Format is consistent between documents and writers.It takes only one click to format a heading.There are several reasons to format headings using Word styles (or similar features of other programs): In the end, I chose to place heading styles (first instructions) before the navigation pane (more useful), because you can’t use the navigation pane until you have applied the styles. In this article, “most to least useful information” battled with “first to last instructions”. In explaining reasoning, it’s normally better to give the conclusion before explaining the reasons, preferring because to therefore. In giving information, try going from the most to least important, useful, or common. Within the body of your document, the best order depends on the content and the reader’s needs. If the start of a document really does belong to other information, and you can be sure your reader will see the end, then the end is the next most prominent place to suggest the next steps. So, if you need action from your reader, the safest place to ask for it is where it’s least likely to be overlooked – at the top, or at least in the first paragraph.

When reading other people’s writing, the same lawyers who hope their clients will read everything leading up to their own advice normally go straight to the section headed Conclusion or Executive Summary, even if it’s at the end.Įnd with the call to action or next steps?Ī reader who gets a message in the first screen of an email may not scroll down looking for a second point. They know what they want, and they will skim and scan until they find it. But most readers are not that passive, especially when they are reading on screen. But, if it’s the answer to the reader’s question, won’t they want to read it first? And, if that’s what they want, why not give it to them?Īt this point, lawyers often say they want the reader to see all their reasoning, so the reader will understand the various risks and nuances the lawyer has so carefully explained. That’s the natural place to put the last thing you wrote. It might be the conclusion you reached after considering everything else discussed in the document. Often, the most valuable information in the document is at the end. What does the reader need to know? What information would they read first, if it’s well signposted? Is that at the top? If not, why not? Word’s heading styles and navigation pane make this work even easier. If it isn’t, you needn’t unpick and rewrite: cut and paste a section and only a little editing will be needed to reflect the new order of ideas.

To improve the document’s structure, all you need do is look at the headings, to see if the content is in the right order for the reader. And each heading describes everything that follows until the next heading or the end of the document. Using plenty of good headings normally means that, as well as the document title, each page contains at least one heading for a section or sub-section. Now you’re working in Word, on a longer document.

Let’s assume you’ve already been practising writing good headings by making the subject of every email a short, accurate, informative summary of everything you’ve said, even if it sometimes means sending two short emails instead of one long one.

This blog post is for Microsoft Word users who are working on their headings. Good headings or short sentences: which writing habit improves readability more than any other? I think it must be one of them, I just can’t decide which.

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