can i have subheadings in an essay

Should you Include Headings and Subheadings in an Essay?

If you have ever tried reading a large blob of text, then you know how hard it can be. However, it becomes easier to read when broken into headings and subheadings.

Academic writings like essays have a standard of writing that must be upheld. While not every essay requires headings and subheadings, they are important for organizing your writing.

Headings describe the succeeding section, while subheading gives supporting information for the heading.

With that said, here is everything you need to know about headings

What are Headings in Essays and Academic Papers?

According to Merriam-Webster, a heading forms or serves as a head.

In academic writing, headings represent what is to come in the assignment. Adding a heading will help structure a piece of writing and guide the reader throughout the content. Short pieces of writing don't always require headings. In long-form writing, each specific section should have its heading to communicate what the reader should expect clearly. Think of it as the title of that section.

Since some points are more important than others, the heading chosen should be based on whether the idea you are talking about is the main point. Each heading chosen should tell the reader what the following idea is about. This is because the main points are the building blocks of the content. Make sure it is short, descriptive, and precise.

You can include headings and subheadings/subtopics in an essay if it is long, but ensure that the subtopics or subheadings are relevant to the content and consistent throughout the text in a manner to contribute to your thesis statement. As a good practice, ensure that the essay headings and subheadings do not exceed 12 words.

Subheadings are not recommended for short essays . However, they improve the overall structure of a long essay, help you frame and explore your topic, and enable the readers to know what to expect (they act as signposts in an essay or research paper).

Heading vs. Title

Headings and titles may look similar at a first glance, but they are not. A title represents the entire paper and explains it in clear and short phrases. It is the first thing the reader will see and determine whether they read the rest of the document. For this reason, you need to think of striking, informative, and appropriate titles. You should also write the title based on why you are writing that document. For instance, if the aim of the documents is tutorial, then the title should be task-based.

On the other hand, a heading represents what each section of the paper discusses. They help guide the reader throughout the documents, which is why you should write effective headings, and they should be as descriptive as possible.

Headings are a requirement in most forms of writing, but some lecturers may be divided about using them in academic essays, which is why you should confirm with them first. 

Headings Vs. Subheadings

Headings are key parts of writing as they will capture the reader's attention and lure them into the document's purpose. They guide the reader to the main points of the paper. You have to set the headings apart from the body of the text by coming up with an enticing phrase.

Subheadings, on the other hand, do more than grab the reader's attention; they show the different subsections of the text. They keep the reader engaged by quickly guiding them to the information they want.

Headings and subheadings appear at the beginning of a section and organize the flow of the documents. In addition, they are both used to break down large blocks of text to make them more scannable. They also have a hierarchy that is Heading (H2) first, followed by subheadings (H3) and (H4) in that order. Subheadings should always come after the heading, as demonstrated.

The Best Length for Headings in Academic Writing

A heading can be as long as you want it to give the reader a snippet of the idea. A good rule of thumb should be no more than 70 characters.

For higher level headings, like H1, H2, and H3s, they could be as low as one word, for instance, the introduction, methodology, and such. For such sections, the one word is clear enough for the reader to know what it represents. Low levels like H5 and below can be much longer and direct the reader to exactly what they are looking for.

Levels of Heading in Academic Writing

Headings are an important part of academic writing as they act as a preview of the document. They guide the reader on what you are talking about, which is why you should assign different heading levels.

There are five levels of headings in APA style. Level 1, Level 2, level 3, level 4, levels 5. Level 1 is the main heading, followed by level 2, its subheading, and level 3 is the subsection of level 2 in that order.

Level 1 headings are your main headings and are usually typed in the center of the paper in title case and bolded. Their text beneath will always start in the next line, indented inward, just as you begin a new paragraph. These help the reader find their way through the document, read what they want and skip what they are not interested in.

The length and complexity of the paper will determine how many levels you will use. If it's just a short piece of writing, you can use Level 1. If you need two headings, use level 1 and level 2. If it's a 2000-word article, research paper, term paper, or essay, you will need between 3 and 5 headings.

Keep in mind that not every paragraph needs a heading. While headings can keep your work neat, too many can defeat the purpose. Also, make sure that each of the headings and subheadings has a connection to the main title.

All these levels are differentiated by different styles and formats depending on the publication manual provided, which can be either APA or MLA format.

Reasons to Use Headings in Academic Writing

Headings are helpful in academic writing for a myriad of reasons, including:

Making Your Content More Readable

Much information goes into academic writing to pass information to the reader. Putting all your information in a large block of text will be overwhelming and can scare away the readers. The white gaps at each heading section will offer a resting place hence a visual break. Therefore, separating the large chunks of text into manageable portions will keep your readers engaged.

Outlining Your Content

Headings serve as the structure of your writing. By dividing the large bulk of text with headings, you guide the reader through each section and what it is about. Otherwise, they won't know what it is about.

Capturing the Reader's Attention

The main aim of any heading is to hook the reader and create curiosity enough for them to continue reading through the rest of the article. Having a catchy and informative heading will entice them to read even further.

Remember that readers rarely read documents from start to finish. Major headings should stand out but so should headings and subheadings if you want the readers to continue reading your paper.

Finding Important Information

Readers will likely scan the essay to get a general idea of what it is about and decide if they want to read it. Well-structured headings will help them achieve that.

Improving Overall Quality

Headings and subheadings improve the quality of the essay. A high-quality essay is suitable for readers and also for search engine optimization (SEO) if you intend to publish it online. Ensure to use keywords in the headings and structure them to improve visibility.

Tips to Include Better Headings and Subheadings

Writing informative and precise headings and subheadings is vital if you want your writing to get the message home. You need to borrow the following tips to show that they should spend time reading your writing.

Use the Right Length

The length of your article or essay will determine how long your headings and subheadings should be. Put yourself in the reader's shoes and think of the heading you would like to read. Lengthy headings aren't attractive. Most readers want something short and precise, which is what you should do. It should only take them a few seconds to read, so be sure the length should be not more than 30 words.

Make It Relevant to the Content and Topic

Headings and subheadings are essential to catch the reader's attention but are not important enough to stand independently. They represent the critical concepts and all the supporting ideas. Therefore, you need to consider the topic's relevance when determining what phrases to use in your subheading. Carefully think about each key piece of information you'd like to include in each of your sections. Then ensure that each subheading is connected to the main title or the heading.

Be Clear and Concise

Headings and subheadings tell the reader what the content is about. They are usually about five words long. Therefore, you should go directly to the point using clear language that is easy to understand. Most readers skim through the text before reading which is why you should use simple and straightforward words. Always remember that readers have questions and are looking for answers and shouldn't have to ponder what you are talking about. If your heading is clear and to the point, they won't leave to look for answers elsewhere.

Place It in the Right Place

Consider where your target audience is likely to look and where they are likely to appear. While doing this, also consider the kind of phrases they are likely to type for the specific information they want. This gives you a general idea of where to place headings and subheadings. Remember that the APA and MLA format requires that all headings be placed hierarchically. So as you choose your phrases, ensure that they align with the content's topic and flow.

Consider the Formatting Style

Heading styles format your headings to make them stand out from the rest of the text. They also give your essay structure and make it more accessible to the target audience. In addition to this, headings also help in:

• Generating a table of contents
• Use style sets to reformat the document
• Rearranging the documents
• Creating a structured pdf file using the heading tag

Remember that each heading is formatted with a different heading style located in the style section. Since you've already used H1 for the major heading, the first subheading will be H2, and the second subheading will be H3.

Related Reading: How to indent an essay well.

Number the Heading or Subheading if Needed

Putting numbers on your heading makes it easy to scan. Top-level headings like H1 are numbered 1,2,3,4 while second-level headings, like H2, are numbered 1.1, 1.2, 1.3

Remember that even though you are numbering the headings, you need to introduce your topic in the first paragraph after the headings. Headings don't speak for themselves, so writing a few sentences restating the main idea will tell the reader what will come.

Be Consistent Throughout the Paper

If you intend to use headings in your paper, ensure each section has a heading and subheading. Also, ensure they are consistent in font, size, color, indentation, etc. The style function in Microsoft Word will help create consistency in your headings. You must select the text you want to convert into a heading, then select the appropriate heading from the Style box.

Avoid Repetition

Avoid repeating any phrases in your headings. Using the same heading more than once can affect the reader's comprehension of your message, negatively impacting their reaction to your essay. Sometimes you may repeat the headings without even noticing. For this reason, you should use the Find Function in MS Word or Google Docs.

Another way you can check for repetition is by reading your essay out loud, and this will help you spot any headings or subheadings that have been repeated.

Capitalize, Format, and Punctuate Well

Effective headings are well capitalized, formatted, and punctuated. The APA style uses two styles for this, title case and sentence case. In the title case, major words are capitalized, while minor ones are lowercase. Sentence cases, on the other hand, only capitalize the proper nouns while the rest remain in lowercase.

Use Automatic Heading in Word Processor

Microsoft Word has a built-in feature that anticipates how you want to format your document. As you begin typing, your text starts in the typical style, but when you press enter and move to a new line, the style changes to H1 with different fonts, colors, etc.

If you are typing a paragraph with a small number of words and press enter and then fail to provide proper punctuation, the feature will assume you are moving to a new paragraph, and it will then automatically enter a new heading with a heading style.

Use Descriptive Headings

Use concrete and descriptive language to make your headings more effective so the reader can know what to expect in each section. Don't use function headings when writing your technical reports; these are not so predictable, and readers benefit from the headings being much more descriptive.

Function headings are only used when writing pieces that need consistent structures, for instance, lab reports. An example is:

• Introduction
• Methodology
• Conclusions

Include Technical Terms Needed

Technical terms should not be used in headings because they may be hard to understand except those who know the languages. Technical terms are primarily used in academic documents that professionals read but if not specified, avoid them.

Related Read: How to write an article title in academic papers.

Final Words

Headings and subheadings are vital features in academic writing that represent the main points of a topic. The difference in formatting helps reader's the main points from the rest of the texts. Ensure you follow all the tips about including headings and subheadings in your text. Talk to your lecturer, professor, teacher, or instructor if you are unsure whether to add them to your essay.

What are Headings in an Essay?

Headings are markers that guide the reader through an essay by showing them what the next section is about. Like a title, they are only a few words long and are essential in structuring your content so as not to overwhelm the reader.

Should I Put Headings in an Essay?

Yes. It will help if you put headings in your essays to make them more readable. Essays consist of three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. Most of them are written in a continuous, paragraphed text without the need for section headings, especially if it's a short essay. On the other hand, long-form essays need headings and subheadings to make them easy to write and read. Since most lecturers are divided about using them in academic essays, you should confirm with your tutor before you start writing.

How Do I Include Subheadings in an Essay?

Subheadings are mini headlines that come after the headings, and they help explain more about the headings and aid readers in skimming through the content. If you have used the first heading, H1, and need to provide more information about it, add a subheading, H2.

If you have trouble deciding how to use subheadings correctly, think of them as an outline. Therefore, break down your topic into simple ideas, then use them to organize your essay.

How Do You Make a Heading in an Essay or Academic Paper?

You must think carefully about the aim of writing a paper and the main idea. Each heading should be clear and to the point. You don't want to mince words and possibly confuse the reader. Also, remember that headings are meant to enhance, not replace, the main topic. Ensure you set it apart from the body of the text by using H1 formatting in either Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

Borrow some of the following best practices to write an effective heading:

• Create a controversy
• Ensure it short
• Pose a question
• Suggest a number
• Provide an explanation

How Do You Use Headings and Subheadings?

Headings (section headings) are the title of your essay. They appear at the beginning of the page and guide the reader through your content. It is the first one your readers see before reading your essay or text. It doesn't matter whether the reader reads every word in your essay; they can still get the basic idea of your paper. Using different heading levels will help the reader navigate through the document. The headings and subheadings should be captivating enough to make an excellent first impression.

When writing a subheading, keep in mind that the H2s are the headers of each header for the main section of the essay. H3s are the subsections of the main points in H2s. H4s, on the other hand, are detailed subheadings breaking down the text into more specific options. The subheadings amplify the title or heading of the essay, and they also complement the headings. They make your writing flow and should be relevant to the topic. With such an organization, you have achieved a first-class essay level. A good subheading captures the essence of the title and consistently informs the reader that they are still on an idea related to the topic. It is also short, descriptive, clear, and concise.

Should Essays Have Section Headings?

Yes. Just like books are divided into chapters, essays and articles should be divided into sections. Essays should have section headings because they help make your work more organized and easy to read. And within those sections, the text can be divided into subsections.

Are There Specific Words to Use in Headings and Subheadings in Essays?

You will probably be tempted to use more words to make your heading more concise, but this isn't a good idea. Make sure you carefully choose words that clearly describe your chosen topic. If possible, use numbers in your headings because they are like brain candy, making your work more interesting. Also, ensure you use odd numbers because they are more attractive to readers than even numbers, according to the Content Marketing institute . Avoid abbreviations, idioms, or colloquial expressions when writing headings and subheadings.

How Many Headings to Use in an Essay or Academic Assignment?

To be safe, only use a maximum of three headings. However, this will depend on the length of your academic assignments. Remember that headings are short phrases that introduce the topic you are writing about and make it easy for the readers to read through. So if you are writing a short essay of fewer than 1000 words, there is no need for headings. But for articles above 1000 words then, you must use them. Headings will help identify the different sections in an essay.

