Title composition: The Column Title

The column title or page header, as the name implies, stands above a column.

In most cases, the column title is separated from the main body text by a line.

There are 2 kinds of column titles:

• dead column title

  living column title

A dead column title only contains the page number. It is referred to as "dead" because there is no additional statement. Another term for a dead column title is folio.

The living column title, apart from the folio, also includes information such as an additional statement, the name of the author, the chapter title etc.

In encyclopedias, there's also a kind of page header: It features that specific page's first or last word.

The column title's composition should be simple and restrained. It should under no circumstance compete against the main title.

The position is arbitrary, but usually it is placed at the top.

Of course, if it is at the top in one work, it must be in the same position for the entire work.