how should i title my essay

Best Tips on How to Title an Essay

How to Make a Good Title for an Essay

The success of an essay heavily depends on its title. This may not come as a surprise given that the essay title is the first aspect to provide the reader with a sneak peek into the text. It piques our interest to read the paper in the first place and gives us a preview of what to expect from the author.

Our research paper writing help prepared a thorough guide on how to title an essay. Here you may find tips and tricks for developing an effective APA or MLA essay title. So, let's dive straight into the article for more exciting details!

Essay Title Format

During your essay writing process, ensure you know the stylistic requirements before beginning an essay. Knowing the format you need to employ is crucial because different style manuals may have varying requirements. Mostly, you could have used an APA or MLA essay title format. Our service, where you can buy essay online , explains these two in more detail below.

Essay Title MLA

If you're required to create an essay title MLA format, check whether your instructor wants you to make a separate cover page. If not, put a heading at the beginning of your work that includes your name, the name of your professor, the course ID, and, lastly, the date.

On the other hand, if you must present a cover page for your essay title MLA, then you need to include the following:

• The name of the college
• The title of your paper
• The subtitle of your paper, if applicable
• Your first and last name
• Your teacher or professor's name
• The class name or course number
• The date the paper is due

The formatting instructions are as follows:

• Double-spaced
• Times New Roman font
• Size 12 font
• Apart from very short terms, each word's initial letter should be capitalized. The initial word, however, must always be uppercase.
• The title page shouldn't include a header with the page numbers.

Essay Title APA

Having discussed the MLA format essay title, let's explore what the APA student title page includes:

• The paper title
• Author names
• Institutional affiliation where the author carried out the study
• Name and number of the course
• Professor name
• Page number

The title of an essay format instructions:

• double-spaced
• 1" margins
• 12-point Times New Roman
• According to APA, your title should be targeted and brief, without unnecessary words or abbreviations

How to Choose a Good Title for an Essay: Important Qualities

Nobody will read a dull headline. Your title should grab your audience's attention and encourage them to read the rest of the work. As it is one of the initial things readers see, having a strong attention grabber is essential when writing an essay from scratch. To fully understand how to come up with a title for essay that is strong and exciting, let's consider a few following factors:

Employ a Catchy Hook - Usually, the title of essay format follows a similar basic structure, especially if they are used for an academic article. The hook serves as a unique component that attracts the reader. It's a captivating statement informing others about the topic of the essay. You can also explore several types of sentences with examples that can help you develop the ideal hook structure.

Consider Topic Keywords - These are essential terms or expressions pertinent to your subject and help your reader understand the focus and body of your article. These focus keywords should serve as a brief, one- to two-word article summary. You can choose some terms from the research topic your instructor gave you, but after your thesis statement is formed, this is where you should hunt for ideas.

Use a Colon - A colon is frequently used in academic titles to separate concepts and sentences. The standard procedure is to place a clever remark or brief quotation before the colon. Although these beginning words offer flavor, they can be overdone. Because of this, some individuals find using the colon to be repugnant. Therefore be careful not to misuse this method.

Ask a Question - To write essay title that is strong, consider asking a question. But, use it with caution because posing a question will make your tone less formal. As long as the question is suitably phrased to meet the subject of your essay, feel free to employ it. Always check to see if the title question still applies to your points in the essay's body. The thesis statement should be appropriately reflected as well.

Find Inspirational Quotes - There is no formula for selecting essay titles from the textual content. You may get playful and choose any quotation, proverb, or catchphrase that applies to your particular publication and works as a title. You may also create a great essay title using well-known expressions or idioms. Doing so will help your readers relate to and feel more comfortable discussing your subject.

Here are other rules for how to create a good title:

• Title every section of writing: In the process of writing, create interesting subheadings to give your paragraphs an identity. Also, they make your text look ordered and clear. 
• The title must bear the theme of the text: choose a title that summarizes the essay. 
• Capitalize all words with certain exceptions: Capitalize the first letter of every word in the title, but do not capitalize pronouns, articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.
• Avoid underlining the title: Since topics come in boldface, underlining it will amount to overemphasis. Some authorities say that if you must underline it, do not bolden it.
• Review the final version of the title: Do not forget to do a quick review of the final version of the title—check for grammar, structure, spelling and so on. Re-read it to determine if the title has given justice to the essay. Confirm if the topic is catchy enough to attract your reader’s attention. 
• When using a colon in your title, follow the rules: Since we are dealing with punctuation rules here, let us talk about the colon – when you have two eye-catching topics, separate them with a colon.

Student’s Guide on How to Come Up with a Title for an Essay

Titling an essay can be easy, but there are a few core principles to be taken into account. The following tips will help you stay on track and avoid any common pitfalls.

Essay Goes First

Never start with a title! If you write it before the rest of the text, it will be based on it, and it should be vice versa. Writing an essay before choosing a heading will give you a clear understanding of what should make sense to the reader. Re-read the finished paper several times to decide on the title. The last thing to create is a title - such strategy will give more time to spend on crafting an essay outline, conducting research, or writing the paper itself.

What are you writing about? What is the style of your paper, and is it an academic essay or a free-form essay like a narrative essay? If the topic of your essay is “Do people who commit heinous crimes deserve the death penalty?” your title should not be humorous; it should be strict and to the point.

If your topic is “Why do people like watching funny cat videos?”, feel free to craft a funny title. Determine the tone of your essay and base your title on it—in consideration with the essay’s topic.

The tone can be:

• Serious - “The implications of global warming”
• Funny - “How cats and dogs love their masters”
• Amiable - “Ways to fight depression”
• Persuasive - “Why positive thinking is a must have skill for every person”
• Informative - “Ten rules for creating a chemical at home”

The main goal of a title is to name its paper. There is no need to tell an entire story in the title, or provide any useless details. Sum up your paper in a few words! Another way to do this is to sum up your thesis statement, as it represents the main idea of your essay. Take your thesis and squeeze it into 3-4 words. Imagine that you are creating a title for your favourite newspaper or a slogan for Coca-Cola.

Don’t use fancy words! Take 2-3 main words (keywords), put them together, and stop wasting your time. Avoid jargon and abbreviations.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is something that can help any student and young writer reap benefits. While working on a title, detect the words related to the central idea of the paper. Type the words into the search field of Google and add the word “quote.” A search engine will show numerous web pages with in-text quotations that could be useful. Select the fragment you like. It is possible to learn how to make a creative title for an essay in this way.

Discover several more tips from experts:

• Never forget the “What,” “Who,” “When,” “How,” “Why,” and “Where” questions (if you start with one of these questions, your title has a chance of getting noticed);
• Come up with an unexpected image not related to the selected topic;
• Sometimes, starting with a lie increases the chances of a title being able to catch an eye;
• Review our catchy essay title examples.

Need Some Help With Your Essay's Title?

Feel free to contact EssayPro and we will provide you with a writing help at a moment’s notice. With the years of essay writing experience, titling becomes second nature, so you no longer need to worry about having a catchy headline on your paper.

Essay Title Examples: Bad vs Good

The strongest essay titles condense lengthy essays into concise statements. When wondering how to make an essay title, think carefully about your stylistic choices and essay format to produce an excellent one. Our dissertation help has provided essay title examples to let you understand the difference between good and bad ones more vividly.

Bad Essay Title Examples

As we discussed how to create an essay title and the specific elements that go into it, you should have a clear idea of how important it is to craft a strong title. In contrast, first, look at weak essay title ideas that can break your paper. This should serve as an example of why your heading should not be like this:

Ex 1: ' How Television Has Changed Our World ' - too vast and not informative

Ex 2: 'The Ara Pacis Augustae' - unclear for those who don't know Latin

Ex 3: 'The Most Poisonous Frog' - does not provide any insight

Ex 4: 'A Brief History of Subcultures and How They Manifest Themselves in a Constantly Changing Socio-Economic Environment' - too long and complicated

Ex 5: 'The Little Mermaid 29 Years Later: Selling a Harmful Sexist Message Through a Naughty Image' - inappropriate language

Good Essay Title Examples

Now that you know what a bad essay title looks like, let's explore good essay title examples as their substitutes. Examine the following essay title format styles that will give you a clear understanding.

Ex 1: ' The Electronic Babysitter: A Social History of Uses of the Television' - gives an exact description of what the essay will be about

Ex 2: ' The Modern Historical Significance of the Ara Pacis Augustae to the City of Rome' - here, the reader can understand what they will be reading about

Ex 3: ' A Deadly Beauty: The Evolution of Skin Coloration and Toxicity of the Poisonous Dart Frog' - clear, informative, and on-point.

Ex 4: 'Reconsidering Counterculture in Contemporary Society' - informative enough and brief

Ex 5: 'The Projection of Gender Stereotypes in The Little Mermaid' - employs appropriate language

Catchy Essay Title Ideas

You now understand that long, complicated headlines do not accurately convey the paper's main idea. Take ample time to consider the word choice before tilting your work. How do you create good essay titles? Think creatively and with common sense. But meanwhile, for your convenience, we compiled title ideas for essays you may use as inspiration.

Persuasive Essay Titles

• Why Receiving College Education is Important: Examining Long-term Benefits
• Face-to-Face Courses Cannot Be Replaced by Online Learning
• An MBA Does Not Ensure Corporate Success.
• Every Company Should Adopt a Green Strategy.
• Energy Drinks Represent a Lucrative Market Segment.
• Aircraft, Excess Weight Charges, Need to be Prohibited.
• Patients' Life Shouldn't be Put to Death by Nurses.
• Google Glasses May Increase the Number of Auto Accidents.
• All of the Conventional Malls Will Soon be Replaced By Online Shopping
• How Do Team-building Exercises Contribute to the Development of Inventions?
• Illegal immigrants are entitled to remain in the US.

Academic Essay Titles

• Several English Dialects: The Link Between Various Cultures
• Instagram: A social media innovation
• Is it possible to reverse drug-induced brain damage, and if so, how?
• What the Future Holds for Humans in the Light of Artificial Intelligence
• The Story of Two Nations after Decades of Conflict: North and South Korea
• Video Games and Their Learning Context in Schools
• Free Wi-Fi: Strategies for Enhancing the City's Economy

Strong Research Paper Titles

• Digital World Cybersecurity
• E-business to Provide New Paths for Booksellers
• Outsourcing for Large Businesses
• Preparing for College Costs for High School Students
• What News Reporters Should Do in the Digital Age and How to Do It: Examples
• The Transformative Power of Music: How Heavy Metal Impacted My Life

Best Essay Titles for College Students

• The Possible Benefits and Risks of Artificial Intelligence for Humans
• The Potential for Time Travel in Virtual Reality
• What Role Has Mathematics Played in Human History?
• How to Succeed in the Real Estate Industry
• E-Commerce: An Empire of Virtual Businesses Worth Millions of Dollars
• How to Achieve Financial Independence in the Digital Age Without Opening a Real Business

More Creative Titles for Essays

• When getting rewarded for their grades, would kids do better left alone?
• How Does Fake News Impact the Mainstream press?
• Homelessness in Contemporary Society: A Dilemma
• What News Reporters' Best Job Is in the Digital Age and How to Uphold It
• Elon Musk: Brilliant Mind or Insane Person?
• Positives and Negatives of Employing a Smoker
• Do We Employ the Appropriate Student Success Metrics?

Professional Academic Help

Now that you know how to make a good title for an essay, you should also understand that you should approach the task as a process. While composing your essay title, you must condense your whole thesis and point of discussion into a single, concise, yet powerful sentence. If you have time before your deadline, give it some thought and don't hurry.

Don't forget that you can always rely on our professional academic assistance, whether you need a reflection paper , ideas for a strong essay title, or any other academic papers. Consider the following words - write my essay for me - magic keywords for delegating your most complex tasks to our skilled writers!

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How To Title An Essay?

How to title an essay in mla format, what are some good titles for an essay.

Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

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How to Title an Essay: Tips and Examples

(Last updated: 5 April 2024)

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Crafting an essay title is like designing the cover of a book – it's the first thing your professors see, setting the stage for what's inside. As such, the title is crucial because it's the reader's first impression. In this guide, we'll explore why a good essay title matters, offer tips to help you learn how to title an essay and provide examples to illustrate which titles work and which don't.

The Importance of a Good Essay Title

The significance of a good essay title cannot be overstated. Beyond its role as a mere label, a compelling title serves as a powerful tool for drawing your professor’s attention. A good title not only encapsulates the essence of the essay but also reflects the author's voice and perspective. It sets the tone for the entire piece, guiding readers in their interpretation and understanding of the content. Moreover, a well-crafted title can enhance the credibility and authority of the essay, signalling that the author has invested thought and care into their work.

How to Write a Good Title for Your Essay

Crafting a good title requires a blend of creativity, precision, and strategic thinking. To create an effective title, consider the following tips:

• Brainstorm Ideas : Begin by brainstorming keywords, phrases, and concepts related to your essay topic. Explore different angles and perspectives that encapsulate the essence of your argument or analysis.
• Consider the Audience : Reflect on your target audience and their interests, preferences, and expectations. Tailor your title to resonate with your intended readership, striking a balance between familiarity and intrigue.
• Capture the Essence : Reports often incorporate tables, charts, graphs, and other visual aids to enhance the presentation of data and facilitate understanding.
• Evoke Emotion or Intrigue : Tap into the emotional or intellectual curiosity of your readers by crafting a title that evokes emotion, prompts reflection, or poses a compelling question. Consider using provocative language, vivid imagery, or rhetorical devices to capture readers' attention.
• Revise and Refine: : Once you've generated potential titles, take time to revise and refine them. Experiment with different word choices, phrasings, and structures until you find a title that resonates and feels cohesive with the content of your essay.

Characteristics of a Good Title

A good title shares several key characteristics:

Descriptive : Clearly communicates the topic or main idea of the essay. Engaging : Captures the reader's attention and sparks curiosity. Concise : Succinctly summarises the content without being overly long or verbose. Relevant : Directly relates to the content and theme of the essay. Original : Avoids clichés and generic phrases. Try to strive for originality and creativity.

Essay Title Examples (Good vs. Bad)

Let's examine additional examples of good and bad essay titles to illustrate these principles:

Good Title : "Exploring Identity: The Intersection of Culture and Self-Perception" Bad Title : "Essay on Identity"

The good title invites readers to explore complex questions surrounding identity and self-perception, fostering curiosity and engagement. In contrast, the bad title lacks specificity and fails to capture the richness and depth of the essay's subject matter.

Good Title : "Breaking Barriers: The Evolution of Women's Rights in the 21st Century" Bad Title : "Essay on Women's Rights"

The good title is engaging and suggests a narrative, while the bad title is a little bland and lacks imagination.

Writing a Catchy Title for Your Essay

To craft a catchy title, consider employing the following strategies:

Wordplay and Alliteration : Incorporate puns, alliteration, or clever wordplay to make your title memorable and attention-grabbing.

Question or Provocation : Pose a thought-provoking question or statement that challenges readers' assumptions or prompts them to reconsider their perspectives.

Use of Imagery and Metaphor : Invoke vivid imagery or metaphorical language that evokes emotion, stimulates the senses, or conveys abstract concepts in concrete terms.

Surprise Element : Introduce an unexpected twist or element of surprise that captures readers' attention and leaves them eager to learn more.

Elevate Your Essay with An Engaging Title

Writing a good title for your essay requires time, skill, and a keen understanding of your subject matter. Crafting an essay title is more than just a formality—it's an art that can set the stage for the narrative that follows. With practice and attention to detail, you'll master the art of essay titling and unleash the full potential of your written creations.

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How to Title an Essay

Well, neither does your teacher, professor, or boss. The difference is that they don’t have a choice and have to. A good title helps you stand out, and that’s part of the reason why a title is so important. Just knowing the right way to title an essay can boost your grades! 

A good title has to grab the reader’s attention. It’s the first thing someone sees, so think of it as your first opportunity to impress. The title needs to be catchy but focused on the content of your essay. A good title is simple yet informative. Sounds tough? Don’t worry, this article will cover all you need to know about how to title an essay perfectly. 

How to Choose a Good Title for an Essay

A good title makes a reader think “Yes! I want to read the rest of this!” but a title also has to accurately reflect the content of the paper. It’s not just students, one of the differences between an average writer and an expert is how well they can write a title. If you want to work in social media, advertising, or any kind of content writing, learning how to write a title for an essay is an essential skill to have. 

There are two main components of a good essay title.

Catchy Hook

Anyone that’s ever written anything knows that having a catchy hook in your introduction is a requirement, but most people forget that you can include a hook in the title itself. Remember, you want to stand out and differentiate yourself from the competition. 

There are a few places to hunt for keywords to fit into your title. The essay prompt or research question is a good place to start but using words in your thesis statement ensures that your topic accurately reflects the main point of your essay. The use of keywords like this ensures that your title reflects what the essay is about. You’ll know you’ve found the right keywords if they seem like two or three word summaries of the main point of your essay. 

How to Come up With a Title for an Essay

How to create a title for an essay in a way that makes it stand out from the crowd requires creativity, hard work, and time. That may seem like a lot just for a title, but it’s worth it. Follow these bits of advice and craft the perfect title!

Write your title at the end

Just because the title is the first thing someone reads doesn’t make it the first thing you should write! Coming up with a good title is tough and requires a deep understanding of the content of the paper. That means it’s usually better to write the title at the end after you’re done with a couple of drafts of your paper. 

Though it’s good to write according to a plan, often, new thoughts can take your essay in an unexpected direction, this is another reason why its good to start with a working title as a placeholder and go back to write the final title at the end. 

Use your thesis 

A good title hints at what the thesis statement will be. A thesis statement is a summary of the main argument and purpose of the paper, so use your thesis statement as a source of inspiration for your title. This makes sure that your title has predictive power since it’s drawn from the thesis statement itself. 

Simple but not too simple

There is no rule about how long a good title should be - there are benefits to short titles and benefits to long titles. Short titles are direct and clear and better suited for simpler, straightforward essays. Longer titles may be more appropriate for complex or very specific essays. No matter what though, make sure that your titles are easy to understand. 