What Are Heading Levels?

Headings organize your essay in a hierarchical order. Since some points are more critical, assigning different levels will help distinguish them.

Gradecrest is a professional writing service that provides original model papers. We offer personalized services along with research materials for assistance purposes only. All the materials from our website should be used with proper references. See our Terms of Use Page for proper details.

• Place order

Incorporating Headings in Academic Essays and Papers

A consistent structure is a big thing when writing an academic essay or paper. The framework for writing an academic paper encompasses using headings and subheadings to divide the content into manageable chunks or sections.

When writing longer essays and research papers (10 pages and above), breaking the test into different but related sections might be helpful to avoid unnecessary strained transition sentences. 

The headings are the first thing the readers look at when reading the essay. They are akin to the headlines in a magazine or webpage. Subheadings are the additional subtopics or headings immediately after the main title or header. Headings are meant to grab the readers' attention, but the subheadings make them draw the readers deeper into the topic.

A subheading is a mini-headline given to a section or paragraph within the main text. They are often smaller than the main heading but larger than the paragraph text.

While headings can be used in most academic papers of different lengths (even those less than ten pages), subheadings are reserved for shorter sections within a larger section. If you have a paper with just three main points and the first point has three subpoints, you can use subheadings to organize the subpoints under the main point.

When used in an essay, research paper, or other longer papers, the headings and subheadings should be formatted such that they are distinguishable from the contents of your text.

Let's dig deeper and see how to make headings and subheadings in an essay.

Why Use Headings and Subheadings in Essays and Research Papers

Headings and subheadings capture the readers' attention, making it easier to sell your ideas to those who skim through written pieces first to determine whether it is worth their time.

Using headings and subheadings helps organize your thoughts. They enable readers to focus on the critical aspects of the essay or research paper. In an essay or research paper, each subheading is considered a mini-essay with thoughts limited to a specific element or perspective of the topic.

Using headings and subheadings informs your readers about where they are in the paper. Also, these subheadings act as signposts or directions that orient the readers to your thoughts in the paper.

The subheadings ensure that your thoughts are structured and that you remain focused on the topic within a limited area. For instance, if you are writing a mental health essay or research paper, you can have a subheading dealing with risk factors and another dealing with the impacts of stigma on mental health.

Subheadings also make the research process easier because you can organize your research around them. This way, you can approach your research systematically and limit its scope. You can then scrutinize and organize the scholarly resources rather than focus on the entire research pile.

Having subheadings in essays or research papers makes writing the paper easier. You can plan, draft, and polish each essay section independently. Doing so helps you to write the paper with ease. Consequently, you can fight off writer's block by putting points of argument under each subheading and organizing it later when you are psyched up to write.

Features of a Good Subheading for an Essay or Research Paper

In research writing, it is imperative to have a refined heading and subheading. We discussed how to do this when we wrote about titling an essay and other academic papers. However, certain features make a subheading or a heading stand out. A good subheading can be many things, but let's sample some of the outstanding features it must have. Here are some aspects that make an excellent subheading and heading:

• A good subheading is brief, concise, and focused. Shorter headings and subheadings give meaning and enhance the readability of a research paper or essay.
• It must have a line space between it and the content.
• It contains the keywords that relate to the thesis and topic, telling the reader precisely the main idea of the section's content.
• Its wording matches the rest of the subheadings and headings
• Can create a flow that summarizes the work independently at a glance
• Is ten words or less and refined to have meaning on its own
• It stands out from the rest of the text in terms of styling and formatting
• It engages the readers such that it gives clues about what to expect
• Uses signposting words to realign the interests of the readers
• Are they relevant to the text
• It uses parallel structures for consistency

How to Make Subheadings in An Essay or Paper

If you are like many students who wonder about how to integrate subheadings into an essay, this section clarifies everything. First, however, there are some crucial tips that you need to consider.

Remember, a subheading expands your heading and comes after the latter. While both hook the audience by grabbing their attention, the subheading enables your readers to delve deeper into the topic. Subheadings are used to divide an otherwise large chunk of paper into sections or chapters.

Subheadings are primarily written in sentence cases and should never be in capital letters. Therefore, you should capitalize the first letter of the subheading of your essay. This is unlike the heading in the title case, meaning that all the major words (nouns, adverbs, pronouns, and adjectives) and words with four or more letters have their first words capitalized. Subheadings subordinate the higher levels. To make a good subheading, here are the tips.

1. Choose the correct length

A good essay subheading should be easy to read. Precisely, it should take a few seconds to read. Our experts recommend keeping the subheading between 4 to 10 words, the standard length of subheadings in academic writing. Ensure as well that it fits a single line. If your subheading runs over, it will be ambiguous and might alter the structure of your essay or paper.

2. Limit the information

You only have a few words to impress your readers. Therefore, only bring in the most crucial information you want to use to bait your readers. Avoid examining every aspect and focus on one aspect of the topic. As long as you have aroused the reader's curiosity to explore your essay, that's it!

3. Maintain Consistency

When you use headings and subheadings in an essay or academic paper, ensure that each maintains the same level. You should not skip subheading levels. And if the first subheading is the only subheading, you are better off eliminating it and maintaining the heading. An excellent strategy to maintain this consistency is planning your essay, which you can do by creating an outline .

4. Number appropriately. It is a must

APA or MLA format does not allow you to label headings and subheadings with numbers or letters. However, there are some instances, such as when writing a dissertation or thesis, where you will most likely be required to use multilevel numbering for the headings and subheadings. Therefore, when you number the headings and subheadings, ensure that it is in a consistent format that you can later use when referring to them elsewhere, for instance, in a table of contents. Microsoft Word automates the process of numbering by choosing the heading styles.

5. Be persuasive

A good subheading should coax the readers to read the text. It should give them an appetite to devour your paper. And it should be persuasive because it does the work of signposting the ideas to expect in a subsection.

6. Ensure Progression

When writing the subheadings, ensure they each add new information to your text to avoid repetitive subheadings. It would be wise to ensure that each subheading addresses a unique aspect of the topic instead of echoing the previous subheadings discussed. As you edit your paper, guarantee that the subheadings progress and add new and relevant information to engage the readers.

7. Stay away from puns, contractions, and idioms

Although tempting, avoid using corny words, jokes, and puns in your subheadings. You should not use contractions as well. Introducing these aspects can make your subheadings and headings ambiguous, deterring the readers from reading the content.

8. Ensure they are relevant and engaging

As you write the subheadings, ensure that they are relevant to the content of your essay. Eliminate any irrelevant subheadings in your essay. Think about the vital information you must include and how you need to format it into a separate section. The strategy helps write subheadings that address your essay's real issues. The subheadings should also give the readers a clue of what to expect to grab their attention further.

9. Include Keywords and Phrases

When writing the subheadings, you should include relevant keywords and phrases that attract the readers' attention. In addition, the keywords and phrases should be related to your topic and thesis statement.

10. Format them well

If you are writing an academic paper (research paper or essay), ensure that your subheadings and headings are formatted per the citation and formatting styles. Later in this article, we look at how to format subheadings and headings in MLA and APA, which are the most common styles. You can also acquaint yourself with other academic writing styles such as Chicago, Vancouver, Oxford, Bluebook, or Harvard.

If you intend to write an A essay, consider reading our guide on writing first-class essays to integrate other factors that professors look for when assigning higher grades for essays.

Related Read:

• How to write an introduction .
• Using headings and subheadings in the dissertation literature review.

Headings and Subheadings in APA

In APA formatting and citation style, headings are used in essays and research papers to separate and classify paper sections. The headings are meant to guide the readers through the document. Headings and subheadings are organized in subordination levels, with each section of the paper starting with the highest heading level.

You can organize headings into five different levels in APA. However, it would help if you used the headings in order beginning from level 1, regardless of the number of heading levels.

Below is how to organize the levels:

• Heading 1 is bold, centered, and written in the title case. This can include the main elements of the paper, such as Literature Review , methods, conclusion, discussion, recommendations, etc.
• Heading 2 is flush left, in boldface, and written in title case. These are the headings directly under heading 1. So, for example, under methods (level 1), you can have subsections such as sampling strategy, data analysis, or data processing as level 2.
• Heading 3 is flush left, in boldface italics, and title case.
• Heading 4 is indented, in boldface, and written in title case.
• Heading 5 is indented, in boldface italics, and title case.

You can use at least two subheadings in APA or non at all. If there is just one subheading, the top-level heading is enough, so do away with it.

When writing a paper in APA , the first paragraph is automatically understood as the introduction. Therefore, there is no need to start with the heading "introduction." The paper's title, which is centered and bolded, becomes the de facto level 1 heading. If your introduction has subsections, you can use headings within the introduction beginning with level 2 headings for the first level subsection, level 3 for the subsections of level 2 headings, and so on. After writing the introduction, use the level 1 heading for the following main section of the paper. Headings should be descriptive and concise. They should be well-formatted and clearly worded for visual and content appeal.

Formatting Headings and Subheadings in APA

When writing headings and subheadings in APA, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• The headings in APA are never labeled with numbers or letters
• You should not use more than one subsection within a section
• Ensure that the APA headings and subheadings are descriptive and concise
• Use as many headings and subheadings as you may require
• Headings 3-5 should all be indented and terminated with a period.
• Headings levels 1 and 2 should be formatted in sentence cases.
• Ensure that the first word in the heading level 3-5 is capitalized.
• Begin a paragraph below levels 1 and 2. However, levels 2-5 begin in line with the headings.
• There should be double line spacing for the APA heading.

MLA headings and subheadings enhance a paper's coherence, soundness, and quality. Using the hierarchy of 5 heading levels in APA should be easier now that we have explained everything.

Headings and Subheadings in MLA

MLA headings are sometimes confused with the header. While the MLA heading is found on the first page and serves the purpose of identifying information, the header is the identifier located on top of every document page.

Using section headings in MLA help improve the readability of the document. Students are mainly not required to use headings when writing essays and papers.

Formatting Headings and Subheadings in MLA

• The font should be readable, most preferably Times New Roman or Arial
• Use double-line spacing
• Every new paragraph after the headings or subheadings should have a half an inch indent.
• All the headings and subheadings must be written in the title case
• You should not include a period after the MLA headings and subheadings
• The title is the main heading. It should be center-aligned and written in sentence case. It should never be italicized, bold, underlined, or put into quotation marks unless when referring to works within it.
• All headings that succeed the title of the document are subheadings.
• The subheadings have five different levels, just like in APA formatting.
• The subheadings are styled as per their order of prominence.

Unlike APA, MLA allows the use of font styling to differentiate the levels of the subheadings. However, the styling of the subheadings should be consistent so that the readers can follow the structure of the essay or paper.

Every subheading should appear in the same size, format, and style for easier identification as one reads your text. The subheadings in MLA papers or essays should flush to the left margin to avoid confusing them with block quotes. Avoid online one level for the internal levels. For instance, if you have a level between 1 and 5, you should ensure that there is more than one instance. If you have one level 2 subheading, ensure that you also have a second level 2 subheading. Above all, every heading and subheading must have content or text beneath them. The content should support the thesis statement of your paper.

Related reading:

• Writing case study answers for business and nursing classes . 
• Analytical essay writing steps and tips. 

Levels of subheadings in MLA formatting

• Level 1 is bold, flush, or aligned with the left margin
• Level 2 is italicized, flush, or aligned with the left margin
• Level 3 is bold and center-aligned
• Level 4 is italicized and center-aligned
• Level 5 is underlined, flush, or aligned with the left margin

Ensure you use the correct subheading level to help you navigate through your essay or paper. It also helps to know what to be added to the automatic table of contents. Use the subheadings as illustrated below:

• Subheading 1 for the first subsection after the chapter title
• Subheading 2 for the subsections that are directly under Subheading 1
• Subheading 3 for the subsections that are directly under Subheading 2
• Subheading 4 for the subsections that are directly under Subheading 3
• Subheading 5 for the subsections that are directly under Subheading 4

Take some time and watch this video by Dr. Andy Jonson illustrates how to use headings and subheadings in academic writing.

Below are some sample questions, expert answers, and recommendations for essay subheadings and headings.

Should essays have subheadings?

Although shorter essays are written in continuous, flowing, and paragraphed texts and do not need subheadings, longer essays are carefully structured using headings and subheadings.

An essay or research paper can have headings and subheadings (subtopics) if it is long enough to accommodate different sections. Nevertheless, when writing the headings and subheadings, they should be relevant and consistent with the topic and contribute to the overarching goal of the essay or research paper (the thesis statement). A good length for a heading or subheading should be ten words or less. While standard essays do not use subheadings, they assuredly improve the structure of extended essays.

Subheadings subordinate the headings (the title of the essay). They should be persuasive, descriptive, and conversational. They should elaborate on what is in the headline and capture the importance of the topic. Maintain consistency when writing them.

Can introductions have subheadings?

For short papers, no. However, you can include sub-sections for longer papers with appropriate headings and subheadings. For instance, when writing a proposal, dissertation, or thesis, you can have sections and subsections for the problem statement, background information, research questions, hypothesis, aims/objectives, and paper overview.

