Best title generator for essay

Type a few relevant keywords in the relevant section of the tool to describe your paper.

Pick the subject that fits you.

Hit the Generate button to get plenty of fresh and catchy ideas and pick the perfect one!

What is an academic essay title generator?

It is worth noting that the titles of your articles have a significant impact. Even if the content of your essay is exceptional, a boring title can spoil the overall impression. A strong title sets the right tone for your article and captures the reader's attention. Our advanced title generator for essay assignments is created to help you get catchy headlines. With our tool, students who want to buy an essay can find great titles in a few simple clicks. And the best part of it is that it’s free, with no word limit, and no sign up!

creative title for college essay

Why choose an essay title generator from Studyfy?

With a creative essay title generator by Studyfy.com, creating winning headlines is made easy! Our tool allows you to find the best titles for your papers. But even that’s not all! Here are the top benefits that make our tool the best choice for students:

No registration and no charges

Students love our free essay title generator because no fees are involved. You don’t even have to sign up. Choosing Studyfy, you can create outstanding titles anytime, anywhere, without any limitations!

Intuitive & fast in use

Our tool is fast and easy to use. All you need to get a brilliant heading for your essay is to follow three quick steps - type relevant keywords, choose a subject, and click Generate. Just that easy!

A large database of information

Our title generator has a huge database of information to help you find tons of great ideas that will surprise your professor. It collects ideas from our own database, as well as from outside sources, that are constantly being updated to make relevant suggestions.

Guaranteed Originality

Rest assured, our paper title generator ensures complete originality, eliminating any concerns about plagiarism. With our free tool, you can generate titles that are 100% unique and creatively tailored to your needs. Say goodbye to worries about unintentional duplication and welcome a hassle-free way to generate captivating titles for your essays.

Free features

We can turn your paper into a perfect one.

At Studyfy, we provide superior writing assistance to support your academic journey. Our team comprises skilled professionals adept at various tasks, including homework aid, proofreading, and essay refinement. With extensive knowledge and experience, our experts ensure your writing is impeccable and tailored precisely to your needs. When you rely on our team, rest assured your papers will surpass expectations and adhere to rigorous academic criteria.We invite you to take action and experience the difference our services can make in your academic success. Don't hesitate to utilize our expertise and entrust us with your " write my essay " requests today.

How does an essay title generator work?

Insert the keywords.

Use keywords to define your essay’s topic or a central idea. Our title generator will analyze the inserted keywords and search for relevant suggestions in our database. The more keywords you put, the easier it will be to find your perfect topic!

Pick subject category

To get even more accurate results, choose the subject category that suits your needs most from the list. The tool will use both your keywords and the chosen category to find relevant titles. There are plenty of categories to suit every user’s needs. Try to use different ones to find even more interesting and catchy ideas.

Get many great ideas

After inserting your keywords and choosing a category, click the Generate button. The tool will scan the database, which updates regularly. It will suggest creative options for you to choose from. Run it as many times as you need to find your perfect essay topic!

Tell Us Your Instructions

How can Studyfy title generator for essay help you succeed?

Tons of attention-grabbing topics, constantly updated databases for relevant results, lots of subject categories to choose from, unique ideas exclusively.

creative title for college essay

Tips for using our essay title generator to your benefit

creative title for college essay

Pick the right subject

Is there any specific subject or area of research that has to be covered in your essay? Then try choosing a subject that fits you from the list of suggestions

Choose the best topic

So, you found many title ideas with our essay titles generator. How to choose the best one?Copy your options or write them down. Then, eliminate them individually until you are left with the perfect one.

Are the topics on our list broad? Even better! With our title maker, you'll have a starting point to narrow them down further and find the best option. Whether you're seeking inspiration or guidance, our tool is here to streamline your search and aid you in crafting the perfect title for your needs.

Our customer reviews

Students and professionals choose our creative essay title generator to find the best, catchiest, and most intriguing titles for papers. Here is what customers who’ve used our tool have to say about it:

Thanks a lot! :) This generator is my golden ticket! Brainstorming with it takes almost no time, and each idea I find is flawless. Studyfy is a lifesaver for students!

