academic essay heading

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Effective headings

This resource will introduce the use of headings in academic writing, including how to use headings correctly and what value they add to your writing.

What are headings?

Headings are signposts that help you structure longer pieces of writing and allow the reader easily navigate their way around a document. The type of headings used will depend on the format of your writing: for example, a case study will have different headings to a report. Make sure that:

• the heading system is clear and logical
• the sub-headings all have the same font style at that particular level
• the wording of the headings and sub-headings is alike.

It is best to take a couple of minutes to work out a plan for your headings before you start.

Components of an effective heading

Graded levels.

It is common for headings to be graded at levels to communicate a logical structure. Usually it is advisable to use a maximum of three levels, depending on the length of the document. Don’t forget that the aim of using headings is to make it easy for the reader to easily find their way around a written document – using too many headings and levels can create confusion.

Levels are created with the use of font type, font size, position, capital letters, boldface and underlining. You can follow a given pattern or make up your own system so long as it is consistent.

Level 1: CAPITALS , bold, 14pt, centered, space below Level 2: Lowercase , bold, 12pt, left justified, space below Level 3: Lowercase , italics, 12pt, left justified, no space below

The headings used in this resource are a good example of levelling without the use of numbers; however, in longer documents such as reports or theses, numbering is extremely important to assist the reader in keeping track of what section of the document they are reading.

Information distributed into logical sections

Headings should be used to identify a section; they are not to be used for each paragraph. Your analysis of the question will be key to working out your sections and headings.

Question: what are the competitive drivers involved in a differentiation strategy?

1. COMPETITIVE DRIVERS 1.1 Differentiation strategy and current operations Definition of a differentiation strategy Describe the difference of the theory in the previous heading to what is happening in your industry/business 1.2. New strategies Provide the marker with what your group deems a profitable strategy 1.3. Justification Provide reasons for this new strategy and offer evidence of your decision

Linked with the text

You should try to introduce the topic of your heading in the first paragraph following your heading. This will announce to the reader what will be coming up in that section. Remember that a heading does not speak for itself: the text following a heading should always restate and reinforce the main idea of that section, as in the example below.

• Reward and recognition of teaching The reward and recognition of teaching has been a national focus in Australian higher education since…

Headings are usually single words or short phrases without a full stop. The wording, style and punctuation need to be consistent when designing a heading system, especially the use of capital letters. This can be achieved by following these three rules:

• ensure all headings are brief
• ensure the wording of the heading is specific to the text that follows
• follow a parallel structure (editex 2016)

To follow a parallel structure, you need to follow a grammatically consistent pattern for each heading level throughout the document.

With capitalization, you have a choice of maximal or minimal capitalization.

• With maximal capitalization, all words except articles, prepositions and conjunctions are capitalised. Eg. Rivalry among Existing Firms
• With minimal capitalization, only the first word of the title and any proper nouns are capitalised. Eg. Rivalry among existing firms

When using headings do not:

• use too many headings
• change the style of headings within a document
• number the headings unless asked, e.g. numbering is likely to be needed in a long report but not a short document
• leave a heading at the bottom of the page by itself
• stack headings (no text between them)
• write headings more than one line long
• use definite articles to begin headings (e.g. ‘A Function of Business X’ should be ‘Function of Business X’)

Further resources

Editex 2016, ‘ What are headings and why are they important? ’, webpage, Edittex , viewed 19 October 2016, .

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
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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.

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Another part of formatting most academic papers have is what’s known as a “Heading.” The purpose of the heading is to share identifying information about you, the author of this piece of writing, to your audience. The audience for most academic pieces of writing happens to be a specific person, instructor, teacher, or professor, so the information you are asked to include within it generally appeals to that audience. The four lines of information every heading should contain are the following:

• Author’s name (your name)
• Author’s instructor (the person who gave you this assignment)
• Author’s course (the course this assignment was given in)
• Due date (the date the assignment is due to be turned in)

To get an idea of the overall look and setup instruction for this important part of the formatting process, review the steps in the image below.

• Step 1: Select the Home tab at the top left of your screen.
• Step 2: Select the left aligned icon.

Need More Help?

• Study other Writing Lessons in the Resource Center.
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13.1 Formatting a Research Paper

Learning objectives.

• Identify the major components of a research paper written using American Psychological Association (APA) style.
• Apply general APA style and formatting conventions in a research paper.

In this chapter, you will learn how to use APA style , the documentation and formatting style followed by the American Psychological Association, as well as MLA style , from the Modern Language Association. There are a few major formatting styles used in academic texts, including AMA, Chicago, and Turabian:

• AMA (American Medical Association) for medicine, health, and biological sciences
• APA (American Psychological Association) for education, psychology, and the social sciences
• Chicago—a common style used in everyday publications like magazines, newspapers, and books
• MLA (Modern Language Association) for English, literature, arts, and humanities
• Turabian—another common style designed for its universal application across all subjects and disciplines

While all the formatting and citation styles have their own use and applications, in this chapter we focus our attention on the two styles you are most likely to use in your academic studies: APA and MLA.

If you find that the rules of proper source documentation are difficult to keep straight, you are not alone. Writing a good research paper is, in and of itself, a major intellectual challenge. Having to follow detailed citation and formatting guidelines as well may seem like just one more task to add to an already-too-long list of requirements.

Following these guidelines, however, serves several important purposes. First, it signals to your readers that your paper should be taken seriously as a student’s contribution to a given academic or professional field; it is the literary equivalent of wearing a tailored suit to a job interview. Second, it shows that you respect other people’s work enough to give them proper credit for it. Finally, it helps your reader find additional materials if he or she wishes to learn more about your topic.

Furthermore, producing a letter-perfect APA-style paper need not be burdensome. Yes, it requires careful attention to detail. However, you can simplify the process if you keep these broad guidelines in mind:

• Work ahead whenever you can. Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” includes tips for keeping track of your sources early in the research process, which will save time later on.
• Get it right the first time. Apply APA guidelines as you write, so you will not have much to correct during the editing stage. Again, putting in a little extra time early on can save time later.
• Use the resources available to you. In addition to the guidelines provided in this chapter, you may wish to consult the APA website at http://www.apa.org or the Purdue University Online Writing lab at http://owl.english.purdue.edu , which regularly updates its online style guidelines.

