Untitled

The Use of Headings when Writing APA Style Papers

One objective of this course is to develop good written communication

skills. Every paper must follow some organization; topics must follow the

author's plan. The APA style guide of written communication is widely

accepted by publishers of books and journals. This is not some esoteric

requirement specific to this course. Writers who do not use headings are

not communicating very well. Your task is to communicate your ideas.

We sometimes hear people say "I know what I mean, I just can't say it."

Think about the validity that statement!

Here are some helpful rules when deciding on how many of which
kinds of heading you should use in writing psychology papers:

Headings are tools --they enable you to communicate easily with your reader.
Each level of heading (1 to 5) tells something about the content under the
heading and levels of detail. A reader should be able to see how your paper
is organized just by scanning the content AND noting the LEVELS of
headings. Only the highest order information (almost like a chapter title)
is presented under level (1) headings. The subordination of headings
(i.e., which levels are used below which) IS the paper's outline.
If you can make an outline of your paper, the levels of the outline will
correspond to the heading levels in the paper. Note: this is not used in
prose writing, only in technical writing.

Do not use more heading levels than absolutely necessary for your
paper topic. We do not use headings just because they are available;
use what best communicates the organization of your paper. Although
you need not use all headings make sure that the headings you do use
are not at widely discrepant levels (e.g., do not only use 1 and 5).
Also note that since your papers are not empirical studies (unlike the Journal
Club articles you read) there is no need to include headings called
Method, Procedure, Results, etc. in your paper! The content and
level of heading depends entirely on your specific paper --what may
work for one person will not work for another.

NEVER include numbers when using a heading;
numbers are used here for reference only.
(Also note that underline is the equivalent of italics when
set in printed type. With modern printers we can use italics directly.)

You need look no further for examples of how to use headings
than your own readings for this course!

________________________________________________________

(1) CENTERED UPPERCASE HEADING

This heading is used in long papers (e.g., major reviews) that have two or more major, and quite different sections all at level (1), (i.e., major sections that also have many subsections). Not used when papers deal with fairly homogeneous subject areas, (i.e., when topics are less separated conceptually among sections). Suggest you do not use this level for your papers.

(2) Centered Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

This heading is useful for most papers and can be sued to identify the major

sections of the paper.Scanning these headings tells the reader the major topics

that organize the paper. This level of heading is always used with other

lower-level headings (e.g., levels 3-5). It is unlikely this heading will be

enough by itself for your papers.

(3) Centered, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

This heading level is used to separate sections that largely belong together

under a "parent" heading, such as level 2. Most useful if there are many

subsections under each level 2 heading.

(4) Flush Left, Underlined, Uppercase and Lowercase Side Heading

This is a very useful heading level. Many papers can get away with just levels (2) and (4).

(5) Indented, lowercase paragraph heading, ending with a period.The
text starts immediately after the period; normal paragraph divisions continue
thereafter. This level is used only if higher order levels have been used
(e.g., 3 and 4).

This level, (5), is especially useful whenever there are number of short
descriptive paragraphs such as would be the case if one were describing
a number of measures (e.g., Self-report, DAS, BDI, Observational, MICS, KPI).

__________________________

Levels of Headings; Publication Manual Fourth Edition (1994) p. 90

Return Writing Links