Section Titles: Arguments not (just) Topics

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Authors writing in history fields typically divide chapters and articles into sections. Each section has a title. The most effective section titles signal not only the section’s topic but also its argument.

One section in my monograph was originally titled, “Medical Museums.” An engaged (and unusually thorough) peer reviewer pointed out my tendency to make section titles that read, in their words, like “bullet points in an outline.” Put another way, the section titles identified a topic without making an argument. I revised this particular section title to “The Museum as an Extension of the Laboratory,” which nods to the section argument.

Academic authors work hard to distill and express clearly each argument in the manuscript, and signaling the argument in section titles undoubtedly furthers this goal. But the practice also helps maintain the reader’s attention. It’s easier for the reader to skip a topic (and a section) that is uninteresting to them than it is for them to forgo engaging with the next argument in the chapter. By signposting the argument in the section titles, the author creates pace in the writing by encouraging the reader to want to learn more.

Not every scholar makes section titles into arguments, but give it a try. The impact of changing a few seemingly minor words might surprise you.

Keep writing (and revising!)—

Katherine

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