Headings are always a good idea

In my humble opinion, headings are by far the most underused trump card in professional writing.

Use headings every 1, 2, or 3 paragraphs. Litter your writing with them.

Why?

Headings make your structure obvious AND your page more visually interesting. A two-for-one. Like I said: trump card.

You can pick from three types of headings

  1. The question – like 'Why?'

  2. The statement – like 'You can pick from three types of headings'

  3. The label – like 'Background'

I'm not a huge fan of the label, but it has its place

Label headings are useful when familiarity and repetition are more important than novelty and interest. 

For example, board members, who have to read piles of papers each month, find things much easier when they know certain sections will come in a certain order each time. Knowing they'll see Purpose, Recommendations, Summary, Risk analysis, and Financial implications really helps them.

See an example of label headings in a letter of advice.

Question headings should mirror your readers' questions

The best question headings are ones that your readers would ask if they were standing in front of you.

If you use a question heading, answer the question straight away in the first sentence. Don't start with an expansive non-answer like There are a number of ways to clean your car. 

Rip in with the answer. Yes. No. Two. Sometimes. And then expand.

See an example of question headings in a government document.

Statements are the ultimate subheading

There's nothing that gets me more excited than a series of statement headings as subheadings.

They show care. Attention. Having thought about something long enough to decide what the messages actually are.

Imagine a skim reader browsing only your headings and subheadings. They can leave your doc after about 10 seconds knowing three or four facts ... but only if ... you use statement headings.

Try it. Scroll up and skim this section. I used four statement headings, and they are what you'll absorb if you skim at pace.

See an example of statement headings in an executive summary.

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