Can a conclusion have a subheading?

You should not include subheadings in the concluding paragraphs of an essay unless for more extended research papers.

Can subheadings in essays be questions?

No, section headings and subheadings must not be phrased as questions in MLA, APA, or Harvard formatting styles.

Need a Discount to Order?

15% off first order, what you get from us.

Plagiarism-free papers

Our papers are 100% original and unique to pass online plagiarism checkers.

Well-researched academic papers

Even when we say essays for sale, they meet academic writing conventions.

24/7 online support

Hit us up on live chat or Messenger for continuous help with your essays.

Easy communication with writers

Order essays and begin communicating with your writer directly and anonymously.

How do I style headings and subheadings in a research paper?

Headings and subheadings can help organize and structure your writing. In general, longer and more complex works warrant more of them than shorter ones. Avoid overusing headings in short projects; they should never be used to compensate for poor structure or to explain an underdeveloped idea.

When headings are called for in your writing project, observe the basic guidelines below.

The paper or chapter title is the first level of heading, and it must be the most prominent.

Headings should be styled in descending order of prominence. After the first level, the other headings are subheadings—that is, they are subordinate. Font styling and size are used to signal prominence. In general, a boldface, larger font indicates prominence; a smaller font, italics, and lack of bold can be used to signal subordination. For readability, don’t go overboard: avoid using all capital letters for headings (in some cases, small capitals may be acceptable):

Heading Level 1

Heading Level 2

Heading Level 3

Note that word-processing software often has built-in heading styles.

Consistency

Consistency in the styling of headings and subheadings is key to signaling to readers the structure of a research project. That is, each level 1 heading should appear in the same style and size, as should each level 2 heading, and so on. Generally avoid numbers and letters to designate heads unless you are working in a discipline where doing so is conventional. Note that a heading labeled “1” requires a subsequent heading labeled “2,” and a heading labeled “a” requires a subsequent heading labeled “b.” 

In a project that is not professionally designed and published, headings should be flush with the left margin, to avoid confusion with block quotations. (The exception is the paper or chapter title, which is centered in MLA style.)

For readability, it is helpful to include a line space above and below a heading, as shown in this post.

No internal heading level should have only one instance. For example, if you have one level 1 heading, you need to have a second level 1 heading. (The exceptions are the paper or chapter title and the headings for notes and the list of works cited.) You should also generally have text under each heading.

Capitalization

Capitalize headings like the titles of works, as explained in section 1.5 of the MLA Handbook .

The shorter, the better.

• AI Content Shield
• AI KW Research
• AI Assistant
• SEO Optimizer
• AI KW Clustering
• Customer reviews
• The NLO Revolution
• Press Center
• Help Center
• Content Resources
• Facebook Group

How to Use an Essay Subheading Properly

Table of Contents

Some essay sub-headings are similar to signposts of topics you will discuss in your paper. They are simply a way to split your ideas into sections.

An essay subheading can act in both ways of the descriptions mentioned above, depending on how the sub-heading is used in your paper.

Proper use of essay subheadings is a process that builds bridges and can make your essay flow from start to end.

Essay writing is easy when a well-written essay subheading is used. The sub-heading is a process that helps make your essay read better and look attractive.

What Exactly is an Essay Subheading?

A sub-heading is a short, descriptive sentence that provides information about the content of the section to which it is found. A sub-heading is used to distinguish the main points of an essay from one another.

For example, i f you choose to write about ‘Horses on a Beach’ then your heading might say ‘Movies and Horses on a Beach’.

An essay sub heading is your heading for each essay that is underneath the larger essay title. Usually you have to have all subheadings included in the index so that it can be read.

How do I learn how to write subheadings in an essay?

You can learn best by reading through some top quality essays and analyzing the way they are structured. Another way to learn is by writing many essays by hand. Let’s dive into how to use headings in essays.

How to use Headings in an Essay

Ordinarily, essays do not have headings. All they have are templates and structures. Hence, the six major parts of an essay are:

• Title of Essay
• Introduction
• The first paragraph a.k.a. The Body
• Second paragraph
• Third paragraph (depends on the length of essay).
• Conclusion. Those are the basic structure of any outstanding essay. However, in your essay writing, you might be allowed to utilize headings. Also, for more extended essays, individuals can use headings.

Headings in an essay are same as sections of an essay. To properly give good headings to your essay, you have to know your topic well.

Also, you need to make your decision about the coverage of your topic. This help you to define your headings and divide your writing into appropriate headings (sections).

How to use Subheadings in an Essay

Additionally, quality heads will produce quality subheadings. Really, it’s that easy. You won’t be able to organize your topic properly without headings and subheadings. If you don’t do a great job of researching and learning about it before you start writing.

We use subheadings to go into further detail on a specific part of your essay’s main heading.

Example : Essay Topic:  The effect of pollution on our ecosystem. Heading 1:  Definition of key terms. Heading 2 : Pollution and the ecosystem. An example of a  subheading  under this heading could be: Effect of pollution to the balance of the ecosystem.

In order to create more impact on your essay, you have to know how to use headings. It is informative and allows the reader to know what the essay is about before reading the content.

An essay title, on the other hand, is the main description of the content of your essay. Like subtitles, it tells the reader what they will encounter as they scroll down.

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

Explore All Subheading Articles

Subheadings writing guide: overview, benefits & tips.

An essential part of writing is the order in which key thoughts are labeled. Key points are often labeled with…

Using Subheadings For a Paper With MLA

The Modern Language Association created the MLA-style referencing system for literary works. The writing style provides a flexible framework for…

Easy Style Guide for Research Paper Subheadings

Whether you’re writing in the APA or MLA format, there are rules that you need to follow. These rules help…

Subheadings in Writing: Meaning and Examples

Do you want to divide your text into multiple parts? You must consider reading this article with an example of…

Recommended Guidelines for Using the Chicago Style Format

There are several formatting styles when it comes to writing research papers. Though not without their criticisms, the format for…

Some essay sub-headings are similar to signposts of topics you will discuss in your paper. They are simply a way…

• Comprehensive Guide to Headings and Subheadings in APA 7.0

Section 1: Introduction to Headings and Subheadings in APA 7.0-

In academic writing, the use of headings and subheadings is crucial for organizing and structuring a paper. APA (American Psychological Association) style, specifically in its 7th edition, provides clear guidelines on how to effectively use headings and subheadings to enhance readability and comprehensibility of research papers, essays, and other scholarly works. This section will provide a comprehensive introduction to the importance, purpose, and benefits of using headings and subheadings in APA 7.0 format.

Purpose of Headings and Subheadings

Headings and subheadings serve as visual cues to help readers navigate through the content of a paper. They create a hierarchical structure, indicating the relationships between different sections and subsections, and aid in organizing ideas and presenting information in a logical manner. By using headings and subheadings, writers can effectively divide their work into manageable and coherent sections, making it easier for readers to comprehend and follow the main arguments and supporting details.

Importance of Headings and Subheadings

Clear and well-structured headings and subheadings are essential in academic writing for several reasons. First and foremost, they enhance the overall readability of the paper by breaking down the text into smaller, digestible chunks. This organization allows readers to quickly identify and locate specific information, especially when they are scanning or skimming through the document.

Secondly, headings and subheadings contribute to the coherence and flow of the paper. By providing a clear roadmap, they guide the reader through the main ideas, supporting evidence, and key points presented in each section. This not only improves the overall structure of the paper but also helps maintain the logical progression of thoughts and arguments.

Additionally, headings and subheadings assist both readers and writers in comprehending complex topics. They enable writers to organize their thoughts, ensuring that each section focuses on a specific aspect or theme. This organization facilitates a deeper understanding of the subject matter for both the writer during the drafting process and the reader during the consumption of the paper.

Formatting Guidelines for Headings and Subheadings

APA 7.0 provides specific rules and formatting guidelines for using headings and subheadings. These guidelines include the use of different levels of headings, capitalization rules, and placement within the paper. Understanding and adhering to these guidelines is crucial for maintaining consistency and conformity with APA style.

The APA 7.0 formatting guidelines for headings and subheadings are based on a five-level hierarchy, with each level indicating the level of importance and hierarchy of information. Level 1 headings are the highest level, followed by Level 2, Level 3, and so on. Each level has a specific formatting style, such as font size, boldness, and indentation, to differentiate it from the other levels. Furthermore, APA 7.0 also provides guidance on the appropriate use of sentence case, title case, and capitalization in headings and subheadings. For instance, Level 1 headings are typically written in sentence case and are centered and bolded. Level 2 headings are aligned to the left margin, bolded, and written in title case. To maintain clarity and consistency, APA 7.0 also provides recommendations on the number of headings to use within a paper. It suggests that at least two headings should be used in any given section, as a single heading alone may not adequately represent the content covered.

Section 2: The Purpose and Importance of Headings and Subheadings in APA 7.0

Facilitating information retrieval.

One of the primary purposes of headings and subheadings in APA 7.0 is to facilitate information retrieval for readers. When faced with a lengthy document, readers often engage in scanning or skimming techniques to locate specific information or sections of interest. Well-structured headings and subheadings act as signposts, allowing readers to quickly identify the content they are seeking without having to read the entire text. By providing a clear and organized hierarchy, headings guide readers to the main sections of a paper, while subheadings further break down the content into more specific subsections. This hierarchical structure enables readers to navigate the document with ease, locating relevant information efficiently. Thus, headings and subheadings in APA 7.0 contribute significantly to the overall accessibility and user-friendliness of academic papers.

Enhancing Readability and Comprehensibility

Headings and subheadings play a vital role in enhancing the readability and comprehensibility of academic writing. They help break up large blocks of text into smaller, digestible sections, preventing the overwhelming feeling that dense paragraphs can create. By visually separating different sections and subsections, headings and subheadings allow readers to mentally prepare for the content they are about to encounter. Additionally, headings and subheadings improve the flow and coherence of a paper. They provide a roadmap for readers, helping them understand the organization and structure of the author's arguments and supporting evidence. Well-crafted headings and subheadings enable readers to follow the logical progression of ideas and maintain a clear understanding of the paper's main points. Finally, headings and subheadings aid in the comprehension of complex topics. By breaking down the content into smaller, focused sections, readers can grasp the material more easily. Headings act as cognitive cues, preparing readers for the information presented in each section. This approach not only facilitates understanding but also allows readers to engage with the content at a deeper level, promoting knowledge retention.

Organizing and Structuring Ideas

Headings and subheadings in APA 7.0 serve as valuable tools for organizing and structuring ideas within a paper. They help writers divide their work into meaningful sections, each addressing a specific aspect or theme related to the overall topic. This organization ensures that information is presented in a coherent and logical manner, making it easier for both the writer and the reader to navigate the paper.

By using headings and subheadings, writers can create a clear outline for their work, ensuring that each section has a distinct focus. This outline acts as a framework, guiding the writer in presenting their arguments and supporting evidence in a systematic and organized way. Writers can use headings to delineate major sections or main ideas, while subheadings allow for further subcategorization and exploration of subtopics.

Furthermore, headings and subheadings assist writers in structuring their thoughts during the writing process. By providing a visual representation of the paper's organization, headings help writers maintain a coherent flow of ideas and prevent the inclusion of irrelevant or tangential information. This structured approach not only improves the overall quality of the paper but also enhances the writer's ability to communicate their ideas effectively.

Conveying the Hierarchical Relationship of Information

Another important purpose of headings and subheadings in APA 7.0 is to convey the hierarchical relationship of information. By assigning different levels to headings, the writer can indicate the relative importance and order of ideas within the paper. Higher-level headings represent broader themes or major sections, while lower-level headings address more specific subtopics or subsections. This hierarchical structure helps readers understand the organization and logical flow of the paper at a glance. It allows them to grasp the overall structure and the relationships between different sections without having to read the entire document. Additionally, the use of indentation and formatting styles for each level of heading further reinforces the hierarchical relationship and aids in visual differentiation.

Section 3: Formatting Guidelines for Headings and Subheadings in APA 7.0

Proper formatting of headings and subheadings is crucial in APA 7.0 style to ensure consistency, clarity, and readability in academic writing. This section will delve into the specific formatting guidelines provided by APA 7.0 for headings and subheadings, including the use of different levels, capitalization rules, and placement within the paper.

Levels of Headings

APA 7.0 introduces a five-level hierarchy for headings, each denoting a different level of importance and significance within the paper. These levels provide a structured framework for organizing the content and help readers understand the organization and flow of ideas. Here are the five headings in APA 7.0:

Level 1: Centered, Bold and Title Case

            Text begins here.

Level 2: Left-Aligned, Bold and Title Case

Level 3: Left-Aligned, Bold, Italics, and Title Case

Level 4: Left-Aligned, Bold, Title Case, and Period. Text begins here.

Level 5: Left-Aligned, Bold, Title Case, Italics, and Period . Text begins here.

Section 4: Organizing and Structuring Your Paper

Using headings and subheadings in apa 7.0.

Organizing and structuring your paper effectively is crucial for presenting your ideas in a logical and coherent manner. Headings and subheadings in APA 7.0 play a vital role in achieving this goal by providing a clear framework for organizing your content. This section will delve into strategies and best practices for utilizing headings and subheadings to organize and structure your paper in accordance with APA 7.0 guidelines.