Make sure your title is specific

A title that’s too general may seem like it’s describing your essay, but it isn’t. Is your essay just about “Mobile Gaming in 2020” or is it about “The Impact of Coronavirus Lockdowns on the FTP Mobile Game Industry”? The first title may be short and to the point, but it doesn’t give enough specific information about the content of the essay. Remember, a good title hints at what the essay is going to be about, but also intrigues the reader. Generic and broad titles don’t do that. 

Your title needs to be believable 

Just because a lot of titles you see on the internet are clickbait, doesn’t mean that you need to write an over the top title as well. Especially if you’re writing a paper for academia, make sure your title doesn’t over-promise what you’re going to cover in the essay. 

Write your title in the active voice

Write your title in the active voice, that is, the subject acts upon the verb rather than the subject receives a verb's action. Writing in the active voice uses fewer words and is more concise and engaging - perfect for writing a catchy title. 

Rewrite famous movies, books, quotes, phrases, quotations, etc. 

Creativity is an important element of coming up with a catchy title. If you can find a famous phrase that you can rework into the perfect title for your essay, go for it! For example, a paper about mitosis and meiosis (cell division) can be titled “Live Long and Prosper”.

Match the style and tone of your essay

It wouldn’t make sense to have an amusing title for an essay about a refugee crisis. Make sure that your title reflects the tone of your essay. Some titles work better depending on the essay style. For example, the title of a persuasive essay would be different than the title of a reflective essay. 

Who’s the audience?

Of course, how you title an essay depends on who you’re writing it for. A blog post targeted towards your friends or prospective followers is going to have a different title than an essay for your stuffy old history teacher. Your young science teacher who loves memes and blows up things in class might appreciate a different type of title. A university application essay usually needs to be more formal. Try and find out as much as you can about who is going to read your essay and cater both your essay and title to them. 

To use or not to use: Colons in essay titles

Using a colon to separate an essay title into two sections used to be the norm. It became so common in fact, that now they are considered cliche. There may be a few occasions when using a colon is just perfect, but avoid overusing it. The best way to use a colon is by inserting a creative phrase or clever quote behind the colon. For example, the title of this section. 

Use evocative imagery

An easy way to make your title catchy is by using imagery. If you can make the reader imagine something in their mind based on your title, you’re starting off with a win. “Stepping into the void: The first spacewalk” is a much better title than simply “The first spacewalk. 

These tips should help you answer how to come up with an essay title!

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Common Titling Mistakes

The deadline is racing towards you and you still don’t have a title! After panicking and writing whatever pops into your head, check to make sure you don’t do any of the following.

• Either bold your title or underline it  -  Doing both is overkill and rather than stressing the title, makes it look cluttered and messy.
• Don’t make your title too short - A good title should let the reader predict what the essay is going to be about.
• Don’t make your title too long.- A long title might give more information about the essay, but it can be cluttered and overloaded with dense information.
• Don’t use slang, jargon, or abbreviations - You want to make sure that the title is clear. If the teacher has to look up a word in your title, you’re starting off badly. 
• Don’t get too personal - Your title should entice the reader. Whatever strong arguments you want to make should be made in the body of the essay.  ‍

Make sure your title reflects the content of the essay - This often happens when the title is written first and then the essay. Start with a placeholder title and after the essay is done, work on creating a title that accurately reflects the main purpose of the essay. 

Improved Essay Titles

You might have an idea about what the title should be as you’re working on your essay, but there are still things to watch out for. Sometimes the perfect title pops into your head fully formed, but more often than not, a good title takes thought, effort, time, and several rewrites. Make sure to set aside some time just to work on the title. 

An Exploration of the Best Way to Spend Time During Lockdown Based on Personal Experience

This title might do a good job of explaining what the essay is about but it’s too long and wordy.

Better title: My Lockdown Chronicles: What to do With Unexpected Free Time

An Analysis of Avengers: Endgame

This title is too broad. The topic is interesting but there’s no hook to engage the reader.

Better title: Why Avengers: Endgame is Modern Storytelling at its Best 

Badly Breaking the myths about drug overdose 

This title seems forced. The topic is very serious, so trying to use a pun in the title can come across as incongruent. It also depends on the reader knowing the show Breaking Bad and making the connection. Depending on the audience, this might be the perfect title though, so make sure to consider your audience when writing and titling an essay. 

Better Title: An Analysis of Drug Overdose Deaths in the 2010s

The Best Colorful Birds

This title doesn’t give any specific information or talk about what the reader can expect to learn from the essay.

Better Title: Why Birds of Paradise Evolved to Become the Brightest Birds

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Essay Title Ideas

Catchy essay title examples

A catchy title can start your reader off intrigued, entertained, and overall, just in a positive state of mind. That’s a good way to get noticed and boost your grade on the essay! Here are some examples of attention-grabbing essay titles.

Underage Romance: An Analysis of the Ages of William Shakespeare’s Characters 

An Alien Among Us: What if Superman Was Real?

The Day the Planet Caught a Virus

The Rise and Fall of the Alpha Male

Memes Before the Internet

College Essay Title examples

When answering a college essay, make sure you read and follow the instruction carefully. Not following the often very strict requirements is. Generally speaking the tone of the essay, and therefore the title should be more serious but don’t be afraid to let your personality come through. Have a look at these examples.

Why Building Houses in a Third World Country was Unsatisfying

The Daily Struggles of an International Student

Energy Equals MC Hammer: My First Day of Dance Class

A Showdown Between William Shakespeare and Hamilton

Mahatma Gandhi’s Disobedience Without Violence

Argumentative Essay Title Examples

An argumentative essay is an opportunity to convince the reader about your view on a topic. Since the goal of an argumentative essay is to make an argument using facts, research, and logic, your title should state your position on the issue. These examples should steer you in the right direction. 

Artificial Intelligence Will Not Matrix Humanity

The Best Soup Is Your Grandmother’s

Oh, the Humanity: Why the Death Penalty Should Be Abolished

Scientific Backing for the Benefits of Video Games

Trial and Error: Better Than the Scientific Method?

Persuasive Essay Title Examples

A persuasive essay appeals to emotions to influence the reader. The main difference between an argumentative essay and a persuasive essay is that an argumentative essay uses facts and research while a persuasive essay relies on emotional appeals. How do these title examples make you feel?

A Glamorous Path to Self Hatred: Modern Beauty Standards

Surreptitious Racism and Why It’s More Difficult to Erase

Saving the Planet, One Tree at a Time

The Natural Way to Heal: Ayurvedic Medicine

Testing the Uneducated: Medical Testing in Third World Countries

Narrative Essay Title Examples

Narrative essays can be thought of as short stories. They ask a writer to share an experience clearly and concisely while making a clear point. The titles of these essays can be more playful and ambiguous. Take a look at some examples.

The Pleasure of Discovering an Amazing New Anime

A Missed Opportunity: Why I Didn’t Attend My Uncle’s Funeral

When my Teacher Became a Father Figure

How Being Bullied Made Me a Kinder Adult

Bloody Victory: My First Mixed Martial Arts Win

Research Paper Title Examples

Research papers test your ability to find credible sources and synthesize complex information into a well-structured format. These are almost exclusively academic, and as such, have formal titles. The first versions of these titles often end up being very long, so spend some time whittling away any extra information. Take a look at the examples below. 

The Effects of Caffeine on Attention and Sleep

Experimental Evidence for the Use of Music in Boosting Agricultural Yields

Not Stinky: Bathing Culture in Ancient China

The Impact of Western Media on 13 to 30-Year-Olds in Asia 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe: A Guide on How to Plan Ahead

English Essay Titles Examples

Writing a title for an English essay doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, if you’re studying literature, you should take the opportunity to flex your creative writing skills. Don’t overdo it though! Titles still need to be predictive, comprehensible, and engaging. Examples down below. 

Akala: A Modern Day Shakespeare

Why We’re Already Living in the Brave New World

The Impact of Foreign Writers on Modern English Literature

The Terrifying Origins of Folk Tales

The Times They Are a-Changing: Analyzing Mark Twain’s Writings in 2019

Quick Recap

A great title piques the interest of the reader and starts their journey at a high point. Whether it’s online or for school, you have to find a way to stand out from the very beginning. A good title takes time and effort, but coming up with the perfect title can also be fun, and it absolutely makes a difference to your grade. 

Ask these questions to make sure that your title is good. 

• Does the title predict what the paper is about?
• Does the title use keywords effectively?
• Does the title accurately reflect the tone of the essay?
• Is the title appropriate for the audience?
• Is the title interesting?

Remember these tips when brainstorming an essay title. 

• Think of an interesting hook
• Use keywords (Your thesis is a good place to look)
• Write your title after you’ve written the essay, not before
• Simple but not too simple, it should be predictive
• Use as few words as possible while being informative and interesting
• Keep it believable
• Match the tone and style of your essay
• Think about the audience
• Use imagery
• Rework a popular phrase
• Use active voice
• Avoid unnecessary words and jargon
• Avoid abbreviations ‍

The title of your essay can make or break your grade, so it's important to choose one that is attention-grabbing and relevant to your topic. If you're struggling to come up with a good title, don't worry! Studyfy has compiled a list of over 300 essay topics to inspire you. And if you still need help with your essay, including proofreading and editing, or if you need to " pay someone to do my essay ", Studyfy's team of experts is always available to help. They offer dissertation writing services , research paper service , and even have an admission essay writer to help you get into your dream school. Just reach out to them for all your academic needs!

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Essay Writing Guide

How To Title An Essay

Last updated on: Jun 28, 2024

How to Title an Essay: A Step-by-Step Guide for Effective Titles

By: Nova A.

Reviewed By: Chris H.

Published on: Feb 5, 2019

Are you tired of struggling to create captivating titles for your essays? It can be frustrating to spend hours only to end up with a lackluster title that fails to engage your readers.

But here's the thing: a weak title can significantly impact the success of your essay. It's the first thing your readers see, and it sets the tone for their expectations. A dull or generic title may cause your audience to lose interest before they even start reading.

Luckily, there is a simple yet effective solution to this problem. By following a few key strategies, you can learn how to title an essay that captures attention and piques curiosity.

In this blog, we will guide you through creating engaging essay titles step by step. 

Whether you're a student or a writer, these tips will help you to craft titles that make your essays shine.

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What Is The Purpose Of An Essay Title?

An essay title serves a crucial purpose in the world of writing. It goes beyond being a formality and plays a strategic role in captivating readers and enhancing the impact of your work.

The purpose of an essay title can be summarized into four key objectives.

•  Attention Grabbing:

A creative title instantly grabs the reader's attention, acting as a hook that sparks curiosity. It entices them to explore your essay further.

• Setting Expectations:

An essay title communicates the main theme, subject matter, or argument of your writing. It sets the tone and prepares readers for what lies ahead.

• Creating Interest and Relevance:

A carefully chosen title makes your essay relatable and interesting to your target audience. It also establishes a connection between their interests and your topic.

• Reflecting the Essence:

The title of your essay should reflect its core essence and purpose, acting as a concise representation of the ideas.

What Are The Rules For Essay Titles?

When it comes to creating essay titles, different formatting styles have specific rules and guidelines to follow. In this section, we will explore the rules for essay titles in three commonly used formats: MLA, APA, and the Chicago Manual of Style.

Guidelines for Essay Titles in MLA Format

In MLA format, essay titles have the following rules:

Capitalization

• Capitalize the first and last words of the title.
• Capitalize all principal words, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
• Do not capitalize articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or), or prepositions, unless they are the first or last word of the title.

Italics or Quotation Marks

• Italicize the titles of complete works (books, journals, movies, etc.). Place titles of shorter works (articles, essays, poems) in quotation marks.

Example: 

Guidelines for Essay Titles in APA Format

In APA format, essay titles have the following rules:

• Capitalize the first word of the title and any subtitles.
• Capitalize all proper nouns.
• Only capitalize the first word after a colon if it begins a subtitle. 
• Italicize the titles of longer works (books, journals, movies, etc.).
• Do not use quotation marks for titles.

Guidelines for Essay Titles in Chicago Manual of Style Format

In the Chicago Manual of Style format, essay titles have the following rules:

• Capitalize all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions.

Italics or Quotation Marks:

• Italicize the titles of larger works (books, journals, movies, etc.).
• Use quotation marks for titles of shorter works (articles, essays, poems).

How To Make Your Essay Title Eye Catching

Finding the perfect essay title can be a creative challenge. In this section, we will explore effective strategies for brainstorming your essay title to ensure it captures the essence of your work and engages your readers.

Here's What Your Essay Title Should Include

When brainstorming your essay title, consider including the following elements:

Identify key terms or concepts related to your essay's topic or main argument. These keywords should be relevant, descriptive, and reflective of the content.

• Tone and Style:

Determine the appropriate tone and style for your essay. Consider whether your title should be formal, academic, creative, or catchy, depending on the purpose and audience of your essay.

• Focus and Scope:

Reflect on the main focus and scope of your essay. Consider the specific angle, perspective, or aspect you are exploring in your writing.

• Engaging Language:

Use language that captivates and intrigues readers. Employ strong verbs, vivid adjectives, or thought-provoking phrases to make your title stand out.

Example of an Effective Essay Title: "Unveiling the Hidden Wonders: Exploring the Biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest"

What Not to Include in Your Essay Title

While brainstorming your essay title, it's important to avoid certain elements that may weaken or confuse your title. Consider the following:

• Vague or General Terms:

Avoid using generic terms or phrases that lack specificity. Instead, opt for precise and descriptive language that accurately represents your essay's content.

• Abbreviations or Acronyms:

Unless widely recognized, avoid using abbreviations or acronyms that may confuse readers. Aim for clarity and ensure that your title can be easily understood by a broad audience.

• Excessive Length:

Keep your title concise and avoid unnecessary wordiness. A long, convoluted title may overwhelm readers and fail to capture their attention.

• Clichés or Overused Phrases:

Steer clear of clichés or overused phrases that may make your title appear unoriginal or uninspiring. Strive for creativity and uniqueness to make your title memorable.

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Essay title examples

Here are three examples of essay titles for each of the given topics:

How to Title an Essay for College

"From Dreams to Reality: Navigating the Path to College Success" "Unveiling the Future: Crafting an Essay Title that Defines Your College Journey" "Beyond the Application: The Power of a Compelling College Essay Title"

How to Title an Essay about a Book

"Unveiling the Literary Tapestry: Analyzing [Book Title] through an Engaging Essay Title" "Pages of Wisdom: Crafting an Essay Title that Unveils the Depths of [Book Title]" "Beyond the Cover: Exploring the Themes of [Book Title] through an Evocative Essay Title"

How to Title an Essay for a Scholarship

"Dreams Rewarded: Crafting an Essay Title that Shines for Scholarship Success" "Unveiling Potential: Illuminating Your Journey to Scholarship with an Impactful Title" "Beyond the Application: The Art of Composing a Compelling Scholarship Essay Title"

 How to Title an Essay about Yourself

"Unveiling the Layers: Crafting a Reflective Essay Title that Defines Me" "The Journey Within Exploring Identity through an Introspective Essay Title" "Beyond the Mirror: Unraveling My Story through a Captivating Essay Title" 

Essay Title Examples: Bad vs Good

Here are examples of bad and good essay titles to illustrate the difference:

Bad Essay Title:

 "Essay about Cats"

This title is too vague and lacks creativity. It does not give any indication of the specific focus or purpose of the essay.

Good Essay Title: 

"Paws and Purrs: Exploring the Mysterious Charms of Domestic Cats"

This title is more engaging and intriguing. It captures the attention of the reader by using playful language.

 "Climate Change"

This title is overly broad and does not provide any insight into the specific aspect of climate change that the essay will address.

"Melting Point: Understanding the Devastating Impacts of Arctic Ice Loss on Global Climate"

This title is specific and highlights the focus of the essay: the connection between Arctic ice loss and the broader issue of global climate change. It indicates a deeper exploration of the subject matter.

 "My Trip to Europe"

This title is generic and lacks creativity. It fails to convey any unique perspective or aspect of the trip.

Good Essay Title:

 "Wanderlust Unleashed: A Journey through Europe's Enchanting Landscapes and Timeless Culture"

This title is more engaging and captures the essence of the essay. It suggests a personal narrative infused with the exploration of Europe's diverse landscapes.

4 Tips While Choosing an Essay Title

Choosing the right essay title is essential for capturing the interest of your readers and accurately representing your work. 

In this section, we will provide four valuable tips to consider when creating a title for your essay. 

Reflect the Content:

Ensure that your essay title accurately reflects the main theme and tone of your essay. It should provide a clear indication of what readers can expect to find in your writing. 

Avoid misleading or ambiguous titles that may confuse or disappoint your audience.

Example: If your essay explores the impact of social media on society, a suitable title could be

 "The Digital Revolution: Unraveling the Influence of Social Media on Modern Society."

Engage and Intrigue:

Craft a title that captivates your readers and piques their curiosity. Use strong verbs, and catchy hooks, to make your title stand out from the crowd. Aim to evoke an emotional response or generate interest in your topic.

Example: Instead of a generic title like "The Importance of Exercise," opt for a more engaging title such as

 "Unleashing the Power Within How Exercise Transforms Mind, Body, and Soul."

Keep it Concise:

Keep your title concise and avoid excessive wordiness. A long and convoluted title may confuse or overwhelm readers. 

Aim for clarity and brevity, while still capturing the essence of your essay. Shorter titles are often more memorable and impactful.

Consider Your Audience:

Take into account the target audience for your essay. Consider their interests, knowledge level, and expectations. Tailor your title to resonate with your specific readership. 

A title that speaks directly to your audience's needs and desires will be more effective in capturing their attention.

Example: If your essay targets parents seeking parenting advice, a relevant title could be 

"Raising Resilient Kids: Nurturing Strength and Confidence in Today's Challenging World."

Choosing the perfect essay title is a critical step in creating a captivating and impactful piece of writing. 

