Making a Good Title for Your Essay
If you are aiming to make a career out of writing or trying to win your class essay contest, the essay’s title can make or break your chances of doing well. Just as we’ve all experienced when browsing through the net or even the newspaper, eye-catching titles entice us to read further, whereas boring titles cause us to skip past the text.
In the classroom setting, a great title will attract your teacher’s attention. Even though it is true that most of your points will come from the Intro, Body, and Conclusion, the title is still part of the packaging. So you need to create a good one.
So if you’ve been having difficulty coming up with great titles for your essays or blogs, then read on to learn how to make an enticing one.
- Create it (or revise it) after you’ve written your essay
It can be difficult to create a good title if you haven’t finished the essay itself. For many, it makes more sense to create the final title after the essay is done. But if you need an initial title to get going, you can make a working title for the meantime and revise it afterward.
- Make it catchy
A great title attracts the eye. It should stand out by appealing to the reader’s emotion, interest, or curiosity. Recall what you have written and think about the most important aspect of your essay. Oftentimes, this could be the idea you want to project in your essay.
- Don’t make it too complex
In the attempt to wow the reader, some use fancy jargon that ends up confusing the audience. The words in your title should not be too simple or too complex. Look for a happy middle ground that shows your writing is understandable but worthy of reading.
- Stay true to your content
Another mistake in title creation is when the title is misleading. So don’t include fantastic claims in your title that are not addressed in your essay.
For example, if your title says, “10 Ways for a Guaranteed Slim Body,” but your essay’s content just gives possible suggestions and uses phrases like “it might work” or “it could help,” your reader will wonder why you said “guaranteed” in the title. If this were a blog on the internet, your readers might not trust you again.
- Consider the tone of your essay
In connection to being true to your content, your title should consider the essay’s tone. If it is a very serious essay (abortion, divorce, poverty, racism), you should not have a funny title. If it is an upbeat essay, you should avoid somber titles.
- Keep it short
As much as possible, titles should not be very lengthy. Keep your phrasing up to a maximum of 12 words. Very rarely should it go beyond that. Very lengthy titles may just confuse your reader.
Summary
Although it might seem to be a minor part of the essay as a whole, a great title still adds to your essay’s impact and your final score. So do follow the pointers above so you can have an essay title that will attract your reader.