Preparing an Outline

Before you begin writing your paper, it is helpful to create an outline that outlines the main sections and subsections you intend to cover. An outline acts as a roadmap, allowing you to visualize the overall structure and flow of your paper. It serves as a foundation for developing meaningful headings and subheadings that accurately represent the content and facilitate logical organization. Start by identifying the major sections that your paper will include, such as introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. These major sections will serve as Level 1 headings in APA 7.0. Next, break down each major section into subsections that address specific subtopics or aspects related to the main theme. These subsections will be represented by Level 2 headings. Depending on the complexity and depth of your paper, you may further divide the subsections into sub-subsections using Level 3, Level 4, and Level 5 headings. Creating a comprehensive outline not only helps you organize your thoughts but also ensures that you cover all the necessary components of your paper. It allows you to see the relationships between different sections and subsections, enabling you to present your arguments and evidence in a logical and coherent sequence.

Maintaining Consistency and Parallelism

Consistency is key when it comes to organizing and structuring your paper using headings and subheadings. It is important to establish a consistent framework that is followed throughout the entire document. Consistency ensures that readers can easily understand the hierarchy and relationships between different sections and subsections. When creating headings and subheadings, aim for parallelism in terms of grammatical structure and formatting. Parallelism means that headings at the same level should have a similar grammatical structure and formatting style. For instance, if you choose to use noun phrases for Level 2 headings, maintain this pattern consistently across all Level 2 headings in your paper. This helps readers navigate through the content smoothly and maintain a sense of coherence. Furthermore, parallelism extends to the use of punctuation and capitalization within headings and subheadings. Maintain consistent capitalization rules, such as sentence case for Level 1 headings and title case for Level 2 headings. This uniformity enhances the visual hierarchy and clarity of your paper.

Balancing Depth and Granularity

Effective organization and structuring involve finding the right balance between depth and granularity in your headings and subheadings. Level 1 headings represent major sections and should encapsulate broad themes or concepts, providing an overview of what will be discussed within each section. Level 2 headings, as subsections, delve into more specific topics or aspects related to the main theme of the major section.

Reviewing and Revising the Organization

Organizing and structuring your paper using headings and subheadings is not a one-time task. It is an iterative process that requires regular review and revision to ensure optimal clarity and coherence. Once you have completed the initial draft of your paper, review the organization of your headings and subheadings. Ask yourself if the structure effectively reflects the flow of your ideas and supports your main argument. Consider whether the headings accurately represent the content of each section and subsection. During the review process, pay attention to transitions between sections and subsections. Ensure that the headings and subheadings create a smooth transition from one topic to another, guiding readers through the logical progression of your paper. If you notice any gaps or inconsistencies, revise and refine the organization accordingly. Additionally, seek feedback from peers, mentors, or instructors. Their fresh perspective can provide valuable insights into the clarity and effectiveness of your headings and subheadings. Incorporate their feedback and make necessary adjustments to improve the overall organization and structure of your paper.

Section 5: Common Mistakes to Avoid in Using Headings and Subheadings in APA 7.0

While using headings and subheadings in APA 7.0 can greatly improve the organization and readability of your paper, it's important to be aware of common mistakes that can compromise the effectiveness of your headings. By understanding and avoiding these mistakes, you can ensure that your headings enhance the clarity and coherence of your academic writing. This section will explore some common mistakes to avoid when using headings and subheadings in APA 7.0.

Inconsistent Formatting

One of the most common mistakes is inconsistent formatting of headings and subheadings. In APA 7.0, it is crucial to maintain consistency in capitalization, alignment, and formatting styles across headings at the same level. Inconsistencies can confuse readers and disrupt the visual hierarchy of your paper. Ensure that all Level 1 headings have the same formatting, all Level 2 headings have the same formatting, and so on. Consistency in formatting contributes to the overall professionalism and readability of your work.

Poor Alignment and Spacing

Another mistake to avoid is incorrect alignment and spacing of headings and subheadings. In APA 7.0, Level 1 headings are centered and typically start on a new page or a new line with an extra line space before and after the heading. Level 2 headings and lower-level headings, however, are left-aligned and generally require an extra line space before the heading but not after. Failure to align and space headings correctly can create confusion and disrupt the logical flow of your paper. Review APA 7.0 guidelines carefully to ensure proper alignment and spacing of your headings.

Lack of Parallelism

Parallelism, or consistent grammatical structure, is crucial when using headings and subheadings. Headings at the same level should follow a similar structure to maintain coherence and readability. For example, if you use noun phrases for Level 2 headings, ensure that all Level 2 headings follow this pattern. Lack of parallelism can make your headings appear disjointed and may confuse readers. Consistently apply parallel structure within each level of headings to create a smooth and organized flow of information.

Overcomplicating the Heading Structure

While it is important to provide a clear and hierarchical structure to your paper, overcomplicating the heading structure can lead to confusion and excessive fragmentation. Strive to find a balance between providing enough detail to cover your content effectively and avoiding an excessive number of headings and subheadings. Each heading should represent a meaningful subdivision and contribute to the overall organization and coherence of your paper. Aim for a clear and concise heading structure that guides readers without overwhelming them with excessive levels or overly specific subdivisions.

Lack of Descriptiveness

Headings and subheadings should be descriptive and informative to accurately represent the content covered within each section. Avoid using generic or ambiguous headings that do not provide a clear indication of what readers can expect to find. Vague headings can leave readers uncertain about the content or make it challenging to locate specific information within your paper. Ensure that your headings succinctly capture the main ideas or themes of each section, guiding readers through your content effectively.

Ignoring the Reader's Perspective

When creating headings and subheadings, it's important to consider the perspective of your readers. Put yourself in their shoes and think about how your headings will facilitate their understanding and navigation through your paper. Consider whether your headings effectively communicate the main points, guide readers through the logical flow of your arguments, and enable them to locate specific information easily. Ignoring the reader's perspective can result in headings that are unclear, unhelpful, or inconsistent, hindering the overall readability and comprehension of your work.

Neglecting to Revise and Edit Headings

Headings should not be an afterthought or treated as static elements in your paper. Neglecting to revise and edit your headings can lead to inaccuracies, lack of clarity, or poor alignment with the final content of your paper. As you progress through the writing process, continuously review and refine your headings to ensure they accurately represent the content and flow of your arguments. Make necessary adjustments, reword headings for better clarity, and ensure that they align with the finalized structure and organization of your paper.

Recent Posts

Using DataEditR for Easy Editing in R

Understanding ALEKS

Replacing Values in R

Grouping By in Stata

Have any questions?

Our support team is ready to answer your questions.

Help Center FAQ  

To mark our first year, we've slashed all our prices in half. Order now to seize this limited opportunity!

                Place Your Order

• Incorporating Headings & Subheadings

by acburton | May 18, 2024 | Resources for Students , Writing Resources

Think about the last time you read a really long academic article or publication for a class. When the text just seemed to drone on and on to no end, think back – weren’t you really grateful for those headings (and sometimes subheadings) that broke up the longer text, switched or elaborated on a topic, stimulated your eyesight, and gave your noggin a much needed break? I bet you were! Headings and subheadings enable longer texts and differing topics and subtopics to be clearly differentiated for your reader, yet linked in a way that can be clearly understood and appreciated. Let’s go through a few other benefits to using headings and subheadings in your writing!

Incorporating headings and subheadings into your longer pieces of writing;

• Enhances the readability of your work by organizing the content in your essay and guiding your reader.
• Delineates subsections of a topic and provides an avenue to expanding on more complex ideas within a main idea.
• Demonstrates your understanding of a particular citation style.

While headings and subheadings don’t replace the use of effective transitions , they can be used in tandem to further organize your paper, guiding your reader through your topic of choice. To use headings and subheadings appropriately, you’ll want to keep in mind three very important considerations:

• the hierarchy of a heading versus a subheading (and everything that may come after)
• the format (i.e., which citation style you are aiming to follow, and
• accessibility, to be sure that your paper is intelligible to all readers.

The Hierarchy

Headings and subheadings are represented in the form of a hierarchy, or a ranking that clearly characterizes your main topic from your subtopic or issue. The prefix “sub” in “subheading” means under or beneath so your subheading (or subissue) will always be placed underneath your heading. Use a heading whenever you are switching subjects and want to outline the main idea of a section and use subheadings to delineate the varying subsections underneath the main idea. Think of it like a pyramid structure, not in shape, but with your heading on the very top, subheading just beneath, and so on and so forth, going “deeper” into your research until you begin a new section.

Citation styles, including APA format, utilize a system of “Levels” to distinguish the format of headings and subheadings as they move throughout your essay. The number of headings to use in a paper depends on the length and complexity of the work (APAStyle).

In APA format, headings and subheadings are delineated into five possible levels:  Level 1 is the highest or main level of heading, Level 2 is a subheading of Level 1, Level 3 is a subheading of Level 2, and so on through Levels 4 and 5 (APAStyle). Most students utilize Levels 1-3 for their work. If only one heading is needed for your assignment, use Level 1. If two levels are needed, use Levels 1 and 2 (and so on.) (APAStyle). The first image below provides a visualization of the APA heading format; the second image is an example of APA headings in a research paper from the field of education (APAStyle).

MLA in contrast emphasizes consistency over a specific style. Purdue Owl offers two examples of how to structure your essay using section headings and subheadings, although it is important to remember that while these can be used as a reference, they are by no means the rule . Remember, the goal is consistency throughout your paper.

Note: Although MLA does not have specific style for headings within your paper, there is a general format used for the first page of your paper. See Purdue Owl for more information.

Below, you can see two examples of acceptable headings for a paper that requires MLA formatting. The first follows a system of Levels, like what is used for APA format. The second example uses a format that numbers different sections and subsections. According to this example, Erosion and Terracing are examples of Soil Conservation, while Water Conservation and Energy Conservation require their own, main headings.

Accessibility

While the use of headings and subheadings work to enhance the readability of your work, without keeping accessibility in mind, your headings and subheadings can seem thorough and conducive to you, while being inaccessible and confusing to someone else. Check out these accessibility guidelines suggested by West Virginia University;

• Make sure your headings and subheadings always follow a consecutive hierarchy.
• Particularly when following APA format, do not skip a header for stylistic reasons.
• While using bold or italics may be unavoidable, do not use all caps. Doing so may cause some assistive technology to substitute full words for individual letters.
• Avoid using abbreviations.
• Aim to avoid language that can be confusing to non-native speakers of English (e.g., puns, a play on words).

Note: Visit the Writing Center for additional help on how to format with accessibility in mind!

Streefkerk, Raimo. “APA Headings and Subheadings | With Sample Paper.” Scribber, https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-headings/ . Accessed 18 May 2024.

Our Newest Resources!

• Best Practices for Emailing Instructors and Professors
• Revision vs. Proofreading
• Engaging With Sources Effectively
• The Dos and Don’ts of Using Tables and Figures in Your Writing

Additional Resources

• Black Lives Matter Writing Contest
• Graduate Writing Consultants
• Instructor Resources
• Student Resources
• Quick Guides and Handouts
• Self-Guided and Directed Learning Activities

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Academic writing
• How to write effective headings

How to Write and Format Headings in Academic Writing

Published on March 15, 2019 by Shane Bryson . Revised on July 23, 2023.

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 clarity, ask yourself the following: from reading your headings in sequence, would an informed reader understand…

• The content of the document as a whole?
• The specific content of each section?
• How each section fits with the others?

If not, your headings aren’t effective , and may need some improvement.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

Headings vs. titles, how long should headings be, using descriptive headings, technical terms in headings, capitalization, formatting and sequencing, other interesting articles.

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 writing good titles in academic writing .

Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services

Discover proofreading & editing

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 – a good rule of thumb is to limit the heading length to one line.

Higher-level vs. lower-level headings

Higher-level headings often make do with a single word (e.g. “ Introduction ” or “ Methods ”), while lower-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 – nothing more needs to be said.

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’re looking for.

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.

• Profile of GPS technology
• Function of GPS in aviation
• GPS before 1999

Avoiding repetitive headings

No two sections should focus on the exact same content, so no two headings should be identical. Instead of closing a chapter with “Summary,” for example, try making the heading little more descriptive: “Summary of X .”

Documents in fields that rely heavily on jargon and technical language will contain headings that might not be clear to every reader. That’s fine as long as you keep your reader’s knowledge level in mind. However, if you don’t need the jargon to give a specific idea of your content, then avoid it.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

At the outset, make a plan for how you will deal with matters of  capitalization , formatting and sequencing of headings. Headings at the same level should be formatted the same. For instance, “Section 2.2” should get the same treatment as “Section 4.1”. They should also have parallel structure .

Often, your style guide or university will offer specific directions on how to approach the capitalization, formatting, and sequencing of headings, so it’s wise to check before you start writing them. For example,  APA headings and MLA headings  require specific formatting.

Using automatic heading styles in Word

To avoid having to format each heading separately, it’s smart to use the heading styles feature offered by Microsoft Word, Google Docs and many other word-processing softwares.

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  table of contents .

