Headings

Numbered and non-numbered headings are both acceptable styles, though they cannot be used together--you must choose one style and apply it to all the headings in your disquisition.

The most common issues with headings are inconsistent line spacing. Headings, like the paragraph text, should be double-spaced with no additional line spacing above or below the heading.

Contents
  1. Formatting Requirements
  2. Troubleshooting
  3. Resources

Guidelines: Headings

Headings identify new sections of your disquisition and should be visually distinct from your paragraph text. If you use several levels of headings, each level should be easily identifiable from its unique formatting. Levels can be established by their alignment, their font style (bold, underline, italics), or their number. Examples are provided in this section.

  • Formatting – All headings of the same level must share the same formatting throughout the disquisition, including in appendices. For example, if a first level subheading in Chapter 1 is bold, center aligned, and uses title case, then first level subheadings in all other chapters and any appendices must use the same formatting.
  • Running headers – Do not use running headers in the margins at the top of each page in the disquisition. Headings should appear only at the beginning of each section.

Major headings are used at the beginning of the main sections of the disquisition, such as on the Abstract page, the Acknowledgments page, and the first page of each chapter.

Major headings must use the following format:

  • Location – At the top of the first page of a major section (prefatory section, chapter, or appendix).
  • Alignment – Fully centered on the page.
  • Case – Use ALL CAPS in the same type of font as the rest of the disquisition.
  • Font style – Bold font is optional, but if one major heading is bolded, then all major headings in the disquisition must also be bolded.
  • Font size – Use a font size no larger than four points larger than the normal text in the disquisition. For example, if your paragraph text is size 12, then the major headings can be no larger than size 16.
  • Major headings must be included in the Table of Contents, including prefatory sections, chapter headings, and each appendix. Note: The Table of Contents should not include an entry for the “TABLE OF CONTENTS”.

Subheadings are used in chapters to subdivide the chapter content into subsections. If you use several levels of subheadings, the different levels of subheadings must be easily identifiable (either through numbering or formatting).

You can distinguish between different levels of subheadings using italics, bold font, underline, or alignment (centered or left). Subheadings of the same level must share the same formatting method throughout the entire disquisition, including chapters and appendices. For example, if the first level subheading of Chapter 1 is bolded and center aligned, then the first level subheadings in all other chapters and appendices must also use the same formatting.

Subheadings must meet the following requirements:

  • All subheadings should be in either title case (capitalize all major words) or sentence case (capitalize only the first word and any proper nouns), but not both.
  • Not begin a new page unless the heading appears at a natural page break.
  • Not be orphaned from the first paragraph in the section. If a subheading appears on the bottom of a page and the first paragraph in the section appears on the next page, then move the subheading to the next page.
  • Not be in ALL CAPS. Only major headings may be in ALL CAPS.
  • For non-numbered headings, each level of subheading must use unique formatting for that level and this formatting must be consistent throughout the entire disquisition. For example, first level non-numbered subheadings must look different from second level non-numbered subheadings.
  • All headings of the same level must share the same capitalization scheme. Sentence case capitalizes only the first word and proper nouns. Title case capitalizes all words except conjunctions, articles, and prepositions. Either method is acceptable, but it must be consistent.

Numbered headings vs. non-numbered headings

Using numbered headings is optional. When using numbered headings, the following apply:

  • All subheadings in the disquisition must be numbered.
  • You must number major headings for chapters, but do not number major headings outside the chapters, such as the prefatory pages or appendices. Unlike subheadings, the chapter numbers of major headings may be preceded with a label; for example, both "CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION" and "1. INTRODUCTION" are acceptable styles for a major heading.
  • The heading number must be followed by a period, both in the text and in the Table of Contents. For example, the first subheading in the second chapter would be numbered “2.1. Title of Subheading”.

The first number in the section number must correspond to the chapter in which it appears. Subsequent numbers correspond to the heading level and order of appearance of the heading.

