{"id":7752,"date":"2019-07-22T17:00:47","date_gmt":"2019-07-23T00:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/?p=7752"},"modified":"2019-05-31T08:56:13","modified_gmt":"2019-05-31T15:56:13","slug":"how-to-title-an-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/how-to-title-an-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Title an Essay When You’re Absolutely Stumped"},"content":{"rendered":"

Think essay titles don\u2019t really matter? Think your profs don\u2019t care whether you have an interesting and original title? Think again.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a quick math equation to help explain why titles do <\/i>matter.<\/p>\n

English profs often teach 4 classes each semester, with 25 students in each class.<\/p>\n

(4 classes x 25 students = 100 students per semester)<\/p>\n

Students on average write 4 papers each semester.<\/p>\n

(4 papers x 100 students = 400 papers per semester)<\/p>\n

Each academic year consists of 2 semesters.<\/p>\n

(2 semesters x 400 papers = 800 papers per year)<\/p>\n

If your English prof has been teaching for 25 years, he\u2019s read about 20,000 student essays.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s a lot of essays.<\/p>\n

Even if you\u2019re not <\/i>writing an essay for an English class, your other professors have read tons of essays too. Thus, you need to do something <\/i>to make your paper to stand out among the masses.<\/p>\n

A title is the perfect place to start because it\u2019s the first thing your teacher will read.<\/p>\n

Think about it. If you were teaching a class, would you rather read a paper titled \u201c10 Facts About Puppies That Will Make Your Hair Stand on End\u201d or one titled \u201cEssay 3: Facts About Puppies\u201d?<\/p>\n

Yeah, me too.<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re stumped, I\u2019ll show you how to title an essay your readers won\u2019t be able to resist.<\/p>\n

What Makes an Essay Title Good Enough to Impress Your Professor?<\/h2>\n

A good essay title, one worthy of impressing your prof, must do the following:<\/p>\n

Reflect the focus<\/a> of your essay<\/h3>\n

Titles like \u201cHockey Rules\u201d or \u201cShakespeare\u2019s Comedies\u201d give readers a general sense of a broad topic, but they don\u2019t explain the focus.<\/p>\n

Instead, try something like \u201cHow the Offsides Rule Destroyed Hockey\u201d or \u201cShakespeare\u2019s Comedies: A Reflection of Modern Rom-Coms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Correspond with the purpose and tone<\/a> of your essay<\/h3>\n

A serious research essay<\/a> or scientific report<\/a> generally demands a serious title. For instance, the title \u201cThe BCA Corporation: The Underlying Cause of Water Pollution in the East River\u201d would, in most cases, be more appropriate than \u201cWhy BCA\u2019s Environmental Policies Suck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Use appropriate wording for the intended audience<\/a><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re a scientist writing for other scientists, the title of your paper might be Sonic Analog of Gravitational Black Holes in Bose-Einstein Condensates<\/a>. The average reader might not have a clue what this means, but other scientists do. In this case, then, the title is appropriate.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re writing an essay for an assignment<\/a>, chances are you\u2019re writing not only for your prof but also for a general audience. Thus, long, wordy<\/a> titles aren\u2019t usually appropriate because they\u2019re likely to be both boring and difficult to read.<\/p>\n

In other words, you want your title to be somewhat brief, and you want it to be catchy. If your audience sees a boring title, they\u2019re more likely to think your paper is boring too.<\/p>\n

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If your audience sees a boring title, they\u2019re more likely to think your paper is boring too.<\/a><\/div>\n

Click To Tweet<\/a><\/p>\n

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Now that you have a better understanding of what it takes to write an impressive essay title, here are four tips to help you write your own title.<\/p>\n

4 Tips on How to Title an Essay<\/h2>\n

When you think of awesome titles, you might think of Ernest Hemingway plunking away on a manual typewriter creating For Whom the Bell Tolls <\/i>or Orson Welles writing Citizen Kane.<\/i> But you don\u2019t have to be a famous author, nor do you have to use a manual typewriter, to write a great title.<\/p>\n

Use these tips to help you write the perfect title for your <\/i>paper.<\/p>\n

Take a line from your essay<\/h3>\n

Read through your draft, and look for a line that stands out, one that seems to capture the essence of your paper.<\/p>\n

