Titles are the first impression people get of essays, and while they are a tiny part of the essay itself, they can influence your reader's perception of it. In contrast to blog titles encapsulating the blog in one sentence or research paper titles that present a claim, essay titles aim to catch your reader's attention.
There are several things to consider in how to title an essay. The three most important features to note in writing an essay title are:
Although not always necessary, including a catchphrase might come in handy.
If you are to submit a predefined essay assignment, the essay title would already have been decided, but in other instances, like publications, contests, or graduate school applications, the essay title you choose will determine if your essay will be read or discarded.
Every student should know how to write an essay title. Although this process requires a lot of brainstorming, a good understanding of the essay's purpose makes writing it in concise words a simple task.
Humans are sentimental beings, and your essay reader will either love your essay or reluctantly read it based on how you structure the title. Here are a few features every essay title should have.
The essay title must be attractive. Your reader (s) must be intrigued by your title, which should pique their curiosity. No one wants a bland title, and your easy title tells if your article will be boring or exciting.
While you get creative titles for essays, you must not go overboard with an unbelievable title to get your reader’s attention. A title with no substance in the essay is the wiliest. This renders the headline either inaccurate or misleading.
Writing a 30-word essay title makes comprehension difficult for your readers. Essays are not technical writings, and the titles should be nowhere near tricky. You would also do well by staying away from buzzwords or jargon.
Essay verbs should be written in active words rather than in passive words.
There are some essential factors to note when creating an essay title. The following factors should be avoided to ensure that your essay is enticing and grasping to your readers.
Language either attracts or repels readers, and if you want to know how to make a title for an essay, weigh your choice of language. Even if the essay topic is something directly against what you believe in or agree with, desist from using controversial, negative, or offensive language in writing the essay title.
Though using acronyms in your essay makes writing faster, they may mean different things to different people. NYC might mean New York City or No Young Champ to varying sects of people. Endeavor writing your words fully to prevent your audience from misunderstanding your essay.
Essays are professional writings, and details about personal life should be avoided as much as possible. The title should reflect this too, and while it should not be generalized, being too personal is a big red flag.
Titles give your reader an overview of what to expect in your essay. When you have vague titles, your reader will not understand what perspective you are trying to communicate. Specificity is also key for indexing and must not be taken lightly.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to how to title a paper, but there are a few things that will make your essay title stand out. These mainly depend on the writer’s style and the topic the essay is poised to address.
Let’s look at some of these tips.
If your essay can be summarized in five words, what would those words be? This approach is a creative way of getting distinct possibilities for writing a good essay title and can give you several efficient options.
Although this tip is tricky, it could still be an excellent way to captivate your readers’ attention. To get it done effectively, summarize the article into crucial ideas, and look for the questions best addressed by those ideas.
There are different ways to write an essay title. It could be a captivating sentence or phrase from your essay that encapsulates the main idea of your essay. You could also take a common phrase from your essay and twist it to create a unique and interesting title for your essay.
Let’s look at examples of good and bad essay titles; they will also include the reasons for their choices.
BAD: Young children and internet dependency in our modern world
Reason: Too vast and vague, not a creative title for essays.
GOOD: Youth Internet usage - Risks and Opportunities
Reason: Concise and exact.
BAD: Aner Mia Gune
Reason: Unclear for non-Greek-speaking people.
GOOD: The Historical perspective of Greek Marriages - A case of Aner Mia Gune
Reason: Here, the reader understands what they will read about.
BAD: The World’s biggest train
Reason: Not clear enough.
GOOD: A Masterpiece of Technology: How the world’s biggest train was designed
Reason: It is clear.
BAD: The history of Football and how it has developed over the years to accommodate various cultures and strategies.
Reason: Too long and complicated.
GOOD: Football evolution in Phases - Culture, Tactics, Society.
Reason: Informative enough, brief, and to the point.
BAD: “The Help”: Selling a Harmful Racist Message Through Media
Reason: Inappropriate language.
GOOD: The Projection of Skin color stereotyping in “The Help.”
Reason: Appropriate language.
Bad titles cannot convey a sense of perspective to the listener. They are frequently generalized. Including vital information and structure in a title will make it more helpful and persuasive.
After learning how to make an essay title, it is time to move on and look at some samples.
Getting essay title ideas is a systemic process. The different essay types require different strategies for naming them. Below are some examples of good essay titles and the things to note when crafting a befitting title for each essay type.
This type of essay allows you to express your story to your readers.
The focus of these types of essays is on cause-and-effect analysis and research.
This essay focuses on laying out strong supporting points for an argument.
The goal is to convince the audience or reader to see things from your perspective.
This essay is an excellent way to be expressive. The title should show intent.
