8.11: Creating and Refining a Title

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Page ID: 16567

Lapum et al.
Ryerson University (Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing) via Ryerson University Library

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Most people create a title when they are done writing. The title of your paper frames what your paper is about and captures your reader’s attention. Creating a good title is important because it is the first thing your reader sees. Your title conveys your tone to your audience. A good title is clear, concise, informative, and inviting.

Choose a title based on your purpose and your audience. A title often has two parts, separated by a colon – the most important part should come first. If you are creating a title for a scientific audience, the first part might focus on your topic and the second part might focus on your methods, e.g., “Nurses’ Experiences of Grief: A Literature Synthesis.” Alternatively, if you want to use a creative or clever hook to pique your reader’s curiosity, you might call your paper “Nine Hundred Ninety-Nine Patients: The Crisis of the Country’s Wait List for Surgery.”

You may have chosen a title before you started writing, but you should refine it in the final stages of writing. Make sure it says what you need it to say. Show it to a peer and ask them what they would expect the paper to be about and whether it sounds interesting.

Some strategies to consider when creating a title:

Avoid abbreviations.
Limit it to 10 to 15 words.
Choose words purposefully.
Avoid unnecessary words (bolded in these sentences) such as “Exploring Nurses’ Experiences of Grief” or “Examining the Crisis of the Country’s Wait List for Surgery.”

Student Tip

Creating a Title

Re-read your introduction: your main points may help you develop a title.