General Formatting Guidelines

This chapter provides detailed guidelines for using the citation and formatting conventions developed by the American Psychological Association, or APA. Writers in disciplines as diverse as astrophysics, biology, psychology, and education follow APA style. The major components of a paper written in APA style are listed in the following box.

These are the major components of an APA-style paper:

Body, which includes the following:

• Headings and, if necessary, subheadings to organize the content
• In-text citations of research sources
• References page

All these components must be saved in one document, not as separate documents.

The title page of your paper includes the following information:

• Title of the paper
• Author’s name
• Name of the institution with which the author is affiliated
• Header at the top of the page with the paper title (in capital letters) and the page number (If the title is lengthy, you may use a shortened form of it in the header.)

List the first three elements in the order given in the previous list, centered about one third of the way down from the top of the page. Use the headers and footers tool of your word-processing program to add the header, with the title text at the left and the page number in the upper-right corner. Your title page should look like the following example.

The next page of your paper provides an abstract , or brief summary of your findings. An abstract does not need to be provided in every paper, but an abstract should be used in papers that include a hypothesis. A good abstract is concise—about one hundred fifty to two hundred fifty words—and is written in an objective, impersonal style. Your writing voice will not be as apparent here as in the body of your paper. When writing the abstract, take a just-the-facts approach, and summarize your research question and your findings in a few sentences.

In Chapter 12 “Writing a Research Paper” , you read a paper written by a student named Jorge, who researched the effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets. Read Jorge’s abstract. Note how it sums up the major ideas in his paper without going into excessive detail.

Write an abstract summarizing your paper. Briefly introduce the topic, state your findings, and sum up what conclusions you can draw from your research. Use the word count feature of your word-processing program to make sure your abstract does not exceed one hundred fifty words.

Depending on your field of study, you may sometimes write research papers that present extensive primary research, such as your own experiment or survey. In your abstract, summarize your research question and your findings, and briefly indicate how your study relates to prior research in the field.

Margins, Pagination, and Headings

APA style requirements also address specific formatting concerns, such as margins, pagination, and heading styles, within the body of the paper. Review the following APA guidelines.

Use these general guidelines to format the paper:

• Set the top, bottom, and side margins of your paper at 1 inch.
• Use double-spaced text throughout your paper.
• Use a standard font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, in a legible size (10- to 12-point).
• Use continuous pagination throughout the paper, including the title page and the references section. Page numbers appear flush right within your header.
• Section headings and subsection headings within the body of your paper use different types of formatting depending on the level of information you are presenting. Additional details from Jorge’s paper are provided.

Begin formatting the final draft of your paper according to APA guidelines. You may work with an existing document or set up a new document if you choose. Include the following:

• Your title page
• The abstract you created in Note 13.8 “Exercise 1”
• Correct headers and page numbers for your title page and abstract

APA style uses section headings to organize information, making it easy for the reader to follow the writer’s train of thought and to know immediately what major topics are covered. Depending on the length and complexity of the paper, its major sections may also be divided into subsections, sub-subsections, and so on. These smaller sections, in turn, use different heading styles to indicate different levels of information. In essence, you are using headings to create a hierarchy of information.

The following heading styles used in APA formatting are listed in order of greatest to least importance:

• Section headings use centered, boldface type. Headings use title case, with important words in the heading capitalized.
• Subsection headings use left-aligned, boldface type. Headings use title case.
• The third level uses left-aligned, indented, boldface type. Headings use a capital letter only for the first word, and they end in a period.
• The fourth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are boldfaced and italicized.
• The fifth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are italicized and not boldfaced.

Visually, the hierarchy of information is organized as indicated in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” .

Table 13.1 Section Headings

A college research paper may not use all the heading levels shown in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” , but you are likely to encounter them in academic journal articles that use APA style. For a brief paper, you may find that level 1 headings suffice. Longer or more complex papers may need level 2 headings or other lower-level headings to organize information clearly. Use your outline to craft your major section headings and determine whether any subtopics are substantial enough to require additional levels of headings.

Working with the document you developed in Note 13.11 “Exercise 2” , begin setting up the heading structure of the final draft of your research paper according to APA guidelines. Include your title and at least two to three major section headings, and follow the formatting guidelines provided above. If your major sections should be broken into subsections, add those headings as well. Use your outline to help you.

Because Jorge used only level 1 headings, his Exercise 3 would look like the following:

Citation Guidelines

In-text citations.

Throughout the body of your paper, include a citation whenever you quote or paraphrase material from your research sources. As you learned in Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” , the purpose of citations is twofold: to give credit to others for their ideas and to allow your reader to follow up and learn more about the topic if desired. Your in-text citations provide basic information about your source; each source you cite will have a longer entry in the references section that provides more detailed information.

In-text citations must provide the name of the author or authors and the year the source was published. (When a given source does not list an individual author, you may provide the source title or the name of the organization that published the material instead.) When directly quoting a source, it is also required that you include the page number where the quote appears in your citation.

This information may be included within the sentence or in a parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence, as in these examples.

Epstein (2010) points out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Here, the writer names the source author when introducing the quote and provides the publication date in parentheses after the author’s name. The page number appears in parentheses after the closing quotation marks and before the period that ends the sentence.

Addiction researchers caution that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (Epstein, 2010, p. 137).

Here, the writer provides a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence that includes the author’s name, the year of publication, and the page number separated by commas. Again, the parenthetical citation is placed after the closing quotation marks and before the period at the end of the sentence.

As noted in the book Junk Food, Junk Science (Epstein, 2010, p. 137), “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive.”

Here, the writer chose to mention the source title in the sentence (an optional piece of information to include) and followed the title with a parenthetical citation. Note that the parenthetical citation is placed before the comma that signals the end of the introductory phrase.

David Epstein’s book Junk Food, Junk Science (2010) pointed out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Another variation is to introduce the author and the source title in your sentence and include the publication date and page number in parentheses within the sentence or at the end of the sentence. As long as you have included the essential information, you can choose the option that works best for that particular sentence and source.