With this tool, I always know what to cover in my essayUnlike any other random essay topic generator, this one has helped me generate tons of great ideas. It suggests awesome topics, and I feel inspired! Now that I found Studyfy and this awesome tool, academic writing is just a piece of cake :)

I use this all the time! It’s free and does its job so well. Thanks Studyfy for helping me get inspired and taking my writing to the next level!

I usually write essays myself However, sometimes I feel like I just need an extra push to find a starting point. In such cases, I use this title generator. It helps me find dozens of cool ideas in a few seconds. Anyone who needs inspiration for writing, this is the place to seek it!

Awesome generator! It really helps me find great titles for papers on any subject matter! Earlier, I tried a few different ones, but this one is my fav; it is truly a catchy essay title generator.

Frequently asked questions

What topic categories i can choose from, what should the good essay title generator be like, how many times i can run the tool to find my topic, will my topic be unique, get the most out of studyfy essay topic generator.

  • Don’t be afraid to experiment and choose different keywords to
  • Pick the title that suits your unique voice.
  • Use the tool for inspiration and shape your own topic.
  • Don’t hesitate to get help from our pro editors if you’re facing other issues. We will be happy to assist in making every paper perfect!

Studying / Writing Tools

Essay Title Generator

essay title generator

Essay titles are not the easiest things to come up with on your own. We know. That’s why we developed our Essay Title Generator to help you create the title your paper deserves. How does it work? Simple. Just enter the topic you’re interested in researching and a random title will be generated from our database based on the parameters you provide.

Why start with a title? Easy. The best way to start your research is to identify a specific focus within your topic—and that’s what a title does. It tells precisely what your paper is going to be about. So if you’re lost and confused about where to start, try our essay title generator.

How to Use our Essay Title Generator

1. Select your "essay topic" or "type of essay" from drop down menu 2. Click the button for "Generate Essay Title." 3. Read the title that our auto-generating system produces. 4. Want more? Click the button for "Generate More Essay Titles." 5. That’s all there is to it! Use our title to help get yourself started on your research.

Essay Title:

Topic not listed in drop down? Search your specific topic

Essay Titles

Why would generating an  essay title  help you get started in your research? Think about it. Picking a focus for your paper is no walk in the park. How do you whittle down a broad topic to a narrow subject? Well, here’s a way! Try thinking of a snappy title first and going from there! Of course, not everybody is good at whipping up a creative title to get the juices flowing. That’s why we’re here to help.

All you have to do is select your topic from the drop down menu. If you have more than one topic in mind, use the generator more than once and get a bundle of titles to pick from. If you go berry-picking you don’t head out with a basket and come back with one berry, do you? NO! You fill that basket up with as many berries as you can find, then you sort them out, select the best ones, and make yourself a delicious berry pie!

That’s what we’re doing here with our essay title generator. We’re helping you to create a great essay by helping you take the first step in that process. Get your title, get your engine revving, and get going!

Important! Don’t stress—no one likes stress, and it doesn’t help anyone—ever! So leave your stress at the door and see for yourself how simple this can be. No more worries that you can’t think of anything, no more fretting over whether you’ll ever be able to focus and create a thesis. This is easy. You tell us the topic. We tell you a title idea. Want another? Click the generator button again. Need another after that? Keep clicking. Our database is filled with great titles that will launch you into the stratosphere of great ideas quick than a SpaceX Falcon rocket. So strap yourself in because we are going for a ride!

Essay Titles Generate Ideas

The title is just the beginning. It’s where the action starts. Getting a great title can be like getting a ray of sunlight that cuts right through the fog. Everything clears up and suddenly you can see where to go. There down in the valley is your essay and laid out in a path all the way to it are the stones that your essay title has tossed out. Look how they stretch out down into the valley of sweet success.

Think about it—that’s what an essay title can do for you! It gets you elevated and out of the haze so that the research becomes accessible. In the dark, you’re fumbling for a way in, unable to find the key. Well, quit fumbling! The essay title is the key. It is the way in. It opens the door for you and turns on the lights. It points you in the right direction so all you need to do is follow the straight and narrow path

As you get started on that path, stop to look around at all the fruit that pops up along the way on the vines and trees that line the path. These are the ideas that our essay titles have been designed to generate in your own mind. You see, our essay title generator is not just a generator of titles: it is a generator of ideas. It supplies the fuel that will get your brain humming and before you know it your imagination will take over and all the information you have at your disposal will suddenly start clicking into place. That’s what a good essay title does, after all. It gets all cylinders firing!

