Headings and subheadings

Headings give the reader a clear structure to relate to. In longer texts, it is particularly crucial that the headings are good so that the reader can go directly to the content he or she is interested in. As technical texts, on the contrary to fiction texts, are often not read in order, the headings should be specific. Many longer technical texts use the IMRod structure and then the headings can e.g., be “Method” or “Results”, or variations of e.g. “The results from the interview study” or “Findings from the questionnaires”.

Subheadings

It is wise to use good subheadings if you want the text you are writing to be coherent and easy to navigate. Especially in long texts, it can be useful to have subheadings so that you are easily able to find the part you are looking for. Dividing the text also makes it easier for the writer to organize the text while writing. Subheadings can either be structured or thematic.

Structured subheadings

This type of subheading refers to where in the structure the part fits. Examples of this could be that the subheading is a “introduction”, “method” or “conclusion”. Structured subheading works best in shorter text, where there are fewer topics. If you use structured headings, you do not need structured subheadings.

Thematic subheadings

This type of heading reflects the thematic content of the chapter. For example, you can call a theory chapter “laughter, pauses and hesitation in in-depth interviews” or you can call a conclusion chapter “young people’s media habits continue to develop”. This type of subheading is best suited for long texts, with many topics and chapters.

Which type should i choose?

There are advantages and disadvantages with both structured and thematic subheadings. It is, for example, easier to find the analysis part of a text if you use structured subheadings, men it can also be boring for the reader if all subheadings are structured. If there are many topics covered in the analysis, it could prove difficult to find one specific topic if only structured subheadings are used. Good thematic subheadings can be difficult to create, precisely because they should still help in making the text easier to navigate.

The best solution will often be to choose the middle road, for example by giving introduction, analysis chapters and discussion section thematic subheadings while the method section is called “Method”.

Remember to look through your chapter and paragraphs again so that the heading or subheading matches the content of the text. When you write and change the text, it can easily unreflect the heading.

Kontakt

• Har du spørsmål om oppgaveskriving? - Kontakt NTNU Universitetsbiblioteket
• Har du endringsforslag til siden? - Kontakt Marit Brodshaug​​​​​​​

Innholdet er utarbeidet av

Senter for faglig kommunikasjon (SEKOM) og NTNU Universitetsbiblioteket

​​​​​​​