Numbered subheadings can use the same formatting method between levels, because the heading numbers indicate the heading level, though we recommend using different formatting for different heading levels to improve the readability of your document. If you use non-numbered headings, then each level of subheading must use a different formatting method to help differentiate between the superior and subordinate subheading.

Relevant Requirements:

  1. When viewing the Tags Pane, tags are visible.
  2. Content is tagged correctly.
  3. The document is bookmarked in a logical reading order.
  4. Non-English text has a corresponding language attribute.

Major headings should be tagged H1, first-level headings should be tagged H2, and so on. If you have any headings with non-English words or phrases, not including Latin or scientific names, that text should have a corresponding language tag.

See our digital accessibility page for more information on these requirements.

Quick Answers

No. You can have chapter headings like "Chapter 1. Introduction" or "Chapter One: Introduction" and use non-numbered subheadings. However, if you place a section number at the beginning of the major heading, such as "1. Introduction", then you should use numbered subheadings.

You may also write out the chapter number ("Chapter One") in the chapter title and use numbered subheadings, however we strongly discourage you from doing so. First, having both major headings and subheadings numbered similarly maintains consistency in style, and second, it can prove extremely difficult to maintain the correct section numbers on subheadings in Word without having an auto-numbered major heading.

You're welcome to use bold and italics to draw attention to paragraph text. Italics are frequently used in Latin names, and like bold text, can be used to emphasize a phrase or passage. However, it must be clear that the text is part of the paragraph text and not a heading. Some style manuals, such as APA, use bold text at the start of paragraphs to signify a new section heading. While these types of headings are not considered headings under the NDSU Graduate School Format Guidelines, they do not conflict with our guidelines either.

When using bold and italics in your paragraph text, we encourage you to think about what your intent is for your reader's experience, and whether they might be able to confuse your bold or italicized text for something else, such as a heading.

Examples of numbered and non-numbered headings

Note the differences in the examples below. For numbered headings, it is acceptable for the second and third level subheadings to both be bolded and left-aligned with no other distinguishing features because numbered subheadings are employed. If you elect to use non-numbered headings, all heading levels must be visually distinct.

Issue: Line Spacing

Requirements:

  • Headings should be double-spaced, with no extra line spacing or blank lines above or below them.

Extra line spacing may come from a variety of sources, though there are two common causes: extraneous line breaks and carriage returns, and incorrectly styled headings. To easily find extraneous line breaks and carriage returns, click the pilcrow icon (¶) on the Home tab or press Ctrl+Shift+8 to enable formatting marks, then remove any extra line breaks above or below your headings.

You should also reapply the appropriate style to your headings by placing your cursor in the heading, then clicking the style in the style pane. Even if a heading shows that it has a style applied, its individual settings may have been altered. Less common are issues with heading style settings, but you can check these settings by right-clicking a style and selecting Modify from the context menu. In the bottom left, open the dropdown menu and click Paragraph; here, verify that the heading is double-spaced with no additional line spacing before or after.

You can also modify the line spacing of a heading directly in its paragraph settings. The paragraph settings dialog box can be accessed by right-clicking the heading and selecting Paragraph from the context menu or by clicking the dialog box launcher arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Paragraph section of the Home tab on the ribbon.

We recommend using styles to apply consistent formatting across similar elements in your document. Each heading level should have its own style, and styles can be changed by right-clicking the appropriate style in the style pane on the Home tab then selecting Modify... from the context menu. In the modify style dialog box, click the Format button in the bottom left, then choose Paragraph... from the context menu. Change the line spacing options to be double-spaced with 0 pts before and after. See our template guide on the Formatting Guidelines, Templates, and Forms page for more information on using styles.

Issue: Major Heading Appears in the Middle of Page

Requirements:

  • Major headings should be in bold font, aligned center to the page, use ALL CAPS, and appear at the top of a new page.

