Excerpt: Chapter 3: Writing an Effective Title
A catchy headline in a newspaper often entices peoples to read a newspaper article that would not have interested them otherwise. Similarly, a well-written title in a journal can entice scientists to look at a journal article that they might otherwise have bypassed. Unfortunately, a poorly constructed title may even scare readers away, regardless of the manuscript’s relevance to the readers’ interests and the quality of the science inside.
Because the title is likely the first exposure of your paper to a potential audience, the title should be constructed with care and with purpose. Do not just quickly throw it together! Begin with a working (or draft) title to give your writing scope and perspective. Never underestimate the warm feelings from seeing a titled document in your word processor to motivate further work. When the manuscript is completed, reevaluate the working title to ensure that it still represents the work contained within the manuscript.
The five characteristics of a desirable title (Lipton 1998) are:
Informative Identify one or two main points in the paper to communicate to the audience; a good title is capable of conveying those points. Be as specific as possible without adding unnecessary details. Titles that are too vague or too general do not help the reader distinguish your work from others. Choose words carefully, cognizant that prospective readers will often find your article through electronic searches.
Accurate The title should be truthful about the contents of the paper. Do not overpromise the results of the paper in the title.
Clear The audience should not have to think about what the title means. Different people may interpret the title differently, so ask a number of people to critique your title and tell you what they think the paper is about before they even read it.
Concise Short titles are instantly recognizable and jump of the page. Every word should have a reason for being present, and each word should contribute to the message of the title.
Attention commanding Not all research projects can produce an attention-commanding title, nor do all projects need them. But, if you can meet the other four criteria and have a choice between a pedestrian title and one that is a bit provocative, consider the provocative one. Ideally, titles should strive to adhere to these five characteristics. However, not all may be met or can be met in one title. For example, to write an attention-commanding title, often you have to sacrifice being less clear or informative. How much concision are you willing to give up in order to be accurate? Clearly, these are decisions for the author to make.
Lipton, W. J., 1998: The Science Editor’s Soapbox. 93 pp. [Available from Science Soapbox, P.O. Box 16103, Fresno, CA 93755-6103.]
