The elements of business writing- Rule 15. Use headings and subheadings

发布时间：2011-09-21 11:16:52

System Overview How Staff Attorneys Can Benefit from Using theNew LAWNET Data Base Creating Personalized LettersAlthough brevity in heads and subheads is a virtue, don't be too terse or you'll risk losing in clarity what you gain in conciseness. Our recommendation is that you use subheads or headings that are more descriptive, even if it means increasing the length.Rule 15. Use headings and subheadings.In any document longer than one page, use headings and subheadings to guide your reader through the material.·They break up the text into short sections, which makes your material easier to digest and easier to read.·They enable your reader to locate key points without reading the entire document. If subheads are sufficiently descriptive of the contents of each section, the reader can get the gist of your document by scanning and reading the subheads in sequence.Headings and subheadings serve several purposes:·They provide quick reference points to help the reader find specific information or ideas. Anemployee benefits manual, for example, will have separate sections on major medical, dental, long-term disability, and hospitalization coverage for easy reference.Each section of your document separated by a heading or subhead should cover a single keyconcept or major thought. When you're ready to discuss another topic, write a new subhead and start a new section.Subheads for business documents can be terse and to the point or longer and more descriptive. It depends on the document and your personal style.In a report, for example, each subhead might be the name of a major section - executive summary,background, findings, conclusions, recommendations.Other documents might have more descriptive heads and subheads. A computer manual, for example, might contain subheads like these:Turning on Your Desktop SystemAdding or Deleting Names in the Data BaseSetting up a Data BaseMaintaining Your Files

The elements of business writing- Rule 15. Use headings and subheadings

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