Use headings to highlight your message

- [Narrator] Leslie, our instructor, stands in the middle of a brightly lit office room near a long table with laptops on it. - I have to be honest with you, your readers don't want to read your entire document. They really don't. And you know what? I'll bet that doesn't come as a complete surprise. Your readers are just like you and me, they want to scan documents to find the information they're looking for. - [Narrator] On a blue background, text reads, "Readers scan to decide what they're going to read and in what order." - [Leslie] When readers scan, they choose how much or little to read and in what order so to be a great plain language writer, you've got to provide scannable features. One way to do that is with headings. - [Narrator] The text fades away and the title "Heading" slips in with decorative hexagons in yellow, white, and gray. - [Leslie] You probably know what a heading is but for learning's sake- - [Narrator] Text reads, "A section title, frequently in bold font." - [Leslie] A heading is the title for a section of a document, email or webpage. Most writers bold the headings so they'll stand out. - [Narrator] We return to the instructor. - I'm going to show you two versions of a short proposal, one without headings and one with them. - [Narrator] A simplified design of a paper bears the title, "Proposal: Hire a freelance designer." Lines sit below it, grouped into short paragraphs. - [Leslie] Here's version A. One quick glance and you can see how the lack of headings gives readers an all or nothing choice. Read all the paragraphs to find what they need, or read nothing. Version A requires a lot of effort. - [Narrator] Headings slide in between the paragraphs reading, "Why do we need to hire a freelance designer? Which projects will they work on? How much will they cost and how will we find them?" - [Leslie] Here's version B with headings much clearer. Readers can scan this version and jump easily to the section they want to read. Headings also provide readers with a high level outline of the document. - [Narrator] We return to the instructor. - When your reader can see the structure of your document at a glance, they're more likely to understand the points you're trying to make. Let me show you three types of headings. - [Narrator] On a white background with decorative hexagons, a title reads, "Topic Headings." Bullet points below read "A word or phrase, don't provide much information." - [Leslie] Topic headings are the shortest type of heading. They're just a word or phrase and don't provide much information. - [Narrator] A new slide with the same background is titled, "Statement Headings." Bullet points read, "Clause or sentence, provide a full idea." - [Leslie] Statement headings are longer. They're a clause or a sentence. Statement headings can provide a full idea. - [Narrator] A new slide is entitled "Question Headings." Its bullet points read, "An actual question, demonstrate understanding." - [Leslie] And then question headings. Question headings are a great way to show you understand your reader's questions about your topic. - [Narrator] We return to the instructor. - Let's imagine you're writing a tip sheet for parents on bicycle safety for their kids. The tip sheet includes one paragraph on getting the child's helmet to fit properly, and another on how to choose the right size bike. - [Narrator] A simplified design of a page is titled, "Bicycle Safety for Children." Two paragraphs have headings reading, "Bike Helmet" and "Bike Size." - [Leslie] Topic headings for these two paragraphs might look like this. As you can see, they provide some information, but not much. They make it clear what the topic of the paragraphs will be but they don't tell you anything about the message of the paragraph. - [Narrator] The headings switch out to, "How to properly fit your child's bike helmet" and "How to choose the correct bike for your child's age and size." - [Leslie] If we change them to statement headings, there's a lot more information. If your reader's scanning, you'll provide more support if you write statement headings. - [Narrator] The headings switch out again, now reading, "What steps should I take to properly fit my child's bike helmet?" and "How can I choose the correct bike for my child's age and size?" - [Leslie] And question headings give the document a conversational style, especially if you use your reader's actual questions for the headings. - [Narrator] We return to the instructor. - Some people hold an outdated, anti-heading attitude about writing. They believe that important documents or content should look important. Well, it's time to get over that. Plain language writers aren't oversimplifying their topic, they're helping their readers find the information they need. - [Narrator] Leslie fades to black.