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!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy
• Deep learning
• Generative AI
• Machine learning
• Reinforcement learning
• Supervised vs. unsupervised learning

 (AI) Tools

• Grammar Checker
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Text Summarizer
• AI Detector
• Plagiarism Checker
• Citation Generator

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Bryson, S. (2023, July 23). How to Write and Format Headings in Academic Writing. Scribbr. Retrieved September 5, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/effective-headings/

Is this article helpful?

Shane Bryson

Shane finished his master's degree in English literature in 2013 and has been working as a writing tutor and editor since 2009. He began proofreading and editing essays with Scribbr in early summer, 2014.

Other students also liked

Capitalization in titles and headings, apa headings and subheadings, forging good titles in academic writing, "i thought ai proofreading was useless but..".

I've been using Scribbr for years now and I know it's a service that won't disappoint. It does a good job spotting mistakes”

Encyclopedia for Writers

Writing with artificial intelligence, apa headings and subheadings.

• © 2023 by Jennifer Janechek - IBM Quantum
• headings when there are at least two subsections within a larger section.
• using subheadings only when the paper has at least two subsections within a larger section

Table of Contents

APA headings and subheadings refers to the rules for formatting sections of documents in the 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association’s Publication Manual .

A research paper written in APA style should be organized into sections and subsections using the five levels of APA headings. 

Related Concepts:

Notice how sections contain at least two smaller subsections in the example below:

Design  

Participants. , demographics..

Characteristics.

Limitations

Starting with the first level of heading, the subsections of the paper should progressively use the next level(s) of heading without skipping any levels. Major sections of the paper’s main body, including the Method, Results, and Discussion sections, should always be formatted with the first level of heading. However, keep in mind that the Introduction section, which is preceded by the full title of the paper, should be presented in plain type. Any subsections that fall under the major sections are formatted with the next level of heading.

Note that all paragraphs of the main body, including those that fall under subsections of a larger section, still maintain the pattern of indentation, use Times New Roman font, 12 pt., and are double-spaced. There are no extra lines or spaces between paragraphs and headings.

How are the five levels of APA-style headings formatted?

Format each of the five levels of APA-style headings as demonstrated in the example below. Note that while the example features headings titled “First Level,” “Second Level,” and so on, each heading in your paper should be named according to the section it describes. 

First level

The first level of heading is bolded and centered, and the first letter of each word in the heading is capitalized. The paragraph text should be typed on the following line and indented five spaces from the left.

Second level

The second level of heading is bolded and situated flush left, and the first letter of each word in the heading is capitalized. The paragraph text should be typed on the following line and indented five spaces from the left.

Third level

The third level of heading is bolded, indented five spaces from the left, and followed by a period. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the heading and of proper nouns. The first paragraph following this heading should be typed on the same line as the heading.

Fourth level

The fourth level of heading is bolded, italicized, indented five spaces from the left, and followed by a period. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the heading and of proper nouns. The first paragraph following this heading should be typed on the same line as the heading.

Fifth level

The fifth level of heading is italicized, indented five spaces from the left, and followed by a period. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the heading and of proper nouns. The first paragraph following this heading should be typed on the same line as the heading.

Method  (1st level)

Design (2nd level)

        Participants (3rd level)

        Demographics. (4th level)

              Age Group. (5th level)

Limitations  (2nd level)

• For student papers, include only the page number in the top right margin of every page of the paper
• For professional papers, place the page number in the top right margin and the running head in the top left margin of every page of the paper. Running heads should be a shortened version of the paper title.

Brevity - Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity - Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing

Recommended

Academic Writing – How to Write for the Academic Community

Structured Revision – How to Revise Your Work

Professional Writing – How to Write for the Professional World

Authority & Credibility – How to Be Credible & Authoritative in Research, Speech & Writing

Citation Guide – Learn How to Cite Sources in Academic and Professional Writing

Page Design – How to Design Messages for Maximum Impact

Suggested edits.

• Please select the purpose of your message. * - Corrections, Typos, or Edits Technical Support/Problems using the site Advertising with Writing Commons Copyright Issues I am contacting you about something else
• Your full name
• Your email address *
• Page URL needing edits *
• Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Other Topics:

Citation - Definition - Introduction to Citation in Academic & Professional Writing

• Joseph M. Moxley

Explore the different ways to cite sources in academic and professional writing, including in-text (Parenthetical), numerical, and note citations.

Collaboration - What is the Role of Collaboration in Academic & Professional Writing?

Collaboration refers to the act of working with others or AI to solve problems, coauthor texts, and develop products and services. Collaboration is a highly prized workplace competency in academic...

Genre may reference a type of writing, art, or musical composition; socially-agreed upon expectations about how writers and speakers should respond to particular rhetorical situations; the cultural values; the epistemological assumptions...

Grammar refers to the rules that inform how people and discourse communities use language (e.g., written or spoken English, body language, or visual language) to communicate. Learn about the rhetorical...

Information Literacy - Discerning Quality Information from Noise

Information Literacy refers to the competencies associated with locating, evaluating, using, and archiving information. In order to thrive, much less survive in a global information economy — an economy where information functions as a...

Mindset refers to a person or community’s way of feeling, thinking, and acting about a topic. The mindsets you hold, consciously or subconsciously, shape how you feel, think, and act–and...

Rhetoric: Exploring Its Definition and Impact on Modern Communication

Learn about rhetoric and rhetorical practices (e.g., rhetorical analysis, rhetorical reasoning,  rhetorical situation, and rhetorical stance) so that you can strategically manage how you compose and subsequently produce a text...

Style, most simply, refers to how you say something as opposed to what you say. The style of your writing matters because audiences are unlikely to read your work or...

The Writing Process - Research on Composing

The writing process refers to everything you do in order to complete a writing project. Over the last six decades, researchers have studied and theorized about how writers go about...

Writing Studies

Writing studies refers to an interdisciplinary community of scholars and researchers who study writing. Writing studies also refers to an academic, interdisciplinary discipline – a subject of study. Students in...

Featured Articles

• The Complete Guide to APA Format in 2020

APA Headings and Subheadings

• Headings and Subheadings
• Discussion Section
• Websites and Online Sources
• Journals and Periodicals
• Other Print Sources
• Other Non-Print Sources
• In-text Citations
• Footnotes and Endnotes
• Using MyBib Responsibly
• Miscellaneous Questions

There are five levels of headings available to use in an APA formatted paper. These headings indicate the hierchy of the information within the paper.

For example, if your paper contains the standard main sections Method , Results , and Discussion , these should all use the first-level heading.

• Method (level one)
• Results (level one)
• Discussion (level one)

If you want to include Participants and Instruments within the Method section, you would make these a level two heading.

• Participants (level two)
• Instruments (level two)

A subsection of Participants , like Age or Race , would be level three headings. This pattern continues down to level five headings.

• Age (level three)
• Race (level three)

Styling the Different Headings

Each level has specific formatting requirements to make it visibly obvious which level it is. As with all other text in an APA formatted paper, the font size should be 12pt. The differences between each level are as follows:

Level One Heading

Level one headings are centered and bolded, with all major words capitalized (articles and conjunctions are not captalized).

Level Two Heading

Level two headings are similar to level one headings, except are aligned on the left.

Level Three Heading. Level three headings are similar to levels one and two, except they're indented by 5 spaces, followed by a period, and the text following the heading does not start on a new line.

Level Four Heading. The level four heading is identical to level three, except it is also italicized.

Level Five Heading. Finally, the level five heading is identical to level four, except it is no longer bold.

Further Learning

The following video by the University of Maryland is excellent at visually explaining everything on this page.

• Affiliate Program

• UNITED STATES
• 台灣 (TAIWAN)
• TÜRKIYE (TURKEY)
• Academic Editing Services
• - Research Paper
• - Journal Manuscript
• - Dissertation
• - College & University Assignments
• Admissions Editing Services
• - Application Essay
• - Personal Statement
• - Recommendation Letter
• - Cover Letter
• - CV/Resume
• Business Editing Services
• - Business Documents
• - Report & Brochure
• - Website & Blog
• Writer Editing Services
• - Script & Screenplay
• Our Editors
• Client Reviews
• Editing & Proofreading Prices
• Wordvice Points
• Partner Discount
• Plagiarism Checker
• APA Citation Generator
• MLA Citation Generator
• Chicago Citation Generator
• Vancouver Citation Generator
• - APA Style
• - MLA Style
• - Chicago Style
• - Vancouver Style
• Writing & Editing Guide
• Academic Resources
• Admissions Resources

Formatting Research Paper Headings and Subheadings

Different style guides have different rules regarding the formatting of headings and subheadings in a paper, but what information you should actually put into your subheadings is a different question and often up to personal taste. Here we quickly summarize general guidelines, different approaches, and what not to do when choosing headings for a research paper.

Does it matter how I name my sections and subsections?

The main sections of a research paper have general headers and are often journal-specific, but some (e.g., the methods and discussion section) can really benefit from subsections with clear and informative headers. The things to keep in mind are thus the general style your paper is supposed to follow (e.g., APA, MLA), the specific guidelines the journal you want to submit to lists in their author instructions , and your personal style (e.g., how much information you want the reader to get from just reading your subsection headers). 

Table of Contents:

• Style Guides: Rules on Headings and Subheadings
• What Sections and Subsections Do You Need? 
• How Should You Name Your Sections and Subsections?
• Avoid These Common Mistakes

Style Guides: Research Paper Heading and Subheading Format

Headers identify the content within the different sections of your paper and should be as descriptive and concise as possible. That is why the main sections of research articles always have the same or very similar headers ( Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion ), with no or only small differences between journals. However, you also need to divide the content of some of these sections (e.g., the method section) into smaller subsections (e.g., Participants, Experimental Design, and Statistical Analysis ), and make sure you follow specific journal formatting styles when doing so. 

If the journal you submit to follows APA style , for example, you are allowed to use up to five levels of headings, depending on the length of your paper, the complexity of your work, and your personal preference. To clearly indicate how each subsection fits into the rest of the text, every header level has a different format – but note that headers are usually not numbered because the different formatting already reflects the text hierarchy.

APA style headings example structure

Level 1 Centered, Bold, Title Case

Text begins as a new paragraph.

Level 2 Left-aligned, Bold, Title Case

Level 3 Left-aligned, Bold Italic, Title Case

Level 4     Indented, Bold, Title Case, Period . Text begins on the same                    

                                 line and continues as a regular paragraph.

Level 5     Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case, Period. Text begins on the                           

                                 same line and continues as a regular paragraph.

If you only need one section header (e.g. Methods ) and one level of subsection headers (e.g., Participants, Experimental Design, and Statistical Analysis ), use Level 1 and Level 2 headers. If you need three levels of headings, use Levels 1, 2, and 3 (and so on). Do not skip levels or combine them in a different way. 

If you write a paper in Chicago style or MLA style , then you don’t need to follow such exact rules for headings and subheadings. Your structure just has to be consistent with the general formatting guidelines of both styles (12-pts Times New Roman font, double-spaced text, 0.5-inch indentation for every new paragraph) and consistent throughout your paper. Make sure the different formatting levels indicate a hierarchy (e.g., boldface for level 1 and italics for level 2, or a larger font size for level 1 and smaller font size for level 2). The main specifics regarding Chicago and MLA headings and subheadings are that they should be written in title case (major words capitalized, most minor words lowercase) and not end in a period. Both styles allow you, however, to number your sections and subsections, for example with an Arabic number and a period, followed by a space and then the section name. 

MLA paper headings example structure

1. Introduction

2. Material and Methods

2.1 Subject Recruitment

2.2 Experimental Procedure

2.3 Statistical Analysis

3.1 Experiment 1

3.2 Experiment 2

4. Discussion

5. Conclusion

What research paper headings do you need?

Your paper obviously needs to contain the main sections ( Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and maybe Conclusion ) and you need to make sure that you name them according to the target journal style (have a look at the author guidelines if you are unsure what the journal style is). The differences between journals are subtle, but some want you to combine the results and discussion sections, for example, while others don’t want you to have a separate conclusion section. You also need to check whether the target journal has specific rules on subsections (or no subsections) within these main sections. The introduction section should usually not be subdivided (but some journals do not mind), while the method section, for example, always needs to have clear subsections.

How to Name Your Sections and Subsections

The method section subheadings should be short and descriptive, but how you subdivide this section depends on the structure you choose to present your work – which can be chronological (e.g., Experiment 1, Experiment 2 ) or follow your main topics (e.g., Visual Experiment, Behavioral Experiment, Questionnaire ). Have a look at this article on how to write the methods for a research paper if you need input on what the best structure for your work is. The method subheadings should only be keywords that tell the reader what information is following, not summaries or conclusions. That means that “ Subject Recruitment ” is a good methods section subheading, but “ Subjects Were Screened Using Questionnaires ” is not.  

The subheadings for the result section should then follow the general structure of your method section, but here you can choose what information you want to put in every subheading. Some authors keep it simple and just subdivide their result section into experiments or measures like the method section, but others use the headings to summarize their findings so that the reader is prepared for the details that follow. You could, for example, simply name your subsections “ Anxiety Levels ” and “ Social Behavior ,” if those are the measures you studied and explained in the method section. 

Or, you could provide the reader with a glimpse into the results of the analyses you are going to describe, and instead name these subsections “ Anxiety-Like Behaviors in Mutant Mice ” and “ Normal Social Behaviors in Mutant Mice .” While keeping headings short and simple is always a good idea, such mini-summaries can make your result section much clearer and easier to follow. Just make sure that the target journal you want to submit to does not have a rule against that. 