Brainstorming Essay Titles

The brainstorming process is one of the most important steps when it comes to writing. Though some professors say you should wait until after you’re finished writing to come up with a title, the reality is that sometimes starting with a title can jumpstart the brainstorming process. This is especially true when you’re having writer’s block and can’t come up with a focus for your paper. You may have the topic, but where do you go from there? There are a thousand ways you could approach it, so which one do you choose? Or—worse—you can’t think of a single one! How do you know how to start, or, if see some options, how do you know which will get you where you need to go and not end up just getting you lost?

Brainstorming is the key! So how do you brainstorm successfully? You generate ideas! And how do you do that?

Why, you pick your topic, click the generate title button, and let the brainstorming process begin!

These titles have been specially designed to stimulate your brain and get you thinking about all the possibilities to pursue with your topic. Our titles are filled with ideas. They are brimming with possibilities. There are more potential ideas in our titles than there are grains of sand on a sandy beach. Okay, so maybe there aren’t that many—but you get the idea.

Let’s get started! You need a title, and we have the answer: our essay title generator will give you exactly what you need to get going. Don’t even think about how to come up with that perfect, snappy title. Just enter in your topic and click the button. Our titles will keep you coming back for more and keep you buzzing with ideas. We’re sure you’ll find one that hits you the right way and gives you the spark to get started with your research. Our titles help to illuminate the research process. They give you an indication of where you can go and what you can do. As soon as you feel like you’re getting stuck and need some help, don’t delay. Come get the title you need and deserve. Life’s hard. Don’t wait. Select your topic from the drop down menu and click the blue button. Generate that title, and get some great ideas—let’s go!

creative title for college essay

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How to Title an Essay: Guide with Creative Examples [2024]

It’s not a secret that the reader notices an essay title first. No catchy hook or colorful examples attract more attention from a quick glance. Composing a creative title for your essay is essential if you strive to succeed, as it:

  • causes the first impression;
  • reflects the tone, topic, and the purpose of the writing;
  • indicates the author’s credibility.

Thus, how you name your paper is of the same importance as the paper itself.

Good titles for essays should be concise and eye-catching. Nobody likes long and cumbersome headings that do not reflect the point of the paper. While tilting your work, pay enough attention to the word choice. How do you come up with a good title? Use your common sense and imagination. For more details, our experts prepared the sections below.

  • 💭 What Are Good Titles?

✔️ Finish Your Essay

🤲 sum it up, 🏷️ define the keywords, 🖊️ follow the format, ⚖️ change words, ✨ 23 creative title examples, 💭 what are good titles for essays.

A title is a critical part of any academic paper, so you must understand what to include and how to choose it. Here are some features that your heading has to show.

👩‍🏫 How to Title an Essay?

Are you struggling with formulating a heading? Yes, this task is quite challenging. But let’s figure out the basic rules.

The title of any paper should reveal:

  • What the paper is about. Cover the general idea of your work in the title.
  • Why the reader might be interested in it. Prove the relevance of your paper to the audience.
  • The context of the issue. A good title previews the full picture of the topic regarding its “when” and “where.”

To nail your essay heading, follow the guide below. Check our title examples if you are not sure about your abilities. You can also try and use a creative title page generator for a faster result.

Before writing a title to your essay, you should finish your paper. This way, you’ll be able to reread and get the whole idea to incorporate it into your title.

Moreover, you’ll see how long a title should be for an essay after finishing the entire piece. But remember: not too lengthy and not too wordy.