Citing a book with a single author is usually a straightforward task. Of course, your research may require that you cite many other types of sources, such as books or articles with more than one author or sources with no individual author listed. You may also need to cite sources available in both print and online and nonprint sources, such as websites and personal interviews. Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.2 “Citing and Referencing Techniques” and Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provide extensive guidelines for citing a variety of source types.

Writing at Work

APA is just one of several different styles with its own guidelines for documentation, formatting, and language usage. Depending on your field of interest, you may be exposed to additional styles, such as the following:

• MLA style. Determined by the Modern Languages Association and used for papers in literature, languages, and other disciplines in the humanities.
• Chicago style. Outlined in the Chicago Manual of Style and sometimes used for papers in the humanities and the sciences; many professional organizations use this style for publications as well.
• Associated Press (AP) style. Used by professional journalists.

References List

The brief citations included in the body of your paper correspond to the more detailed citations provided at the end of the paper in the references section. In-text citations provide basic information—the author’s name, the publication date, and the page number if necessary—while the references section provides more extensive bibliographical information. Again, this information allows your reader to follow up on the sources you cited and do additional reading about the topic if desired.

The specific format of entries in the list of references varies slightly for different source types, but the entries generally include the following information:

• The name(s) of the author(s) or institution that wrote the source
• The year of publication and, where applicable, the exact date of publication
• The full title of the source
• For books, the city of publication
• For articles or essays, the name of the periodical or book in which the article or essay appears
• For magazine and journal articles, the volume number, issue number, and pages where the article appears
• For sources on the web, the URL where the source is located

The references page is double spaced and lists entries in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. If an entry continues for more than one line, the second line and each subsequent line are indented five spaces. Review the following example. ( Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provides extensive guidelines for formatting reference entries for different types of sources.)

In APA style, book and article titles are formatted in sentence case, not title case. Sentence case means that only the first word is capitalized, along with any proper nouns.

Key Takeaways

• Following proper citation and formatting guidelines helps writers ensure that their work will be taken seriously, give proper credit to other authors for their work, and provide valuable information to readers.
• Working ahead and taking care to cite sources correctly the first time are ways writers can save time during the editing stage of writing a research paper.
• APA papers usually include an abstract that concisely summarizes the paper.
• APA papers use a specific headings structure to provide a clear hierarchy of information.
• In APA papers, in-text citations usually include the name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication.
• In-text citations correspond to entries in the references section, which provide detailed bibliographical information about a source.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Headings – Definition, 3 Formats & A Guide For Word

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Headings immediately provide structure and help the reader to find their way around your academic writing . They start a paragraph, chapter, or page and tell you what the following content is about. Learn how to write headings, how long they should be, the difference between headings and titles, what descriptive headings are, and more. With this article, you will learn how to write an effective heading that will get the reader’s attention and encourage them to continue reading.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 Headings in a nutshell
• 2 Definition: Headings
• 3 Headings vs. titles
• 4 Different style guides
• 5 What to pay attention to
• 6 Add a heading in Word
• 7 Technical terms in headings

Headings in a nutshell

Headings are labels used in written content to organize and make it easier to read. They are like signs on a road, telling you what’s ahead or how to find something. In books, articles, or websites, they help break down the text into sections, each focusing on a different topic or idea. They typically come in different sizes, with the most important heading (the main title ) being the biggest, and subheadings getting smaller as they detail more specific points. This structure helps readers quickly find the information they’re interested in and understand the overall flow of the content.

Definition: Headings

When writing academic essays or research papers , you should maintain a logical flow of ideas throughout the work. This is when headings as textual markers come into play. They can be found in documents, web pages, and other written materials that indicate the hierarchy, structure, and organization of content. They organize text into sections and subsections, making it easier for readers to navigate information. Furthermore, they demonstrate the relative importance of different sections through varying levels, such as “Heading 1” for main titles, followed by smaller subtitles for detailed breakdowns. They enhance accessibility, allowing users, especially those with disabilities, to understand the structure of the content more easily. In web content, headings also play a crucial role in search engine optimization (SEO) by helping search engines understand and rank the page content, making it more discoverable to users. Essentially, they are about structuring content to improve readability , navigability, and comprehension.

Special headings

Special headings are specific types that serve unique purposes within a document or publication. These are typically used in academic papers, research articles, reports, or other formal documents to organize and present information in a structured manner. Here are some of the common ones:

• Paper title

Headings vs. titles

Headings and titles play a crucial role in writing academic works in university, school, and even work. However, these two terms serve different purposes. Read on to find out what sets them apart.

Different style guides

There are various style guides used by universities worldwide. However, each of them has its guidelines on formatting, etc. Below, we provide a brief overview of the three most important style guides and their specifications for formatting headlines.

Note: It is important to know in advance that headline-style capitalization refers to a formatting style in which the first and last words are capitalized.

Chicago Style

For the APA style , the following rules apply:

• Level 1: Centered, boldface, title case
• Level 2: Flush left, boldface, title case
• Level 3: Flush left, boldface, italicized, title case

For the MLA style, the following rules apply:

• Level 1: Flush left, boldface, title case
• Level 2: Flush left, title case
• Level 3: Flush left, italicized, title case

For the Chicago Style , the following rules apply:

• Level 1: Centered, boldface or italicized, headline-style capitalization
• Level 2: Centered, regular type, headline-style capitalization
• Level 3: Flush left, boldface or italicized, headline-style capitalization

What to pay attention to

There are certain aspects, when creating a proper heading, you should pay attention to. Below, we’ll explain this and afterward you’re a pro when crafting your paper.

Be descriptive

No repetition.

For your academic essays, you should incorporate some descriptive headings to provide the reader with clear information for easy understanding. When used effectively, the lecturer, or reader will peruse your document and know what it’s about simply by reading the headlines.

Some tips on how to be as descriptive as possible are:

• Be specific by focusing on the section
• Use key terms for more searchability and comprehension
• Avoid ambiguity to prevent confusion
• Wrong: “Products”
• Correct: “Latest Smartphone Models Released in 2024”

The first one is too vague and does not provide specific information about the section’s content. In contrast, the second one clearly describes the information and sets appropriate expectations for the reader.

Chapters cannot have the same content; therefore, the headings can’t be the same, too. Knowing how to write a headline that is as descriptive as possible will help arrange your ideas and give the reader an easy time. Having the same title twice can dilute your work and immensely affect your grading.