Common Heading and Subheading Mistakes 

Subheadings are not sentences.

If your heading reads like a full sentence, then you can most probably omit the verb or generally rephrase to shorten it. That also means a heading should not contain punctuation except maybe colons or question marks – definitely don’t put a period at the end, except when you have reached heading level 4 in the APA formatting style (see above) and the rules say so.  

Be consistent

Always check your numbering, for example for spaces and periods before and after numbers (e.g., 3.2. vs 3.2 ), because readability depends on such features. But also make sure that your headings are consistent in structure and content: Switching between short keyword headings (e.g., “ Experiment 2 ”) and summary headings (e.g., “ Mice Do not Recognize People ”) is confusing and never a good idea. Ideally, subheadings within a section all have a similar structure. If your first subsection is called “ Mice Do not Recognize People ,” then “ People Do not Recognize Mice” is a better subheader for the next subsection than “Do People Recognize Mice? ”, because consistency is more important in a research paper than creativity. 

Don’t overdo it

Not every paragraph or every argument needs a subheading. Only use subheadings within a bigger section if you have more than one point to make per heading level, and if subdividing the section really makes the structure clearer overall.

Before submitting your journal manuscript to academic publishers, be sure to get English editing services , including manuscript editing or paper editing from a trusted source. And receive instant proofreading and paraphrasing with Wordvice AI, our AI online text editor , which provides unlimited editing while drafting your research work.

Subtitles in an Essay: How to write Subtitles in Essays or Papers

Do you need to know how to write titles and subtitles in essays effectively? The main secret is to ensure that the titles and subtitles you choose represent the content under them.

This article presents reliable ways that you can use to write titles and subtitles.

Can an Essay have Subtitles?

Essays can have subtitles because they are useful writing tools.

Subtitles direct the reader that the main heading has been divided into several parts. However, before using them, it is always important to inquire whether your subject discipline requires their use.

An essay can have subtitles if they help organize the thoughts, arguments and points into sectional topics that support the main thesis. Subtitles help the writer organize written work, especially if it involves a lot of words. Subheadings can be mini-essays because the writer is required to write their introduction, body, and conclusion before ending them.

Remember that subtitles must comprehend the main title because they can make a relevant piece of writing lose meaning.

How to Write Subtitles in an Essay or Paper

To write good essay subtitles, you need to do the following:

Come up with the Subtitles

To come up with effective subtitles, you need to understand the title of your essay clearly. The objective of the whole essay and the main points you want to put across should also be clear to avoid formulating subtitles that do not rhyme with your essay title.

In some essays, subtitles should be from the main to the minor. For example, if the title of your essay is “How the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the United States economy,” you should start with the main effects and proceed to the minor ones.

When formulating them, keep them arranged in this order for easy writing.

Write Clear Subtitles that are Straight to the Point

Subtitles should always be meaningful by themselves. The reader should not read the content to know what the subheading is but instead read the subtitle and know what to expect in the content.

This means that subtitles such as “introduction,” “body,” and “conclusion” should not be used in writing.

When the reader goes through the subheadings in your essays, they should know everything they are to expect concerning the thesis statement.

If there is no logical progression of ideas presented by your subtitles, then you have not arranged them properly, and the reader will likely get confused when going through them.

Write Short and Attention Grabbing Subtitles

Subtitles should always be short. They should only take a few seconds to read. Always try to make them as short as possible because you will explain them in detail.

However, always make sure that they make sense. There is no need to write short headlines if they do not make sense or clearly present what you will write about.

Subtitles should also grab the attention of the reader. Once they see them, they should have the urge to read what it is all about. Subtitles should use a smaller heading font than the main title and be bolded to differentiate them from the normal text.

Can an Essay have Titles

Essays should always have titles. Titles present what essays are all about hence giving the reader insight of what to expect when going through them.

An essay without a title cannot be said to be complete. Any cases of untitled essays must be allowed by the instructor or be in the instructions of the work provided.

How to Write Titles in an Essay

You must do the following to write effective titles for your essays.

Write the Title of the Essay after Writing the Content

You always have the title of your essay in mind as you are writing, but you should write it only after completing the text.

Only when you read the entire text will you be able to word the title correctly. This helps come up with a title that accurately presents what you have written and increases the chance of the title emphasizing what the thesis statement entails.

Always come up with similar titles, and from them, you can choose the most appropriate one for your essay.

Through brainstorming, you are sure that the chances of writing a title that does not go hand in hand are minimal.

Use an Academic Tone

A title of an essay should always have an academic tone that spreads throughout the whole paper. This is why we use third-person language and refrain from using personal opinions in papers or essays.

The language and word choice should depict persuasiveness and strictness and be informative. Any jargon should be avoided because essays are academic writings that are considered official documents.

Make it Catchy

Titles should always grab the attention of the reader. This is achieved by connecting with the reader immediately when they read the title.

This can be done by using questions, stating facts, and avoiding mysterious titles

Use Keywords

The title should contain the keywords in your essay. Both the title and the thesis statement should relay the same message.

Using keywords is also crucial in grabbing the attention of readers. Readers can know what to expect in an essay the most through keywords.

Make it Simple

Do not complicate an essay title. It is the first thing that the reader must easily understand.

Therefore, avoid using vocabulary may prevent the reader from directly grasping what your essay is all about

Follow the Format

Different writing formats require writers to write titles differently. Check out how to structure a paper and get a few things on the best format to use for term papers and research papers.

If formats are specified in the instructions, always follow their guidelines when writing a title. For example, APA format, MLS format, and the Chicago format have different ways of formulating a title, and using one instead of the recommended one can lead to essay failure.

Keep it Short and Accurate

A good title should always grab the reader’s attention without revealing the details of the essay. Even if no word limitations are provided, avoid making titles too long.

A title should always accurately represent what is in your essay and set expectations of what to learn in the essay.

About the Author: Pesh Pally

The Company

[email protected] +1 (213) 221-0069

Enjoy our 3-hour essay Help service

Yes, we deliver on such short deadlines. Our experienced essay writers will write your papers and assignments from scratch.

Just place an order via email and we will handle it for you. Send us an email.

© Copyright 2024 | All Rights Reserved | GradePals.com

Online Learning Resources

Academic skills office, academic skills.

• Introduction
• Academic essays
• Thesis statement
• Question analysis
• Sample essay
• Introduction paragraphs
• Beginner paragraphs
• Perfecting Paragraphs
• Academic paragraphs
• Conclusion paragraphs
• Academic writing style

Using headings

• Using evidence
• Supporting evidence
• Citing authors
• Quoting authors
• Paraphrasing authors
• Summarising authors
• Tables & figures
• Synthesising evidence
• About academic reading
• Identify your purpose for reading
• Some reading techniques
• Effective reading keto diet and alcoholic cirrhosis will uric acid pills lower blood pressure where can you get diet pills how many beets to eat to lower blood pressure 2015 learn about keto diet blood pressure medication makers what diabetes meds cause high blood pressure does lithium cause erectile dysfunction the most extreme weight loss pills for men what can help lower blood pressure it you rum out of meds perscription diet pills will formula 303 lower blood pressure diet v8 splash on keto irwin naturals ripped man reviews just angina raise or lower blood pressure
• Making notes keto diet skin on chicken thighs cons on keto diet federal funding for viagra african penis enlargement custom what kind of yogurt can you eat on keto diet different types of diets to lose weight fast can i have banana on keto diet phen phen diet pills for sale how to lose weight fast fully raw christina sugar bear hair vitamin and keto diet san diego county adolescent sexual health data where can i buy elite max keto diet pills how can i get a prescription for blood pressure medicine forged supplements keto diet ad
• Overcoming reading difficulties lifestyle changes to lose weight forskolin trim diet reviews blood pressure medicine used for does a keto diet make you gain fat medication chart for home a guys dicks what can you naturally take to lower your blood pressure immediately how do i tell if my health insurance will cover diet pills fessiona male enhancement how ro increase your sex drive how to lower yuor systolic blood pressure adam secret extra strength medication cognitive function and high blood pressure g herbal medicine for bp which high blood pressure meds are recalled

Headings are standard for some written forms (e.g. report writing, case studies). However, lecturers can be divided about whether they allow/prefer you to use headings in your academic essays. Some lecturers prefer headings while others don’t want you to use headings. You will need to check your lecturer’s preference. If you do use headings, then use them wisely and correctly.

About using headings

Most students who have just completed secondary studies come to university with the firm belief that you should not use headings in essay writing. The use of headings in formal writing was once restricted to business style writing, such as report writing. However, in more recent times, headings are often used in formal academic writing such as books and journals. Also, texts on the Internet are easier to read on screen if they have headings.

Headings are signposts that focus the reader on the most important content in a piece of writing, and are usually connected to the set question. Provided that they are well structured, a few headings make longer pieces of writing easier to write and easier to read (for the marker). Look at headings systems in your unit reading material, and you will get a ‘feeling’ for their structure and suitability.

It’s easy to see why you need a few rules to help you develop a good system of headings. Compare the following sets of headings then answer the questions that follow:

Read this description of a well-structured set of headings:

• The heading system is clear and logical
• The sub-headings are all at the same level and in the same font style
• The wording of the headings and sub-headings is alike
• If you used this heading system, the reader would not be confused

This description applies to:

Correct! When you see headings set out like this, it becomes obvious that you need to create a plan for your headings before you start. Heading set 1 follows the rules and is logical, whereas Heading set 2 breaks the rules and would send the reader on a ‘chase’ to work out what the writer means. So, take a couple of minutes to work out a consistent plan for using headings and apply it to all of your essays.

In general, you are expected to use headings correctly so that your writing is clear, and it is obvious that you have answered the set question. There are rules to help you to do this.

Click on the links to see more details and examples.

Graded heading system

BEFORE YOU START YOUR ESSAY, HAVE A CLEAR AND LOGICAL HEADING HIERARCHY.

Work out a system of headings that you can use with all of your essays. Headings should be graded at levels to show a clear order of importance (e.g. level 1 – most important; level 2 – next important and so on). You will mainly use one to three levels of headings in your essay, depending on the length of your assignment. For example, most 2000 word essays may only require 3-5 level 1 headings (i.e. a level 1 heading every 2-3 pages). Remember that the aim of using headings is to keep your reader on track. Too many headings and too many levels creates confusion.

When you design a heading system, show the relative importance of headings with the type size, position (e.g. centred or left justified), using boldface, underlining or capital letters. You can follow a recommended pattern or make up your own system—so long as it is clear and consistent. Example: Level 1: CAPITALS , bold, 14pt, centred, space below Level 2: Lowercase , bold, 12pt, left justified, space below Level 3: Lowercase , italics, 12pt, left justified, no space below

Information in logical sections

USE HEADINGS FOR SECTIONS IN YOUR DOCUMENT (NOT FOR EACH PARAGRAPH).

The key to working out your essay sections is to work from your question analysis. Consider the following question:

Many lecturers now approve of the use of headings in academic essays. Consider whether the benefits outweigh the problems for the writers and markers. Identify and discuss the key rules for using headings appropriately in academic essays. (2000 words)

Example of a heading plan for this question:

Level 1 headings INTRODUCTION BENEFITS OF USING HEADINGS PROBLEMS WITH USING HEADINGS RULES TO GUIDE HEADING USAGE CONCLUSION

Level 2 headings (example from one section) The heading RULES TO GUIDE HEADING USAGE could have the following level 2 headings:

Heading hierarchies (3 paragraphs)

Effective wording of headings (2 paragraphs)

Effective wording of headings

WHEN YOU DESIGN YOUR HEADINGS SYSTEM, MAKE SURE THAT THE WORDING IS CONSISTENT.

Use three basic principles to word your headings:

• Keep headings brief (avoid two and three liners)
• Make them specific to the written work that follows
• Follow a PARALLEL structure

For example:

• If you use a question as a heading, then follow that pattern for that heading level and for that section (e.g. if your level 1 heading is What are the rules for heading levels?, then the next level 1 heading would need to be a question also: How do you word headings effectively?).
• If you use a phrase starting with an ‘ing’ word, then follow that pattern for that heading level and for that section (e.g. Designing heading levels; Wording headings effectively).
• If you use a noun phrase, then continue to use noun phrases for that level and for that section (e.g. Design of heading levels; Effective wording of headings).
• You can change your heading style between levels, but you must be consistent at level 1 then in each section (i.e. all level 1 headings should follow the same pattern; each level 2 heading in a section should follow the same pattern.)

Correct punctuation for headings

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU KNOW AND APPLY PUNCTUATION RULES TO YOUR HEADINGS.

Headings can be single words or short phrases and DO NOT require a full stop unless you have used a question as a heading—a question mark is then required. The use of capital letters may follow either of the following approaches provided that you are consistent:

• Minimal capitalisation—only the first word of a title and any proper nouns and names are capitalised (e.g. Punctuation rules for Australian texts)
• Maximal capitalisation—all words are capitalised EXCEPT for articles (e.g. a, an, the), prepositions and conjunctions (e.g. Punctuation Rules for Australian Texts)

INTRODUCE THE TOPIC OF YOUR HEADING IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH FOLLOWING YOUR HEADING.

