From the course: Writing in Plain English
Join today to access over 24,900 courses taught by industry experts.
Use meaningful headings in your writing
From the course: Writing in Plain English
Use meaningful headings in your writing
- [Instructor] Headings and subheadings make documents easier to read. In fact, one FCC study found that 90% of readers preferred a document with headings, and found it easier to understand, even when it was only half a page long. So what makes a good heading? Well, first, effective headings are short, accurate, and help organize information for readers. Each heading is limited to one idea. If you're writing instructions for an olive oil company ordering page, you don't want a heading that reads, "Ordering and Shipping." You want to break that up into two headings. The good news is that your headings will generally follow from the work you already did creating your outline. It's also important to use simple, clear language your audience understands. Although newspapers often get praised for writing amusing pun headlines, plain language writing is not the place for that. Your headings should help readers scan your document, quickly see the big picture, and quickly find information they…
Practice while you learn with exercise files
Download the files the instructor uses to teach the course. Follow along and learn by watching, listening and practicing.
Download courses and learn on the go
Watch courses on your mobile device without an internet connection. Download courses using your iOS or Android LinkedIn Learning app.