It serves as a gateway to your essay, capturing the attention of your readers and setting the tone for what lies ahead. 

By following the four tips outlined in this blog, you can craft a title that reflects your essay's content, engages your audience, and leaves a lasting impression. Start your essay off on the right foot with a title that shines boldly and confidently.

Ready to take your essay writing to the next level? Visit 5StarEssays.com today and experience top-notch academic assistance. 

Our team of expert writers is here to help you with all your essay needs. Whether you're looking for essay writing, editing, or proofreading services, we've got you covered. 

Let expert writers at  5StarEssays.com  assist you with “ write my essay for me ” worries! 

As a Digital Content Strategist, Nova Allison has eight years of experience in writing both technical and scientific content. With a focus on developing online content plans that engage audiences, Nova strives to write pieces that are not only informative but captivating as well.

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How to Title an Essay Properly

Updated 17 Jun 2024

Essay titles speak volumes about content of a paper. Title serves as a stepping stone or a pitfall to your essay. If you wish to succeed with your paper, take titling as an important step. This is because title is the first part that a reader sees, thus it is worthwhile to make it perfect.

Titling has been described as one of the most essential parts of an essay writing process. To craft the perfect heading takes time and diligence. In this post, you will learn about how to title an essay properly. A well-written title produces that “wow effect” that attracts readers.

Selecting a title is more than putting keywords together, it requires creativity. As a masterpiece needs an investment of hours so also does a perfect title. To choose the right title that makes people want to read your essay is vital to students, authors, freelancers.

Essay Title Generator

Components of Essay Title

The different types of an essay have the same pattern or formula for writing their titles. For every example from good essay titles, components are the same and they include:

• It must have a Catchy Hook : The hook acts like a bait that draws readers. It creatively introduces an essay to readers. Any good title must grab your attention immediately. The role of heading is more like that of icing on a cake. The icing presents cake to be beautiful to people.

Ensure the title grabs your readers’ attention enough to start reading this essay. Be that as it may, do not work hard in developing a great title while content does not reflect creativity or hard work invested in it. Put more work in arriving at a great hook when crafting the title.

For example, Last journey: the tales of African migrants on the Mediterranean Sea . The phrase ‘last journey’ grabs attention since it portrays tragedy.

• It requires Topic Keywords: In a good title, topic keyword describes the essay in question. It identifies the concept under review. This component answers the question ‘What?’
• It must contain Focus Keywords: This component of good titles for essays tells the place and time being reviewed i.e. it answers the question ‘When?’ or ‘Where?’ The two keywords mentioned here make a title more professional by supplying more information about the topic to the reader.

For better understanding let us analyze a simple title:

Classrooms without walls: Virtual Reality learning in the computer age.

Catchy Hook – Classrooms without walls

Topic Keywords – Virtual Reality learning

Focus Keywords – Computer age

Useful Rules of Creating Interesting Headlines

Creating an interesting title can be an intriguing yet daunting task. However, there are certain rules to base your title creation on. Here are the basics of how to come up with a title for an essay:

• Title every piece of writing: In the process of writing create exciting headings to give the paragraphs an identity.
• The title must bear the theme of the text: One important rule that you follow strictly is to choose a heading that summarizes the essay. There is nothing more annoying than having one that does not relate to the content of the article. Avoid misleading your readers if your essay should be successful.
• Do not be myopic about the subject: Your lecturer or professor might have given you a topic to work with; this is called the working title. Do not focus on it instead of writing down options that describe more than a topic. Use it to start your research and writing, and when you conclude, you can then creatively change the topic to arrive at your desired example.
• Capitalize all words with certain exceptions: Capitalize the first letters of every word in the title but do not capitalize pronouns, articles, prepositions, and conjunctions for instance How to Title an Essay. If you are presenting everything in capital letters, then all should be in capital letters.
• Avoid underlining the title: Since topics come in boldface, underlining it will amount to over emphasis. Some authorities say if you must underline, do not bold.
• Review the final version of the title: Do not forget to do a quick review of the final version of the heading. Check for grammar, structure, spelling and so on. Re-read it in view to detect if heading did justice to the essay. Confirm if the topic is catchy enough to attract attention. Check other keywords or phrases that can convey the message better to the reader. Ensure you insert quotation mark where you use other’s quotes.
• When using a colon in your title follow the rules: Since we are dealing with rules here, let us talk about the colon rule. When you have two eye-catching topics, separate them with a colon.
• Adapt examples of international writers: You can draw ideas off famous writers’ essays. Read essays of great writers check out their styles, borrow and adapt their ideas or techniques to give your piece of a professional look it requires.

Read Also:  How to Write an Article Review : Guide with Examples

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How to Create Essay Headlines

Now that we have touched the basics, read about how to create a title for essay. The steps described below will afford you the ability to craft creative titles for essays like a professional. Do read on to discover more:

1. Write your essay as the first step but the title as the last: The first step is to write it in the first place and for this, you may consider using an essay writing service . You should form the content that the writer develops argument or view of the perfect topic. However, you can have a working title to start with, but later you can change it for a better one that attracts your attention based on the content. The type of essay determines what kind of heading you would give it.

For instance, a descriptive essay should have a different style compared to an informative or argumentative essay. After writing the essay, put on your thinking cap to craft an impressive headline that matches contents of an essay. Writing heading after everything else saves a lot of time.

2. Use your thesis: When reading a heading informs you why you are reading it. Since headline comes last, you can start creating thesis statement and writing the purpose of an essay. It is practical to take part in creation of thesis statement.

3. Use popular phrases and clichés : You can use popular phrases as a hook to generate essay title ideas. These phrases make a fantastic topic. You can also adapt clichés to work for you when crafting the perfect heading.

4. Use or paraphrase a quote: You can never go wrong with quotes from a famous actor or author. Either the full quote or parts will be effective, and yet it still depends on what format the essay will take, e.g., if your essay is about a book or song you can quote from them.

5. Note the tone of the essay : the tone of the essay dictates the pace of creating a perfect headline, e.g. a descriptive essay will have a different one compared to an argumentative essay. Ensure you are very cautious here because, the best way of losing readers interest it to use the wrong tone in an essay or article. For instance, when writing a serious article, avoid using entertaining or humorous titling style.

6. Simplicity is the name of the game: When crafting a perfect title, do not opt for complex sentences, make it simple. Using complex sentences to create a headline will work against the essay. For the post or article to be catchy and easy to read, it must have a simple heading.

7. You are unique, give the title your voice: In creating a great essay title, embrace uniqueness. Avoid copying other authors’ title verbatim; even if you use their titles make them yours. You might be surprised to find many other writers having the same title as you.

8. The right word always: Try to use the appropriate word when creating an essay title. Wrong words damage your article in every sense. For instance, when writing a technical essay, use technical terms that are peculiar to that field of study.

9. Do not use jargons or abbreviations: Abbreviations can be shortening of words, contractions, initials or acronyms. Avoid the use of jargons or abbreviations in the final draft. Instead of abbreviating words, use to full word, e.g. instead of saying: How to ride a bike; say: How to ride a bicycle.

10. Draw your title from the summary of the essay: A summary gives a bird’s eye view of an essay that is why after writing it, draft a summary. Read it to yourself, and from it, you can start creating headings.

Mistakes to Avoid

Here are common mistakes you should not be caught doing when creating good titles for essays:

• Avoid negative themes: Try and avoid topics relating to sensitive issues, unethical or immoral subjects. For example, in academic work, you cannot write positively about drugs, prostitution, murder, masturbation, etc.
• Avoid making your negative past public: Your negative past belongs to you as a student, they do not belong to your writings. However, if you have examples of lessons you learned from such negative past that you wish to add, do it but avoid being detailed about it.
• Do not ask the wrong questions: If you fail to ask right questions that are relevant to the field of study, you risk choosing wrong topic.
• Avoid being too personal: As earlier revealed bad past belongs to you, avoid exposing them in your essay. Keep your essay professional by not adding your own life into it. Your readers are not interested in knowing how many ladies you have dated in your lifetime.
• Do not miss the tutor’s requirement: Ensure you understand your professor’s requirement if you don’t, you might write end up choosing a wrong topic. It might earn you a bad grade and result in frustration and waste of time.
• Avoid taking an offensive angle: In writing an essay, do not try to be rebellious with your topic. Stare clear offensive topics like religion, abortion, politics and controversial issues in general.

Read also: How to write a film review  

Essay Title Examples

Now that we have addressed how to create headlines and errors to avoid, let us now relax and see examples of essay title ideas to help you in creating yours:

• Artificial Intelligence and a future of technology.
• How to use modern technology to solve ancient problems.
• Virtual Reality and possibility of time travel.
• North and South Korea: The tale of two countries after years of conflict.
• The position of mathematics in a history of humanity.
• How to make it big in Real Estate Business.
• How to raise responsible children in the 21st century.
• How to manage your business like a mafia manager.
• How to become a millionaire in a computer age without a physical business.
• E-commerce: Multi-million-dollar virtual business empire.

Tips on How to Title an Essay

If you want to put pen to paper without delays poised to write your essay headline, here are our tips to help with how to make a good title for essay:

• Choose one sentence from your draft and set it up as a tentative heading.
• Creatively change a tentative headline chosen from the draft.
• When starting your essay popular question words like What is a descriptive essay , Where, When or Who.
• You can never go wrong with How and Why questions.
• Insert your header above the main topic.
• Adapt any famous book, album headline, movie, song, etc that fits an essay perfectly.
• If a heading you arrive at looks too simple or apparent, twist it in the best possible way.
• Join two simple headings together to get a 2-in-1 title.
• Check a title to see if it appeals to you.
• Write more options of a title to see which grab your attention most.
• If you have problems with choosing for yourself, do ask another person.
• You can play around with a two-word, three-word, four-word, and five-word titles.
• Creatively adapt clichés in your titling.
• No matter how compelling title seems to you, it must not fail tests of grammar and spellings.
• Do not use complicated words to try to show-off; you will end up losing readers during this process.

Read Also: Guide on Writing an Excellent Classification Essay

Crafting an interesting title is not for faint-hearted or lazy writers, it takes dedication. As an essay writer , you are like a baker baking a wedding or birthday cake. After removing brown cake from an oven, baker with his or her thinking cap on creates an awesome sugarcraft. The sugarcraft made with icing will give cake this beautiful appearance it requires.

The cake without an icing looks unattractive though delicious when tasted but it is unappealing without the icing. Similarly, an essay with good contents without a topic is like that cake. Hence make your article attractive and appealing by decorating it with a perfect title. Now that you know how to title an essay, put your knowledge to use - craft one now or use our essay title generator. Good luck!

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How To Write An Essay

How To Title An Essay

Learn How to Title an Essay Like a Professional Writer

15 min read

Published on: Mar 1, 2023

Last updated on: Jan 29, 2024

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A title is the one thing that makes your essay and all academic papers impressive. This is because it is the first thing that a reader looks at and decides whether to give your essay a shot or not. 

Naturally, things with amusing and interesting titles tend to be more read-worthy.  A right and accurate title can either make your essay a success or a complete disaster. 

It might sound easy to give a title to your essay, but it can be daunting in reality. Creating a title is an art, and not everybody knows how to do it. 

This writing guide is provided to know how important it is to give a correct title to your writing and polish your writing skills. 

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What is an Essay Title

An essay title is the name or label given to an essay, which provides a brief summary of the main topic or theme of the essay.

It should be catchy, informative, and relevant to the content of the essay, while also giving readers an idea of what to expect from the writing. 

A good essay title should capture the reader's attention and make them interested in reading the essay.

Purpose and Importance of Essay Title

A title holds great importance in essay writing. It can easily make or break the quality of your work. 

Choosing a title that interests the audience and motivates them to read your essay. This is because they are intrigued, it serves as fertile land to present your knowledge, ideas, writing skills, and critical thinking.   

Qualities of an Essay Title

When coming up with the topic or title for your essays, keep in mind that it should contain the following qualities: 

• Eye-catching and unique: The title should be eye-catching and unique to grab the reader’s attention.
• Based on facts: A good title is always believable and based on facts. Especially for writing essay types and papers that stand on facts and logic should have believable titles. 
• Audience-appropriate: Readability is key. Using fancy and bombastic vocabulary that is not common for the audience will affect the readership. 
• Tone: A great essay title is always written in an active voice. 
• Brief and Short: The title should be brief and to the point. Avoid dragging titles into long sentences. 
• To-the-Point: An essay title should be accurate and clearly present the main theme of the essay. This will allow the reader to know what to expect from the document. 

Components of an Essay Title

Just as all formal writings have an outline to follow, a good essay title is constructed using a formula as well. Keep in mind that the shorter, the better. A title must not exceed 10 to 12 words.

The components of an essay title include

• An attention-grabbing and catchy hook
• Tone sets the overall mood or attitude conveyed by the title.
• The focus keyword - the “where” and “when” in your essay. 

Once you know the importance and elements of an essay title, you are more likely to create a better title.

How to Title an Essay?

Almost all essay writers find it tricky to make an appropriate title for their essays. However, writing a title is not only based on good writing skills. You need to know the basics of creating it. 

A good and effective essay title can be created by taking the following steps:

1. First Write an Essay 

It will be extremely beneficial and easy to create a title once you have written an entire essay.

After writing your essay, you will be clear about what title suits your content the most. Complete your essay and then start reading it.

This will give you a clearer picture of how to address the essay properly.

Deciding on a topic or a title can be time taking. Another advantage of writing a title at the end is that it saves a lot of your time. 

Also, the wrong topic makes it difficult for you to choose the best essay title.  

Struggling with getting started with your essay? Check out this helpful guide on how to write an essay !

2. Use your Thesis Statement

There is another reason you should leave your title for an end.  An effective title provides a reason for the readers to read your essay. The best part to find a reason is in the thesis statement in the introduction of your essay. 

You can always get a title from a thesis statement or by using a part of that argument in the title. 

3. Popular Phrases

Catchphrases and cliches that go with the theme of your essay can be used as the titles as well. When popular phrases are appropriate and interesting, they make effective puns. 

Play with the cliches and twist them to create something of your own. Be creative and innovative for your titles as much as you can. 

4. Consider the Tone

Another trick to creating an effective title for your essay is to consider the essay’s tone and come up with something related to it. 

If the tone and subject of your essay are serious and sad, never make the mistake of addressing your title in an informal and fun way.  

Do not try to go off the wall in such cases. The tone of your essay and the title have a strong connection to a good essay. 

5. Use a Central Idea or a Quote 

It is not mandatory but an easy way to create a title that uses a central idea. You can use a quote as the title of your essay topic. 

If the purpose is served correctly, even song lyrics work the best sometimes. 

6. Summary in Three Words

The most common and basic technique is to get a title from the summary of your essay. 

A writer can summarize the entire essay or the central idea and thesis statement in three words and write a title. 

This can be a title by putting it in a headline, inserting a colon, and stating the purpose of your essay. 

7. Movie Titles in an Essay 

A movie title can also be used as a title in an essay.

There are some basic ways to do that. A writer can highlight the title, use a capital letter for the first letter of the movie title, and italicize its font. 

Another technique is by creating a sentence structure and using a movie title in it. You can use quotation marks as well as the underlining tool. However, title the essay according to the field of study and don’t make it irrelevant. 

Mistakes to Avoid While Giving a Title to Your Essay

Here are some tips to keep in mind when crafting effective essay titles to avoid common mistakes:

• Positive themes

Avoid writing about sensitive, unethical, or immoral topics, such as drugs, prostitution, or murder.

• Personal information

Your personal negative experiences should not be included in your essay. However, you can still include lessons learned from those experiences in a professional manner.

• Relevant Questions

Make sure to ask questions that are relevant to your field of study to ensure you choose an appropriate topic.

• Professional tone

Keep your essay professional and avoid including personal information or experiences that are not relevant. Your readers are not interested in your personal life.

• Understanding requirements

It's important to understand your professor's requirements to avoid choosing the wrong topic and wasting time and effort.

• Neutral perspective

Avoid taking an offensive approach in your essay and steer clear of controversial topics such as religion, abortion, and politics.

How to Title an Essay in Different Formats?

All academic essays require a format through which the writer shapes his document. This format varies from academic level to level and institution as well. The format styles include MLA, APA, Chicago, and Harvard. 

MLA, APA, and Chicago are the most common formats that are usually used. If you are writing an essay choosing a specific format, all of the parts should be drafted accordingly. 

From titling an essay to drawing a conclusion, the writer must follow the format properly to create a strong essay. 

How to Title an Essay in MLA Format?

No matter which essay format you are using to shape your argumentative essay, descriptive essay, etc. The qualities of the title and components remain the same.

Although the formatting of the title may differ. For an MLA style , format your essay title in the following pattern:

• On the cover page of your essay, using double spacing, write your name in the upper left corner
• Along with your name, present your instructor’s name, the course title, and the date. 
• Double-space a line and using centered alignment, provide the essay title in font size 12 pt. 
• Do not bold or italicize the title.
• Capitalize important words only and not the articles in the title. 

How to Format an Essay in APA Format?

If you are writing an essay in APA style, you might be wondering how to title an essay in apa format. 

Simply use the following guidelines to format your title and make your writing process easy: 

• Type the title in upper and lowercase letters
• Use centered alignment on the upper half of the page and write the title
• The title in APA style should not exceed more than 12 words
• Avoid using abbreviations and irrelevant words 
• The title should be presented in a line or two and not more than that
• Use double spacing between the lines 
• Beneath the title, write your name and the institutional affiliation.

How to Title an Essay Chicago Style 

To create an appropriate final version of the title for your essay in Chicago style, you should follow certain guidelines.

• Use a heading level 2 (H2) for your title
• Center the title on the page and use title case capitalization
• Keep the title informative and concise, aiming for no more than 12-15 words
• Consider including relevant keywords to make your essay easier to find
• Avoid using slang or informal language in your title
• Use proper grammar and punctuation

How to Choose a Good Title for an Essay 

Choosing a good title for an essay is crucial as it sets the tone and theme for the reader. 

