How to Create Good Titles for Essays That Stand Out Every Time

Every teacher has seen it: a student with a promising essay, but their introduction contains a confusing or boring title that alienates readers. There’s no way around it—a poor essay title is like a rotten cherry on top of an otherwise delicious sundae. No matter how well the essay is written, the title will make it difficult to get past the first few paragraphs. Good titles for essays are essential to help readers understand what to expect from an essay and attract their interest. how to teach essay writing. This blog will help you teach your students how to craft captivating essay titles that improve their writing and academic performance.

The right tools can make all the difference in improving student outcomes. EssayGrader’s grading software for teachers is a valuable resource for helping students develop strong, attractive essay titles. With this tool, you can quickly assess student papers, including the title and introduction, to provide targeted feedback to help them improve their writing. 

What is a Good Title for an Essay?

A solid title plays a significant role in effective essay writing. The purpose of an essay title is to tell readers what your essay is about. This gives them a heads up on what to expect from the essay and, if they’re reading it, to conduct their research, whether it’s relevant to their study area. 

Why a Good Title is Important for Your Reader

A title contributes to the argument developed in the rest of the essay. By identifying the essay's topic, argument, and method, a strong title begins the work of informing and/or convincing readers. A good title indicates to your instructor/marker that you have understood the question and the concepts. 

One of the first things your instructor or marker will look for is whether the assignment question has been answered. A clear title helps demonstrate that it has been. Another function of the title is to capture readers’ attention and interest. 

How a Good Title Can Help You as the Writer 

The title is a “privileged” place in the text because it draws the reader's most complete attention. Take advantage of that fact. Use the title’s privileged position to express your ideas clearly and to articulate your argument. 

What Makes a Good Title? 

Good paper titles could differ depending on whether the audience views or ignores your essays. When chosen carefully, essay titles capture the attention of someone who does not typically read the topic. 

Learning the proper method for titling an article can create an attention-grabbing heading. A well-titled article will also tell readers what to expect. Knowing how to create a topic for an essay that commands the reader’s attention is important. 

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How to Write Good Titles for Essays

Before deciding on a title, think carefully about your audience. 

• Who will read this paper, and what are their motivations? 
• Do they want to be entertained? 
• Are they concerned with acquiring information as clearly and concisely as possible? 
• How do you want your reader to feel about the content of your paper? 
• Asking questions such as these will help you determine the appropriate tone for your title.

1. Academic Papers Need Titles That Are Informative and Clear

Good academic titles reveal not only the topic of the paper but also some idea of the writer's 

specific approach, argument, and area of discussion. 

Here are some typical and useful academic titles:

• Goodbye Lenin!: Free Market Nostalgia for Socialist Consumerism 
• The Artful Thunder as Dramatic Technique in Shakespeare’s The Tempest 
• The Effects of Light and Temperature on the Growth of Populations of the Bacterium Escherichia coli 
• “The Machine-Language of the Muscles”: Reading, Sport and the Self in Infinite Jest
  

Though representing a range of disciplines, each of these titles is clear, independent, and self-explanatory. Notice how each title is relatively long and contains multiple phrases. Academic writing is complex and demands equally complex and purposeful titles. If you look carefully at the sample titles, you will notice that each has three separate elements: 

1. The Hook

A creative element that draws in the reader. Typically, this is a catchy, readable phrase that advertises the paper’s specific subject. The hook is sometimes a direct quotation from a text or a sudden introduction of a new and exciting element of your topic. 

2. Key Terms

These are crucial words or phrases that are indispensable to the topic at hand. In academic writing, scholars are often asked to identify a few select terms to identify their papers in an index. Using key terms in a paper’s title will make the paper more searchable in a database. 

You want to load your title with important terminology to orient the reader to the following concepts discussed in the paper. The best titles are like very summaries of the paper itself. 

3. The Source

Sometimes called a “location,” this is the place in the title where the concepts under discussion are to be found. Depending on the discipline, your source might be:

• A piece of writing
• The name of a text
• Geographical place
• Person
• Existing debate
• Organism

2. Titles for Narrative and Personal Papers

Being simple and clear can be very useful in a formal academic essay, but:

• What if you aren’t writing an analytical paper?
• How do you write a title for a personal essay or statement? 
• How about a title for that English paper that asks you to write a narrative or share an observation? 
• These papers might well demand interesting and creative titles rather than strictly academic.
  

Use an interesting phrase from your paper. There may be a humorous or dramatic anecdote you offer in your creative paper that sums it all up. There may be a quotation or phrase that could serve as the title. You want to interest the reader in these cases by making the paper seem unique. Here is your opportunity to put your stamp on the paper and to intrigue the reader. Here are some interesting and intriguing titles for creative essays: 

• “Why I Screen My Calls” 
• “The Week of Rental Car Disasters” 
• “My Son, the Burglar, Revisited” 
• “What’s So Wrong with the Brady Bunch?”

How to Develop an Appropriate Title for Your Essay

1. Write Your Essay 

Most often, titles are written at the end of the writing process, so the first step in creating a great title is to write your essay. 

2. Consider Your Audience 

Think about your intended audience: what most likely appeals to them? Content? Humour? Since your intended audience is likely your instructor, review the style that they use in the assignment guidelines/course outline. Can you match it? 

3. Re-Read The Assignment Guidelines 

If there are any specific instructions about the title, follow them. Otherwise, try to use words or phrases from the assignment guidelines in my title. Certain key phrases often used are:

• Analyze
• Assess
• compare/contrast
• Define
• Describe
• Discuss
• Evaluate
• Illustrate
• Outline
• Summarize

4. Re-Read Your Essay 

If a good title doesn’t suddenly come to mind, write down my topic and keywords from your essay. These words reflect the main concept or ideas of the whole essay. Join these words together in a sentence or sentence. Convert these sentences into shorter phrases. 

5. Re-Work Your Title 

Occasionally, a title will pop into my mind fully formed, but most often, titles need to be written, expanded, and edited several times. Make the title as informative as possible, even if it seems long or wordy. Don’t hold back and reveal your conclusions. Be direct and enthusiastic.

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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  
• Online Learning Cannot replace Face-to-Face Courses  
• 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?

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