’ lessons is derailed by the frequent
testing. In order to truly impact learning, teachers need to focus on
differentiation rather than teaching to the test.
When I read the heading, I expect to learn about teachers and testing. However, the first sentence is about the No Child Left
Behind Act. If I approach this paper without any clear knowledge of how that
act relates to testing—which might be true of some readers—I won’t immediately
make the connection between the heading and paragraph.
Secret #3: Clearly represent
the content
To fix the disconnect issue with the example above, we could
add one sentence to the start of the paragraph to create a bridge. Remember
that the heading does not replace a topic sentence; the heading is a supplement.
The connection between testing, teachers, and NCLB would be
clearer if I added this as a topic sentence: Regular student testing has a
strong—and sometimes negative—presence in a teacher’s classroom, largely due to
the No Child Left Behind Act.
Now that you know problems to avoid and secrets to follow for writing strong headings, take a look at the Writing Center’s page on heading levels for information about formatting headings in APA style.
This month on the blog, we're focusing on topics related to APA style. Check out our latest podcast episode, "Make APA Style Work for You: How to Navigate Grey Areas" and last week's post on precision and anthropomorphism, and stay tuned for a post about citations next week. As always, we welcome your thoughts and questions below in the comments section! If you liked this post, please share it, tweet it, and join the
discussion!
Hillary Wentworth, a writing instructor and the coordinator of undergraduate writing initiatives, has worked in the Walden Writing Center since 2010. She enjoys roller-skating, solving crossword puzzles, and basking in the summer sun. She lives in Minneapolis.
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