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Organizing & Revising Your Paper

Revising your writing. How to integrate your viewpoint. How to do a reverse outline. What makes an effective title? How to finish your paper.

Effective Titles

How to Write an Effective Title

Writers often don’t know how to write a good title for academic essays and get stuck on this seemingly simple step. Titles should help the audience understand what it is they’re going to be reading and why they should care to read your paper in the first place.

Qualities of a Good Title

1. Titles Should Predict Content and Set Tone:

A title should predict for the readers what kind of content they’re reading, as well as convey the tone of the piece. Think about your audience and who will be reading your paper. What are they looking for? Entertainment, persuasion or just the facts?

2. Hook the Reader’s Attention:

A title should also catch the reader’s attention. Try to write in a “hook,” that is, a creative element to catch the reader’s attention, such as a key phrase, a quote, or an exciting element of your paper. This won’t always be necessary, depending on your audience, so it is crucial to keep that in mind.

3. Incorporate Keywords:

The title should contain keywords to make it easily accessible by a computer search. For example, if your paper is on feminism in post-modern literature, make sure both “feminism” and “postmodernism” are in the title.

4. Use Specific Language:

Do not have a generic or broad title, such as “Paper #2” or “Feminism in Arthurian Mythology” or “Racism in Society.” You need to be clearer about what you’re arguing or discussing in your paper. If it feels common to you, it will likely feel common to the reader.

5. Revise the Title as You Write:

Remember that an effective title takes time to develop, and you may go through stages, or “rough drafts” of titles, the same way you do for the drafts of the essay you’re writing. It may take time to decide on the correct one.

Writing Prompt for Titles:

Consider the key themes that arise in your essay, and write 3-5 alternative titles for your essay Ask a few classmates to read each title and discuss which ones seem most appropriate for the essay itself and why. Then, choose the one that readers have told you is most effective!