Essential tips on how to write a headline without repetition are:

• Varying the lengths
• Using transition words
• Using the thesaurus to get synonyms
• Wrong: Multiple sections titled “Features”
• Correct: “Camera Features” and “Battery Life Features”

In the first example, it is unclear which features are being discussed in each section. The second examples are unique and refer to different paper sections, which helps in differentiating the content and improves the overall clarity.

Add a heading in Word

Firstly, you open up the document in Microsoft Word you’d like to create headlines for. Right at the beginning, you will see the Home tab, where you can also set the font and size. Right in the middle, you will find a fold-out column titles Styles that allows you to format your text into any headline you like (refer to the picture below). If you click on the arrow , you’ll see there are more types of heading , if there isn’t one you like.

That’s how easily you format a headline in a Word document.

Note: You can change the format by simply hovering over the style while marking the text. You do not have to click on the heading style to find out how it’ll look.

If you want to take it one step further, you can even create your own heading style when folding out the Styles tab. You have two choices here. One involves changing an existing headline, whereas the other option involves creating an entirely new one.

• Click on “Create a Style” and then “Modify” to create a new style
• Right-click on an already existing style and customize it by selecting “Modify”

See the images below for a visual representation.

Technical terms in headings

Technical and jargon terms used in headlines of documents may not be understandable to every reader except those familiar with the languages. An example is site language, most commonly found in search engine optimization (SEO).

Different heading levels are used to communicate the site structure to Google. There are different heading ranks and they are referred to as follows:

• H1 = Most important; typically used for the main title of a page/article
• H2 = Section titles; used as content headings
• H3 = Subsection titles; divides the content within a paragraph
• H4 to H6 = Least important; additional, optional levels for structuring

What is a heading?

A heading is a title or label used in written content to organize and indicate the structure of the information. It helps readers navigate through the text and understand its main topics and subtopics.

What is an exemplary heading?

Here’s an example when writing about time management techniques and strategies aimed at enhancing productivity and efficiency in various aspects of life, such as work, school, or personal activities.

• “Effective Strategies for Improving Time Management Skills”

What is the difference between a heading and title?

• A title stands for the whole reading and incorporates its content in a phrase or two.
• A heading only crowns and captures the content of a section or chapter.

Why are headings important in writing?

They convey an overview of what the entire paper is about. The reader is supposed to find out what the entire document is about by going through the headings assigned.

How long should headings be?

A rule of thumb is to never go past one line because it’ll be too long. A good, understandable headline for your sections or paragraphs should intrigue the reader to read more and not be too long to bore them.

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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.

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Basic essay structure

Improve your writing

Organise your essays to demonstrate your knowledge, show your research and support your arguments

Essays are usually written in continuous, flowing, paragraphed text and don’t use section headings. This may seem unstructured at first, but good essays are carefully structured.

How your assignment content is structured is your choice. Use the basic pattern below to get started.

Essay structure

An essay consists of three basic parts:, introduction.

The essay itself usually has no section headings. Only the title page, author declaration and reference list are written as headings, along with, for example, appendices. Check any task instructions, and your course or unit handbook, for further details.

Content in assignment introductions can vary widely. In some disciplines you may need to provide a full background and context, whereas other essays may need only a little context, and others may need none.

An introduction to an essay usually has three primary purposes:

• To set the scene
• To tell readers what is important, and why
• To tell the reader what the essay is going to do (signposting)

A standard introduction includes the following five elements:

• A statement that sets out the topic and engages the reader.
• The background and context of the topic.
• Any important definitions, integrated into your text as appropriate.
• An outline of the key points, topic, issues, evidence, ideas, arguments, models, theories, or other information, as appropriate. This may include distinctions or contrasts between different ideas or evidence.
• A final sentence or two which tells the reader your focal points and aims.

You should aim to restrict your introduction to information needed for the topic and only include background and contextual information which helps the reader understand it, or sets the scene for your chosen focal points.

In most essays you will have a considerable range of options for your focus. You will be expected to demonstrate your ability to select the most relevant content to address your focal points.

There are some exceptions. For example, if an assignment brief specifically directs the essay focus or requires you to write broadly about a topic. These are relatively rare or are discipline-specific so you should check your task instructions and discipline and subject area conventions.

Below are examples of an opening statement, a summary of the selected content, and a statement at the end of the introduction which tells the reader what the essay will focus on and how it will be addressed. We've use a fictional essay.

The title of our essay is: 'Cats are better than dogs. Discuss.'

To submit this essay you also would need to add citations as appropriate.

Example of opening statements:

People have shared their lives with cats and dogs for millenia. Which is better depends partly on each animal’s characteristics and partly on the owner’s preferences.

Here is a summary of five specific topics selected for the essay, which would be covered in a little more detail in the introduction:

• In ancient Egypt, cats were treated as sacred and were pampered companions.
• Dogs have for centuries been used for hunting and to guard property. There are many types of working dog, and both dogs and cats are now kept purely as pets.
• They are very different animals, with different care needs, traits and abilities.
• It is a common perception that people are either “cat-lovers” or “dog-lovers”.
• It is a common perception that people tend to have preferences for one, and negative beliefs about and attitudes towards, the other.

Example of closing statements at the end of the introduction:

This essay will examine both cats’ and dogs’ behaviour and abilities, the benefits of keeping them as pets, and whether people’s perceptions of their nature matches current knowledge and understanding.

Main body: paragraphs

The body of the essay should be organised into paragraphs. Each paragraph should deal with a different aspect of the issue, but they should also link in some way to those that precede and follow it. This is not an easy thing to get right, even for experienced writers, partly because there are many ways to successfully structure and use paragraphs. There is no perfect paragraph template.

The theme or topic statement

The first sentence, or sometimes two, tells the reader what the paragraph is going to cover. It may either:

• Begin a new point or topic, or
• Follow on from the previous paragraph, but with a different focus or go into more-specific detail. If this is the case, it should clearly link to the previous paragraph.

The last sentence

It should be clear if the point has come to an end, or if it continues in the next paragraph.

