Three Secrets to Writing Strong Headings
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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Who Did What? Precision and Anthropomorphism in APA Style
Maybe it’s just
because I’m a language geek, but sometimes I laugh at sentences, like this one:
Even though they were
shaking their fists, the votes passed in both parties.
Am I laughing at the political statement? No. I’m laughing
at the image of votes…shaking their
fists. Because of the way that this sentence is worded, it sounds as though
they were shaking their fists is
describing the votes. (I suddenly
have this flashback to the Schoolhouse Rock videos that showed a cartoon
character of a legislative bill with arms, legs, etc., and I can’t help but
giggle.) Because this description is separated from the actual word it
describes, nonhuman subjects are given human actions, and the sentence suddenly
becomes imprecise and even comical to the critical reader. A nonhuman vote is
suddenly able to shake a fist!
Giving human characteristics to nonhuman subjects is often
called anthropomorphism. In poetry,
this sort of language can be fresh and unique, but in academic writing, it is
considered confusing, unclear, or imprecise.
In section 3.09 of the APA manual,
the authors express the need for clarity and precision at the sentence level. What’s to keep our academic writing from succumbing to the
fate of imprecision?
 |
| Artwork (c) Jonathan Wolstenholme |
Consider these sentences that are similar to those I see
frequently in student writing:
- The research reviewed four years of data. [Can research actually review anything, or was it the researcher?]
- The results determined that the study was valid. [Do results have the ability to determine anything?]
- Because of his four years of experience, the voice of the researcher could not be ignored. [Did the voice have four years of experience?]
- The school created a drug-free zone. [Did the school itself create this, or did the school leader or administrators create this?]
Each of these sentences gives human characteristics to nonhuman subjects, making the language imprecise, inaccurate, and at times, potentially confusing for the readers.
Here are some quick tips for precision:
- Make it clear who is doing what action
- Ensure that only humans get humanlike characteristics and actions
- Be direct in your language and sentence structure
- Ensure that descriptions are always directly next to what it is that they are describing
Take a look at the Writing Center’s page on precision and clarity for more tips and information on how to be as direct, precise, and clear as possible in your writing.
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 stay tuned for another APA-related post next week. As always, we welcome your thoughts and questions below in the comments section!
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Rachel Willard is a writing instructor and the coordinator of student messaging at the Walden Writing Center. She loves discovering the social interests of Walden students and hearing the stories that shine through their writing.
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WriteCast Episode 22: Make APA Style Work for You: How to Navigate Gray Areas
This month on the podcast and blog, we're featuring topics related to APA style. We're starting off the month with our 22nd WriteCast episode: "Make APA Style Work for You: How to Navigate Gray Areas." APA style rules aren't always black and white, or even in the manual. In this episode, Brittany and Beth discuss some "gray areas" of APA style and how students can approach them in their writing.
To download the episode to your computer, press the share button on the player above, then press the download button. Visit the Writing Center's WriteCast page for our episode archive and transcripts. Happy listening!
WriteCast: A Casual Conversation for Serious Writers is a monthly podcast written, produced, and published by staff in the Walden University Writing Center. Join us each month for a dialogue between two experienced and trained writing instructors. Possible episode topics will always be considered from listeners--share your questions and suggestions in the comments.
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Student Spotlight: Dr. Olawunmi Obisesan on Strategies for Multilingual Speakers, Finishing Her Dissertation, and Advice for New Students
Capstone Writing
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Dissertation
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Expert Advice
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International/Multilingual Students
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Student Spotlight
4 comments
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Olawunmi (Ola) Obisesan, one of our former Administrative Writing Assistants, is graduating this May with a PhD in Public Health (Epidemiology). (Congrats, Ola!) We caught up with Ola during her last days with us at the Writing Center:
You hold a bachelor’s degree in English language and literacy studies, a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and a master’s degree in public health. What motivated you to pursue your PhD?