Your introduction<\/a>, thesis statement<\/a>, and conclusion<\/a> are good places to start.<\/p>\n

Take, for example, the title Macbeth: A Nihilistic, Self-loathing Tragic Hero<\/a>. A line from the opening paragraph gives this essay a catchy title. It not only informs readers of the focus of the essay but also makes readers want to learn about the title character. (It also sounds a whole lot better than something like \u201cWilliam Shakespeare\u2019s Macbeth,\u201d doesn\u2019t it?)<\/p>\n

Surprise or shock your readers<\/h3>\n

Using an unexpected word choice<\/a> or shocking statement that might slightly offend readers or even pique their interest can create a compelling title.<\/p>\n

For instance, Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank: And Other Words of Delicate Southern Wisdom <\/i>by Celia Rivenbark draws readers in with the word \u201cskank.\u201d It\u2019s certainly not a word people use to describe six-year-old girls, so the mere presence of the word in the title sparks controversy.<\/p>\n

The essay Boys Are Heroes, Girls Need to Be Rescued, and Other Lies Toy-Makers Tell Us<\/a> also makes use of unexpected word choices. It uses the word \u201clie\u201d in conjunction with classic stereotypes of boys and girls to make readers want to learn more about the evils of toy companies.<\/p>\n\t

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Rework a common saying<\/h3>\n

There are, of course, times when clich\u00e9s and sayings aren\u2019t appropriate in writing. But if you rework an existing saying to creating something original, it can be an effective attention grabber<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve written a satirical paper<\/a> about why people shouldn\u2019t keep trying to accomplish goals and should just give up. You might change the saying \u201cif at first you don\u2019t succeed, try, try again\u201d to \u201cif at first you don\u2019t succeed, give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Readers will wonder whether this is a serious essay about failure or a satirical piece. Either way, you\u2019ve got their attention.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another example. The phrase \u201chonesty is the best policy\u201d might be changed to \u201cHonesty Is N<\/em>ever <\/i>the Best Policy\u201d or When Lying <\/i>Is the Best Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most people, of course, believe honesty is best. so they\u2019re likely going to be interested in learning why they should lie.<\/p>\n

Ask a question<\/h3>\n

This technique works particularly well for persuasive essays<\/a> and argumentative essays<\/a> as your goal for these papers is to convince the audience. By asking a question in your title, you\u2019re already forcing readers to think about the subject.<\/p>\n

For example, the essays Why Is Society Making Jokes About Mental Illness?<\/a> and Is Fan Fiction Illegal Because It Is a Form of Plagiarism?<\/a> use their titles to pose a question. The questions not only allude to the focus of the papers but also force the audience to consider their own personal answers to the questions.<\/p>\n

Remember, the type of question you ask should reflect the tone of your paper. So if you\u2019re writing a narrative essay<\/a>, for instance, about a bad vacation experience with your roommate, you can use first-person point of view<\/a> or second-person point of view to add a lighter tone to your paper.<\/p>\n

For instance, the title \u201cDidn\u2019t You Promise Me This Would Be Fun?\u201d uses both first- and second-person point of view to let readers know that the focus of the paper will be an experience that was supposed <\/i>to be fun but ended up going wrong somewhere along the line.<\/p>\n

2 More Resources to Help Title Your Essay<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019ve tried the four tips above but nothing seems appropriate for your essay, check out How to Write Good Essay Titles That Are…Good<\/a> for additional titling advice.<\/p>\n

Just in case you\u2019re writing a more light-hearted essay and can play around with more informal language, try this title generator<\/a>. You can create such awesome titles as \u201cHow Bananas Once Saved the World\u201d and \u201cWhy Socks Are Killing You.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still stumped and can\u2019t think of anything that might impress your prof? Let a Kibin editor<\/a> lend a helping hand. We can help with titles and just about any other step of the writing process<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Think essay titles don\u2019t really matter? Think your profs don\u2019t care whether you have an interesting and original title? Think again. Here\u2019s a quick math equation to help explain why titles do matter. English profs often teach 4 classes each semester, with 25 students in each class. (4 classes x 25 students = 100 students … <\/p>\n

Read more<\/b> “How to Title an Essay When You’re Absolutely Stumped”<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":8912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[95],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Title an Essay When You're Absolutely Stumped<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stumped on your essay title? 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