Here are some important qualities to consider when selecting a title:

• Informative: A good title should give the reader an idea of what the essay is about. It should be concise and clearly convey the main topic or argument of the essay.
• Catchy and Memorable: A title that is catchy and memorable can grab the reader's attention and make them more likely to read the essay. Consider using wordplay, puns, or alliteration to make your title stand out.
• Unique: A title that is unique and original can make your essay stand out from others. Avoid using generic or cliché titles that have been overused.
• Accurate: A title should accurately reflect the content of the essay. Avoid using sensational or misleading titles that do not accurately convey the main point or argument of the essay.
• Relevant: A title should be relevant to the current times or issues. Especially in subjects like current events, social or political issues, and scientific research.
• Reflective of Tone: The title should also reflect the tone of the essay. If the essay is humorous, the title should be as well. If the essay is serious or academic, the title should reflect that.

Essay Title Examples

Just like the tone of every essay differs, the title also differs from each type of essay. For example, movie titles can only be used for informal writing and narrative essays. 

Some examples of essay titles are provided below.

Here are some more examples of essay titles.

Tips to Draft an Essay Title

Titles for Different Types of Essay

How To Title An Essay About A Book

Bad vs Good Essay Title Examples - H3

Tips for Crafting an Outstanding Title 

Here are some tips for crafting an outstanding title:

• Brainstorm: Begin by brainstorming a list of potential titles for your essay or paper. Write down as many ideas as you can think of, even if they seem silly or irrelevant at first.
• Be Specific: A good title should be specific and accurate. It should give the reader an idea of what the essay is about. Avoid vague or general titles that don't provide any useful information.
• Use Keywords: Including keywords in your title can make it easier for readers to find your work in searches. Consider what words or phrases a person might use to search for your topic and incorporate them into your title.
• Be Creative: A creative and unique title can make your work stand out from others. Consider using wordplay, puns, alliteration, or metaphors to create a memorable and attention-grabbing title.
• Keep It Short and Sweet: While a title should be specific and informative, it should also be concise. Try to keep your title under 10-12 words, as longer titles can be difficult to read and remember.

For more tips, you can check out this video:

The success of your overall essay is not just based on how well you presented the argument and conducted research to gather the information. A title plays a vital role as well. 

Creative titles are like the icing on the cake. Nobody will want to read it when it will not appeal to them. 

Make your college essay and paper flawless, as they are the only thing that will get you scores in academics. So, you have to know what mistakes to avoid and what to do when title the essay.   

However, you can ask professionals at our best essay service to write your essays perfectly and with the best quality.

Place your " write my college essay for me " request today to get your essays and research papers written by professionals and get writing services at exciting prices. 

Also, try our AI writing tool to make your academic journey easier!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it better to use a question or a statement as my essay title.

Whether to use a question or a statement as your essay title depends on the content and purpose of your essay.

Using a question can be effective if your essay is exploratory and seeks to answer a specific question. On the other hand, using a statement can be more appropriate if your essay has a clear argument or thesis statement.

Barbara P (Literature, Marketing)

Barbara is a highly educated and qualified author with a Ph.D. in public health from an Ivy League university. She has spent a significant amount of time working in the medical field, conducting a thorough study on a variety of health issues. Her work has been published in several major publications.

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Essay Writing Guide

How To Title An Essay

How to Title an Essay - A Detailed Guide

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A title is the first thing that your readers will interact with. So, it should be something interesting and worth paying attention to.  

Coming up with an interesting title while writing an essay can be the most difficult and sometimes frustrating task. The best essay titles are those that are both creative and informative.

If you have no idea what are the most eye-catching ideas for an essay, this article will help you. Here, we will discuss the key elements for titling your essay and some example essay titles for your help.  

So, let’s start with the blog!

• 1. Why is it Important to Have a Good Essay Title?
• 2. What are the Basic Components of an Essay Title?
• 3. How To Make A Good Title For An Essay?
• 4. Essay Titles in Different Formats
• 5. What are the Characteristics of a Good Essay Title?
• 6. Additional Rules To Create a Good Essay Title
• 7. Some Interesting Example Essay Titles

Why is it Important to Have a Good Essay Title?

A great essay title is very important, and it can make or break the overall quality of your essay. 

The reason is pretty simple: the title you choose for your essay is the first thing that will decide if your readers will continue reading your paper or not. 

That’s why the choice of words and how you create a title is very important. If you are thinking the content of your essay is what matters, then you are wrong. To get a good grade and impress your teacher, every part of the paper plays an important role. 

Creating a title that convinces people to read your essay also allows you to showcase your knowledge and writing skills. 

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What are the Basic Components of an Essay Title?

There are different types of essays , and each essay has a specific structure that can be followed for writing a well-written paper. Creating an essay title has it is own method, too. 

Below, you can find the main components of an essay title. 

• The Catchy Hook: It introduces the topic in the most interesting and creative way. 
• Topic Keywords: It is the ‘what’ question of your essay. This component of an essay title identifies the concept that you will discuss in your essay. 
• Focus Keywords: It is the ‘when’ and ‘where’ question of your essay. It provides more information about the headline and makes it more professional. 

How To Make A Good Title For An Essay?

There are a few principles that you should keep in mind when titling an essay.  

Write Essay First, Title in the Last

One effective approach is to complete your entire essay first and then tackle the title last. This method allows you to gain a comprehensive understanding of what would resonate with your readers.

Utilize Your Thesis

Your thesis statement , typically found in your essay's introductory paragraph, can be a goldmine for title inspiration. Reworking it can lead to a compelling and relevant essay title.

Take into Account the Tone of Your Paper

Consider the tone of your essay, as it significantly influences the title's choice. For serious topics, maintain a serious and appropriate tone in your title.

Use Relevant Keywords

Incorporate two to three relevant keywords within your title. These keywords should reflect the core themes of your essay and help potential readers find your work.

Get Help from Online Tools

Exploring online title generator tools can provide valuable insights into crafting an effective essay title. These tools can spark creativity and suggest suitable phrases that resonate with your essay's content.

Essay Titles in Different Formats

When titling an essay in different formats, it's important to follow the specific guidelines and formatting requirements of the style guide you are using. Below, you can find the basic guidelines for titling an essay for different formats:

Essay Title APA Format

Let's see what an APA title should include: 

• The title should be centered but not in bold or italics.
• Use title case for the title.
• Capitalize the first word of the title and any subtitles, as well as any major words within the title (e.g., The Psychology of Motivation: Understanding Human Behavior).
• Use a 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font.

The Impact of Climate Change on Global Biodiversity

Essay Title MLA Format

Here is what an MLA paper title should include: 

• Title should be centered.
• Use title case, which means capitalizing the first and last words of the title and all major words in between (e.g., The Art of Writing: Crafting Engaging Essays).
• Do not underline, italicize, or use quotation marks for the title.
• It's common to use a 12-point Times New Roman font.

Exploring the Themes in Shakespeare's Sonnets: Love, Time, and Beauty

Essay Title Chicago Format

Chicago style offers two options for formatting titles: headline-style and sentence-style.

• Headline style: The title is in the title case and is centered. Major words are capitalized.

Example: The Decline of the Roman Empire: A Historical Analysis

• Sentence style: The title is in sentence case (only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized). It is also centered. Use a 12-point Times New Roman or similar font.

Example: The decline of the Roman Empire: a historical analysis

MLA Format for a Book or Film Title Within the Essay

So, how to write a book title in an essay? If your essay discusses a book or film title, you would follow MLA formatting for titles within the essay. Enclose the title in double quotation marks.

Example: "The Catcher in the Rye": A Study of Adolescent Alienation

AMA Format (American Medical Association)

• The title should be centered.
• Use title case, with the first letter of major words capitalized (e.g., The Role of Genetics in Disease Prevention).
• Do not use bold, italics, or quotation marks.
• Use a 12-point Times New Roman font.

Example: The Impact of Nutrition on Cardiovascular Health

What are the Characteristics of a Good Essay Title?

A good essay title serves as a preview of the essay's content and should be engaging and informative. Here are the characteristics of a good essay title:

• Clarity: The title should clearly convey the topic or subject matter of the essay. It should give the reader a sense of what to expect when they read the essay.
• Relevance: The title should be directly relevant to the content of the essay. It should not mislead the reader by promising something that the essay does not deliver.
• Conciseness: A good title is concise and to the point. It should be relatively short and avoid unnecessary words or phrases. Brevity is key.
• Engagement: An effective title should be attention-grabbing and stimulate readers' interest. It should make them want to read the essay. This can be achieved through the use of intriguing language, a question, or a thought-provoking statement.
• Originality: Aim for a title that is unique and original. Avoid clichés or overly generic titles that don't distinguish your essay from others on the same topic.
• Balance: A good title strikes a balance between being descriptive and not giving away the entire essay. It should provide a sense of the topic without revealing all the details.
• Appropriateness: Consider the context in which the essay will be read. The title should be appropriate for the intended audience and purpose of the essay.
• Grammar and Style: The title should adhere to the rules of grammar and style for the chosen writing format (e.g., title case, sentence case) and should not contain errors.
• Keywords: If relevant, include keywords or terms that are important to the subject matter. This can help with searchability and SEO if the essay is published online.
• Readability: Ensure that the title is easy to read and understand. Avoid overly complex or jargon-filled titles unless the audience is well-versed in the subject matter.
• Tone: The tone of the title should match the tone of the essay. For example, if the essay is serious and academic, the title should reflect that tone.
• Memorability: A memorable title is more likely to stick in the reader's mind. If it's clever, thought-provoking, or evocative, it can make a lasting impression.

Additional Rules To Create a Good Essay Title

Here are additional rules and tips for creating a good title, summarized and rewritten in simpler language:

• Title Each Section: Give every part of your writing a clear title. This helps organize your text and make it more understandable.
• Reflect the Theme: Make sure your title reflects the main idea of your essay. It should give readers a good idea of what your essay is about.
• Use Title Case: Capitalize the first letter of every word in your title, except for small words like pronouns (e.g., "it," "they"), articles (e.g., "a," "an," "the"), prepositions (e.g., "in," "on," "at"), and conjunctions (e.g., "and," "but"). These small words are not capitalized unless they are the first word in the title.
• Avoid Underlining: Don't underline your title. Bold text is usually sufficient to emphasize the title. Some experts suggest that if you really want to underline it, don't bold it at the same time to avoid overemphasis.
• Review and Edit: Always review the final version of your title. Check for grammar, structure, spelling, and overall quality. Re-read it to make sure it effectively represents your essay's topic and captures your reader's attention.
• Using a Colon: If you decide to use a colon in your title, remember to follow the rules. A colon is used to separate two interesting parts of the title.
• Simplify and Keep It Short: Rewrite your title in simple words and try to keep it short. Concise titles are often more effective.

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Some Interesting Example Essay Titles

If you are struggling to come up with a good essay title, refer to the following section. Here, you will find some interesting title examples for different kinds of essays. 

How to Title an Essay About Yourself - Examples

• Things that make you happy
• The significance of personal growth 
• Your definition of feminism 
• Why is volunteering important?
• The importance of a healthy lifestyle 
• Your favorite memory 
• Your proudest moment 
• Your secret talent 
• A place you’d want to go
• Your most unfortunate day 

How to Title an Essay for College - Examples

• Poop, animals, and the environment
• From homeschooling to the football field
• The civil rights movement and its effects
• Internet Influence on Kids
• The popularity of Sports in the United States
• A book that sparks your love for literature 
• The steps you took to fix an error in coding a program 
• A serious illness you battled
• A talent you have had since you were young 
• A documentary that made you aware of a particular issue

Example Argumentative Essay Titles

• Should animal testing be banned? 
• Is healthcare a basic human right?
• Why does homework not improve learning?
• Should video games be considered a sport?
• Should teachers be paid more?
• Is standardized testing effective? 
• Is space travel a waste of money?
• Effects of video games on children
• Is cloning ethical?
• Is globalization good or bad?

Example Research Paper Titles

• How does a search engine work?
• Attention deficit disorder
• Limitations of the media
• What are the gender issues in education?
• What are the pros and cons of school uniforms?
• Discrimination in education
• Education and funding 
• Disadvantages of homeschooling 
• How can eating disorders be treated? 
• Interracial marriage

Example Descriptive Essay Titles

• The most beautiful place on earth
• The beauty of the starry sky
• A perfect companion for me
• The best concert I attended Why I like my smartphone
• An unusual room
• Your favorite food
• A favorite photograph 
• An accident scene 
• Your favorite car

Hopefully, now you understand how to title an essay in the best way possible. Refer to the above guidelines before you begin the writing process.

However, you can also get help from our essay writing company  if you don’t know how to title an essay. Professional essay writers at MyPerfectWords.com can help you write a creative title or even the whole essay from scratch for you.

Feel free to contact our paper writer online anytime and get the best essay writing help.

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How to Title an Essay?

Purpose and importance of essay title.

An essay title bears great importance, which is why a wrong headline choice can make or break the quality of the paper you submit. Why? The reason is simple. The title you choose has to intrigue your professor or other readers. It must make them want to start reading the whole thing to find out what you wrote and how you developed an argument. This is especially important for an argumentative essay topic . That is why the words you use are vital to the success of the entire work.

The title is, in fact, the first thing your professor, client, or other readers see and your job is to get the “This seems very interesting” reaction, rather than “Oh God, this will be boring.”

Some may assume that the text is the only thing that matters. Every part of your paper plays a huge role if you want to get positive feedback and a good grade. Choosing a title that encourages people to read your essay because they’re curious also allows you to find fertile ground to showcase your knowledge, wisdom, and writing skills simultaneously. This is particularly important for freelance writers whose success depends on the number of people who open and read their essays and articles.

What Are the Qualities of a Good Essay Title

Before you start writing a title for your essay, it is always useful to know more about the qualities that every headline should have. When you know all characteristics of good titles, you’re bound to make wise decisions and complete this part of the essay writing process successfully.

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Below we present the most important qualities for the title of your paper:

Eye-catching – think about it. Do you prefer reading content or academic papers with boring headlines, or you’re more inclined to opt for something with an interesting, eye-catching deadline? The answer is obvious

Credible – most students and freelance writers make mistakes by trying to make their titles catchy. In such a way, they stray from the truth, thus making the headline inaccurate or a complete, blatant lie. Nothing will anger your professor like a heading that doesn’t correspond to the truth

Easy to read – nobody likes complicated and tricky titles, not even your professor. Stay away from strange phrases, complex structures, and even some uncommon fonts when writing your headline

Active voice – if your heading contains verbs, always make sure they’re in active rather than passive voice. For instance, instead of “Is regression of society caused by celebrity culture”, you should write “How does celebrity culture contribute to the regression of society?”.

Brief – whenever you can, make an essay title concise. Long headlines are confusing and don’t demonstrate your skills for laconic writing

Accurate – regardless of the topic or niche and under no circumstances write an inaccurate essay title. It would help if you gave your readers a clear idea of what they will read in an essay. Never try to mislead. It can only harm the overall quality of the essay, and your professor will not appreciate it

What Are The Components of the Essay Title?

Our experts state that all types of essays have their outline formula you can use to write a high-quality paper. If you build your heading, you can create your formula too. Below are the main components of your essay’s title:

• A catchy hook – introduces the paper in a creative way
• Topic keywords – the “core” of your essay. This component identifies concepts you’ll be exploring
• Focus keywords – the “where/when” of your essay. Together with topic keywords, these are vital for your headline and provide more info that makes it professional

Example: Buy Me a Date: Consumerization and Theories of Social Interaction in 21st Century Online Dating Sites

Let’s deduce:

• Catchy hook – “buy me a date”
• Topic keywords – “consumerism, social interaction, dating”
• Focus keywords – “21st century”

Stuck on How to Title an Essay?

Check out these example essay titles. Essay Topic Generator Look for topic View more

How to Create Essay Title

Now that you know the importance of essay titles and the qualities they should have, it’s time to learn how to create them. Don’t feel bad about yourself if you can’t make a good essay title on the spot. Even the most prolific writers experience writer’s block when choosing an ideal headline. The writer’s block isn’t the issue here. It matters how you overcome it and create the title. Here are a few ideas that you’ll find useful.

Write Essay First, Title Last

Creating the title and writing your essay may seem logical, but doing the opposite can be more beneficial. Most authors never start with the title. Of course, you may have some working headline in mind, allowing you to focus, develop an argument, and so on. But, writing your paper will give you a clear idea of what to use in your title. As you write and reread your essay, you’ll know what to say in the title and intrigue your reader. You’ll experience your “Aha; I’ll write this” moment.

Another benefit of creating a title is that you won’t waste too much time. It is not uncommon for students to spend hours just figuring out the proper title for their essays. That’s the time you could have spent researching, creating an outline, or writing. If you still feel confused, you can get professional   online writing help at Edusson.

Use Your Thesis

Here is yet another reason to leave the title for the end. Good titles offer your reader (or more of them) the reason for reading your paper. Therefore, the best place to find that reason is the thesis statement you’ve already written in the introduction. Try working the thesis statement, or at least a part of it, into a title.

Let’s say your thesis statement is this: “The American colonies rebelled against Great Britain because they were tired of being taxed, and they resented British military presence in their lives and homes.”

To create a title, you may use the alliteration “Tired of Taxes and Troops,” or you can opt for “Rebellion of American Colonies against British Rule: Taxes, Troops, and other factors.”

Use Popular Phrases and Clichés You Can Re-work

Popular catchphrases that apply to the essay’s topic make eye-catching titles, too, particularly when the phrase is amusing or creates an interesting pun. Besides popular phrases, you can also go for clichés and make some tweaks to re-work and adapt them to the topic of your essay and title itself. For instance: “Fit to be tried: The battle over gay marriage in the courts”.

Consider the Tone of Your Essay

Of course, the tone of your essay plays an important role in creating a perfect title. If you are writing about a serious topic, don’t be witty, silly, or off-the-wall with your headline. If your essay is a personal statement with some anecdotes, you can go for a sparkling yet intelligent title. Always make sure the tone of the title and essay match. Bear in mind that even in amusing titles, you should avoid using jargon. Don’t use abbreviations in your headlines as well.