The essay title depends on the type of essay:

  • Narrative essay . For this kind of essay, the title should not provide any detailed info or reflect your position. It should only present the general idea of your piece of writing. For example, the narrative essay topic may look like this: My Thorny Pass to Success.
  • Argumentative essay . The title for an argumentative essay should clearly state the point you are going to support. For instance, you can choose the following heading: Social Media Has a Negative Effect on Teenagers.
  • Cause and effect essay . For this kind of essay writing, the title should be clear and provide a background of the issue. The reader should immediately understand what the problem is, what its cause is, what an effect is. Usually, writers use the words “due to” or “because” to highlight the cause-effect correlation. Look at the example: Because Coronavirus Attacks, People Start to Explore New Ways of Remote Working.
  • Persuasive essay . A persuasive essay should have a dynamic title that immediately calls to action. Moreover, the topic has to be relevant to the audience. For example, for students, the following title would be compelling: Sleep 7-8 Hours a Day: the Lack of Sleep Affects Academic Performance.

The most straightforward way of creating an essay title is summarizing. Sum up the whole paper in one sentence, focus on the central idea, cut the details, and use it as the title.

For this purpose, you can take your thesis statement and restate it, adding creativity. Or use the best summary generator you can find to simplify the task. But don’t forget to make sure that it sounds catchy and explains why the potential reader should check your essay.

For example:

Let’s imagine, you are writing about Artificial Intelligence, and your thesis statement sounds like this:

The purpose of this paper is to explore the advantages of Artificial intelligence’s influence on society and to discover possible outcomes.

Then, the title may be the following:

Artificial Intelligence – the Next Step into the Bright Future.

Every essay includes the key concepts that you explored and the terms that you used for this. You should find essential words and phrases and incorporate them into the essay titles. The keywords will focus the reader’s attention on the central topic of your paper.

You are writing about the negative impact of deforestation on the environment. These are your keywords, as they are the most vital ones. Thus, the title would sound like this:

Protecting the Environment: Deforestation Should be Stopped.

Every educational institution requires to format the academic papers for a particular writing style. Among a wide diversity of citation styles , the most popular ones are APA and MLA formats.

There are a lot of specific requirements regarding the essay title formats. So, let’s investigate these styles.

The APA style requires a title page at the beginning of your research paper. Here, where the readers first meet the heading. The title page should include the following:

  • The paper’s title. Centered, bold, capitalized, 3-4 lines below the top margin.
  • The author’s name (first name, middle initial, last name). Centered, not bold, two lines below the title.
  • The author’s affiliations. Centered, not bold, immediately after the name.
  • Number and name of the course.
  • The instructor’s name and title.
  • Page number in the top right corner.

See the example of an APA title page below:

The title page in APA format.

The MLA style does not require a separate title page. Still, some formatting rules are to be strictly followed.

  • The MLA paper should start one inch from the top of the document, flush left.
  • Write the author’s name, then the instructor’s name, the course number, and the date. Each item should be on a separate double-spaced line.
  • Add the title of your paper. It should be centered and capitalized.
  • Do not put quotation marks, underline, italicize, or boldface your MLA title. Just make it centered and capitalized.

Here is an example of an MLA title formatting.

The essay title in MLA format.

Before choosing a title, figure out is the tone of your essay. Is it more formal or friendly? Do you write it for a college or a personal blog?

Change the wording to make your title sound more catchy and positive. Or serious and official. You can try something new and come up with a creative title for your essay.

You need to write an article about the benefits of healthy eating for university and your online blog. For an academic essay, your title would probably look like this:

A Well-Balanced Diet Is a Key to a Healthy Organism.

In contrast, for a blog article, it would be better to write something like this:

An Apple a Day Keeps a Doctor Away: How Healthy Eating Helps us Be Fit.

Do you see the magic? One topic, different wording, and completely diverse tones as a result. So, try until you reach the most appropriate version of the title for your piece of writing.

Are you still struggling with the selection of a heading for your paper? Take a look at our creative essay title examples! Inspire, then turn on your imagination, and create a personal title.

Argumentative Essay Titles.

  • Intercultural Community at University: Prosperity or Constant Encounters.
  • Leadership Nature: a Congenital or an Acquired Feature?
  • Do Energetic Drinks Help or Harm the Organisms?
  • Why Should Sex Education Be Taught at Schools?
  • Should the Law Punish Bullying?
  • Guns Legalization is an Unsafe Way of Self-Protection.

Narrative Essay Titles.

