Operating Definitions and Guidelines for Writing>

The Title

An effective title can be one of the most powerful tools for indicating that a composition is worth the time it takes to read it. These guidelines should help create titles that proclaim a text's worthiness. This page covers content and technical specifications with examples for one's own titles, and in the process, also a review of how to handle others' titles when using sources.

When should the title be written?

A preliminary, working title can help a writer focus on the topic and stay on track. However, once the final draft is done, the writer should rethink it. Does it just do the job or can it be reshaped to capture reader interest and suggest further thought? The real title should be typed after the last draft is finalized.

What does a title do and not do?

A title should not be

  • the assignment label - Essay 1
  • sounding like a newspaper headline - Plato's Myth Echoes Love Is a Fallacy
  • taken from one of the stories - "Love Is a Fallacy" - Shulman thought of this one first. Create an original one.
  • offensive - keep the language such that it earns the reader's respect
  • missing - MLA format calls for a title on all student essays.
  • a complete sentence

A title should

  • catch the reader's interest, often by creating unexpected or unpredictable associations or turning a phrase.
  • suggest the topic
  • suggest the writer's take on it
  • be original and creative
  • consist of a few words

A fully-toned, creative title can

  • enhance the flow of ideas when it echoes the main ones in the body
  • deepen the level of discussion when it dovetails with a resonant creative strategy
  • signal superior thinking with creative A-grade strategies
  • suggest further thought and open new possibilities to the reader.

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Some Examples

Why does a title catch attention? It may come from the seemingly unrelated items or associations, or unique word play. Here are some of the more curiosity-raising titles of standard composition texts, recent books, films, and some classics.

When a Title Includes a Title

Below are some patterns that include literary titles. Following each is the writer's take on the subject and the related thesis.

"Short Story Title:" Take on Topic

"The Things They Carried:" Light Heavyweight Life

{The thesis of this essay is that it is not the weapons and ammunition that so weigh down the soldiers patrolling Vietnam in a selection from Tim O'Brien's 1990 book, The Things They Carried. Rather, it is the intangible burdens. The intangible trappings' mass doesn't even nudge the needle on a scale, yet it nevertheless packs enough punch to become and create dead weight.)

Book or Film Title: Take on Topic -

The Titanic: The Depth of the Heart of the Ocean

(This essay writer holds that the gem that drives the plot of the film, The Titanic, symbolizes true love, an act as powerful, enduring, and profound as the ocean itself.)

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Technical Specifications

Please use the checklist below to fulfill the technical specifications for typing mechanics.

[ ] Center the title above the first paragraph.
[ ] Skip one line and then start typing the body.
[ ] Type all words in capital and lowercase letters, never in all-capital letters.
[ ]Capitalize the first letter of each word. Exceptions:

  • Use the lower case for articles [a, an, or the], conjunctions and prepositions
  • But always capitalize the first and last word even if it is an article, conjunction, or preposition.

[ ] Type it in the same font size as the body
[ ] Do not underline or bold-face the title.
[ ] Do not enclose it in quotation marks or italicize it. Exceptions:

  • Emphasize the titles of literary or electronic works as the MLA directs, but place the emphasis only on the work itself, not the whole title.
    • Italicize the titles of books, periodicals (newspapers and magazines), movies, ships, TV series, and cd album titles - Dark Side of the Moon cd by Pink Floyd
    • Enclose chapter, article, TV episode, and song titles in quotation marks - "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd
  • Follow MLA guidelines for capitalization regardless of what the original does, unless it's an e. e. cummings poem.
  • See the examples above.

Title Quiz

Read each title below. Assume each is the whole title of a student essay that is centered at the top. Place a check the appropriate box in the answer to this question: Is this a good title according to the criteria above?

[ ] Yes [ ] No 1. "Radio at the Movies: A Prairie Home Companion"

[ ] Yes [ ] No 2. Looking for a Job Is a Job

[ ] Yes [ ] No 3. Artful Resonance in Batman Returns

[ ] Yes [ ] No 4. "Questioning Quotas"

[ ] Yes [ ] No 5. Titanic

[ ] Yes [ ] No 6. Final Essay

[ ] Yes [ ] No 7. Over the Hedge: Resurrecting Possums

[ ] Yes [ ] No 8. The Role of Providence in Hamlet Is Inconsistent

[ ] Yes [ ] No 9. "The Heart of the Ocean": A Symbol in James Cameron's Titanic

[ ] Yes [ ] No 10. Captives in his train: Die Hard 2 and the gospel

Updated 10/4/07 by Maria Garcia | English Department | SAC | Top