Use Quote or Central Idea

This isn’t a general rule, but it is handy when applicable. Your title can feature a quote or a part of it taken from our similar interesting essay topics and ideas you’re writing about. If appropriate and relevant to the subject, even a part of a song lyric can serve the same purpose. You can take a fragment of a thought-provoking quote when your essay is about a book. For example: “Toil and trouble: Murder and intrigue in Macbeth”.

Sum Up Your Essay in THREE WORDS

This is a useful technique for creating essay titles. All you have to do is to sum up your entire essay or a thesis statement in three words and use them to build the headline, put a colon and then insert what your essay is all about.

How to Punctuate an Essay Title

Many authors find it difficult to punctuate titles in essays. Properly punctuating titles may be tricky, because the standards aren’t always consistent. Here are some professional tips from our expert that used to write a college essay for students for appropriately punctuating titles using italics, capitalization, and quotation marks.

Although the criteria for proper title capitalization vary widely, here are a few guidelines. Except for articles and prepositions, capitalize the first and final word in a title and every other word in the title. Some people recommend capitalizing prepositions with five or more letters. Of course, just the initial letter is capitalized.

Use punctuation marks only when essential, not at random . Commas, colons, and semicolons are examples of punctuation marks that should be used when they are required. Quotation marks should be placed wherever one occurs in the text of an essay or on the works-cited page.

If your essay contains a subtitle, place a colon after the title and the subheading on the following line underneath it . Even if your headline and subtitle are very short, use two lines. Your work’s additional titles or headers should be bolded but not bigger than the text that follows them. Arrange them to the left and insert them either at the beginning of a section with a period or on their line without a period.

Self-sufficient works or collective essays are italicized . For example, the title of a newspaper might be placed in italics. The title of an article, a song from an album, and a TV episode would be in quotation marks.

Using italics instead of quotation marks consistently throughout your text is critical. The standards for capitalizing and punctuating titles differ in writing. Certain writing assignments need to use one writing handbook’s format over another. Therefore, it might be useful to consult your professor to choose the best guidebook to follow for academic work.

Examples of Good and Bad Titles for Essays

Unsurprisingly, the reader is drawn to an essay title immediately. Nobody loves lengthy and clumsy headlines that do not convey the paper’s main argument. Pay close attention to the word choice as you angle your work. Make use of your rational thinking and creativity. Our specialists that can gladly help you to write essays for money produced the sections below for further information.

It should be simple to read

Essay titles that are completed yet difficult to grasp will not aid you. As a result, it is better to avoid using difficult terms and ideas. Choose something that every level of the reader may read and understand.

Good: “Joseph Stalin vs. Winston Churchill”, “How to Deal with Depression”, “Pros and Cons of Freelance”.

Bad: “Employees Use Social Networking Rather Than Concentrating During Work Hours”, “When Should You Start Giving Your Baby Solid Foods”

It must be short

The title of your essay should not be overly lengthy. It should instead be succinct and straight to the point. Long essay headlines will mislead your readers and not highlight your writing abilities.

Good: “Best App for Writers”, “The Effect of Racism”.

Bad: “What Do School Shooting Survivors Do When They Return to School”

It must be captivating

If you write a good title, it might become an attention-grabbing aspect. Don’t pass up the opportunity to wow your audience right away.

Good: “Suppose This Happened on Your First School Day”, “Do You Engage in Any of These 10 Awkward Behaviors?”

Bad: “Everlasting Feelings”, “Recent Advances in Kidney Failure Treatment”

Mistakes to avoid

• Avoid negative tone and sensitive problems
• No dramatic and unclear titles
• Don’t overuse fonts and punctuation
• Be simple and avoid complicated language
• Try to sound professional, don’t use filler words

25 Captivating Titles For An Essay

Do you want your essay to persuade your readers or professor? Start with the right words in the title. How your words sound matter more than how sensible they are. One of the greatest principles every student must adhere to is to create meaningful and persuasive papers. The first important step is choosing a catchy topic. If you feel lost, you can look up a list of argumentative topic examples from your field of study. A captivating subject can do a ton of wonderful things: increase the readers’ engagement, grab the professor’s attention, make your paper more interesting, and score higher marks.

What topic idea do you think would make someone start reading your paper immediately? Interesting, confident, creative, striking, bold are some of the words that describe the best essay titles.

Regardless of the paper, you handle, use the following steps on your way to crafting an interesting topic.

• Find a creative hook, fact, or quote
• Get the right words to describe your idea
• Think about a statement that summarizes your paper

Are you stuck wondering how to title your essay? Don’t worry – we have a great selection of catchy college essay titles that will capture the reader’s attention. Our list is sure to help you make a lasting impression on your professor or any other reader. If you need further assistance, you can also take advantage of our literature review service for the best results.

Argumentative Essay Title Examples

• Society Has The Responsibility Of Fighting Anorexia
• Every Country Must Activate The Death Sentence
• Is The US Education System Of Any Help To International Students?
• The Most Corrupt Nations In The World
• Is Politics A Practical Art Or An Inborn Talent?
• Does Alcohol Destroy The Brain?
• The Most Appropriate Age To Vote
• Spanish Is Not The Easiest Language To Learn
• Do Steroids Help Or Destroy Human Body?

Persuasive Essay Title Examples

• Capitalism: The Perpetrator Of Social Development
• Are Illegal Immigrants A Big Issue?
• Alternative Medicine: Pros And Cons
• What Role Do Guidance Counselors Play In The Mental Health Of Teenagers
• TV As A Major Contributor To Violence In Society
• How Would Superman Be In The Real World?
• Horror Movies Must Be Banned For Kids’ Sake

Catchy Essay Title Examples

• Team Games Should Be Played By Both Boys And Girls
• Zoos Vs. Human Prisons
• The Good Side Of  War
• Marijuana Can Assist In Peacemaking
• School Kids Should Stop Wearing Uniforms
• The Use Of Filthy Language On The Internet
• Technology Is Turning People Into Zombies
• The Pros And Cons Of Globalization
• Tsunami Is A Death Wave

Bottom line

The success of your essay doesn’t only depend on the argument you develop, research you do, the title matters as well. Most students struggle to find an ideal headline, but with a few easy tips and tricks from this post, you can forget about frustrations, save some time, and create a catchy and informative headline to intrigue readers. But if you have some doubts, why not try custom essay writing at Edusson and make sure you have everything in place for a successful essay?

FAQ About How to Title an Essay

Can an essay title be a question.

Yes, it can be a question. It should be related to the facts presented in the essay and should represent the thesis that the author intends to prove. But don’t overuse it. Sometimes it may add to your essay a less formal tone.

How Long Should An Essay Title Be?

Excellent research paper titles include precise terms and phrases that appropriately reflect the article’s key topic. Come up with a title for essay that is brief yet contains enough keywords. This will allow others to locate it while searching related databases. A typical rule of thumb is 5 – 10 words.

Should An Essay Title Be Italicized?

If the source is independent, italicize the title. Write the titles of books, films, websites, and magazines in italics. If the paper belongs to a larger piece of work, add the quotation marks. Writers use them for articles, websites, essays, and songs .

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How to Create an Essay Title: 7 Best Practices

Table of contents

The title of your essay is probably the first thing that your readers or professors will read, so it has to be perfect. If the title is appealing, you can consider half the battle won.

Your title is like a window to your mind and your power of expression. Through your title, your readers will determine if they are interested in reading your essay or not.

Choosing the right essay title gives a good impression, sets the tone of the paper, and augments the argument that is later discussed in the main body of the essay.

In this article, you will learn how to create an essay title that attracts attention and generates interest in your professor.

What are the Components of a Good Essay Title

A title can make or break the eagerness of wanting to read the entire essay. If you have an uninspiring title for an interesting, well-researched paper, your professor will most likely be put-off, making your entire effort go waste.

On the other hand, a clear and concise title helps to evoke inquisitiveness in your readers, making them open to what you have to say and the arguments you’ve addressed.

A good and clear title also emits the fact that you have researched and understood the prompt, you know what you want to write about, and you know how to frame it. This is a tremendous plus point as it's very important to bring your audience to attention so that you can get them to engage with and relate to your writing.

Before we talk about how to create an essay title, let’s take a look at the three components of a strong essay title:

• A catchy hook - A creative way to introduce your subject argument to your readers. This is what draws your readers in.
• Topic keywords - These keywords are related to the important topics that you will be exploring further and detailing in your essay. This is majorly relying on the “what” part of your paper.
• Focus keywords or source - These stand firm on the “where/when” aspect of your essay. These keywords will help your readers understand a little more about the source of the argument and where the concepts that are to be discussed have originated from.

Example of an essay title for better understanding

“ What is the truth: Is Veganism a privilege for the 21st Century? ”

Hook : What is the truth?

Topic Keywords : Veganism; privilege

Source : 21st Century

7 Best Practices to Create an Essay Title and Captivate Readers

We know that the naming of the essay is just the first step, but it is one of the most important aspects of essay writing.

Here are seven practices to keep in mind while framing an essay title.

1. Craft the title at the end

People often waste too much time thinking about coming up with a good essay title first and then begin writing their essays.

It may seem like a logical thing to do, but it is not the most practical idea. If you still have a working headline in your mind, write it in the top corner of your essay for backup.

But as you write your essay, you will immediately come up with a variety of perfect essay titles that are brief and summarize the gist of the essay in a few words. This is because as you read and re-read your essay, you will have a clear idea as to what you are really saying in your draft and your title should represent the focus of your writing.

The time that you’ll spend thinking about your title could well be used to do research or creating an outline .

2. Use your thesis statement

A good title will influence your readers to be interested in your essay and explore it further. It will make them eager to know more about what you are writing. This is where your thesis statement plays an important role and provides a clear understanding of your title.

Your thesis statement and your title should be interdependent and since this statement is the focal argument of your paper, it should be incorporated at least as a part of your headline.

3. Consider the tone and audience of the essay

The title should grasp the reader's attention, and this can only be accomplished when you know who your target audience readers are going to be.

When you are submitting an essay as part of your college curriculum, you are reaching out to a learned faculty. It is important to keep your tone grave and your argument seriously. Avoid the usage of flippant language or slang because you are not talking to 16-year-olds. The audience is rooted in the transfer of knowledge, and your address to them should be likewise.

Similarly, in the case of the tone of the essay, a descriptive essay will have a fairly different tone from an argumentative essay. Since you are writing an academic essay, use a formal setting for writing your essay.

The subject of the essay also determines the tone. For instance, the way you title a fashion innovation essay would be quite different from the way you do a write-up about an archeological excavation.

The theme and audience of your essay should determine the method of crafting your essay title as well as give you a head start in framing your content.

Always make sure that the tone of your essay and your title match and have a similar theme, and don’t mislead the readers.

This video by Language Centre University of Groningen will help you determine the purpose, audience, and tone of your essay

4. Sum up your title in 5 words

Your essay title should be brief but should give your readers an idea regarding the main argument of your essay.

Think about it: if you had to summarize the focus of your essay in 5 words, what would it be? Long and detailed titles look cumbersome while making it tedious for readers to read or understand the context of your essay. The key is to get straight to the point.

5. Keep it simple

Don't use fancy or complicated words that might confuse your readers, instead go for straight-to-the-point words and avoid adding any unnecessary details in the title of your essay. Pick out important and useful keywords from your essay to frame a great title.

6. Look for creative quotes

There is no hard and fast rule for choosing essay titles from the content written. You can get creative and pick any quote, phrase or slogan that is relevant or appropriate to your specific paper and that suits as a headline.

You can also use popular phrases or idioms to generate that perfect title. This will make your topic look more approachable and relatable to your readers.

7. Avoid abbreviations

Why should you opt for using abbreviations, jargon, or slang in your essay title when you can write full, proper words?

You doesn't want all that hard work and commitment in crafting a great essay to go down the drain only because you used a “misc.” instead of writing ‘miscellaneous’ or a ‘vs.’ instead of ‘versus’.

Your readers will see an abbreviation on your essay title and think of your topic as too casual and not worth spending time on. Thus, they would move on to other topics and that will result in your essay being sidelined.

Conclusion: create a strong essay title

Generating a great essay title takes diligence, commitment, and proper time. The structure, each component, the appropriate words, and the clear but specific meaning and argument of your essay should be showcased in the title.

This ability, if cultivated well, will surely go a long way in earning you good grades and impressing your professors with your writing skills, your research competence, and your strengths in thinking through a topic.

When you need help in grabbing the reader's attention right from the outset, implementing these seven best practices will help you craft a strong essay title. If you’re not happy with your essay title or need help brainstorming, you can reach out to our experts at Writers Per Hour.

From researching topic ideas and framing essay titles to delivering an original, well-written fast essay - our professional essay writers are here to support you with all your essay writing needs!

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How to Title an Essay: Guide with Creative Examples [2024]

It’s not a secret that the reader notices an essay title first. No catchy hook or colorful examples attract more attention from a quick glance. Composing a creative title for your essay is essential if you strive to succeed, as it:

• causes the first impression;
• reflects the tone, topic, and the purpose of the writing;
• indicates the author’s credibility.

Thus, how you name your paper is of the same importance as the paper itself.

Good titles for essays should be concise and eye-catching. Nobody likes long and cumbersome headings that do not reflect the point of the paper. While tilting your work, pay enough attention to the word choice. How do you come up with a good title? Use your common sense and imagination. For more details, our experts prepared the sections below.

• 💭 What Are Good Titles?

✔️ Finish Your Essay

🤲 sum it up, 🏷️ define the keywords, 🖊️ follow the format, ⚖️ change words, ✨ 23 creative title examples, 💭 what are good titles for essays.

A title is a critical part of any academic paper, so you must understand what to include and how to choose it. Here are some features that your heading has to show.

👩‍🏫 How to Title an Essay?

Are you struggling with formulating a heading? Yes, this task is quite challenging. But let’s figure out the basic rules.

The title of any paper should reveal:

• What the paper is about. Cover the general idea of your work in the title.
• Why the reader might be interested in it. Prove the relevance of your paper to the audience.
• The context of the issue. A good title previews the full picture of the topic regarding its “when” and “where.”

To nail your essay heading, follow the guide below. Check our title examples if you are not sure about your abilities. You can also try and use a creative title page generator for a faster result.

Before writing a title to your essay, you should finish your paper. This way, you’ll be able to reread and get the whole idea to incorporate it into your title.

Moreover, you’ll see how long a title should be for an essay after finishing the entire piece. But remember: not too lengthy and not too wordy.

The essay title depends on the type of essay:

• Narrative essay . For this kind of essay, the title should not provide any detailed info or reflect your position. It should only present the general idea of your piece of writing. For example, the narrative essay topic may look like this: My Thorny Pass to Success.
• Argumentative essay . The title for an argumentative essay should clearly state the point you are going to support. For instance, you can choose the following heading: Social Media Has a Negative Effect on Teenagers.
• Cause and effect essay . For this kind of essay writing, the title should be clear and provide a background of the issue. The reader should immediately understand what the problem is, what its cause is, what an effect is. Usually, writers use the words “due to” or “because” to highlight the cause-effect correlation. Look at the example: Because Coronavirus Attacks, People Start to Explore New Ways of Remote Working.
• Persuasive essay . A persuasive essay should have a dynamic title that immediately calls to action. Moreover, the topic has to be relevant to the audience. For example, for students, the following title would be compelling: Sleep 7-8 Hours a Day: the Lack of Sleep Affects Academic Performance.

The most straightforward way of creating an essay title is summarizing. Sum up the whole paper in one sentence, focus on the central idea, cut the details, and use it as the title.

For this purpose, you can take your thesis statement and restate it, adding creativity. Or use the best summary generator you can find to simplify the task. But don’t forget to make sure that it sounds catchy and explains why the potential reader should check your essay.

For example:

Let’s imagine, you are writing about Artificial Intelligence, and your thesis statement sounds like this:

The purpose of this paper is to explore the advantages of Artificial intelligence’s influence on society and to discover possible outcomes.

Then, the title may be the following:

Artificial Intelligence – the Next Step into the Bright Future.

Every essay includes the key concepts that you explored and the terms that you used for this. You should find essential words and phrases and incorporate them into the essay titles. The keywords will focus the reader’s attention on the central topic of your paper.

You are writing about the negative impact of deforestation on the environment. These are your keywords, as they are the most vital ones. Thus, the title would sound like this:

Protecting the Environment: Deforestation Should be Stopped.

Every educational institution requires to format the academic papers for a particular writing style. Among a wide diversity of citation styles , the most popular ones are APA and MLA formats.

There are a lot of specific requirements regarding the essay title formats. So, let’s investigate these styles.

The APA style requires a title page at the beginning of your research paper. Here, where the readers first meet the heading. The title page should include the following:

• The paper’s title. Centered, bold, capitalized, 3-4 lines below the top margin.
• The author’s name (first name, middle initial, last name). Centered, not bold, two lines below the title.
• The author’s affiliations. Centered, not bold, immediately after the name.
• Number and name of the course.
• The instructor’s name and title.
• Page number in the top right corner.

See the example of an APA title page below:

The MLA style does not require a separate title page. Still, some formatting rules are to be strictly followed.

• The MLA paper should start one inch from the top of the document, flush left.
• Write the author’s name, then the instructor’s name, the course number, and the date. Each item should be on a separate double-spaced line.
• Add the title of your paper. It should be centered and capitalized.
• Do not put quotation marks, underline, italicize, or boldface your MLA title. Just make it centered and capitalized.

Here is an example of an MLA title formatting.

Before choosing a title, figure out is the tone of your essay. Is it more formal or friendly? Do you write it for a college or a personal blog?

Change the wording to make your title sound more catchy and positive. Or serious and official. You can try something new and come up with a creative title for your essay.

You need to write an article about the benefits of healthy eating for university and your online blog. For an academic essay, your title would probably look like this:

A Well-Balanced Diet Is a Key to a Healthy Organism.

