The title is a promise
A title can signal any of these:
- subject
- tension
- governing question
- decision
- surprising relationship
- useful distinction
It should not claim a certainty or scope the body cannot support.
A strong title often becomes easier to write after the central claim is stable. A title chosen too early can quietly pressure the argument to fulfil a catchy framing.
Claim titles versus curiosity titles
A claim title states the position or shift:
"You Cannot Outsource a Process You Cannot Yet Measure"
A curiosity title names the tension without resolving it:
"What Delegation Hid From Me"
Both can work. Choose based on whether the reader benefits from knowing the answer before reading.
Headings should predict the section
Your current editing doctrine rejects decorative conceptual hierarchies unless the source actually establishes them.
A good heading:
"The automation removed the feedback loop"
A weak heading:
"The Invisible Engine"
The second may sound better and tell the reader less.
In long reference documents, functional headings also improve retrieval. The reader should be able to scan the table of contents and reconstruct the argument.