Titles
Goals of Titles:
To make a good impression
To catch the reader's attention
To anticipate the topic
To anticipate the point of view or central idea of the essay
Basic Strategies:
Shorten your thesis statement into the title
Allude to a common "theme" that runs through your essay
Start directly with your topic; then use a colon ( : ) and give a subtitle
Be descriptive, intriguing, clever -- but not funny or "cute"
Writing a Title:
The revision stage is a good time to consider a title because attempting to sum up your essay in a phrase can focus your attention sharply on your subject, purpose, and audience.
Here are suggestions for titling an essay:
1.) A descriptive title announces the subject clearly and accurately. Such a title is almost always appropriate and is usually expected for academic writing. Examples include:
2.) A suggestive title hints at the subject to arouse curiosity. It is common in popular magazines and may be appropriate for more informal writing. Such a title conveys the writer’s attitude and hints at the topic, thereby pulling readers into the essay to learn more. A source for such a title may be a familiar phrase, a fresh image, or a significant expression from the essay itself. Examples include:
3.) A title tells readers how big the topic is. For Ling’s essay on the internet, the title “The Internet” or “Anonymity” would have been too broad, whereas “Lose Your Body” or “Discovering Common Ground” would have been too narrow because each deals with only a part of the paper’s content.
4.) A title should not restate the assignment or the thesis statement, as in “The Trouble with M. Kadi’s Picture of the Internet” or “What I Think About Diversity on the Internet.”
(Taken from Jane E. Aaron’s LB Brief, 3rd ed. p. 33.)