Capitalization of "Subsection"

Question

I write a mathematical paper. Do you capitalize "subsection" when you refer to a specific subsection? For example, I would write:

"In Subsection 3 we show ..."

But I would write:

"In the previous subsection we showed that ..."

What is the consensus on that issue?

I would not capitalise in either case and my supervisor would probably complain if I did. Similarly, figure 3 or Figure 3? — nivag, Oct 14 '14 at 14:36

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 14 '14 at 14:38

You've got it right. Think of it like proper nouns vs. pronouns. Compare:

Mr. Jones told me about types of stars; then he explained how they burn hydrogen.

and

Subsection 3 explains about types of stars; the next subsection explains how they burn hydrogen.

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