How Do You Come Up with a Title for an Essay? Get Creative, That’s How!

How important is an essay title? Pretty important, actually. It is the very first thing that the reader (your instructor) sees, and it can “set the tone” for how that reader feels about the essay to follow. You will want to get a bit creative and think about how to come up with an essay title that will capture attention right away.

How to Come Up with a Good Title

First of all, do not work on your title until you have finished your entire essay. You have to have the “full picture” and your thesis statement before you think about how to come up with a title.

So, how to come up with a catchy title?

You have a few options here.

1. Put a Comparison in Your Title

Coming up with a title for an essay can be as simple as this. What can you compare your topic to? Suppose, for example, that you have to write a review of a movie and you hated the film. Your title could be something like, “Watching (name of a movie) is a bit like Watching Grass Grow.” You have now told your reader that the movie was really boring but in a humorous way.

2. Try Coming Up with a Title the Gives Your Opinion

If you are writing an argumentative essay, put your opinion in the title. Yes, you will have to repeat that opinion in your thesis statement, but you can engage your reader right away. “Guns Now Allowed in Bars? What Could Possibly Go Wrong?” tells your reader that you are opposed to state laws that allow guns anywhere at all.

3. Problem/Solution

Think about how to come up with a creative title that addresses the topic problem and poses a solution, too. “The Social Security Solution: Put All of Congress on the Plan” Here you have told the reader you are going to address the social security crisis, but one of your solutions will be how to motivate congress to fix it.

4. Put a Personal Response in a Title

This works well for reflective essays, and coming up with a good title means you expose your overall response. Suppose you are writing a book review on Augusten Burroughs’ Dry. Your title might be: “Dry: Dark and Snarky Humor of Alcoholism.” You have given the reader your overall impression and quite possibly, if you review is well-written, will motivate them to read the book too.

These are just four suggestions for how to come up with a title for an essay. The process involves some creative thought, but if you use these four tips, you may get those “juices” flowing.

Titles are Only Overtures

Like a symphony, you have an overture to your essay. That is the title and the opening paragraph. Beyond that, just knowing how to come up with good titles for essays will not be enough. You need a compelling and engaging piece of writing that takes your thesis statement and develops it logically.

If you find writing essays too challenging or if you are simply out of time, you will need to find some help. Get online and look for the best essay writing companies. When you find one, you will get a professional writer who knows not only how to come up with creative titles, but also how to turn your topic into a great piece of writing.