Here is a brief example of flow between two summarised paragraphs which cover the historical perspective:

It is known from hieroglyphs that the Ancient Egyptians believed that cats were sacred. They were also held in high regard, as suggested by their being found mummified and entombed with their owners (Smith, 1969). In addition, cats are portrayed aiding hunters. Therefore, they were both treated as sacred, and were used as intelligent working companions. However, today they are almost entirely owned as pets.

In contrast, dogs have not been regarded as sacred, but they have for centuries been widely used for hunting in Europe. This developed over time and eventually they became domesticated and accepted as pets. Today, they are seen as loyal, loving and protective members of the family, and are widely used as working dogs.

There is never any new information in a conclusion.

The conclusion usually does three things:

• Reminds your readers of what the essay was meant to do.
• Provides an answer, where possible, to the title.
• Reminds your reader how you reached that answer.

The conclusion should usually occupy just one paragraph. It draws together all the key elements of your essay, so you do not need to repeat the fine detail unless you are highlighting something.

A conclusion to our essay about cats and dogs is given below:

Both cats and dogs have been highly-valued for millenia, are affectionate and beneficial to their owners’ wellbeing. However, they are very different animals and each is 'better' than the other regarding care needs and natural traits. Dogs need regular training and exercise but many owners do not train or exercise them enough, resulting in bad behaviour. They also need to be 'boarded' if the owner is away and to have frequent baths to prevent bad odours. In contrast, cats do not need this level of effort and care. Dogs are seen as more intelligent, loyal and attuned to human beings, whereas cats are perceived as aloof and solitary, and as only seeking affection when they want to be fed. However, recent studies have shown that cats are affectionate and loyal and more intelligent than dogs, but it is less obvious and useful. There are, for example, no 'police' or 'assistance' cats, in part because they do not have the kinds of natural instincts which make dogs easy to train. Therefore, which animal is better depends upon personal preference and whether they are required to work. Therefore, although dogs are better as working animals, cats are easier, better pets.

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Better Essays: Signposting

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Assignments vary in their requirements for formatting and layout. Check for formatting requirements in your course materials or with your course coordinator. Aim for consistency in your formatting. Most assignments are now submitted electronically and formatted as follows:

• Use a clearly legible font and font size (Times New Roman is the most common font and 12 point is the most common size).
• Set page margins to around 1 inch/2.5cm.
• Use 1.5 or double line spacing.
• Keep the space between paragraphs consistent. Two styles are:
• Do not indent paragraphs and leave a blank line between paragraphs. (This is the most common style.)
• Indent the first line of each paragraph, but leave no spaces between paragraphs.
• Ensure text alignment is consistent throughout the document. Assignment guidelines and style guides vary when it comes to text alignment . If you are following APA style , then align text left (also see the annotated sample APA student assignment ).
• For help with formatting in Microsoft Word see Basic formatting .

Always double-check for the formatting requirements of your individual course.

Cover sheet

Assignments that are submitted electronically via Stream will not usually require a cover sheet. If you have been asked to include a cover sheet, then refer to your assignment guidelines, which should detail what is to be included. If in doubt, contact your lecturer or course coordinator directly for clarification.

Most assignments do not require a title page. Usually, it is sufficient to include the assignment title or question at the top of the first page and to place other details (name, student ID number, and course number) in a header . If a cover sheet is included, all the necessary information is already included on the cover sheet. However, title pages are sometimes needed for longer assignments, postgraduate assignments, or certain types of report.

The format of these title pages varies according to the specific requirements of the assignment, but typically contain:

• The title, centred, in the upper half of the page (e.g., about 3 or 4 lines down from the top margin of the page). Your title should be concise and, ideally, no more than a single line. If you have a subtitle, it can be separated from the main title with a blank, double-spaced line. The title should be in bold font and in title case (i.e., the first word of major words over three letters is capitalised). The title font is the same style and size and the rest of the cover page details (e.g., Times New Roman or Calibri, 12pt). Note: According to the 7th edition of the APA style guide, the title (in bold, centred, and title case) should appear on the first line of the first page of text. This may not be necessary, however, and you should ask your lecturer or course coordinator for clarification.
• The author's name and ID number. Use one blank double-spaced line between the assignment title and your centred name and ID. Write your name in full rather than using initials. Your name should be non-bold and the same size and font as the rest of the cover page. Omit all titles, degrees or licenses (e.g., Dr, Ms, Mr, PhD, RN). Multiple authors should be given alphabetically. The lecturer’s name and title (e.g., Dr.). The lecturer’s name should follow a blank, double-spaced line after the class code and name, and be non-bold and the same size and font as the rest of the cover page.
• The due date of the assignment. The due date should follow a blank, double-spaced line after the lecturer’s name, and be non-bold and the same size and font as the rest of the cover page.

If you've been asked to format your title page using APA style, see here for formatting guidelines. See here for an example of a title page formatted according to APA 7th edition guidelines.

Some assignment types require headings and sub-headings, whereas others do not use any.

Essays , for example, do not usually use sub-headings unless you have specific instructions that they can be included. The only sub-heading common in essays is References, for the reference list. Instead of headings, the first sentence of each paragraph should signal the topic to the reader (see essay body paragraphs for more on this).

Reports , on the other hand, often require specific headings, such as Introduction, Discussion, and so forth.

If you are unsure whether to use headings or not, ask your course coordinator for clarification. If you do use headings and sub-headings, keep the style consistent throughout the assignment. If you are using APA style , see here for advice about formatting headings.

Tables and figures

Most assignments do not use appendices, but sometimes you need to include additional information, transcripts, questionnaire details, or raw data. These should go in an appendix.

If there is only one appendix, it is given the title “Appendix”. If there are several appendices, each is given a letter (follow the same order that they are mentioned in the body of the assignment): “Appendix A”, “Appendix B”, “Appendix C”, etc.

The title is used to refer to the appendix in the body of the assignment:

The analysis shows that the mean was well above expected (see Appendix B for details).

Style guides differ on whether the appendices should come before or after the reference list / bibliography.

APA style (the style most commonly used at Massey University) and Massey University's Thesis Presentation Guide put the appendices after the reference list / bibliography.