You can force major headings to always appear at the top of new pages by selecting the major heading and enabling the page break before option on the Line and Page Breaks tab of the paragraph settings dialog box. If your major heading uses a style, this setting can be enabled within the style by right-clicking the style within the style pane, then navigating to the setting from Modify... -> Format... (bottom left) -> Paragraph... -> Line and Page Break tab.

We recommend setting page break before because adding blank lines or forcing page breaks to space out content often results in blank lines or blank pages appearing when content shifts due to upstream formatting changes. The page break before setting ensures your major headings stay pinned to the top of whatever page it appears on, even if content above it shifts.

Enable the "page break before" setting
Enable the "page break before" setting to force major headings to appear at the top of a new page.

Issue: Headings at the Top of New Pages Are Not Flush with Page Margin

The most common issue is carriage returns or other line breaks above the content. You can view formatting marks by clicking the pilcrow icon (¶) in the Paragraph group on the Home tab, or using the hotkey CTRL+SHIFT+8. Once enabled, remove any extraneous carriage returns and line breaks. We recommend setting page break before in the paragraph settings for major headings instead of using carriage returns or line breaks because upstream formatting may change during your review.

Another common issue is extraneous line spacing above the heading; ensure the heading is formatted to be double-spaced with 0 pts of line spacing above and below. See the line spacing section above for examples of these settings.

Additionally, you may need to enable "suppress extra line spacing at top of page" if you are using an old template from before July 2025. This is unlikely to affect headings, however it may resolve other issues.

  1. Go to File on the ribbon.
  2. Click Options, near the bottom left.
  3. Click Advanced.
  4. Scroll down to the bottom and enable suppress extra line spacing at top of page.
Suppress line spacing at the top of pages
Access this feature from File tab -> Options -> Advanced, then scroll down to the bottom.

Issue: Heading Alignment

Requirements:

  • Centered headings should be fully centered. Do not add spaces or tab spaces before these headings, which causes them to appear off-center.
  • Left-aligned headings should be flush with the left 1" page margin. Do not add spaces or tab spaces before these headings, which causes them to be indented.

If your centered headings are off-center, check for tab stops or tab spaces in the heading. Tab stops can be seen on the document ruler (enabled from the View tab) or found by opening the "Tabs..." dialog box from the paragraph settings. Tab stops on the ruler appear as black marks, shaped to indicate what alignment the tab stop has. If tab stops are present on the line with the heading, Word may attempt to align the heading around that tab mark rather than centering it on the page. In this case, remove the tab stops.

If a tab space is causing the heading to be out of alignment, remove it. You can view formatting marks by clicking the pilcrow icon (¶) in the Paragraph group on the Home tab, or using hotkey CTRL+SHIFT+8. Tab spaces appear as arrows: "->". (Note that tab spaces should not be used within headings either, such as between the section number and title.)

Issue: Numbered Subheadings Include Label or Major Headings Include Duplicate Section Numbers

Requirements:

  • When using numbered headings, major headings for chapters should be numbered.
  • When using numbered headings, major headings that are not chapters should not be numbered, such as the prefatory pages or appendices.
  • Unlike subheadings, the chapter numbers of major headings may be preceded with a label; for example, both "CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION" and "1. INTRODUCTION" are acceptable styles for a major heading.

Our templates default to using unlabeled major headings, creating major headings formatted like "1. INTRODUCTION". Labels for heading can be edited by right-clicking any section number and selecting Adjust List Indents... from the context menu. To add or remove a label, select the heading level it should apply to, then edit the field under "Enter formatting for number:". For example, if you would like to add chapter labels to your major headings, you can use these settings:

Right-click any section number and click "Adjust List Indents" to edit the formatting for section numbers.
Right-click any section number and click "Adjust List Indents" to edit the formatting for section numbers, such as adding a label to major headings, as shown in this image.

Center for Writers

Email: ndsu.cfw@ndsu.edu Phone: (701) 231-7927 Campus location: Library 16 Contact Page Manager