Choosing an effective title

Your title is the first thing most readers see, and for many it is the only thing they will see. Search engines and indexing services rely heavily on titles, so the words you choose determine who finds your work.

One way of distilling and synthesising your ideas is to consider the title itself. The process of considering alternate titles encourages "unity, creativity and significance" (Crosby, 1976, p. 387), all of which matter in writing a good article.

Write a working title early to focus your drafting, then revisit it once the article is finished. The title should describe what the article actually became, not what you first intended.

What makes a title work

  • Front-load the substantive terms. Put the key concepts near the beginning rather than burying them behind phrases such as "An investigation into the possible role of…"
  • Be specific rather than general. A title should not sound like a book title (Jalongo, 2026). "Reading anxiety" names a field; "Reading anxiety in Year 3 students during oral reading" names a study.
  • Consider the two-part title. A broad framing followed by a colon and the specific study is the most common pattern in many fields, and it lets you carry both a general and a specific term.
  • Check the length limit. Many journals cap titles, often around 12 to 15 words, and some require a separate short running head.
  • Avoid undefined abbreviations and acronyms, which are invisible to readers outside your immediate area and unhelpful for search.
  • Do not promise more than the article delivers. A title that overstates the findings will be picked up by reviewers.

Twelve styles of title

Hartley (2007) offers twelve different types of title, each emphasising a different way of engaging with readers. Explore the activity below to consider which style best represents your contribution.

These are descriptive rather than a menu. What works depends on your field: puns, alliteration and allusions are accepted in some humanities and social science journals and will read as unserious in most applied science ones. Check what your target journal actually publishes.

Can you think of titles which conform to these styles? Have a go at writing your own title according to the description, then click "Turn" to see an example (all found in business and economics journals).