How to Title an Essay

How to Title an Essay: Have you ever bought a movie because of its irresistible title? That’s the power of a title in your essay. Your audience will read your report after seeing your well-crafted title.

Sadly, students pay less attention to their subject line, and they only care about completing and submitting their essays.  Read on to learn how to title your assignment.

Why title an essay

Titling an essay is as important as writing an impressive introduction. The first thing people see is your title. Whatever name you give your work will determine whether people will continue reading your paper.

The old cliché “do not judge a book by its cover” does not apply in creating your title. No matter how many times this saying is repeated, people decide to read your book primarily because of your title. They want to know what is inside your assignment before they can open it to read.

A title engages your audience. It gives your reader a clue of what you will talk about in your essay. An excellent essay title should serve this purpose. There are a few whom you cannot trust their title to know what they will discuss in the paper.  They use it to surprise you later in the essay, which is also a good thing.

Ways to title an essay

Use the main arguments

The purpose of a title is to tell your readers what you will talk about in your essay.  Paraphrase the main argument into a few words and use it in your title. It will help your audience get an idea of what to expect in your paper.

Use a meaningful title

Craft your title in a way that will show some creativity. Some students take the question, change a few words and make it their title. Creating a title is more than collecting words. It’s a thoughtful process where you have to select meaningful words for your title. Not everything is worth including in your title.

Use a short title

Your title does not have to be too long.  The longest one should be nine words, and the rule applies even when writing a title for a thirty pages essay. Your intention in writing a title should be to make your audience read your introduction and conclusion.

How will they proceed if you have explained everything in your title? Always create suspense in your title by being short

Title each section of your essay

Your essay should have various sections, with each having a subtitle. They help your paper look organized and neat. Besides, your reader will find it easy to read.

Use the correct format for your essay

How you format your title in your coursework writing depends on your recommended referencing method. Each style uses a different title format. Referencing style differs on where to place the title, whether to bold it, and whether to capitalize it.  Ensure you follow these minor details.

Avoid some punctuation marks in your title

Your title does not need to follow some grammar rules.  It’s mostly a collection of creative words rather than a complete sentence. Avoid using periods, colons, and semicolons in your title.  You can use a question mark and quotation marks in your essay.

Avoid grammar errors

Ensure you have double-checked your title after writing. Grammatical errors can turn your readers off. They will create the wrong impression that if you can’t write correctly in your title, you won’t do it in your essay.  Who wants to read a paper full of errors?

Use title case to title an essay

A title case requires you to capitalize each word in your essay.  Avoid capitalizing pronouns, articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.  They make your title look overcrowded.

Use the right tone in the title

Be careful with words in your essay. They determine your readers’ emotions and attitudes towards your paper. Ensure the tone you use in your article is per your subject of study. For instance, if you are writing a research project, ensure your title is objective and not emotional.

Research is based on facts, not feelings or emotions. Your audience can discard your essay for being emotional. The same rule applies when writing reflection papers and personal journals.

Write your main title last

The best title is the one written last because you have a broad idea about your essay.  It’s now easy to summarize your paper in a few words and use them to title an essay.

Final verdict

We have discussed tips that will help you title an essay. Remember to be short, engage your reader and use the right tone in your title. Your reader will read your paper to the end.  Writing service providers may help you create titles for your essays if you face a challenge doing it.