  • Lady Macbeth – One of the Most Frightening Female Characters of Shakespeare.
  • The Art of Overcoming Failures: How to Deal with the Downfalls Easily.
  • Steve Jobs: from a Poor Student to a Multi-billionaire.
  • The Most Influential Person in my Life.
  • Three Biggest Events of my Life that Shaped me as a Person.
  • What Does it Mean to be a Loving Kid for your Parents?
  • What Does “Family” Mean to You?

Persuasive Essay Titles.

  • Never Judge the Person by their Appearance.
  • Music Should be Implemented as a Medical Treatment.
  • In the Battle Between E-Books and Paper Books, the Last Ones Should Win.
  • Remote Learning Cannot Replace Face-to-Face Classes.
  • Technology Addiction is a Threat to the Future Generation.
  • Murderers Should be Sentenced to Death Penalty.

Cause and Effect Essay Titles.

  • Because of Traveling Around the World, People Expand their Horizons.
  • Due to Massive Immigration, Countries Lose their Cultural Identity.
  • Home Abuse as a Cause of Depression and Suicide as its Effect.
  • Drug Addiction: a Cause for Psychological Disorder or an Effect?

Thank you for reading our article. Now you get how to come up with a good title for an essay. Don’t forget to share our page with your friends.

  • Writing an Effective Title: Quick Tips, Student Support Writing Center, University of Minnesota
  • Choosing a Title, Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Research Guides at University of Southern California
  • How Do I Write a Great Title: U-M LSA Sweetland Center for Writing, College of Literature, Science, and Arts, University of Michigan
  • General Format: Purdue Online Writing Lab, College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University
  • Formatting a Research Paper, Heading and Title: The MLA Style Center
  • Title Page Setup: APA Style, American Psychological Association
  • APA Title Page (Cover Page) Format, Example, Template: Saul McLeod, Simply Psychology
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creative title for college essay

Best Tips on How to Title an Essay

creative title for college essay

How to Make a Good Title for an Essay

The success of an essay heavily depends on its title. This may not come as a surprise given that the essay title is the first aspect to provide the reader with a sneak peek into the text. It piques our interest to read the paper in the first place and gives us a preview of what to expect from the author.

Our research paper writing help prepared a thorough guide on how to title an essay. Here you may find tips and tricks for developing an effective APA or MLA essay title. So, let's dive straight into the article for more exciting details!

Essay Title Format

During your essay writing process, ensure you know the stylistic requirements before beginning an essay. Knowing the format you need to employ is crucial because different style manuals may have varying requirements. Mostly, you could have used an APA or MLA essay title format. Our service, where you can buy essay online , explains these two in more detail below.

Essay Title MLA

If you're required to create an essay title MLA format, check whether your instructor wants you to make a separate cover page. If not, put a heading at the beginning of your work that includes your name, the name of your professor, the course ID, and, lastly, the date.

On the other hand, if you must present a cover page for your essay title MLA, then you need to include the following:

  • The name of the college
  • The title of your paper
  • The subtitle of your paper, if applicable
  • Your first and last name
  • Your teacher or professor's name
  • The class name or course number
  • The date the paper is due

The formatting instructions are as follows:

  • Double-spaced
  • Times New Roman font
  • Size 12 font
  • Apart from very short terms, each word's initial letter should be capitalized. The initial word, however, must always be uppercase.
  • The title page shouldn't include a header with the page numbers.

Essay Title APA

Having discussed the MLA format essay title, let's explore what the APA student title page includes:

  • The paper title
  • Author names
  • Institutional affiliation where the author carried out the study
  • Name and number of the course
  • Professor name
  • Page number

The title of an essay format instructions:

  • double-spaced
  • 1" margins
  • 12-point Times New Roman
  • According to APA, your title should be targeted and brief, without unnecessary words or abbreviations

How to Choose a Good Title for an Essay: Important Qualities

Nobody will read a dull headline. Your title should grab your audience's attention and encourage them to read the rest of the work. As it is one of the initial things readers see, having a strong attention grabber is essential when writing an essay from scratch. To fully understand how to come up with a title for essay that is strong and exciting, let's consider a few following factors:

Employ a Catchy Hook - Usually, the title of essay format follows a similar basic structure, especially if they are used for an academic article. The hook serves as a unique component that attracts the reader. It's a captivating statement informing others about the topic of the essay. You can also explore several types of sentences with examples that can help you develop the ideal hook structure.