I decided
to pursue my PhD because I wanted to be an expert in my field, being able to
make significant but original contributions to public health, when and where it
mattered, especially with issues that concern the health of immigrant
populations. Getting a PhD is not as
cool as it looks or sound; it is a lifelong commitment to critical thinking and
learning. I knew what I was getting into when I signed up for it, especially
because I knew I would enjoy the intellectual freedom that comes with working
on research studies that interested me.
Tell us a little about your language background and your experience learning American academic English.
I speak two
languages: English and Yoruba. Though English is my country’s (Nigeria)
official language, it is the British English, which is very different from the
American English. Many words are not pronounced the same way and there are
other words which do not even mean the same thing—for example, car trunk (boot),
car hood (bonnet), pants (underwear). It was hard, and I had my dictionary on
me always so that I could look up certain words. By listening to people speak
and not being afraid to ask questions when I was confused, I was able to learn
fast. I also watched a lot of TV just to understand the context in which to use
certain unfamiliar words.
We know you are passionate about helping other writers navigate language and grammar. What resources, activities, or strategies do you think are particularly helpful for multilingual speakers and writers?
Because
multilingual speakers have a tendency to communicate more in their native
language, especially when they are with friends and family members who speak
the same language, one thing that will help is to consciously communicate in
English as this will help enhance your mastery of the English language. It
helps to set the language on your computer to English (U.S.) as this will make
writing your papers easier for you. Grammarly,
though not perfect, is a very useful tool as it helps in picking out minor
mistakes in your papers. I found that watching television, whether my favorite
TV shows or the news, also helps because it helps you pick up the use of
certain words and the right grammar. I also found it helpful to read storybooks
that were written in American English and at a lower reading level (5th-7the
grade level) because it is a fun and engaging tool for learning the English
language; this will also strengthen one’s understanding of the English language
structure. One of the problem areas of international students is the use of
verbs and prepositions. The Writing Center has helpful resources on Preposition Basics and Verb Tenses.
Editor's note: We're always looking for ways to improve our resources. If you're a current international and/or multilingual Walden student, please take our brief survey to help us improve our services for you. The survey link will remain posted here as long as the survey is active. Thank you!
Tell us a little about your dissertation experience.
My dissertation process was stressful, but I went overboard. The truth
is that if you want to finish, and on time, too, you have to put in the work. I
set aside two to three hours every day to write! People say I make it sound
easy but the truth is that it was not! What helped me was to inform my family
and friends that I needed to devote one year to my dissertation and to excuse
me from many miscellaneous activities. I am so glad they listened, because with
their help and support, I was done in four semesters!
Also, the dissertation process is such that you have to be your own advocate and on top of your case. If you don’t hear back from your
chairperson or committee member, you need to reach out to them. I heard of
people who didn’t hear back from their chair for a month and did nothing about
it. It was even harder for me because my chairperson was based in Taiwan
working for an international NGO and communication was hard because there was a
12-hour time difference. When I was sleeping, he was awake and vice versa.
Guess what? I learned not to sleep and also wake up at odd hours, just to make
it work! You have got to do what you have got to do (legally of course) to
make it work.
My advice for students approaching or working on their capstones is this: WRITE every day. If you write one page a day, you’ll have seven pages in a week and 30-31 pages within a month! Don’t look at the total number of chapters you have to write, just take it one page at a time!
What are your plans for after graduation?
Right now,
I work in general public health but I made the decision to focus on infectious
diseases epidemiology. I interviewed for three positions as an Infection
Control/Prevention Practitioner, and just officially got an offer that would
mean having to relocate to another state. I just want to encourage everyone not
to stop at your degree; if having certain certifications in your field gives
you an advantage, go for it. I became a Certified Health Education Specialist
(C.H.E.S.) and a Certified Asthma Educator (AE-C), and I have to sit for my Certification
in Infection Control (CIC) in a few weeks; these are all national
certifications, which over the years, have alerted prospective employers that I
know my stuff!
If you could go back in time, what advice (writing or otherwise) would you offer your first-year-at-Walden self?
If I could go back in time, I would advise myself to use the Writing Center. I did not use the Writing Center in my first few months at Walden and
so by the time I had to learn APA, I found that there was so much to learn in
so little time. That said, the truth is that it is not too late to learn APA.
