Which of these is most useful for making your proposal easier to scan?

Using informative headings significantly enhances the readability and scannability of a proposal. Informative headings provide clear and relevant insights about the content that follows, enabling readers to quickly understand the purpose of each section without having to read everything in detail. This clarity helps potential evaluators or decision-makers navigate through the proposal effectively.

Telegraphic headings, while concise, may lack the necessary context to be truly informative, potentially leaving the reader unclear about the content that follows. Captions serve to indicate and clarify images, tables, or figures but do not directly contribute to the overall structure of the written content. An index assists with locating specific information quickly but does not enhance the immediate scannability of the main body of the proposal itself. Therefore, informative headings stand out as the most beneficial strategy for improving a proposal’s ease of navigation.