Learning how to title an essay is a small skill with a big payoff. The title is the first thing your instructor reads, and it sets expectations for everything that follows. A good one tells the reader what the essay is about, hints at your argument and matches the tone of the paper. A weak one, such as "Essay 2" or "Social Media," suggests you did not think much about your focus.
This guide walks you through a simple five-step process, title formulas you can borrow, examples for each essay type and the APA and MLA rules for formatting your title correctly.
An effective title has four jobs:
In short, the best titles are accurate, specific, concise and relevant, with a touch of creativity when the assignment allows it.
Applied to the example above, that process might produce "Shorter Weeks, Wider Gaps: The Hidden Cost of the Four-Day School Week." Because your title grows out of your thesis, a clear thesis makes titling much easier. Our guide on how to write a thesis statement can help if yours still feels vague.
| Formula | Best For | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hook: Explanation | Most academic essays | Likes and Lows: How Instagram Shapes Teen Self-Esteem |
| Statement of the argument | Argumentative and persuasive essays | Why Community College Should Be Tuition-Free |
| Question | Debates and opinion essays | Should College Athletes Be Paid? |
| Quote plus focus | Literary analysis | "More Equal Than Others": Power and Propaganda in Animal Farm |
| Descriptive | Research papers and reports | The Effects of Minimum Wage Increases on Teen Employment |
| Image or moment | Narrative and personal essays | What the Night Shift Taught Me |
Literary devices such as alliteration ("Pixels, Profits and Privacy"), metaphor or wordplay can make a title memorable, but use them only when the tone of the essay allows it. A pun on the title of a serious policy paper usually falls flat.
For more ideas across subjects, browse our list of good essay titles, but always adapt a title to your own thesis rather than borrowing one that does not fit.
| Weak Title | Stronger Title | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Essay 2 | Gig Work and the Myth of Flexibility | Names the topic and the angle |
| Social Media | Likes and Lows: How Instagram Shapes Teen Self-Esteem | Specific platform, group and effect |
| The Negative Impact of Video Games on Children: An Argumentative Essay | Do Violent Video Games Make Kids Aggressive? | Drops the genre label and frames the debate |
| A Very Interesting Look at the Many Different Causes of the Civil War | Cotton, Compromise and Collapse: The Road to the Civil War | Shorter, concrete and memorable |
Common mistakes to avoid:
Most instructors expect title case: capitalize the first and last words and all major words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs), and lowercase articles, coordinating conjunctions and short prepositions. Beyond that, follow the style your course uses.
| Rule | APA 7th Edition | MLA 9th Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Where the title goes | Title page, then repeated at the top of the first page of text | First page, centered on the line below your name, instructor, course and date (no title page unless requested) |
| Styling | Bold and centered | Plain text: no bold, italics, underlining or quotation marks |
| Capitalization | Title case, including every word of four or more letters | Title case |
| Length | Keep it focused and include key terms | No set limit |
In either style, never put your own title in quotation marks or italics, and do not end it with a period. If your title includes the name of another work, italicize books, films and journals, and put short stories, poems and articles in quotation marks. Our APA style guide and MLA style guide cover the rest of the formatting rules.
Include the title of the work, and the author's name if it helps, so the reader knows immediately what you are analyzing. Pair it with your focus: "Light and Longing in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby" is far stronger than "The Great Gatsby Essay."
Many application portals only give you a text box with no title field. If there is no place for a title, you do not need one. If a title is requested, make it personal and specific, drawn from a moment or image in your story.
Research titles favor clarity over creativity. Name the topic, the key variables or population and, if relevant, the method. A colon subtitle is common: "Sleep and Screens: Phone Use and Sleep Quality Among First-Year College Students."
A great title cannot rescue an essay that lacks focus, so give the opening the same care; our guide on how to start an essay covers introductions that work. If you would like a second opinion on your thesis, title or draft, Ace My Homework's essay writing help lets you post your assignment with instructions and a deadline, compare tutor bids and reviews, and chat with a tutor before choosing. Use the feedback to improve your own writing, and follow your school's academic integrity policy. You can post your request here.
Most college essays and research papers should have a title unless your instructor or the submission portal says otherwise. A title tells the reader your topic and angle before they start reading. Timed exam essays and many application essays submitted through a text box are common exceptions, so follow the instructions you are given.
Use a working title while you draft, then write the final title after the essay is finished. Your argument often shifts during writing, and a title written first may no longer match the paper. Once the essay is done, pull key words from your thesis and conclusion and build the final title around them.
Most strong essay titles run from about 5 to 12 words. A short main title plus a colon and a descriptive subtitle is a common pattern for academic papers. APA's current edition asks for a focused title that includes key terms rather than setting a strict limit, and MLA has no word limit, but long titles packed with filler words are harder to read.
No. In MLA style your title is plain text, centered, with no italics, underlining, bold or quotation marks. APA asks for a bold, centered title. The exception is the title of another work inside your title: italicize books and films, and put short stories, poems and articles in quotation marks.
Yes. A question works well for argumentative and persuasive essays because it frames the debate your essay answers, for example "Should College Athletes Be Paid?" End it with a question mark and make sure your thesis clearly answers the question. Avoid questions that are too broad or that the essay does not actually address.
In title case, lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or) and short prepositions such as of, in, on and to, unless they are the first or last word or follow a colon. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. APA also capitalizes every word of four or more letters, such as "With" and "From."
Use a specific image, phrase or moment from your story rather than a generic label like "My Life." Titles such as "What the Night Shift Taught Me" hint at the experience and the lesson without giving everything away. Keep it honest and simple, and check whether the application or assignment even asks for a title before you spend time on one.
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