Headings are not common in all genres.

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Headings may not be necessary in short essays: thesis statements, forecasting statements, well-positioned topic sentences, and transition sentences may be all the cues the reader needs. Headings are rare in some genres, such as essays about remembered events (Chapter 2) and essays profiling people and places (Chapter 3). Headings appear more frequently in such genres as concept explanations, finding-common-ground essays, position papers, public policy proposals, evaluations, and causal analyses (Chapters 4–9). Headings are required in résumés and lab reports (Chapter 22).