When you place a heading in the text, it is a signpost for a section of writing. You need to begin the following paragraph with a sentence that introduces the reader to the heading topic and then announce what will be coming in that section in the essay—just as you do in the essay introduction. A heading is not part of the text of your paragraph, so you should not refer to it with a pronoun reference (e.g. this, these, that).

This means that the wording of the heading matches the information of the following section. Do not make the heading part of the first sentence.

What NOT to do

There is much to learn from what is NOT wanted. Following are some of the common mistakes made in the use of headings in formal written work:

Click on the links to see more details.

• DO NOT use headings in smaller documents (i.e. less than a 1000 words)
• DO NOT use too many headings
• DO NOT change the style of heading levels midway through your writing (work out your system and stick to it)
• DO NOT number headings in an essay unless you are asked to
• DO NOT put headings on individual paragraphs (normally a heading applies to a number of paragraphs in a section)
• DO NOT leave a heading at the bottom of a page by itself (‘widowed’ heading)
• DO NOT ‘stack’ headings (e.g. a level 1 heading followed by a level 2 heading without any text in between)
• AVOID using ‘isolated/lone’ headings (e.g. using only one sub-heading with no other sub-headings of that type following)
• AVOID writing headings more than one line long
• AVOID using definite articles (e.g. a, an, the) to begin headings (e.g. ‘ An example problem’ should be ‘Example problem’)

Headings for essay planning

Designing a good headings system is also very helpful for setting up a plan for writing as you can quickly see whether you have included and balanced all of the parts of a question. Make sure your headings match the information you signal in the outline statement of your introduction paragraph.

• Report broken link
• Found an error?
• Suggestions

• Have your assignments done by seasoned writers. We work 24/7. Just email us at:
• [email protected]

Can an Essay Have Subheadings, subtitles or subtopics?

Subheadings in an essay

Subheadings happen to be among the essential sections of an essay. The subheading helps to capture the reader’s attention. Furthermore, the subheading makes the essay to stay more attractive and interesting. 

The subheading restores the reader’s focus on the critical components of the essay as it makes the essay appear more structured. The subheading will be giving a clue of what to expect in the content. 

An essay can have subheadings or subtopics if it is long enough to accommodate many parts with subtopics in each part.

However, the subtopics and subtitles must be consistent with the overall topic by contributing to prove the thesis of the essay. If necessary, the best practice is to limit essay subheadings to 10 words.

While they are not recommended for standard essays, subheadings can help improve the structure of a long essay. They frame the topic of your content. 

Different subheadings exist, which you will include in your essay as a way of indicating their relative importance. Ensure that such subheadings are easy to see at the initial look. Furthermore, they offer minor details, which are great at supporting the key idea in the essay. 

No, but you can only use them when instructed by the teacher. If you are not using them, ensure that your content makes sense and lacks grammatical mistakes. Also, ensure that your paragraphs are short and precise to the point to catch the attention of the reader. 

Need Help with your Homework or Essays?

Tips on how to incorporate subheadings in an essay.

The subheading is a text under the heading that expands on what is on the heading. The same subheading should have the power to hook the audience into reading your piece. They assist the author in saying something which one cannot say in a single headline. 

Authors use the subheadings to make divisions of various chapters.

Notably, the subheading should not be in capital letters.

However, you should capitalize the first letter of the subheading. 

The subheading should perform a subordinate to the higher levels. You can make an irresistible subheading by performing the following actions. 

1. Select the Correct Length 

The correct subheading should take the reader a few seconds to read through. The correct standard should have between 4 to 10 words. The proper practice should ensure that you do not go beyond the length of the headline. 

2. Correct Amount of Information 

You should stick to the most critical information that the reader requires to know. You should avoid explaining everything. You should just provide enough details and leave the curiosity to cause them to continue exploring your essay. 

3. Be Persuasive Enough

One should include the correct amount of persuasion.  The best practice is to use the subheadings for the intended purpose. In other words, it should coerce the reader to convert. 

4. Place the Heading well

The free-standing subheading should end the page; there should be an allowance for the heading space preceding it.

Alternatively, you should move the subheading to the top of the preceding page. That is the incidence where we allow a gap in the text if it is not the end of the chapter. 

5. Number your Heading if Needed

One can opt to number the subheading using a standard numbering system. You can use Arabic numerals and keep the sequence and the flow of your article logical. 

First, it is correct to begin with the most vital points and make the less relevant ones at the bottom. 

6. Be Consistent with the Paragraphs

Ensure that every subheading level appears in the same form. For example, let the subheadings be in the same order without skipping one. In this case, the first subheading will follow the same order if preceding to toe and three and not vice versa. 

The author should determine the number of subheadings to place in an article. Establish that they all follow the pattern of the sub-heading.

More on this, read our guide to writing good essays so that you can learn more about the same and become a better essay writer.

Check out the guide on whether an essay can have bullet points to look at another angle of writing essays.

Get a Brilliant Essay today!

Let our essay writing experts help you get that A in your next essay. Place your order today, and you will enjoy the benefits.

Frequently Asked Questions 

How do you use headings and subheadings in an essay.

The headline is an integral part of an essay because it is the first thing the reader sees before reading the piece. The headline should grab the reader’s attention to encourage them to continue reading the content. 

Besides, we amplify the information in the title by backing them with the subheadings. These subheadings will make the title more relevant by giving minute details about the topic. It is a standard way of organizing your content for the reader to understand your points clearly.  

What words should not be used in an essay?

You should avoid using abbreviations such as won’t, don’t, or can’t. Furthermore, the use of idiom is a no-go -zone. Last but not least, avoid rhetorical questions. 

Josh Jasen or JJ as we fondly call him, is a senior academic editor at Grade Bees in charge of the writing department. When not managing complex essays and academic writing tasks, Josh is busy advising students on how to pass assignments. In his spare time, he loves playing football or walking with his dog around the park.

Related posts

essay writing problems

10 Essay Writing Problems and their Easy Solutions

writing essay on your phone

How to Write an Essay or paper on your Phone: 3 Easy Ways

essay writing is important

7 reasons why Writing is Important in College & in Life

10 Steps on How To Write An “A” Paper

By:   Kristopher Crawford-Dickinson

Step One:                 Follow Directions:   Always, always, always follow the directions you are given.   Part of the assignment is to see if students can follow directions.   Also note that the directions outline the minimal expectations of the paper.   If you do not follow the directions, you are throwing away easy marks.   For example, if you are asked to give 10 sources, give at least 10 sources .   Even better, give two or three more – it shows initiative (always looks good).

Step Two:                “Nail” Introduction:   One of the most important aspects of a paper is to make a good first impression.   TA’s and Professors only have a limited amount of marking time.   Therefore, if the introduction is “nailed”, it will start you off on the right footing.   Incidentally, a “nailed” introduction also helps ensure that you paper is well organized.

A good introduction will have a clear and concise thesis that informs the reader what you are writing about and why you are writing about it.

“Nail” Conclusion:   One of the most important aspects of a paper is to leave a lasting good impression.   Again, TA’s and Professors only have a limited amount of marking time.   Therefore, if the conclusion is “nailed”, it will leave the TA/Professor with a “good feeling” when deciding what the grade should be.

A good conclusion will summarize the main points of the paper.   It will also try to leave the TA/Professor with some “food for thought”.

In the final analysis, it is ironic that the current symbol of justice is a blindfolded woman holding scales.   The symbol is to denote fair and equal justice for justice is to be truly blind and equitable when being delivered.   This, however, is obviously not the case for female tort victims.   The compensation level for their loss of future earning capacity is predicated on a highly gendered construction of equality that is fundamentally rooted in both a patriarchal society and an artificial public-private division and has resulted in a clear compensatory gap between the sexes.   If this situation is not corrected by using the legal means identified above, then perhaps the symbol of justice needs to be changed to a man that is winking one eye at the scales while holding a finger to his smiling mouth in the ‘shush’ pose to reflect the true nature of justice since the current compensatory gap between male and female tort victims is not blind, equitable nor fundamentally just.

Note:   If you “nail” your introduction and conclusion, chances are you will end up with a higher mark (i.e. as long as the body is average, you will likely been given the “benefit of the doubt” on your mark).

Step Three: Treat Paper As An “Hourglass”:   Treat the paper as if it is an hourglass when you are writing it.   Your introduction should start off broad and be narrowed down to your thesis, which should be the last sentence of your first paragraph (represents top of the hourglass).   Your second paragraph should then state how the paper is going to be organized.  

Then, move into the body of the paper (represents the area where the sand passes through).   This is considered the narrow part of the paper because your points of argument are being focused on your thesis.

Your conclusion should start off narrow and then broaden out (represents the bottom of the hourglass).   It starts off narrow because you are summarizing your arguments from your body.   It then broadens out as you leave the reader with some “food for thought”.

Step Four:              Use Subheadings:   Always, always, always use sub-headings in your paper.   They help to organize your thoughts.   Further, each sub-heading can be treated as a mini essay itself with its own introduction, middle and conclusion.   By using subheadings, you ensure that your thoughts remain on topic within a certain limited area (i.e. if you are talking about “A” under a subheading and then somehow “B” gets mixed in then you know that you are getting off track and need to reorganize).

Subheadings make research easier.   It is easier to organize your research around subheadings (i.e. place them in piles according to the subheadings) then to have one big pile of research.   By organizing this way, you only have to look at the sources that deal with the particular subheading you are writing about rather than trying to pick through the entire pile of research.

Subheadings also make the paper easier to write.   Since it is organized, you will have an easier time of writing the paper.   Further, if you do find that you have writers block, you can put the points of argument under each subheading and then organize it later.

Step Five:                Beginning to Write the Paper – Use Point Form:   Writing a paper can be a daunting task for many students.   Often, they find that they have several great ideas that come to them all at once and therefore have difficultly trying to get all of these ideas on paper.   To combat this, write any and all ideas in point form under the appropriate subheadings.   Do not worry about writing in complete sentences, organization, spelling or grammar.   Get the idea out and on paper.

Once all of the ideas are on paper.   Leave it for a while, if possible.   In doing so, you will ensure that you are not too tied up in your paper.   This also avoids the problem of staring at a blank computer screen.

After some time, come back to your paper and organize your points into a logical sequence.   Leave the paper again, if possible.

After some time, come back to your paper and begin to write your points into sentence and paragraph forms.  

Step Six:                   Writing the Paper – Use Short Sentences:   You should try and write in short, concise sentences.   It makes it easier to read.   Further, your ideas will not get lost if the sentences are short.

Step Seven: Writing the Paper – Use Short Paragraphs – The “Hamburger” Method:   Writing a paragraph is like making a good juicy hamburger.   When writing a paragraph, you should try and keep it as short as possible (minimum of 4 sentences and a maximum of seven sentences).   It is difficult to read long paragraphs and the idea can be lost within the paragraph if it is too long or becomes disorganized.   Remember, a paragraph should be organized along a single though/point of argument.   By following this simple recipe, you will ensure a good grade:

                                                The recipe is as follows:

                                                Top Bun      -             Say what you are going to say (1 sentence)

                                                Condiments       -             Say what you say (1 sentence)

                                                Meat                 -             Prove what you say (1 – 4 sentences)

                                                Bottom Bun       -             Say what you said (1 sentence)

Step Eight: Finishing Paper – After Writing Paper, Leave It For 1 Day:   After you have completed writing your paper, leave it for 1 day.   Set it completely aside and do something else (preferably something you enjoy doing).   Then, come back to the paper and reread it to make sure that the paper sounds proper and you are happy with it.

Step Nine:               Completing Paper – Endnotes/Bibliography/Proof Read:   If you are happy with your paper, begin the final process of completing the paper.   First, make sure you footnotes are formatted correctly (refer to citation guide if need be).   Second, make sure your bibliography is properly formatted (again refer to citation guide if need be).   Finally, have your work proof read by someone else to make sure all spelling and grammatical errors are corrected.   If you do not have anybody else to proof read your work, read it aloud to see if it sounds right.   If it does not sound right to you then there is probably a problem.

Note:   When writing a paper, I prefer to use footnotes rather than the bracket method because it makes doing the bibliography easier.   I have found that you can cut and paste your footnotes into a bibliographical form.   After doing this, all you need to do is switch the authors’ names (i.e. place the last name first) and place the sources in alphabetical order.   This saves typing out the bibliography.

Step Ten:                 Start Early:   When writing a paper, start early.   Do not leave it until the last minute.   Most TA’s and Professors can tell who left their paper until the last minute.   Further, by starting early, it provide you with the opportunity to seek help if you need it and wrinkle out any problems well before the paper is actually due.

Note:   The above method of writing a paper is just one method.   It is, however, the method that I use and I find that it is quite useful.   Further, the students in which I have taught this method have also found that it is quite useful.   This, however, does not mean that everyone will find it useful.   Writing a paper can be difficult and everyone has his or her own way.   Above all, you should choose your own way of writing a paper.   If, however, your method is not working, then feel free to try this method.

Note:   Always, always, always remember that when in doubt, ask for help.

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

What should you do if you need more than five heading when writing an APA paper?

(I don't know if this question is appropriate here. I'm going to take a chance.)