In contrast, for a blog article, it would be better to write something like this:

An Apple a Day Keeps a Doctor Away: How Healthy Eating Helps us Be Fit.

Do you see the magic? One topic, different wording, and completely diverse tones as a result. So, try until you reach the most appropriate version of the title for your piece of writing.

Are you still struggling with the selection of a heading for your paper? Take a look at our creative essay title examples! Inspire, then turn on your imagination, and create a personal title.

Argumentative Essay Titles.

• Intercultural Community at University: Prosperity or Constant Encounters.
• Leadership Nature: a Congenital or an Acquired Feature?
• Do Energetic Drinks Help or Harm the Organisms?
• Why Should Sex Education Be Taught at Schools?
• Should the Law Punish Bullying?
• Guns Legalization is an Unsafe Way of Self-Protection.

Narrative Essay Titles.

• Lady Macbeth – One of the Most Frightening Female Characters of Shakespeare.
• The Art of Overcoming Failures: How to Deal with the Downfalls Easily.
• Steve Jobs: from a Poor Student to a Multi-billionaire.
• The Most Influential Person in my Life.
• Three Biggest Events of my Life that Shaped me as a Person.
• What Does it Mean to be a Loving Kid for your Parents?
• What Does “Family” Mean to You?

Persuasive Essay Titles.

• Never Judge the Person by their Appearance.
• Music Should be Implemented as a Medical Treatment.
• In the Battle Between E-Books and Paper Books, the Last Ones Should Win.
• Remote Learning Cannot Replace Face-to-Face Classes.
• Technology Addiction is a Threat to the Future Generation.
• Murderers Should be Sentenced to Death Penalty.

Cause and Effect Essay Titles.

• Because of Traveling Around the World, People Expand their Horizons.
• Due to Massive Immigration, Countries Lose their Cultural Identity.
• Home Abuse as a Cause of Depression and Suicide as its Effect.
• Drug Addiction: a Cause for Psychological Disorder or an Effect?

Thank you for reading our article. Now you get how to come up with a good title for an essay. Don’t forget to share our page with your friends.

• Writing an Effective Title: Quick Tips, Student Support Writing Center, University of Minnesota
• Choosing a Title, Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Research Guides at University of Southern California
• How Do I Write a Great Title: U-M LSA Sweetland Center for Writing, College of Literature, Science, and Arts, University of Michigan
• General Format: Purdue Online Writing Lab, College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University
• Formatting a Research Paper, Heading and Title: The MLA Style Center
• Title Page Setup: APA Style, American Psychological Association
• APA Title Page (Cover Page) Format, Example, Template: Saul McLeod, Simply Psychology
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How to Write a Great College Application Essay Title

Learn why you should craft an effective title and how to make it work

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• Ph.D., English, University of Pennsylvania
• M.A., English, University of Pennsylvania
• B.S., Materials Science & Engineering and Literature, MIT

Your application essay' s title is the first thing admissions officials will read. Although there are many ways to approach the title, it's important that the words at the top of the page make the proper impression.

Key Takeaways: Application Essay Titles

• Don't skip the title. It's the first thing the admissions folks will read, and it is your chance to grab their interest.
• Avoid vague titles and cliché phrases. Make sure the title gives a sense of your essay's content.
• A little humor can be fine in a title, but it isn't necessary and cleverness should never be forced.

Importance of the Title

Ask yourself which work you'd be more excited to read: " Give Goth a Chance " or "Carrie's Essay." If you don't provide a title, you don't give your reader—in this case, busy admissions officials sorting through thousands of applications—any reason to be interested in reading your essay other than a sense of duty. Ensure that college admissions officers are motivated to read your essay due to curiosity rather than necessity.

Alternatively, imagine a newspaper in which every article lacks a title: You would be unlikely to pick up the paper and read anything. Clearly, a newspaper without titles would be confusing for readers. Application essays are similar in that way: Your readers want to know what it is that they are going to read.

The Purpose of an Application Essay Title

A well-crafted title should:

• Grab your reader's attention
• Make your reader want to read your essay
• Provide a sense of what your essay is about

When it comes to the third item, realize that you don't need to be too detailed. Academic essays often have titles that look like: "Julia Cameron's Photography: A Study of the Use of Long Shutter Speeds to Create Spiritual Effects." For an application essay, such a title would come across as cumbersome and even pompous.

Consider how a reader would react to an essay with the title, "The Author's Trip to Costa Rica and How It Changed His Attitude Toward Biodiversity and Sustainability." After reading such a long and belabored title, admissions officials would have little motivation to read the essay.

Essay Title Examples

A good title can be clever or play with words, such as "Porkopolis"  by Felicity or "Buck Up"  by Jill. "Porkopolis" is a nonsense word, but it works well for an essay on becoming a vegetarian in a meat-centric world, and "Buck Up" employs both a literal and figurative meaning of the phrase. However, don't try to be too clever. Such efforts can backfire.

A title can be provocative. As an example, a student who wrote about encountering new foods while abroad titled her essay "Eating Eyeballs." If your essay focuses on a humorous, shocking or embarrassing moment in your life, it's often easy to write an attention-grabbing title. Titles such as "Puking on the President," "Romeo's Ripped Tights," and "The Wrong Goal" are sure to pique your reader's interest.

Simple and direct language can also be quite effective. Consider, for example, "The Job I Should Have Quit"  by Drew,  "Wallflower"  by Eileen, and "Striking Out"  by Richard. These titles don't play with words or reveal great wit, but they accomplish their purpose perfectly well.

In all of these examples, the title provides at least a sense of the essay's subject matter, and each motivates the reader to continue reading. After viewing such titles, even harried admissions officials are sure to ask: What the heck does "Porkopolis" mean? Why did you eat eyeballs? Why should you have quit your job?

Avoid These Title Mistakes

There are some common missteps that applicants make when it comes to titles. Be aware of these pitfalls.

Vague language . You'll be off to a remarkably bland start if your essay is titled "Three Things That Matter to Me" or "A Bad Experience." "Bad" (or "good" or "evil or "nice") is a painfully subjective and meaningless word, and the word "things" might have worked well in Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," but it rarely adds anything of value to your essay. Be precise, not vague .

Broad, overly general language . This is a continuation of the vague language problem. Some titles try to cover far too much. Don't call your essay "My Life Story" or "My Personal Growth" or "An Eventful Upbringing." Such titles suggest that you are going to attempt to narrate years of your life in a few hundred words. Any such effort is doomed to failure, and your reader will doubt your essay before beginning the first paragraph.

Overblown vocabulary . The best essays use clear and accessible language. When a writer attempts to sound intelligent by adding unnecessary syllables to every word, the reading experience is often torturous. For example, if an essay's title is "My Utilization of Erroneous Rationalizations During My Pupilage," the reader's immediate response is going to be pure dread. No one wants to read 600 words on such a subject.

Strained cleverness . Be careful if you're relying on wordplay in your title. Not all readers are fans of puns, and a title may sound ridiculous if the reader doesn't understand a supposedly clever allusion. Cleverness is a good thing, but test out your title on your acquaintances to ensure that it works.

Clichés . If your title relies on a cliché, you're suggesting that the experience that you are narrating is unremarkable and commonplace. You don't want the first impression of your essay to be that you have nothing original to say. If you find yourself writing "When the Cat Got My Tongue" or "Burning the Midnight Oil," stop and reevaluate your title.

Misspellings . Nothing is more embarrassing than a misspelled title. There, at the top of the page in bold letters, you've used the word "it's" instead of "its ," or you wrote about "patients" instead of "patience." Take extra care to check the spelling of your essay title—and, indeed, your essay in general. An error in the title is sure to eliminate any confidence your reader has in your writing ability.

A Few Title Tips

Many writers—both novices and experts—have a difficult time coming up with a title that works well. Write your essay first and then, once your ideas have truly taken shape, go back and craft the title. Also, seek help with your title. A brainstorming session with friends can often generate far better titles than a solitary session of pounding your head on your keyboard. You want to get the title right so that the admissions officials read your essay in a curious and eager state of mind.

If you're writing your essay for the Common Application , keep in mind that your title will go in the text box with the rest of the essay, and the title will count toward your essay's overall word count.

• Examples of Great Introductory Paragraphs
• 50 Great Topics for a Process Analysis Essay
• Sample Common Application Essay for Option #5
• "My Dads" - Sample Common Application Essay for Option #1
• Tips for the Pre-2013 Personal Essay Options on the Common Application
• Sample Application Essay - Porkopolis
• "Handiwork" - Sample Common Application Essay for Option #1
• How to Write an Outstanding College Application Essay
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• Private School Application Essay Tips
• Ideal College Application Essay Length
• Bad Essay Topics for College Admissions
• "Gym Class Hero" - a Common Application Essay Sample for Option #3
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• College Essay Style Tips

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College essays are an entirely new type of writing for high school seniors. For that reason, many students are confused about proper formatting and essay structure. Should you double-space or single-space? Do you need a title? What kind of narrative style is best-suited for your topic?

In this post, we’ll be going over proper college essay format, traditional and unconventional essay structures (plus sample essays!), and which structure might work best for you. 

General College Essay Formatting Guidelines

How you format your essay will depend on whether you’re submitting in a text box, or attaching a document. We’ll go over the different best practices for both, but regardless of how you’re submitting, here are some general formatting tips:

• There’s no need for a title; it takes up unnecessary space and eats into your word count
• Stay within the word count as much as possible (+/- 10% of the upper limit). For further discussion on college essay length, see our post How Long Should Your College Essay Be?
• Indent or double space to separate paragraphs clearly

If you’re submitting in a text box:

• Avoid italics and bold, since formatting often doesn’t transfer over in text boxes
• Be careful with essays meant to be a certain shape (like a balloon); text boxes will likely not respect that formatting. Beyond that, this technique can also seem gimmicky, so proceed with caution
• Make sure that paragraphs are clearly separated, as text boxes can also undo indents and double spacing

If you’re attaching a document:

• Use a standard font and size like Times New Roman, 12 point
• Make your lines 1.5-spaced or double-spaced
• Use 1-inch margins
• Save as a PDF since it can’t be edited. This also prevents any formatting issues that come with Microsoft Word, since older versions are sometimes incompatible with the newer formatting
• Number each page with your last name in the header or footer (like “Smith 1”)
• Pay extra attention to any word limits, as you won’t be cut off automatically, unlike with most text boxes

Conventional College Essay Structures

Now that we’ve gone over the logistical aspects of your essay, let’s talk about how you should structure your writing. There are three traditional college essay structures. They are:

• In-the-moment narrative
• Narrative told over an extended period of time
• Series of anecdotes, or montage

Let’s go over what each one is exactly, and take a look at some real essays using these structures.

1. In-the-moment narrative

This is where you tell the story one moment at a time, sharing the events as they occur. In the moment narrative is a powerful essay format, as your reader experiences the events, your thoughts, and your emotions with you . This structure is ideal for a specific experience involving extensive internal dialogue, emotions, and reflections.

Here’s an example:

The morning of the Model United Nation conference, I walked into Committee feeling confident about my research. We were simulating the Nuremberg Trials – a series of post-World War II proceedings for war crimes – and my portfolio was of the Soviet Judge Major General Iona Nikitchenko. Until that day, the infamous Nazi regime had only been a chapter in my history textbook; however, the conference’s unveiling of each defendant’s crimes brought those horrors to life. The previous night, I had organized my research, proofread my position paper and gone over Judge Nikitchenko’s pertinent statements. I aimed to find the perfect balance between his stance and my own.

As I walked into committee anticipating a battle of wits, my director abruptly called out to me. “I’m afraid we’ve received a late confirmation from another delegate who will be representing Judge Nikitchenko. You, on the other hand, are now the defense attorney, Otto Stahmer.” Everyone around me buzzed around the room in excitement, coordinating with their allies and developing strategies against their enemies, oblivious to the bomb that had just dropped on me. I felt frozen in my tracks, and it seemed that only rage against the careless delegate who had confirmed her presence so late could pull me out of my trance. After having spent a month painstakingly crafting my verdicts and gathering evidence against the Nazis, I now needed to reverse my stance only three hours before the first session.

Gradually, anger gave way to utter panic. My research was fundamental to my performance, and without it, I knew I could add little to the Trials. But confident in my ability, my director optimistically recommended constructing an impromptu defense. Nervously, I began my research anew. Despite feeling hopeless, as I read through the prosecution’s arguments, I uncovered substantial loopholes. I noticed a lack of conclusive evidence against the defendants and certain inconsistencies in testimonies. My discovery energized me, inspiring me to revisit the historical overview in my conference “Background Guide” and to search the web for other relevant articles. Some Nazi prisoners had been treated as “guilty” before their court dates. While I had brushed this information under the carpet while developing my position as a judge, it now became the focus of my defense. I began scratching out a new argument, centered on the premise that the allied countries had violated the fundamental rule that, a defendant was “not guilty” until proven otherwise.

At the end of the three hours, I felt better prepared. The first session began, and with bravado, I raised my placard to speak. Microphone in hand, I turned to face my audience. “Greetings delegates. I, Otto Stahmer would like to…….” I suddenly blanked. Utter dread permeated my body as I tried to recall my thoughts in vain. “Defence Attorney, Stahmer we’ll come back to you,” my Committee Director broke the silence as I tottered back to my seat, flushed with embarrassment. Despite my shame, I was undeterred. I needed to vindicate my director’s faith in me. I pulled out my notes, refocused, and began outlining my arguments in a more clear and direct manner. Thereafter, I spoke articulately, confidently putting forth my points. I was overjoyed when Secretariat members congratulated me on my fine performance.

Going into the conference, I believed that preparation was the key to success. I wouldn’t say I disagree with that statement now, but I believe adaptability is equally important. My ability to problem-solve in the face of an unforeseen challenge proved advantageous in the art of diplomacy. Not only did this experience transform me into a confident and eloquent delegate at that conference, but it also helped me become a more flexible and creative thinker in a variety of other capacities. Now that I know I can adapt under pressure, I look forward to engaging in activities that will push me to be even quicker on my feet.

This essay is an excellent example of in-the-moment narration. The student openly shares their internal state with us — we feel their anger and panic upon the reversal of roles. We empathize with their emotions of “utter dread” and embarrassment when they’re unable to speak. 

For in-the-moment essays, overloading on descriptions is a common mistake students make. This writer provides just the right amount of background and details to help us understand the situation, however, and balances out the actual event with reflection on the significance of this experience. 

One main area of improvement is that the writer sometimes makes explicit statements that could be better illustrated through their thoughts, actions, and feelings. For instance, they say they “spoke articulately” after recovering from their initial inability to speak, and they also claim that adaptability has helped them in other situations. This is not as engaging as actual examples that convey the same meaning. Still, this essay overall is a strong example of in-the-moment narration, and gives us a relatable look into the writer’s life and personality.

2. Narrative told over an extended period of time

In this essay structure, you share a story that takes place across several different experiences. This narrative style is well-suited for any story arc with multiple parts. If you want to highlight your development over time, you might consider this structure. 

When I was younger, I was adamant that no two foods on my plate touch. As a result, I often used a second plate to prevent such an atrocity. In many ways, I learned to separate different things this way from my older brothers, Nate and Rob. Growing up, I idolized both of them. Nate was a performer, and I insisted on arriving early to his shows to secure front row seats, refusing to budge during intermission for fear of missing anything. Rob was a three-sport athlete, and I attended his games religiously, waving worn-out foam cougar paws and cheering until my voice was hoarse. My brothers were my role models. However, while each was talented, neither was interested in the other’s passion. To me, they represented two contrasting ideals of what I could become: artist or athlete. I believed I had to choose.

And for a long time, I chose athlete. I played soccer, basketball, and lacrosse and viewed myself exclusively as an athlete, believing the arts were not for me. I conveniently overlooked that since the age of five, I had been composing stories for my family for Christmas, gifts that were as much for me as them, as I loved writing. So when in tenth grade, I had the option of taking a creative writing class, I was faced with a question: could I be an athlete and a writer? After much debate, I enrolled in the class, feeling both apprehensive and excited. When I arrived on the first day of school, my teacher, Ms. Jenkins, asked us to write down our expectations for the class. After a few minutes, eraser shavings stubbornly sunbathing on my now-smudged paper, I finally wrote, “I do not expect to become a published writer from this class. I just want this to be a place where I can write freely.”

Although the purpose of the class never changed for me, on the third “submission day,” – our time to submit writing to upcoming contests and literary magazines – I faced a predicament. For the first two submission days, I had passed the time editing earlier pieces, eventually (pretty quickly) resorting to screen snake when hopelessness made the words look like hieroglyphics. I must not have been as subtle as I thought, as on the third of these days, Ms. Jenkins approached me. After shifting from excuse to excuse as to why I did not submit my writing, I finally recognized the real reason I had withheld my work: I was scared. I did not want to be different, and I did not want to challenge not only others’ perceptions of me, but also my own. I yielded to Ms. Jenkin’s pleas and sent one of my pieces to an upcoming contest.

By the time the letter came, I had already forgotten about the contest. When the flimsy white envelope arrived in the mail, I was shocked and ecstatic to learn that I had received 2nd place in a nationwide writing competition. The next morning, however, I discovered Ms. Jenkins would make an announcement to the whole school exposing me as a poet. I decided to own this identity and embrace my friends’ jokes and playful digs, and over time, they have learned to accept and respect this part of me. I have since seen more boys at my school identifying themselves as writers or artists.

I no longer see myself as an athlete and a poet independently, but rather I see these two aspects forming a single inseparable identity – me. Despite their apparent differences, these two disciplines are quite similar, as each requires creativity and devotion. I am still a poet when I am lacing up my cleats for soccer practice and still an athlete when I am building metaphors in the back of my mind – and I have realized ice cream and gummy bears taste pretty good together.

The timeline of this essay spans from the writer’s childhood all the way to sophomore year, but we only see key moments along this journey. First, we get context for why the writer thought he had to choose one identity: his older brothers had very distinct interests. Then, we learn about the student’s 10th grade creative writing class, writing contest, and results of the contest. Finally, the essay covers the writers’ embarrassment of his identity as a poet, to gradual acceptance and pride in that identity. 