Consider Topic Keywords - These are essential terms or expressions pertinent to your subject and help your reader understand the focus and body of your article. These focus keywords should serve as a brief, one- to two-word article summary. You can choose some terms from the research topic your instructor gave you, but after your thesis statement is formed, this is where you should hunt for ideas.

Use a Colon - A colon is frequently used in academic titles to separate concepts and sentences. The standard procedure is to place a clever remark or brief quotation before the colon. Although these beginning words offer flavor, they can be overdone. Because of this, some individuals find using the colon to be repugnant. Therefore be careful not to misuse this method.

Ask a Question - To write essay title that is strong, consider asking a question. But, use it with caution because posing a question will make your tone less formal. As long as the question is suitably phrased to meet the subject of your essay, feel free to employ it. Always check to see if the title question still applies to your points in the essay's body. The thesis statement should be appropriately reflected as well.

Find Inspirational Quotes - There is no formula for selecting essay titles from the textual content. You may get playful and choose any quotation, proverb, or catchphrase that applies to your particular publication and works as a title. You may also create a great essay title using well-known expressions or idioms. Doing so will help your readers relate to and feel more comfortable discussing your subject.

How to Title an Essay headline

Here are other rules for how to create a good title:

  • Title every section of writing: In the process of writing, create interesting subheadings to give your paragraphs an identity. Also, they make your text look ordered and clear. 
  • The title must bear the theme of the text: choose a title that summarizes the essay. 
  • Capitalize all words with certain exceptions: Capitalize the first letter of every word in the title, but do not capitalize pronouns, articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.
  • Avoid underlining the title: Since topics come in boldface, underlining it will amount to overemphasis. Some authorities say that if you must underline it, do not bolden it.
  • Review the final version of the title: Do not forget to do a quick review of the final version of the title—check for grammar, structure, spelling and so on. Re-read it to determine if the title has given justice to the essay. Confirm if the topic is catchy enough to attract your reader’s attention. 
  • When using a colon in your title, follow the rules: Since we are dealing with punctuation rules here, let us talk about the colon – when you have two eye-catching topics, separate them with a colon.

Student’s Guide on How to Come Up with a Title for an Essay

Titling an essay can be easy, but there are a few core principles to be taken into account. The following tips will help you stay on track and avoid any common pitfalls.

Essay Goes First

Never start with a title! If you write it before the rest of the text, it will be based on it, and it should be vice versa. Writing an essay before choosing a heading will give you a clear understanding of what should make sense to the reader. Re-read the finished paper several times to decide on the title. The last thing to create is a title - such strategy will give more time to spend on crafting an essay outline, conducting research, or writing the paper itself.

How to Title an Essay, Complete Guide 2

What are you writing about? What is the style of your paper, and is it an academic essay or a free-form essay like a narrative essay? If the topic of your essay is “Do people who commit heinous crimes deserve the death penalty?” your title should not be humorous; it should be strict and to the point.

If your topic is “Why do people like watching funny cat videos?”, feel free to craft a funny title. Determine the tone of your essay and base your title on it—in consideration with the essay’s topic.

The tone can be:

  • Serious - “The implications of global warming”
  • Funny - “How cats and dogs love their masters”
  • Amiable - “Ways to fight depression”
  • Persuasive - “Why positive thinking is a must have skill for every person”
  • Informative - “Ten rules for creating a chemical at home”

The main goal of a title is to name its paper. There is no need to tell an entire story in the title, or provide any useless details. Sum up your paper in a few words! Another way to do this is to sum up your thesis statement, as it represents the main idea of your essay. Take your thesis and squeeze it into 3-4 words. Imagine that you are creating a title for your favourite newspaper or a slogan for Coca-Cola.

Don’t use fancy words! Take 2-3 main words (keywords), put them together, and stop wasting your time. Avoid jargon and abbreviations.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is something that can help any student and young writer reap benefits. While working on a title, detect the words related to the central idea of the paper. Type the words into the search field of Google and add the word “quote.” A search engine will show numerous web pages with in-text quotations that could be useful. Select the fragment you like. It is possible to learn how to make a creative title for an essay in this way.