Page authorised by Director - Centre for Learner Success Last updated on 28 April, 2021

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The writer of the academic essay aims to persuade readers of an idea based on evidence. The beginning of the essay is a crucial first step in this process. In order to engage readers and establish your authority, the beginning of your essay has to accomplish certain business. Your beginning should introduce the essay, focus it, and orient readers.

Introduce the Essay.  The beginning lets your readers know what the essay is about, the  topic . The essay's topic does not exist in a vacuum, however; part of letting readers know what your essay is about means establishing the essay's  context , the frame within which you will approach your topic. For instance, in an essay about the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech, the context may be a particular legal theory about the speech right; it may be historical information concerning the writing of the amendment; it may be a contemporary dispute over flag burning; or it may be a question raised by the text itself. The point here is that, in establishing the essay's context, you are also limiting your topic. That is, you are framing an approach to your topic that necessarily eliminates other approaches. Thus, when you determine your context, you simultaneously narrow your topic and take a big step toward focusing your essay. Here's an example.

The paragraph goes on. But as you can see, Chopin's novel (the topic) is introduced in the context of the critical and moral controversy its publication engendered.

Focus the Essay.  Beyond introducing your topic, your beginning must also let readers know what the central issue is. What question or problem will you be thinking about? You can pose a question that will lead to your idea (in which case, your idea will be the answer to your question), or you can make a thesis statement. Or you can do both: you can ask a question and immediately suggest the answer that your essay will argue. Here's an example from an essay about Memorial Hall.

The fullness of your idea will not emerge until your conclusion, but your beginning must clearly indicate the direction your idea will take, must set your essay on that road. And whether you focus your essay by posing a question, stating a thesis, or combining these approaches, by the end of your beginning, readers should know what you're writing about, and  why —and why they might want to read on.

Orient Readers.  Orienting readers, locating them in your discussion, means providing information and explanations wherever necessary for your readers' understanding. Orienting is important throughout your essay, but it is crucial in the beginning. Readers who don't have the information they need to follow your discussion will get lost and quit reading. (Your teachers, of course, will trudge on.) Supplying the necessary information to orient your readers may be as simple as answering the journalist's questions of who, what, where, when, how, and why. It may mean providing a brief overview of events or a summary of the text you'll be analyzing. If the source text is brief, such as the First Amendment, you might just quote it. If the text is well known, your summary, for most audiences, won't need to be more than an identifying phrase or two:

Often, however, you will want to summarize your source more fully so that readers can follow your analysis of it.

Questions of Length and Order.  How long should the beginning be? The length should be proportionate to the length and complexity of the whole essay. For instance, if you're writing a five-page essay analyzing a single text, your beginning should be brief, no more than one or two paragraphs. On the other hand, it may take a couple of pages to set up a ten-page essay.

Does the business of the beginning have to be addressed in a particular order? No, but the order should be logical. Usually, for instance, the question or statement that focuses the essay comes at the end of the beginning, where it serves as the jumping-off point for the middle, or main body, of the essay. Topic and context are often intertwined, but the context may be established before the particular topic is introduced. In other words, the order in which you accomplish the business of the beginning is flexible and should be determined by your purpose.

Opening Strategies.  There is still the further question of how to start. What makes a good opening? You can start with specific facts and information, a keynote quotation, a question, an anecdote, or an image. But whatever sort of opening you choose, it should be directly related to your focus. A snappy quotation that doesn't help establish the context for your essay or that later plays no part in your thinking will only mislead readers and blur your focus. Be as direct and specific as you can be. This means you should avoid two types of openings:

• The history-of-the-world (or long-distance) opening, which aims to establish a context for the essay by getting a long running start: "Ever since the dawn of civilized life, societies have struggled to reconcile the need for change with the need for order." What are we talking about here, political revolution or a new brand of soft drink? Get to it.
• The funnel opening (a variation on the same theme), which starts with something broad and general and "funnels" its way down to a specific topic. If your essay is an argument about state-mandated prayer in public schools, don't start by generalizing about religion; start with the specific topic at hand.

Remember.  After working your way through the whole draft, testing your thinking against the evidence, perhaps changing direction or modifying the idea you started with, go back to your beginning and make sure it still provides a clear focus for the essay. Then clarify and sharpen your focus as needed. Clear, direct beginnings rarely present themselves ready-made; they must be written, and rewritten, into the sort of sharp-eyed clarity that engages readers and establishes your authority.

Copyright 1999, Patricia Kain, for the Writing Center at Harvard University

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MLA General Format 

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MLA Style specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts and citing research in writing. MLA Style also provides writers with a system for referencing their sources through parenthetical citation in their essays and Works Cited pages. 

Writers who properly use MLA also build their credibility by demonstrating accountability to their source material. Most importantly, the use of MLA style can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism, which is the purposeful or accidental uncredited use of source material produced by other writers. 

If you are asked to use MLA format, be sure to consult the  MLA Handbook  (9th edition). Publishing scholars and graduate students should also consult the  MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing  (3rd edition). The  MLA Handbook  is available in most writing centers and reference libraries. It is also widely available in bookstores, libraries, and at the MLA web site. See the Additional Resources section of this page for a list of helpful books and sites about using MLA Style.

Paper Format

The preparation of papers and manuscripts in MLA Style is covered in part four of the  MLA Style Manual . Below are some basic guidelines for formatting a paper in  MLA Style :

General Guidelines

• Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper.
• Double-space the text of your paper and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). Whatever font you choose, MLA recommends that the regular and italics type styles contrast enough that they are each distinct from one another. The font size should be 12 pt.
• Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks (unless otherwise prompted by your instructor).
• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.
• Indent the first line of each paragraph one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the “Tab” key as opposed to pushing the space bar five times.
• Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor may ask that you omit the number on your first page. Always follow your instructor's guidelines.)
• Use italics throughout your essay to indicate the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, provide emphasis.
• If you have any endnotes, include them on a separate page before your Works Cited page. Entitle the section Notes (centered, unformatted).

Formatting the First Page of Your Paper

• Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested or the paper is assigned as a group project. In the case of a group project, list all names of the contributors, giving each name its own line in the header, followed by the remaining MLA header requirements as described below. Format the remainder of the page as requested by the instructor.
• In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Again, be sure to use double-spaced text.
• Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks. Write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters.
• Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text. For example:  Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas  as Morality Play; Human Weariness in "After Apple Picking"
• Double space between the title and the first line of the text.
• Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number. Number all pages consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor or other readers may ask that you omit the last name/page number header on your first page. Always follow instructor guidelines.)