This essay is a great example of a narrative told over an extended period of time. It’s highly personal and reflective, as the piece shares the writer’s conflicting feelings, and takes care to get to the root of those feelings. Furthermore, the overarching story is that of a personal transformation and development, so it’s well-suited to this essay structure.

3. Series of anecdotes, or montage

This essay structure allows you to focus on the most important experiences of a single storyline, or it lets you feature multiple (not necessarily related) stories that highlight your personality. Montage is a structure where you piece together separate scenes to form a whole story. This technique is most commonly associated with film. Just envision your favorite movie—it likely is a montage of various scenes that may not even be chronological. 

Night had robbed the academy of its daytime colors, yet there was comfort in the dim lights that cast shadows of our advances against the bare studio walls. Silhouettes of roundhouse kicks, spin crescent kicks, uppercuts and the occasional butterfly kick danced while we sparred. She approached me, eyes narrowed with the trace of a smirk challenging me. “Ready spar!” Her arm began an upward trajectory targeting my shoulder, a common first move. I sidestepped — only to almost collide with another flying fist. Pivoting my right foot, I snapped my left leg, aiming my heel at her midsection. The center judge raised one finger. 

There was no time to celebrate, not in the traditional sense at least. Master Pollard gave a brief command greeted with a unanimous “Yes, sir” and the thud of 20 hands dropping-down-and-giving-him-30, while the “winners” celebrated their victory with laps as usual. 

Three years ago, seven-thirty in the evening meant I was a warrior. It meant standing up straighter, pushing a little harder, “Yes, sir” and “Yes, ma’am”, celebrating birthdays by breaking boards, never pointing your toes, and familiarity. Three years later, seven-thirty in the morning meant I was nervous. 

The room is uncomfortably large. The sprung floor soaks up the checkerboard of sunlight piercing through the colonial windows. The mirrored walls further illuminate the studio and I feel the light scrutinizing my sorry attempts at a pas de bourrée , while capturing the organic fluidity of the dancers around me. “ Chassé en croix, grand battement, pique, pirouette.” I follow the graceful limbs of the woman in front of me, her legs floating ribbons, as she executes what seems to be a perfect ronds de jambes. Each movement remains a negotiation. With admirable patience, Ms. Tan casts me a sympathetic glance.   

There is no time to wallow in the misery that is my right foot. Taekwondo calls for dorsiflexion; pointed toes are synonymous with broken toes. My thoughts drag me into a flashback of the usual response to this painful mistake: “You might as well grab a tutu and head to the ballet studio next door.” Well, here I am Master Pollard, unfortunately still following your orders to never point my toes, but no longer feeling the satisfaction that comes with being a third degree black belt with 5 years of experience quite literally under her belt. It’s like being a white belt again — just in a leotard and ballet slippers. 

But the appetite for new beginnings that brought me here doesn’t falter. It is only reinforced by the classical rendition of “Dancing Queen” that floods the room and the ghost of familiarity that reassures me that this new beginning does not and will not erase the past. After years spent at the top, it’s hard to start over. But surrendering what you are only leads you to what you may become. In Taekwondo, we started each class reciting the tenets: honor, courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, courage, humility, and knowledge, and I have never felt that I embodied those traits more so than when I started ballet. 

The thing about change is that it eventually stops making things so different. After nine different schools, four different countries, three different continents, fluency in Tamil, Norwegian, and English, there are more blurred lines than there are clear fragments. My life has not been a tactfully executed, gold medal-worthy Taekwondo form with each movement defined, nor has it been a series of frappés performed by a prima ballerina with each extension identical and precise, but thankfully it has been like the dynamics of a spinning back kick, fluid, and like my chances of landing a pirouette, unpredictable. 

This essay takes a few different anecdotes and weaves them into a coherent narrative about the writer’s penchant for novel experiences. We’re plunged into her universe, in the middle of her Taekwondo spar, three years before the present day. She then transitions into a scene in a ballet studio, present day. By switching from past tense to present tense, the writer clearly demarcates this shift in time. 

The parallel use of the spoken phrase “Point” in the essay ties these two experiences together. The writer also employs a flashback to Master Pollard’s remark about “grabbing a tutu” and her habit of dorsiflexing her toes, which further cements the connection between these anecdotes. 

While some of the descriptions are a little wordy, the piece is well-executed overall, and is a stellar example of the montage structure. The two anecdotes are seamlessly intertwined, and they both clearly illustrate the student’s determination, dedication, reflectiveness, and adaptability. The writer also concludes the essay with a larger reflection on her life, many moves, and multiple languages. 

Unconventional College Essay Structures

Unconventional essay structures are any that don’t fit into the categories above. These tend to be higher risk, as it’s easier to turn off the admissions officer, but they’re also higher reward if executed correctly. 

There are endless possibilities for unconventional structures, but most fall under one of two categories:

1. Playing with essay format

Instead of choosing a traditional narrative format, you might take a more creative route to showcase your interests, writing your essay:

• As a movie script
• With a creative visual format (such as creating a visual pattern with the spaces between your sentences forming a picture)
• As a two-sided Lincoln-Douglas debate
• As a legal brief
• Using song lyrics

2. Linguistic techniques

You could also play with the actual language and sentence structure of your essay, writing it:

• In iambic pentameter
• Partially in your mother tongue
• In code or a programming language

These linguistic techniques are often hybrid, where you write some of the essay with the linguistic variation, then write more of an explanation in English.

Under no circumstances should you feel pressured to use an unconventional structure. Trying to force something unconventional will only hurt your chances. That being said, if a creative structure comes naturally to you, suits your personality, and works with the content of your essay — go for that structure!

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, how to title a college essay.

Hi everyone, I'm kinda stuck on how I should title my college essay. Can you give me some advice on how to come up with an interesting and relevant title? Thanks in advance!

Hi there! Coming up with a title for your college essay can be tricky, but it's an opportunity to showcase your creativity and the primary theme you're exploring. Here are some tips to help you generate an interesting and relevant title:

1. Reflect your essay's theme: Your title should give readers a clear idea of what your essay is about and capture its main message. Think about the central theme of your essay and try to highlight it in your title. For example, if your essay is about overcoming a personal challenge, your title could be something like "Rising Above the Storm."

2. Keep it concise and impactful: Aim for a title that is short and to-the-point. Using a few powerful words can leave a strong impression, and it's easier for readers to remember.

3. Use literary devices: You may consider using literary devices like alliteration, puns, metaphors, or irony to make your title more engaging and memorable. Just make sure it's not overly complicated or confusing that the readers don't understand its relevance.

4. Get personal: If your essay is about a personal experience, try to hint at that experience in the title. It can give the reader a glimpse into your essay, which can make them more eager to read it. For example, if your essay is about learning to play the piano, you might choose a title like "Finding Harmony on the Keys."

5. Avoid clichés and generalizations: Try to steer clear of generic phrases or clichéd titles that won't set your essay apart. Focus on what makes your essay unique and let that guide your choice of title.

6. Don't stress too much: Remember that your essay itself is the most important part of your application, so don't stress too much about the title. It's meant to enhance your essay, not overshadow it.

Once you have a few ideas, try them out on friends or family members to see which ones resonate the most. It always helps to get some outside opinions during the creative process. Good luck with your college essay!

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How to Write a Strong Title for an Argumentative Essay

Last Updated: June 4, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Diane Stubbs . Diane Stubbs is a Secondary English Teacher with over 22 years of experience teaching all high school grade levels and AP courses. She specializes in secondary education, classroom management, and educational technology. Diane earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Delaware and a Master of Education from Wesley College. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 168,405 times.

In most cases, a title for an essay is only required for college papers. A title for an argumentative essay isn't much different than a title for any other essay. You need to present what your essay is about in phrase form, as well as provide a hook to encourage the reader to read your essay. One main difference is you also need to make sure you establish your stance on the subject, so the reader knows where your argument is headed from the beginning. In order to create a strong title, you should write your essay before coming up with a title for it.

Summarizing Your Ideas

• Also, read through your paper. Start making notes on the main ideas. If you organized your paper well, you should have the paper divided into several main ideas.
• Write down any ideas you have about what you think should go in your title.

• In most cases, your thesis, or a version of it, is the best summary for the essay. The thesis should be stated at the end of your introduction, and perhaps restated at the beginning of your conclusion as well.
• Try to get it down to one sentence if possible, such as, "Soup is significantly more flavorful when made with stock than when made with water."

• For instance, if you wrote a paper on why soup is better when made with stock than water, think about what words are essential to that paper.
• Your list of keywords might include "soup," "stock," and "flavor," as an example.

Creating a Title

• Also, think about the tone of your essay. If it's lighthearted, a lighthearted title will fit. For instance, an essay on stock and chicken soup lends itself to lightheartedness.
• However, if your essay is very serious, stick to a serious title. For instance, if you're trying to convince people that poverty needs to end, that's a pretty serious topic and needs a serious title.

• Read over your paper. You can use this opportunity to proofread while you look for a good sentence.
• Write out any sentence that may work. For instance, one sentence that might work is "Soup is delicious, but it is even more delicious when made with stock."
• Shorten it up to work as a title: "Soup Is More Flavorful With Stock."

• For instance, you could write, "Why Does Stock Make Soup So Flavorful?" That establishes your topic, as well as invites your reader into your paper.
• Just be sure you are answering the question you propose.
• Choose a different question than the one you used for your hook, if applicable.

• Come up with something that is contrasting or surprising. A concrete image works well, meaning something that invokes the senses. For instance, you could write something like "The Flavor of Boiled Chicken Bones Is the Best for Soup."
• People don't necessarily think bones are tasty, but they are used to create your flavorful broth. Therefore, it's a bit surprising, but it plays into your essay.
• Try to create a title that is both short and sweet.

• As an example, a pun you could use would be "Use Your Backbone to Make Soup." "Backbone" is a play both on the fact that you're using stock (made from bones) and that you need to use your backbone to stand up for stock.
• As for a saying, you could use something like "Chicken Soup: Only the Opiate of the Masses If Made With Stock." "Opiate of the masses" is a reference to Karl Marx and will attract attention.

Finessing Your Title

• That is, move words around to see if you can make a better statement.
• Try mixing and matching among titles that you like. Pick the parts you like best.

• For instance, if you are discussing a specific type of soup, add that in: "Chicken Stock Makes the Best Chicken Soup."
• If you are specifically talking about homemade stock, add that in "Homemade Chicken Stock Makes the Best Chicken Soup."
• If possible, try to give the reader just an idea of which side you plan to argue in favor of in the essay.

• The most common method is putting the creative part first as the main title, followed by the informative part in the subtitle. However, you can do it either way.
• For example, you could write: "Use Your Backbone: Why You Should Advocate for Stock in Soup."
• If the titles are on the same line, separate them by a colon. If not, you don't need the colon.

• Compare your title to the list you made earlier.

• In the case of an argumentative essay, that not only means that you've presented what your topic is but also what your stance on that topic is.
• Try it out on a parent. Ask her what she thinks the paper is about from your title.

• The exception to this rule is very common abbreviations or abbreviations that are appropriate for your audience.
• For instance, using "HIV" probably wouldn't confuse your readers.

Community Q&A

• It can be helpful to look up titles of articles and essays for reference. Check major websites or networks for examples of effective titles. Remember to avoid “clickbait,” though! Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://writing.umn.edu/sws/assets/pdf/quicktips/titles.pdf
• ↑ https://umanitoba.ca/student/academiclearning/media/Writing_a_Great_Title_NEW.pdf
• ↑ https://www.esu.edu/writing-studio/guides/hook.cfm
• ↑ https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/undergraduates/writing-guides/how-do-i-write-a-great-title-.html
• ↑ http://www.editage.com/insights/3-basic-tips-on-writing-a-good-research-paper-title

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‌How to Title an Essay with Literary Analysis Examples

How to Write a Controlling Idea Essay

You may have spent hours brainstorming your thesis, searching for quotations and polishing your final draft, but a good title can make the difference between someone reading your literary essay and tossing it aside. Good literary essay titles not only capture your reader's interest, but they also preview the argument you'll be making in the paper itself. They capture the central idea that is presented in your work, and entice the viewer to read. Creativity, humor and innovative plays on the work you're writing about can transform a dull title into one that piques your audience's curiosity.

Include the Subject and Focus

Your title should not just name the literary work that is the ​ subject ​ of your essay but also describe its ​ focus ​, the target idea, literary device or theme that the piece explores. This is sometimes referred to as a "working title" as well, since it focuses heavily on the main part of your essay, and can remind you of your focus as you read. In an essay about morality in "To Kill a Mockingbird," for example, Harper Lee's novel would be the subject of the paper, while morality would be the essay's focus. Including the phrase "Morality in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' " somewhere in your title would clearly indicate to audiences what themes your essay will deal with. This is a more basic example of an essay title, but effective in most all cases.

Link Two Ideas With a Colon

While including the subject and focus in the title gives a good summary of your essay topic, it's not enough to pull readers in. Using a colon to punctuate the subject with a catchy explanation of the focus can not only add an air of professionalism to your paper but also give a more in-depth, eye-catching preview of your topic for readers. An essay about Holden Caulfield's painful transition to adulthood, for example, might be titled "The Precarious Edge of the Cliff: Loss of Innocence in J.D. Salinger's 'The Catcher in the Rye.' "

This title choice also allows you to present two ideas that are key parts of your essay, if you choose to. Maybe you can't decide on just one, because both are equally important. This choice would be a good tool for featuring both ideas and connecting them to each other. Displaying a longer, more developed essay title, can also give you the freedom to discuss these ideas in your essay with more detail since they are featured in the title.

Include a Quotation from the Work

Sometimes, a quotation from the book can provide inspiration for your essay's title. Try adding a brief, snappy portion of this quote to your title's focus statement. For example, the title for an essay about mother-daughter relationships in Flannery O'Connor's short stories might borrow from a quote in the story "Good Country People," in which the central character, Hulga, tells her overbearing, critical mother, "If you want me, here I am -- like I am." The title of this essay might read, "Like I Am: Mother-Daughter Dysfunction in Flannery O'Connor's Short Stories."

Use Wordplay

While the tone of your literary essay should ultimately be professional and credible, using puns or humor to play off an aspect of the title can be a friendly way to entice your audience to read further. For example, an essay about the symbolic villages of East and West Egg in "The Great Gatsby" might be titled "The Eggs Came First: Settings as Symbols in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby.' "

You can be assured your teacher, or whoever is viewing your paper, is going to sift through many boring and unoriginal essay titles, so making sure that yours will pop is important.

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Kori Morgan holds a Bachelor of Arts in professional writing and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and has been crafting online and print educational materials since 2006. She taught creative writing and composition at West Virginia University and the University of Akron and her fiction, poetry and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals.

Frequently asked questions

Should i title my college essay.

You don’t need a title for your college admissions essay , but you can include one if you think it adds something important.

Frequently asked questions: College admissions essays

When writing your Common App essay , choose a prompt that sparks your interest and that you can connect to a unique personal story.

No matter which prompt you choose, admissions officers are more interested in your ability to demonstrate personal development , insight, or motivation for a certain area of study.

The Common App essay is your primary writing sample within the Common Application, a college application portal accepted by more than 900 schools. All your prospective schools that accept the Common App will read this essay to understand your character, background, and value as a potential student.

Since this essay is read by many colleges, avoid mentioning any college names or programs; instead, save tailored answers for the supplementary school-specific essays within the Common App.

Most importantly, your essay should be about you , not another person or thing. An insightful college admissions essay requires deep self-reflection, authenticity, and a balance between confidence and vulnerability.

Your essay shouldn’t be a résumé of your experiences but instead should tell a story that demonstrates your most important values and qualities.

When revising your college essay , first check for big-picture issues regarding your message and content. Then, check for flow, tone, style , and clarity. Finally, focus on eliminating grammar and punctuation errors .

If your college essay goes over the word count limit , cut any sentences with tangents or irrelevant details. Delete unnecessary words that clutter your essay.

If you’re struggling to reach the word count for your college essay, add vivid personal stories or share your feelings and insight to give your essay more depth and authenticity.

If you’ve got to write your college essay fast , don’t panic. First, set yourself deadlines: you should spend about 10% of your remaining time on brainstorming, 10% on outlining, 40% writing, 30% revising, and 10% taking breaks in between stages.

Second, brainstorm stories and values based on your essay prompt.

Third, outline your essay based on the montage or narrative essay structure .

Fourth, write specific, personal, and unique stories that would be hard for other students to replicate.

Fifth, revise your essay and make sure it’s clearly written.

Last, if possible, get feedback from an essay coach . Scribbr essay editors can help you revise your essay in 12 hours or less.

Avoid swearing in a college essay , since admissions officers’ opinions of profanity will vary. In some cases, it might be okay to use a vulgar word, such as in dialogue or quotes that make an important point in your essay. However, it’s safest to try to make the same point without swearing.

If you have bad grades on your transcript, you may want to use your college admissions essay to explain the challenging circumstances that led to them. Make sure to avoid dwelling on the negative aspects and highlight how you overcame the situation or learned an important lesson.

However, some college applications offer an additional information section where you can explain your bad grades, allowing you to choose another meaningful topic for your college essay.

Here’s a brief list of college essay topics that may be considered cliché:

• Extracurriculars, especially sports
• Role models
• Dealing with a personal tragedy or death in the family
• Struggling with new life situations (immigrant stories, moving homes, parents’ divorce)
• Becoming a better person after community service, traveling, or summer camp
• Overcoming a difficult class
• Using a common object as an extended metaphor

It’s easier to write a standout essay with a unique topic. However, it’s possible to make a common topic compelling with interesting story arcs, uncommon connections, and an advanced writing style.

Yes. The college application essay is less formal than other academic writing —though of course it’s not mandatory to use contractions in your essay.

In a college essay , you can be creative with your language . When writing about the past, you can use the present tense to make the reader feel as if they were there in the moment with you. But make sure to maintain consistency and when in doubt, default to the correct verb tense according to the time you’re writing about.

