Headlines in Technical Documents
The main goal of technical writing is to explain difficult things in a clear manner. In order to make a large text easier-to-interpret technical writers usually divide information into small blocks and label them with headlines. Headings should be obvious and convey the sense of the section. So how to properly organize your documents? Keep reading this article!
First of all, let’s talk about the technical writing documentation itself. Preferably, use short sentences and keep your language simple. It’ll make your manual more comprehensible. For this purpose present information concisely. So there is no need to describe the history of an engine if a person just wants to change a spark plug. Mostly people use manuals to solve problems. It means that you should make technical documents available for readers.
So what you should do:
· Use appropriate style. Technical documentation should contain information that is to the point. That’s why it’s unacceptable to use jokes, allusions, metaphors and so on. It’ll confuse readers.
· Use simple words. It can be just “Implementation”, “Conclusion”, “Recommendations” or “Appendix”. Headings should describe the information that follows. Of course, it may be difficult to describe the idea of the section by one word. So put significant words at the beginning of the headlines. They’ll attract attention of the readers that will simplify the searching.
· Use subheadings. If the section is large, subdivide the information into smaller blocks by subheadings.
· Be consistent in capitalization style. There are different capitalization rules. For example, capitalization of the first letters of words or the first letters of the first and the last words. But use the same capitalization style for headlines and subheadings.
· Use the similar constructions. For example, if one headline starts with the verb so all headlines should begin with a verb. It’s called “parallel construction”. Of course, it’ll be difficult to follow this rule if your technical writing document has a lot of sections. So use it appropriately.
· Use number for structuring. At the beginning of the headline you may use numbers. Usually Arabic numbers are used for this purpose. So for headings use a period (1., 2., 3.), subheadings start with numerals with one decimal place, followed by a period, (1.1., 1.2., 1.3.) and so on. This method is commonly used for engineering procedures.
As you probably noticed, these tips are organized according to mentioned rules. I think you’ll agree that this way you perceive information easier and faster. So follow my recommendations and your technical writing documents will bring you success.