Once you get a handle on how APA works, you will be fine. The Writing Center writing
instructors are your friends; please don’t make them your enemy, just because
they sent your paper back with lots of feedback. Unless you are a professional
editor (an expert in the field of editing and APA), your paper will need some
kind of edit, and once you are able to learn from the feedback and edits, you
can continue to use them in your future work.
Ola Obisesan is a former Administrative Writing Assistant at the Writing Center. She graduates this month with a PhD in Public Heath.
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Learning the Rules of the Game, Part 2: Meeting Your Readers' Expectations
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In the Writing Center, we talk a lot about following an
academic rhetorical style; we typically call it scholarly writing or academic
writing. Basically, scholarly writing includes a number of norms and
guidelines, some of which are often not explained as requirements in assignment
prompts. In an academic setting, readers expect that the writing will follow the
rules of scholarly writing. The reader may be confused or have a hard time reading
and understanding a written work if it does not follow what is typical and
expected for the genre. Following these
rules means you will be more successful at effective communication in an
English academic environment. It might also help your grade. Nice perk,
right?
So, if you’re wondering where to start, let me give you a
few of the norms and guidelines. You can
find a lot more about how to effectively follow the rules of academic writing
in English in our website section on scholarly writing.
Norms and guidelines of scholarly writing
1. Organization
In English academic writing, readers expect to see an introductory
paragraph or section in which the
writer discusses the main idea of the paper and includes a thesis statement
that is concise, specific, and arguable. Academic writing in English is very
straightforward. In the introduction, the writer should tell the reader about the
main idea of the paper and what she or he is going to discuss in the paper.
Each body paragraph within the paper should have one clear
focus that relates back to the purpose of the paper, as stated in the thesis
statement. Within each paragraph, there should not be any extra information
that does not relate to the purpose/focus of the paragraph.
Finally, it is common to include a conclusion paragraph or
section that sums up the ideas from the paper and also may relate the
information in the paper to a larger purpose, such as the current research in a
field or possible future implications.
2. Tone
Use clear language that will easily be understood by the
reader. Using casual wording and contractions may make your draft sound
informal. Also, avoid metaphors because they may not be universally
understood.
3. Audience
When writing in an English academic context, as a general
rule, do not assume that the reader has the same background knowledge as you
do. It is the writer’s role to fully explain ideas so that the reader, who may
have little contextual or background information about the topic, can
understand the ideas in the paper. Including an introduction that addresses the
overall topic of the paper is one important step in providing some background
information for the reader. Also, as you mention ideas, theories, or
terminology for the first time in a draft, explain what they are or what they
mean to the reader. For more discussion about how and why to consider your audience when you write, check out Hillary's blog post.
4. Giving credit (aka citing sources)
In English academic writing, readers will expect that you
will often use evidence and ideas from other writers, researchers, and
organizations to support your arguments. When doing so, you need to always
explain where you read about or found the information. Citing sources is a way
to acknowledge the hard work of the people who researched a topic before you. Also,
it builds your credibility as an author and researcher if you can show that
there is evidence to support your arguments. If writers do not accurately cite
sources, they commit plagiarism, which can have harsh consequences. You can
learn more about effectively citing sources by viewing our archived webinar Using and Crediting Sources in APA.
By making sure that you have clear organization, a scholarly
tone, an idea of the audience for your draft, and citations for your sources,
you will be on the right track to ensure that you meet the expectations of your
readers, effectively communicate your ideas, and be successful throughout your
academic career.
We're always looking for ways to improve our resources. If you're a current international and/or multilingual Walden student, please take our brief survey to help us improve our services for you. The survey link will remain posted here as long as the survey is active. Thank you!
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Amy Lindquist is a writing instructor in the Walden University Writing Center. She enjoys working with students from around the world on academic writing and the English Language. She's a bit of a grammar nerd. When not working, she spends time practicing yoga, sewing, and playing with her new puppy, Bauer.
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