The shape of a heading

This post is a draft. It exists to exercise the heading hierarchy — the levels below the title that nothing else on the site currently reaches.

Section headings

A section heading is a ## in the markdown. It is the first level below the article title, and it is set in the grotesque: the technical face, which marks the structure of the argument rather than its voice.

Subsection headings

A subsection heading is a ###. It sits inside a section, so it should read as a step down rather than a change of subject — smaller, quieter, and carrying less of the underline.

Fourth level headings

A #### is deeper still. If this level is being used in practice then it probably wants a treatment of its own, because it is currently the one heading with no rule at all.

A second section, for comparison

Sections are peers of each other. They should be indistinguishable from one another apart from their content, and the same should be true of the subsections beneath them.

A blockquote, to check it has not been swept up in the heading changes.

Some closing text, in the body voice, to make sure the measure and the leading still look right after the headings above.

And one more subsection

Closing the second section with a lower-level heading, so the spacing between a section and the subsection that follows it can be judged.