Why to Know How to Title an Essay?

Tips to Title an Essay

A title is the first thing that your target audience will see about your work; that’s why you should do your best to create a stunning heading. Are you wondering why? A title is a decisive point that will either encourage people to keep reading or make them feel that it is not worth their time and attention. If you are writing an important project, and want to succeed, then study this comprehensive guide on how to title an essay.

What is an Essay Title?

It doesn’t matter how good or bad your essay is if it doesn’t have a suitable title. Let’s face the truth, did you often read the paper without a catchy heading? Perhaps you missed a lot of such projects as that didn’t encourage you to do this. Even if only a teacher will read the essay, it doesn’t mean that you can create a dull and plain title. It is your reader now, so you should provide the reason to keep studying the paper and getting an awesome reading experience. A good title should explain what the paper will be about. And, in case the title is not interesting, the readers will pass it by. Therefore, crafting an exciting title is a must.

Purpose and Significance of Titles for Essays

A good title is important since it determines the quality of the whole paper. Its purpose is to intrigue the teacher/professor and make them start reading your work. You should write in a way that raises curiosity and make the readers wondering what stands behind such an awesome heading.

The Qualities of a Good Essay Title

Before starting to create a winning title for your essay, it is useful to learn its key qualities. They will help you come up with a really impressive heading:

  • Easy-to-read. Nobody likes complicated titles, even your teacher. Try to stay away from using unknown phrases, complicated structures, and the rest things that will make the readers frustrated.
  • Eye-catching. It is quite evident, yes? Think about your personal choice. Will you be more likely to read the paper that had a boring academic title or the one that comes up with an engaging, fresh heading? Perhaps you will choose the second one, and most people will do it also.
  • Brief. Do your best to create a brief heading, as a long one will only confuse the readers. Demonstrate expertise in conscious writing.
  • Accurate. Despite your topic or discipline, you must not write an inaccurate title for your essay. Do not try to mislead the readers and always give them an idea of what they are going to read about.
  • Active voice. If your title contains some verbs, you should ensure that they are used in Active Voice rather than Passive Voice. Otherwise, the readers will experience difficulties trying to figure out your idea.
  • Believable. Some inexperienced writers make a big mistake when they decide to create a heading that is catchy but still doesn’t have anything in common with the truth. Be sure that your teacher will be angry if you understand that your title doesn’t deliver any sense.

How to Title an Essay Successfully?

There is one rule that you should keep in your mind. When you craft the heading, you create the way it will be identified. The target readers are going to remember the work by its title, so you should take this step seriously. There is a list of helpful tips on how to title an essay that will make your creative process easier:

  1. The first essay, next title. Instead of wasting a lot of time trying to come up with a brilliant title, you’d better start with writing an essay. Afterward, you will know better what title to choose and which one reflects the main idea of your work. In case you feel that a crafted heading doesn’t sound well, then you can choose it later, after completing the project.
  2. Use a thesis statement. Probably you will be impressed, but a thesis statement acts not only as a guide for crafting the essay but for writing the essay title as well. Being a core, a thesis statement is a perfect option for helping you create a catchy, unique heading. Feel free to borrow a few suitable phrases from a thesis statement and use them during the writing process.
  3. Rewrite a famous cliché. Famous clichés and other popular phrases work well as the essay title option. The first reason is that the readers probably know them; the second reason is that they are engaging. But you should be very careful and select only relevant heading so that it sounds suitable and matches the overall context.
  4. Add a quote.  This is a great way to add something new to the heading. You may either write an original quote or rewrite it. In any case, you should make sure that it suits your content. In case you work on a project related to some book, then adding a quote from it will play into your hands.
  5. Mind the essay tone.  It is crucial the tone of the essay and the heading sound the same. Different types of papers have different tones. Hence you should study the tone of the entire text to make the title relevant to it. If your paper discusses some serious issues, then you should place serious phrases to present it by the heading. In case you deal with something funny, then prefer including humorous words.  
  6. Keep it simple. Use simple and understandable words. Otherwise, you will damage the overall effect of your document. Do you want to impress the target audience? Do it with deep knowledge and top writing skills. Let people feel relaxed while reading your essay.
  7. Make it original and unique. You may search for a similar paper and get inspired by them, but you mustn’t copy the headings. Customize the title in accordance with your needs and content.
  8. Add the right words. Your title will describe the essay, so you should use the right words and do not add anything that can distract from the main topic. Otherwise, you will set the wrong impression. It is recommended to use the phrases and terms from the field of your study.
  9. Refuse jargon or shorten words. Exclude using jargon and abbreviations as they are not standard of academic writing. Prefer terms and proper words.
  10. Read the summary. It will help you review the main points, find keywords and phrases that you will be able to use in a title later. Doing this will help you save a lot of time.

Mistakes to Avoid While Writing a Title

It is also important to know what points can play a bad joke with the author. Here are common mistakes that you should be aware of:

  • Writing wrong questions. If you can’t ask a suitable, relevant question, then maybe you have chosen the wrong topic.
  • Negative themes. There are plenty of sensitive themes that you should keep away from, as only one wrong word can spoil the readers’ impression.
  • Sounding too personal. Do not include your previous experience, especially a negative one. Keep your essay professional.
  • Neglecting teacher’s requirements. Make sure that you have understood all requirements set by your teacher. Otherwise, you risk getting a bad grade and spoil your reputation.

Essay Title Examples

The best way to understand how a good title look is to compare it with a bad one. Here are a few examples that will give you a better understanding of how to title an essay:

  • Bad: A Short History of Popular Subcultures and the Way How They Claim Themselves in Quickly – Changeable World
  • Good: Reconsidering Subcultures in Modern Society
  • Bad: The Little Mermaid after 29 Years: How is Sexism Message Sold via Attractive Image
  • Good: The Little Mermaid: Gender Stereotypes Issue

Conclusion

As you can see, the answer to the question of how to title an essay is many-sided. Only after some time of practicing these efficient tips will you be able to craft catchy headings for your own projects easily and quickly. So if you don’t want to lose days and nights trying to come up with an engaging title, then cooperation with a professional company is a great idea. 

Experienced authors will create a heading that matches all the above-mentioned parameters and present you with a simple but at the same time unique title that will grab your target audience’s attention. Mind that a title decides whether the person will keep reading your paper, so do your best to set the right impression.