If you're writing a paper according to the APA (American Psychology Association) standard and you need more than five levels of headings, what is the appropriate way to solve this?

According to the APA manual (Sixth Edition, page 63), there are five levels of headings that you can use. However, there is nothing mentioned about what to do if you need more than this.

• academic-writing

• I do not know if APA is what I think it is, but maybe this link helps you: blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2009/07/… –  John Smithers Commented Aug 20, 2011 at 16:05
• @John Smithers I edited the main text to make it more clear. Yes, that's the APA I'm talking about. The link doesn't give me any more information though. –  Speldosa Commented Aug 20, 2011 at 16:42

4 Answers 4

I am really having a hard time imagining a paper that would need more than five levels, so my first suggestion would be to give a hard look at the structure of your paper to make sure you're presenting the information as clearly as possible. If you've done this and decided that you do need more levels:

The OWL suggests that APA also allows numbered seriation, bullet points, and letters within paragraphs.

If that doesn't work for you, from my own head, I wonder if you could add categories to the other end of the spectrum via chapters, or parts. I know that's not typical for APA papers, but I don't think it's typical to need more than five levels, either!

Alternatively - if you're writing this for school, ask your teacher/prof. If you're writing it for publication, contact the publisher and see what they'd prefer.

Good luck with it!

The link provided by @John Smithers Five Essential Tips for APA Style Headings which is sourced directly from the APA style blog indicates that a student paper or lengthy article might require two or three levels of headings. However, only something on the scale of a dissertation would require use of a fourth or even fifth level heading. The article is dated July 2009, but it pertains to the APA Publication Manual, Sixth Edition , which remains the most current version as of August 2011.

So if you were writing a paper according to the APA guidelines, you should not use more than three levels of headings, unless writing a lengthy research paper or thesis. Only in that instance would five levels be appropriate. There is no need for a sixth or higher heading according to APA guidelines.

Frustrating. Im editing a friends 400+ Page dissertation, and it requires 6, perhaps 7 levels. Older versions of APA style defined more than 5 levels.

I think I will revert to chapter headings using the old ALL CAPS, BOLD, CENTERED, for level 1.... If I have to force another, then the old Upper and Lower Case, Centered, Underlined might be pressed into service for level 4.

Of course, I'm not asserting this is approved practice, but rather contemplate forcing the issue, and banking on the hope that this won't be a problem. This is for submission of final revisions.

APA Style uses a unique headings system to separate and classify paper sections. There are 5 heading levels in APA.

The 6th edition of the APA manual revises and simplifies previous heading guidelines - regardless of the number of levels, always use the headings in order, beginning with level 1 .

The format of each level is illustrated below:

APA Headings (level, format)

• 1 : Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Headings
• 2 : Left-aligned, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
• 3 : Indented, boldface, lowercase heading with a period. Begin body text after the period.
• 4 : Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase heading with a period. Begin body text after the period.
• 5 : Indented, italicized, lowercase heading with a period. Begin body text after the period.

Thus, if the article has four sections, some of which have subsections and some of which don’t, use headings depending on the level of subordination.

Section headings receive level one format. Subsections receive level two format. Subsections of subsections receive level three format. For example:

In APA Style , the Introduction section never gets a heading and headings are not indicated by letters or numbers. Levels of headings will depend upon the length and organization of your paper.

Regardless, always begin with level one headings and proceed to level two, etc.

Your Answer

Reminder: Answers generated by artificial intelligence tools are not allowed on Writing Stack Exchange. Learn more

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest.

Required, but never shown

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy .

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged academic-writing or ask your own question .

• Featured on Meta
• Bringing clarity to status tag usage on meta sites
• Announcing a change to the data-dump process

Hot Network Questions

• Where is this railroad track as seen in Rocky II during the training montage?
• Can you move between an attack and the attack granted by Horde Breaker?
• What is the relationship between language and thought?
• Circut that turns two LEDs off/on depending on switch
• Vivado warning: extra semicolon in not allowed here in this dialect; use SystemVerilog mode instead
• Setting the desired kernel in GRUB menu
• What qualifies as a Cantor diagonal argument?
• What was IBM VS/PC?
• Can anyone debunk this claim regarding Non Hindus and other religion as per Hindu scriptures
• Using NDSolve to solve the PDEs and their reduced ODEs yields inconsistent results
• Were the common people in Germany ("good germans") morally co-responsible of the war crimes of their government?
• Generate all the free polyominoes who's width and height is no larger than 8
• Colossians 1:16 New World Translation renders τα πάντα as “all other things” but why is this is not shown in their Kingdom Interlinear?
• Humans are forbidden from using complex computers. But what defines a complex computer?
• Background package relying on obsolete everypage package
• How do I prove the amount of a flight delay in UK court?
• What is the optimal number of function evaluations?
• What would be a good weapon to use with size changing spell
• Has anyone returned from space in a different vehicle from the one they went up in? And if so who was the first?
• How is causality in Laplace transform related to Fourier transform?
• How to raise and lower indices as a physicist would handle it?
• What are the most common types of FOD (Foreign Object Debris)?
• In which town of Europe (Germany ?) were this 2 photos taken during WWII?
• Direction of centripetal acceleration

Graduate College Formatting Guide

• Page Numbers (Microsoft Word)
• Page Numbers (Google Docs)
• Page Breaks and Section Breaks
• Headings, Subheadings, and Table of Contents (Microsoft Word)
• Headings, Subheadings, and Table of Contents (Google Docs)
• Inserting Tables and Figures
• Comments and Track Changes
• References, Bibliography, Works Cited
• Landscape Pages & Special Materials

Setting the Normal Style

Set the "normal" style of font.

Before we can set up headings, we'll need to define the format of the text that  isn't  a heading. The "styles" in word set some default formatting for text. Setting up the "Normal" style will create a default font setting to keep the text uniform throughout the document. The Styles pane is located under the HOME tab.

Right click on the "Normal" style to open the Modify option.

This will open a Modify Style Dialog Box. Start by changing the Paragraph formatting. This is located by selecting the Format drop down in the bottom left of the Dialog Box.

There are two things that should be set under the Paragraph settings. Under the INDENTS AND SPACING tab, check to turn on "Don't add space between paragraphs of the same style." Under the LINE AND PAGE BREAKS tab, check to turn on the "Widow/Orphan Control."

Once both of those have been set and you click "okay," you'll be returned to the Modify Style Dialog Box. Now we can set the font formatting. Select the font you wish to use throughout the document, change the font size to 12 point, ensure the line spacing is double spaced, and select the option to remove space between paragraphs (this is indicated by two lines pointing towards each other).

Adding Headings & Subheadings

Inserting headings and subheadings.

Using the same technique we can create a standard for the various types of headings and subheadings used across the thesis. The Thesis & Dissertation Manual generally follows APA style for heading levels. In order to keep headings consistently correct and link the Table of Contents, the Styles function in Word is used. This is going to show you some examples of the formatting required for the headings and how to use the various heading levels. We'll also see how to use styles and update your Table of Contents. 

Modifying Heading Levels to Match Required Formatting

Level 1 headings.

Chapters will be linked to Heading Level 1. If you choose not to have chapters, you will use level 1 for your major headings (typically: Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, etc.). They should be typed in title case, center aligned, and bold. The number of the chapter can be in Arabic or Roman numerals or spelled out so long as it is consistently done throughout the document. The heading should be on one line, so if you are using chapters, it should look something like this:

Chapter 1: Introduction

Once you have formatted a chapter heading, select the text of the chapter heading then right click on Heading 1 in the Styles pane and select "Update Heading 1 to Match Selection." 

Adding More Level 1 Headings

Once you have formatted the first heading and updated the style, you simply need to type the new level 1 heading in title case and then, with your cursor in line with the heading, click on the heading 1 button in the styles pane to format it and link it for your table of contents. Make sure to use this feature every time to ensure all headings are properly linked to your table of contents.

Level 2 Headings

Subsections of your major headings should be the next level down. Level 2 headings will be left aligned, bold, and title case. They should look like this:

Level 2 Heading

Once you have formatted a level 2 heading, select the text of the heading then right click on Heading 2 in the Styles pane and select "Update Heading 2 to Match Selection." 

Adding More Level 2 Headings

Once you have formatted the first heading and updated the style, you simply need to type the new level 2 heading in title case and then, with your cursor in line with the heading, click on the heading 2 button in the styles pane to format it and link it for your table of contents. Make sure to use this feature every time to ensure all headings are properly linked to your table of contents.

Level 3 Headings

If you wish to further subsection your paper, you will use level 3 headings. Level 3 headings will be bold italic, left aligned, and title case. They should look like this:

Level Three Heading

Once you have formatted a level 3 heading, select the text of the heading then right click on Heading 3 in the Styles pane and select "Update Heading 3 to Match Selection." 

Adding More Level 3 Headings

Once you have formatted the first heading and updated the style, you simply need to type the new level 3 heading in title case and then, with your cursor in line with the heading, click on the heading 3 button in the styles pane to format it and link it for your table of contents. Make sure to use this feature every time to ensure all headings are properly linked to your table of contents.

Level 4 & 5 Headings (and beyond)

It is common to find the first 3 heading levels in papers that are as long as a thesis or dissertation. Occasionally, you may find the need to go beyond those levels. It is important to note that for the thesis and dissertation, only the first 3 headings should be included in the table of contents. It is also recommended that you only use the styles function for the first 3 headings because they stand alone on their own line of text. The next heading levels will begin on the same line as the paragraph that starts that section which means that the style function will not work properly. If you were to link the heading, the entire paragraph will appear in your table of contents.

This means that you will need to, carefully, ensure you are formatting the headings manually. Each level should be consistently formatted the same way. APA has standards for levels 4 & 5 which are described here. For heading levels beyond level 5, you should pick a consistent formatting that clearly indicates they are a subsection of the level 5 heading. It is also recommended that you carefully evaluate if this level of heading is truly necessary for your writing.

Level 4 Heading

Level 4 headings will begin on the same line of the paragraph that makes up the section. It will be indented 0.5", much like a normal paragraph indent. The heading will be in title case and bold font with a period at the end of the heading:

            Level Four Heading Here.  Start the first sentence of the paragraph that follows the heading on the same line and continue typing. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc at pellentesque massa. Sed nec urna nec est efficitur iaculis. Etiam efficitur velit id dignissim eleifend. Duis euismod, nisi sed cursus sodales, sem nisi porttitor ante, eu dignissim justo tortor nec mauris.

Level 5 Heading

Level 5 headings will begin on the same line of the paragraph that makes up the section. It will be indented 0.5", much like a normal paragraph indent. The heading will be in title case and bold italic font with a period at the end of the heading:

            Level Five Heading Here.   Start the first sentence of the paragraph that follows the heading on the same line and continue typing. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc at pellentesque massa. Sed nec urna nec est efficitur iaculis. Etiam efficitur velit id dignissim eleifend. Duis euismod, nisi sed cursus sodales, sem nisi porttitor ante, eu dignissim justo tortor nec mauris.

Table of Contents

Once you have added headings and used the styles feature, you will be able to use the word function to "generate" a table of contents. You will need to type "Table of Contents" in bold font, centered at the top of the page you will be inserting your table of contents onto. Then, place your cursor on the next line

From the References tab, click on Table of Contents and select Custom Table of Contents...

From the pop up window, you will want to change the tab leaders to (none) rather than the default. The rest of the default settings will be fine, so click ok once you've done so.

This will populate your table of contents.

From here, you will need to open the style pane to modify some of the formatting of the table of contents.

You will need to locate TOC 1 and click on it, and select "modify" from the drop down list.

TOC 1 style should be bold. If you've properly set up your "normal style" of font (see above), this should be the only modification to your TOC styles that you need to make. If the text is not properly set up and you need to further format it, you can do so from this window.

If set up correctly, your table of contents should look like the image below.

• << Previous: Page Breaks and Section Breaks
• Next: Headings, Subheadings, and Table of Contents (Google Docs) >>
• Last Updated: Jul 23, 2024 9:44 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uni.edu/grad-college-format

This discussion is now closed.

• AQA EPQ subheadings?
• Can I write a 1,500 word essay in one day?
• How in-depth do essay plans need to be?
• EPQ help! sos
• Should I appeal? uni essay
• Tips on improving Sociology A level grade and English Lit for aqa
• Dissertation Chapters
• Struggling already
• English Paper 2
• Politics Edexcel A-level Advice and Preparation
• Geography university essays?
• IGCSE CIE English Language paper 1
• Stuggling to start assignment
• English Language
• Paralysis in starting an assignment
• What kind of questions will she ask about my IRP (Spanish A level)
• A level revision: Am I cooked?
• History coursework OCR
• AQA A Level History
• Just got an A* in my EPQ - AMA

Subheadings in essays?

Related discussions

Last reply 21 hours ago

Last reply 1 day ago

Last reply 1 week ago

Last reply 2 weeks ago

Last reply 3 weeks ago

Posted 1 month ago

Last reply 1 month ago

Last reply 2 months ago

Last reply 3 months ago

Articles for you

How to study effectively for your exams

Finding a university place in Ucas Clearing 2024: 10 top tips to help you get ready

Top 10 tips for Ucas Clearing 2024

Bringing business people into the classroom: what students learn from industry professionals

Try out the app

Continue on web