Here is a sample of the first page of a paper in MLA style:

The First Page of an MLA Paper

Section Headings

Writers sometimes use section headings to improve a document’s readability. These sections may include individual chapters or other named parts of a book or essay.

MLA recommends that when dividing an essay into sections you number those sections with an Arabic number and a period followed by a space and the section name.

MLA does not have a prescribed system of headings for books (for more information on headings, please see page 146 in the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing , 3rd edition). If you are only using one level of headings, meaning that all of the sections are distinct and parallel and have no additional sections that fit within them, MLA recommends that these sections resemble one another grammatically. For instance, if your headings are typically short phrases, make all of the headings short phrases (and not, for example, full sentences). Otherwise, the formatting is up to you. It should, however, be consistent throughout the document.

If you employ multiple levels of headings (some of your sections have sections within sections), you may want to provide a key of your chosen level headings and their formatting to your instructor or editor.

Sample Section Headings

The following sample headings are meant to be used only as a reference. You may employ whatever system of formatting that works best for you so long as it remains consistent throughout the document.

Formatted, unnumbered:

Level 1 Heading: bold, flush left

Level 2 Heading: italics, flush left

Level 3 Heading: centered, bold

Level 4 Heading: centered, italics

Level 5 Heading: underlined, flush left

Essay writing: Formatting

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Jump to content on this page:

Essays are formal documents and should look professional Advice from the Skills Team

Whilst there are no hard rules about how you format essays, there are some conventions and common practices that are best to follow. If you use the settings on this page, you will produce an acceptably formatted essay.

Document layout

Margins - between 2 cm and 2.54 cm (1 inch) all around.

Line spacing - either 1.5 or double-line spacing.

Paragraph spacing - either 1 clear line between or at least 8 pt space after each paragraph (more if double-line spaced)

Alignment - left aligned (fully justified with a straight right-edge is not recommended as this reduces readability and accessibility). Some longer essays may require subheadings which should also be left-aligned.

Indents - no indents on first lines of paragraphs are needed.

It is also good practice to put your student number and module number in the header of the document and a page number at the bottom of the page.

Text formatting

Font - the default font that comes with MS Word (currently Calibri) is fine for academic work. You may see persistent advice in handbooks that suggests you should use Times New Roman or Arial. If you prefer these, you can change it - but this is no longer a requirement.

Font size - fonts should be 11 or 12 point.

Font style - headings and subheadings, if they are required (most essays will not use them), are usually formatted in bold and should be at least 2 point sizes larger than the standard text. Underlining should be avoided as this is seen as rather dated. Some text can be formatted in italics - see our page  Italics, when to use them , for guidance.

Shorter quotations in the text do not need to be italicised and should have double-quotations marks "like this" to indicate they are direct quotations. Longer quotations (what counts as this differs depending on your referencing style) should be created in their own paragraph, single spaced and indented by 1cm from both left and right margins:

For example:

Graduate attributes for employability are described as:

a set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal attributes – that makes graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy. (Yorke, 2006)

The main change in this definition compared to the earlier definition of graduate attributes from Bowden (2000) is that that the attributes are no longer ...

UoH Harvard/APA

Your reference list should be in alphabetical order (by author surname) and single line spaced. There should be a clear line space (or at least 6 pt space) between each reference. All references should be left-aligned with no indentation. For information about how to format individual references, see the Harvard Hull Referencing Guide.

UoH Footnotes

Your reference list should be in alphabetical order (by first author surname) and single line spaced.  All references should be left-aligned and have a hanging indent (all but the first line are indented by approx. 1cm). For information about how to format individual references, see the  Footnotes Hull Referencing Guide.

Other referencing styles

Please see your individual departmental guidance.

We provide here a Microsoft Word template that can be used for your essays. It has the correct layout and formatting, including useful styles.

• Essay template

Download this template to somewhere you can access easily. When you click to open it, it will open a new document based on the template , leaving the original intact.

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The daniel g. calugar foundation awards june zaporojan 2024 academic achievement merit scholarship.

June Zaporojan

LAS VEGAS, May 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Daniel G. Calugar Foundation is pleased to announce that June Zaporojan is one of the 10 recipients of the 2024 Academic Achievement Merit Scholarship. June will receive $10,000 to support her academic pursuits.

The Academic Achievement Scholarship, established by the Daniel G. Calugar Foundation , aims to give back to students by recognizing and rewarding academic excellence. This scholarship is designed for incoming freshmen for the fall 2024 semester, particularly those with well-defined career aspirations, supporting them in their educational and professional journeys.

To be eligible for the Academic Achievement Merit Scholarship, applicants needed to achieve a minimum score of 1500 on the SAT or 34 on the ACT. In addition, candidates underwent a thorough evaluation of their academic accomplishments and articulated goals and objectives as outlined in their application statements.

As part of the application process, students were required to submit an essay, within a 2000-word limit, detailing their career objectives, goals, and how their college experiences would help achieve them. They also had to respond to a prompt about the significant increase in the US federal debt-to-GDP ratio from 1950 to 2023, discussing whether this trend is problematic and how it should be addressed.

June Zaporojan distinguished herself with her scholarship essay focused on national debt. She wrote:

“The fact that the U.S. Federal Debt was 119% of GDP in 2023 is a horrific indicator of where the U.S. economy is heading. This means that future generations will have to work harder, as a significant portion of tax revenue will go towards paying interest on the debt. This is an unprecedented disaster, as the amount paid on interest will continue to rise at a staggering rate.”

She further stated:

“Americans have lost sight of how much better life could be without excessive taxation. Decades ago, a single working parent could support a family of six. Today, a two-parent working household is almost always necessary to meet basic needs.”

Dan Calugar , a financial investor with a background in computer science, law, finance, and business, established the foundation. He majored in computer science at the Air Force Academy and now uses his technical knowledge to design computer programs that identify profitable investment strategies.

The deadline to apply for the Daniel G. Calugar Foundation’s Academic Achievement Merit Scholarship is June 30, 2024.