The college admissions essay gives admissions officers a different perspective on you beyond your academic achievements, test scores, and extracurriculars. It’s your chance to stand out from other applicants with similar academic profiles by telling a unique, personal, and specific story.

Use a standard font such as Times New Roman or Arial to avoid distracting the reader from your college essay’s content.

A college application essay is less formal than most academic writing . Instead of citing sources formally with in-text citations and a reference list, you can cite them informally in your text.

For example, “In her research paper on genetics, Quinn Roberts explores …”

There is no set number of paragraphs in a college admissions essay . College admissions essays can diverge from the traditional five-paragraph essay structure that you learned in English class. Just make sure to stay under the specified word count .

Most topics are acceptable for college essays if you can use them to demonstrate personal growth or a lesson learned. However, there are a few difficult topics for college essays that should be avoided. Avoid topics that are:

• Overly personal (e.g. graphic details of illness or injury, romantic or sexual relationships)
• Not personal enough (e.g. broad solutions to world problems, inspiring people or things)
• Too negative (e.g. an in-depth look at your flaws, put-downs of others, criticizing the need for a college essay)
• Too boring (e.g. a resume of your academic achievements and extracurriculars)
• Inappropriate for a college essay (e.g. illegal activities, offensive humor, false accounts of yourself, bragging about privilege)

To write an effective diversity essay , include vulnerable, authentic stories about your unique identity, background, or perspective. Provide insight into how your lived experience has influenced your outlook, activities, and goals. If relevant, you should also mention how your background has led you to apply for this university and why you’re a good fit.

Many universities believe a student body composed of different perspectives, beliefs, identities, and backgrounds will enhance the campus learning and community experience.

Admissions officers are interested in hearing about how your unique background, identity, beliefs, culture, or characteristics will enrich the campus community, which is why they assign a diversity essay .

In addition to your main college essay , some schools and scholarships may ask for a supplementary essay focused on an aspect of your identity or background. This is sometimes called a diversity essay .

You can use humor in a college essay , but carefully consider its purpose and use it wisely. An effective use of humor involves unexpected, keen observations of the everyday, or speaks to a deeper theme. Humor shouldn’t be the main focus of the essay, but rather a tool to improve your storytelling.

Get a second opinion from a teacher, counselor, or essay coach on whether your essay’s humor is appropriate.

Though admissions officers are interested in hearing your story, they’re also interested in how you tell it. An exceptionally written essay will differentiate you from other applicants, meaning that admissions officers will spend more time reading it.

You can use literary devices to catch your reader’s attention and enrich your storytelling; however, focus on using just a few devices well, rather than trying to use as many as possible.

To decide on a good college essay topic , spend time thoughtfully answering brainstorming questions. If you still have trouble identifying topics, try the following two strategies:

• Identify your qualities → Brainstorm stories that demonstrate these qualities
• Identify memorable stories → Connect your qualities to these stories

You can also ask family, friends, or mentors to help you brainstorm topics, give feedback on your potential essay topics, or recall key stories that showcase your qualities.

Yes—admissions officers don’t expect everyone to have a totally unique college essay topic . But you must differentiate your essay from others by having a surprising story arc, an interesting insight, and/or an advanced writing style .

There are no foolproof college essay topics —whatever your topic, the key is to write about it effectively. However, a good topic

• Is meaningful, specific, and personal to you
• Focuses on you and your experiences
• Reveals something beyond your test scores, grades, and extracurriculars
• Is creative and original

Unlike a five-paragraph essay, your admissions essay should not end by summarizing the points you’ve already made. It’s better to be creative and aim for a strong final impression.

You should also avoid stating the obvious (for example, saying that you hope to be accepted).

There are a few strategies you can use for a memorable ending to your college essay :

• Return to the beginning with a “full circle” structure
• Reveal the main point or insight in your story
• Look to the future
• End on an action

The best technique will depend on your topic choice, essay outline, and writing style. You can write several endings using different techniques to see which works best.

College deadlines vary depending on the schools you’re applying to and your application plan:

• For early action applications and the first round of early decision applications, the deadline is on November 1 or 15. Decisions are released by mid-December.
• For the second round of early decision applications, the deadline is January 1 or 15. Decisions are released in January or February.
• Regular decision deadlines usually fall between late November and mid-March, and decisions are released in March or April.
• Rolling admission deadlines run from July to April, and decisions are released around four to eight weeks after submission.

Depending on your prospective schools’ requirements, you may need to submit scores for the SAT or ACT as part of your college application .

Some schools now no longer require students to submit test scores; however, you should still take the SAT or ACT and aim to get a high score to strengthen your application package.

Aim to take the SAT or ACT in the spring of your junior year to give yourself enough time to retake it in the fall of your senior year if necessary.

Apply early for federal student aid and application fee waivers. You can also look for scholarships from schools, corporations, and charitable foundations.

To maximize your options, you should aim to apply to about eight schools:

• Two reach schools that might be difficult to get into
• Four match schools that you have a good chance of getting into
• Two safety schools that you feel confident you’ll get into

The college admissions essay accounts for roughly 25% of the weight of your application .

At highly selective schools, there are four qualified candidates for every spot. While your academic achievements are important, your college admissions essay can help you stand out from other applicants with similar profiles.

In general, for your college application you will need to submit all of the following:

• Your personal information
• List of extracurriculars and awards
• College application essays
• Transcripts
• Standardized test scores
• Recommendation letters.

Different colleges may have specific requirements, so make sure you check exactly what’s expected in the application guidance.

You should start thinking about your college applications the summer before your junior year to give you sufficient time for college visits, taking standardized tests, applying for financial aid , writing essays, and collecting application material.

Yes, but make sure your essay directly addresses the prompt, respects the word count , and demonstrates the organization’s values.

If you plan ahead, you can save time by writing one scholarship essay for multiple prompts with similar questions. In a scholarship tracker spreadsheet, you can group or color-code overlapping essay prompts; then, write a single essay for multiple scholarships. Sometimes, you can even reuse or adapt your main college essay .

You can start applying for scholarships as early as your junior year. Continue applying throughout your senior year.

Invest time in applying for various scholarships , especially local ones with small dollar amounts, which are likely easier to win and more reflective of your background and interests. It will be easier for you to write an authentic and compelling essay if the scholarship topic is meaningful to you.

You can find scholarships through your school counselor, community network, or an internet search.

A scholarship essay requires you to demonstrate your values and qualities while answering the prompt’s specific question.

After researching the scholarship organization, identify a personal experience that embodies its values and exemplifies how you will be a successful student.

A standout college essay has several key ingredients:

• A unique, personally meaningful topic
• A memorable introduction with vivid imagery or an intriguing hook
• Specific stories and language that show instead of telling
• Vulnerability that’s authentic but not aimed at soliciting sympathy
• Clear writing in an appropriate style and tone
• A conclusion that offers deep insight or a creative ending

While timelines will differ depending on the student, plan on spending at least 1–3 weeks brainstorming and writing the first draft of your college admissions essay , and at least 2–4 weeks revising across multiple drafts. Don’t forget to save enough time for breaks between each writing and editing stage.

You should already begin thinking about your essay the summer before your senior year so that you have plenty of time to try out different topics and get feedback on what works.

Your college essay accounts for about 25% of your application’s weight. It may be the deciding factor in whether you’re accepted, especially for competitive schools where most applicants have exceptional grades, test scores, and extracurricular track records.

In most cases, quoting other people isn’t a good way to start your college essay . Admissions officers want to hear your thoughts about yourself, and quotes often don’t achieve that. Unless a quote truly adds something important to your essay that it otherwise wouldn’t have, you probably shouldn’t include it.

Cliché openers in a college essay introduction are usually general and applicable to many students and situations. Most successful introductions are specific: they only work for the unique essay that follows.

The key to a strong college essay introduction is not to give too much away. Try to start with a surprising statement or image that raises questions and compels the reader to find out more.

The introduction of your college essay is the first thing admissions officers will read and therefore your most important opportunity to stand out. An excellent introduction will keep admissions officers reading, allowing you to tell them what you want them to know.

You can speed up this process by shortening and smoothing your writing with a paraphrasing tool . After that, you can use the summarizer to shorten it even more.

If you’re struggling to reach the word count for your college essay, add vivid personal stories or share your feelings and insight to give your essay more depth and authenticity.

Most college application portals specify a word count range for your essay, and you should stay within 10% of the upper limit to write a developed and thoughtful essay.

You should aim to stay under the specified word count limit to show you can follow directions and write concisely. However, don’t write too little, as it may seem like you are unwilling or unable to write a detailed and insightful narrative about yourself.

If no word count is specified, we advise keeping your essay between 400 and 600 words.

In your application essay , admissions officers are looking for particular features : they want to see context on your background, positive traits that you could bring to campus, and examples of you demonstrating those qualities.

Colleges want to be able to differentiate students who seem similar on paper. In the college application essay , they’re looking for a way to understand each applicant’s unique personality and experiences.

Your college essay’s format should be as simple as possible:

• Use a standard, readable font
• Use 1.5 or double spacing
• If attaching a file, save it as a PDF
• Stick to the word count
• Avoid unusual formatting and unnecessary decorative touches

There are no set rules for how to structure a college application essay , but these are two common structures that work:

• A montage structure, a series of vignettes with a common theme.
• A narrative structure, a single story that shows your personal growth or how you overcame a challenge.

Avoid the five-paragraph essay structure that you learned in high school.

Campus visits are always helpful, but if you can’t make it in person, the college website will have plenty of information for you to explore. You should look through the course catalog and even reach out to current faculty with any questions about the school.

Colleges set a “Why this college?” essay because they want to see that you’ve done your research. You must prove that you know what makes the school unique and can connect that to your own personal goals and academic interests.

Depending on your writing, you may go through several rounds of revision . Make sure to put aside your essay for a little while after each editing stage to return with a fresh perspective.

Teachers and guidance counselors can help you check your language, tone, and content . Ask for their help at least one to two months before the submission deadline, as many other students will also want their help.

Friends and family are a good resource to check for authenticity. It’s best to seek help from family members with a strong writing or English educational background, or from older siblings and cousins who have been through the college admissions process.

If possible, get help from an essay coach or editor ; they’ll have specialized knowledge of college admissions essays and be able to give objective expert feedback.

When revising your college essay , first check for big-picture issues regarding message, flow, tone, style , and clarity. Then, focus on eliminating grammar and punctuation errors.

Include specific, personal details and use your authentic voice to shed a new perspective on a common human experience.

Through specific stories, you can weave your achievements and qualities into your essay so that it doesn’t seem like you’re bragging from a resume.

When writing about yourself , including difficult experiences or failures can be a great way to show vulnerability and authenticity, but be careful not to overshare, and focus on showing how you matured from the experience.

First, spend time reflecting on your core values and character . You can start with these questions:

• What are three words your friends or family would use to describe you, and why would they choose them?
• Whom do you admire most and why?
• What are you most proud of? Ashamed of?

However, you should do a comprehensive brainstorming session to fully understand your values. Also consider how your values and goals match your prospective university’s program and culture. Then, brainstorm stories that illustrate the fit between the two.

In a college application essay , you can occasionally bend grammatical rules if doing so adds value to the storytelling process and the essay maintains clarity.

However, use standard language rules if your stylistic choices would otherwise distract the reader from your overall narrative or could be easily interpreted as unintentional errors.

Write concisely and use the active voice to maintain a quick pace throughout your essay and make sure it’s the right length . Avoid adding definitions unless they provide necessary explanation.

Use first-person “I” statements to speak from your perspective . Use appropriate word choices that show off your vocabulary but don’t sound like you used a thesaurus. Avoid using idioms or cliché expressions by rewriting them in a creative, original way.

If you’re an international student applying to a US college and you’re comfortable using American idioms or cultural references , you can. But instead of potentially using them incorrectly, don’t be afraid to write in detail about yourself within your own culture.

Provide context for any words, customs, or places that an American admissions officer might be unfamiliar with.

College application essays are less formal than other kinds of academic writing . Use a conversational yet respectful tone , as if speaking with a teacher or mentor. Be vulnerable about your feelings, thoughts, and experiences to connect with the reader.

Aim to write in your authentic voice , with a style that sounds natural and genuine. You can be creative with your word choice, but don’t use elaborate vocabulary to impress admissions officers.

Admissions officers use college admissions essays to evaluate your character, writing skills , and ability to self-reflect . The essay is your chance to show what you will add to the academic community.

The college essay may be the deciding factor in your application , especially for competitive schools where most applicants have exceptional grades, test scores, and extracurriculars.

Some colleges also require supplemental essays about specific topics, such as why you chose that specific college . Scholarship essays are often required to obtain financial aid .

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How to Structure an Essay

Essay writing is a fundamental skill, a basic task, that is expected of those who choose to pursue their undergraduate and master’s degrees. It constitutes a key requirement for students to complete a given course credit. However, many students and early career researchers find themselves struggling with the challenge of organizing their thoughts into a coherent, engaging structure. This article is especially for those who see essay writing as a daunting task and face problems in presenting their work in an impactful way.  

Table of Contents

• Writing an essay: basic elements and some key principles  
• Essay structure template 
• Chronological structure 
• Problem-methods-solutions structure 
• Compare and contrast structures 
• Frequently asked questions on essay structure 

Read on as we delve into the basic elements of essay writing, outline key principles for organizing information, and cover some foundational features of writing essays.  

Writing an essay: basic elements and some key principles

Essays are written in a flowing and continuous pattern but with a structure of its own. An introduction, body and conclusion are integral to it. The key is to balance the amount and kind of information to be presented in each part. Various disciplines may have their own conventions or guidelines on the information to be provided in the introduction.  

A clear articulation of the context and background of the study is important, as is the definition of key terms and an outline of specific models or theories used. Readers also need to know the significance of the study and its implications for further research. Most importantly, the thesis or the main proposition should be clearly presented.  

The body of the essay is therefore organized into paragraphs that hold the main ideas and arguments and is presented and analyzed in a logical manner. Ideally, each paragraph of the body focuses on one main point or a distinct topic and must be supported by evidence and analysis. The concluding paragraph should bring back to the reader the key arguments, its significance and food for thought. It is best not to re-state all the points of the essay or introduce a new concept here. 

In other words, certain general guidelines help structure the information in the essay. The information must flow logically with the context or the background information presented in the introductory part of the essay. The arguments are built organically where each paragraph in the body of the essay deals with a different point, yet closely linked to the para preceding and following it. Importantly, when writing essays, early career researchers must be careful in ensuring that each piece of information relates to the main thesis and is a building block to the arguments. 

Essay structure template

• Introduction 
• Provide the context and share significance of the study 
• Clearly articulate the thesis statement 
• Body  
• Paragraph 1 consisting of the first main point, followed by supporting evidence and an analysis of the findings. Transitional words and phrases can be used to move to the next main point. 
• There can be as many paragraphs with the above-mentioned elements as there are points and arguments to support your thesis. 
• Conclusion  
• Bring in key ideas and discuss their significance and relevance 
• Call for action 
• References 

Essay structures

The structure of an essay can be determined by the kind of essay that is required.  

Chronological structure

Also known as the cause-and-effect approach, this is a straightforward way to structure an essay. In such essays, events are discussed sequentially, as they occurred from the earliest to the latest. A chronological structure is useful for discussing a series of events or processes such as historical analyses or narratives of events. The introduction should have the topic sentence. The body of the essay should follow a chorological progression with each para discussing a major aspect of that event with supporting evidence. It ends with a summarizing of the results of the events.  

Problem-methods-solutions structure

Where the essay focuses on a specific problem, the problem-methods-solutions structure can be used to organize the essay. This structure is ideal for essays that address complex issues. It starts with presenting the problem, the context, and thesis statement as introduction to the essay. The major part of the discussion which forms the body of the essay focuses on stating the problem and its significance, the author’s approach or methods adopted to address the problem along with its relevance, and accordingly proposing solution(s) to the identified problem. The concluding part offers a recap of the research problem, methods, and proposed solutions, emphasizing their significance and potential impact. 

Compare and contrast structures

This structure of essay writing is ideally used when two or more key subjects require a comparison of ideas, theories, or phenomena. The three crucial elements, introduction, body, and conclusion, remain the same. The introduction presents the context and the thesis statement. The body of the essay seeks to focus on and highlight differences between the subjects, supported by evidence and analysis. The conclusion is used to summarize the key points of comparison and contrast, offering insights into the significance of the analysis.  

Depending on how the subjects will be discussed, the body of the essay can be organized according to the block method or the alternating method. In the block method, one para discusses one subject and the next para the other subject. In the alternative method, both subjects are discussed in one para based on a particular topic or issue followed by the next para on another issue and so on.  

Frequently asked questions on essay structure

An essay structure serves as a framework for presenting ideas coherently and logically. It comprises three crucial elements: an introduction that communicates the context, topic, and thesis statement; the body focusing on the main points and arguments supported with appropriate evidence followed by its analysis; and a conclusion that ties together the main points and its importance .  

An essay structure well-defined essay structure enhances clarity, coherence, and readability, and is crucial for organizing ideas and arguments to effectively communicate key aspects of a chosen topic. It allows readers to better understand arguments presented and demonstrates the author’s ability to organize and present information systematically. 

Yes, while expert recommend following an essay structure, early career researchers may choose how best to adapt standard essay structures to communicate and share their research in an impactful and engaging way. However, do keep in mind that deviating too far from established structures can hinder comprehension and weaken the overall effectiveness of the essay,  By understanding the basic elements of essay writing and employing appropriate structures such as chronological, problem-methods-solutions, or compare and contrast, researchers can effectively organize their ideas and communicate their findings with clarity and precision. 

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Powerful academic phrases to improve your essay writing .

• How to Paraphrase Research Papers Effectively
• How to Use AI to Enhance Your College Essays and Thesis
• How to Cite Social Media Sources in Academic Writing? 

Leveraging Generative AI to Enhance Student Understanding of Complex Research Concepts 

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