The deadline for your latest writing assignment is mere minutes away. You’re rushing to get the final details together and suddenly realize you’ve forgotten a title. You quickly throw something random on top of the page and submit it to your teacher.
You’re not satisfied with your title, but you vow to do better next time. And you will!
You’ve learned from your mistake: essay titles are not a last-minute detail. They’re an integral part of any piece of written work and should be planned out earlier on in the writing process.
Titles lead to your reader’s first impression of your essay, and the headings help organize your thoughts and make the essay easier to read. Let’s take a look at how you can turn your titles from an afterthought into a well-thought-out writing element.
How Do You Write a Great Title?
People DO judge a book by its cover, and they will judge your essay by its title. So writing a strong title is an important part of starting your writing off on the right foot.
Your essay title has two main functions:
Be clear and concise
Vague titles do not inform the reader. Provide a specific description of what your focus will be. Your audience wants to know precisely what they will be reading.
Bad Example: Oceans
Good Example: Disappearing Ocean Life in the Pacific Rim
Offer an exciting tidbit or interesting fact
If your title is boring, readers will not want to keep reading. Offer them something that will get attention.
Bad Example: How Consumers are Wrongly Spending Money
Good Example: The Seven Million Dollar Mistake
Be unique
Everyone may be writing a college admissions essay, but don’t title yours: My College Admissions Essay. No matter what the prompt, make your title something that stands out from the stack.
Choose a pattern and stick with it throughout the entirety of the assignment. If you start off by having a heading for each paragraph, keep it that way until the end. Also, make sure the format remains the same. If your first heading is in the form of a question, all of the rest should be as well.
Bad Example: Beaches, What is Up With Littering?, I Want to Clean Up the Planet
Good Example: Neglected Beaches, Effects of Litter, Motivated Activists
