TOC Length

Subject: TOC Length
From: "George F. Hayhoe" <george -at- GHAYHOE -dot- COM>
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 09:56:21 -0400

I think Reuven Frank was on target in responding to Gillian
Campbell's query about TOC length: It should be long enough
to get the job done. The longer the book or manual, the
longer the TOC is going to be.

The real question isn't how many pages it should be but how
many levels of headings it should include. I usually include
two heading levels below the chapter or major section level.
For a very long book, I might include three levels of
headings below the chapter or major section level. If the
subsections are logically planned and carefully named, and
if the book is indexed (and if it's long enough to require a
TOC, it needs an index), that should provide sufficient
granularity for readers to find what they're looking for.

--George Hayhoe (george -at- ghayhoe -dot- com)

George Hayhoe Associates
Voice: +1 (803) 642-2156
Fax: +1 (803) 642-9325
http://www.ghayhoe.com

Winner
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1997-98 Technical Publications Competition

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