May 25, 2003

The Title Rules! (Review and Examples)

At the PALC, students are required to write a good title on every paragraph (and essay) written for homework AND for the Certificate Tests, too. This week, the Literature and Composition 4 students reviewed titling and provide us with some good examples to follow.

Rules (from the class)

One way to write a title is use ALL CAPITALS. OR put capital letters on important words (not, for example on “in” or “the” unless in the first place.

A title is attractive!

A title says something about your topic and is a good match to the contents of your paragraph or essay.

A title is found on the centre of the line.

A title should be short and concise.

A title is NOT underlined or in quotation marks (“ ”)

A title is NOT a sentence.

A title is NOT the topic given you by the teacher. (Very common on the tests)

Readers choose to read according to titles.

Sample Student Titles

The students were writing a paragraph about making an important choice in their lives. Which title do you like the best?

A Nice Place to Live
(We took out the underline and took the capital from “to” to correct.)

Always Choosing an Easy Way
(We added “an” to follow the article rule.)

Intersection Ahead
(The title makes me curious and is also a very familiar idea.)

Why We Live Here
(This is a statement but is a bit general.)

The Road Toward the Unknown
(This is a bit mysterious because of the word “unknown.”)

A New Life in Canada
(A clear title that shows what will follow.)

When Should I Title?

Put the title on last because you now know exactly what it is you have said in your paragraph. OR

Put the title on first because it helps to guide your writing.

 

See the most recent tip