For more information and to apply, please visit dancalugarscholarship.com .

Media Contact: Name: Dan Calugar Email: [email protected] Organization: Daniel G Calugar Foundation Address: 1 Hughes Center Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89169 Phone:702 302-3204 https://www.dancalugarscholarship.com/

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d99d2378-7349-4156-90d1-1b0ec732bc28

How to Get ChatGPT to Write an Essay

Are you looking to streamline your writing process? Do you want to harness the power of ChatGPT to help you write an essays or blog posts ? I’ll show you how to do it in just a few simple commands. Stick around until the end for a bonus tip that’s super useful if you have a blog.

Using ChatGPT for essay writing offers numerous benefits. It can help overcome writer’s block, generate ideas, and provide a structured approach to essay writing. Additionally, ChatGPT can save time and effort by quickly producing drafts and helping with research.

Generating Ideas

The first step is to get ChatGPT to generate some ideas for us. This not only provides a foundation for your essay but also initiates the learning process for ChatGPT, allowing it to better understand your needs and preferences.

Prompt : Write [number] ideas for [essay topic] .

For example, if you’re writing about importance of discipline in student life, you might ask ChatGPT to generate ideas on this subject.

Outlining Your Essay

Next, it’s time to outline your essay. ChatGPT can assist you in this process by creating a structured outline based on the ideas it generated earlier. Specify the number of the idea you want to expand upon, and ChatGPT will generate an outline for that particular point.

Prompt : Write an essay outline for point [number] with headings .

Writing the Content

With your outline in hand, it’s time to flesh out your essay. Command ChatGPT to write paragraphs for each heading in your outline. By providing clear instructions, you ensure that ChatGPT delivers content tailored to your needs.

Prompt : Write a paragraph for each point and include headings to break it up into sections.

For the commands, we simply tell ChatGPT what we need. The clearer we are, the better the results. If we want headings, we ask for them. If we want more details or paragraphs, we must specify. Otherwise, it may not give us what we want.

Generating the Essay

At this point, we can just ask ChatGPT: “ Turn this into an essay “.

It will take all the points we discussed earlier and create a more readable and formatted essay.

If you have a website or blog, you know Google likes heading and paragraph tags for SEO. Instead of adding these tags manually, ChatGPT can do it for you. Just say “ convert this text into HTML and add heading tags ” and it does it.

To improve your writing and make your academic work easier, check out our post called “ How to Use ChatGPT to Write a Research Paper “.

This guide will provide you with even more insights and tips on leveraging ChatGPT for your research projects.

Don’t miss it!

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Portsmouth High School student named United States Presidential Scholar. How she did it.

PORTSMOUTH – High School Principal Jeffrey Heath has only been an educator in the district for a year, but says that after his first conversation with student council president Margaret “Maggie” Catherine-Lauder, he knew he was conversing with an exceptionally deep thinker. 

It was no surprise to him or other educators in the district that Lauder was one of two Rhode Island students – the first for Portsmouth’s school district – to win the United States Presidential Scholar designation. 

Lauder, along with North Kingstown High’s Ryan Steven Lukowicz , were chosen along with 161 high school seniors nationwide. 

According to a written release from the Rhode Island Department of Education, Lauder and Lukowicz were part of the 60th class of high school seniors to be recognized. The designation honors students who stand out for their educational accomplishments, as well as accomplishments in the arts, career and technical fields. 

“Ryan and Margaret’s leadership and service have set a standard for their peers to follow,” said RIDE Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green in a statement. “Having both served on RIDE’s Student Advisory Council, these U.S. Presidential Scholars have demonstrated a deep commitment to not only their academic success, but enhancing the educational experience for all Rhode Island students. As Ryan and Margaret continue to shine brightly on their path forward, we are proud to celebrate their accomplishments and the collective efforts that have propelled them to such heights.” 

“Ryan and Margaret have demonstrated remarkable academic prowess and leadership throughout their educational careers,” added state Gov. Dan McKee in a statement. “This prestigious designation is well-deserved and a testament to their hard work and the support of Rhode Island educators. I share my sincere congratulations with Ryan and Margaret and wish them the best in their bright futures.”

 Lauder’s guidance counselor Melissa Bellotti-Stien touted Lauder’s leadership skills.  

“Maggie is an exceptional leader who has an innate ability to connect and relate to others. She is a powerhouse as president of her class, and she goes above and beyond to ensure that all school functions and fundraisers that are associated with the Student Council run smoothly,” Bellotti-Stien said recently.  

 “What I admire most about Maggie is that she takes pride in being a mentor to the younger representatives on the council by modeling and teaching them how to take on responsibilities, execute ideas, and promote school camaraderie and spirit.”

Like many good  leaders, Lauder during a recent interview deflected praise. 

“I was very surprised and humbled by receiving this award. All the other students had amazing credentials,” Lauder said “I’m not sure what set me apart from the rest. I do know that my essays were very heartfelt and personal.” 

Her resume, however, speaks for itself. 

Lauder was involved in student government, Model UN, Future Business Leaders of America, the school Green Club, as well as school sports teams – cross country and indoor track, swim and softball. 

Lauder also was an intern with Clean Ocean Access and The Advocacy Project.

“I like being involved and active in many things. It keeps me busy and always learning new things,” Lauder said. 

She joked that when she graduates, she might sleep for a week after her busy senior year. 

But when she is reenergized, she plans on attending the University of South Carolina in the fall and majoring in Business. Lauder says she eventually wants to work in environmental law or policy making. 

Lauder made a strong impression on Heath, the first year-principal at Portsmouth High School. 

“I believe that what set Maggie apart is her unique ability to articulate how various experiences, large and small, have impacted the person that she is and the direction that she is heading in the world,” Heath said.

“Maggie is such a deep thinker. After only a few minutes of conversation, it’s hard not to recognize that you’re communicating with a special person that has an extremely bright future ahead. I’ve worked with many students over my 15 plus years in education and it’s rare that you find an exceptional thinker on Maggie’s level.” 

According to the RIDE release, there were more than 5,700 candidates who qualified for the 2024 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT or ACT exams or through nominations made by chief state school officers, other partner recognition organizations and  YoungArts , the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists.