Headings and Subheadings

Section 3.2

Headings and Subheadings

Use frequent descriptive subject headings and subheadings to reveal the structure of your document. Headings identify the subjects that aretreated in sections of your document. Headings are part of awriter's forecasting strategy. They help the reader navigatethrough your document.

Note how the subject heading in the following example signals a shift to the reader.

In North America, yellow fever has not been reported since 1905, when an outbreak inNew Orleans, La., resulted in some 5000 cases and 1000 deaths.²⁴  But in recentyears, much of the southeastern United States has been reinfested with A aegyptimosquitoes, and a yellow fever outbreak could occur.²⁵Improving Yellow Fever Surveillance

In Africa, efforts to improve surveillance for yellow fever were initiated in 1993 in response tothe resurgence of this disease. These efforts have been carried out in the context of ongoingnational communicable disease programs, using . . .

--S. Robertson, et al., "Yellow Fever: A Decade of Reemergence," Journal of theAmerican Medical Association

Be sure that your headings are specific enough to be useful:

Rather than Use
Problem Component contamination
Method Microanalysis of surface contamination
Conclusion Contaminants found

Rather than	Use
Problem	Component contamination
Method	Microanalysis of surface contamination
Conclusion	Contaminants found

## Headings and Subheadings ##

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