Discover several more tips from experts:

  • Never forget the “What,” “Who,” “When,” “How,” “Why,” and “Where” questions (if you start with one of these questions, your title has a chance of getting noticed);
  • Come up with an unexpected image not related to the selected topic;
  • Sometimes, starting with a lie increases the chances of a title being able to catch an eye;
  • Review our catchy essay title examples.

Need Some Help With Your Essay's Title?

Feel free to contact EssayPro and we will provide you with a writing help at a moment’s notice. With the years of essay writing experience, titling becomes second nature, so you no longer need to worry about having a catchy headline on your paper.

Essay Title Examples: Bad vs Good

The strongest essay titles condense lengthy essays into concise statements. When wondering how to make an essay title, think carefully about your stylistic choices and essay format to produce an excellent one. Our dissertation help has provided essay title examples to let you understand the difference between good and bad ones more vividly.

bad good essay titles

Bad Essay Title Examples

As we discussed how to create an essay title and the specific elements that go into it, you should have a clear idea of how important it is to craft a strong title. In contrast, first, look at weak essay title ideas that can break your paper. This should serve as an example of why your heading should not be like this:

Ex 1: ' How Television Has Changed Our World ' - too vast and not informative

Ex 2: 'The Ara Pacis Augustae' - unclear for those who don't know Latin

Ex 3: 'The Most Poisonous Frog' - does not provide any insight

Ex 4: 'A Brief History of Subcultures and How They Manifest Themselves in a Constantly Changing Socio-Economic Environment' - too long and complicated

Ex 5: 'The Little Mermaid 29 Years Later: Selling a Harmful Sexist Message Through a Naughty Image' - inappropriate language

Good Essay Title Examples

Now that you know what a bad essay title looks like, let's explore good essay title examples as their substitutes. Examine the following essay title format styles that will give you a clear understanding.

Ex 1: ' The Electronic Babysitter: A Social History of Uses of the Television' - gives an exact description of what the essay will be about

Ex 2: ' The Modern Historical Significance of the Ara Pacis Augustae to the City of Rome' - here, the reader can understand what they will be reading about

Ex 3: ' A Deadly Beauty: The Evolution of Skin Coloration and Toxicity of the Poisonous Dart Frog' - clear, informative, and on-point.

Ex 4: 'Reconsidering Counterculture in Contemporary Society' - informative enough and brief

Ex 5: 'The Projection of Gender Stereotypes in The Little Mermaid' - employs appropriate language

Catchy Essay Title Ideas

You now understand that long, complicated headlines do not accurately convey the paper's main idea. Take ample time to consider the word choice before tilting your work. How do you create good essay titles? Think creatively and with common sense. But meanwhile, for your convenience, we compiled title ideas for essays you may use as inspiration.

Persuasive Essay Titles

  • Why Receiving College Education is Important: Examining Long-term Benefits
  • Face-to-Face Courses Cannot Be Replaced by Online Learning
  • An MBA Does Not Ensure Corporate Success.
  • Every Company Should Adopt a Green Strategy.
  • Energy Drinks Represent a Lucrative Market Segment.
  • Aircraft, Excess Weight Charges, Need to be Prohibited.
  • Patients' Life Shouldn't be Put to Death by Nurses.
  • Google Glasses May Increase the Number of Auto Accidents.
  • All of the Conventional Malls Will Soon be Replaced By Online Shopping
  • How Do Team-building Exercises Contribute to the Development of Inventions?
  • Illegal immigrants are entitled to remain in the US.

Academic Essay Titles

  • Several English Dialects: The Link Between Various Cultures
  • Instagram: A social media innovation
  • Is it possible to reverse drug-induced brain damage, and if so, how?
  • What the Future Holds for Humans in the Light of Artificial Intelligence
  • The Story of Two Nations after Decades of Conflict: North and South Korea
  • Video Games and Their Learning Context in Schools
  • Free Wi-Fi: Strategies for Enhancing the City's Economy

Strong Research Paper Titles

  • Digital World Cybersecurity
  • E-business to Provide New Paths for Booksellers
  • Outsourcing for Large Businesses
  • Preparing for College Costs for High School Students
  • What News Reporters Should Do in the Digital Age and How to Do It: Examples
  • The Transformative Power of Music: How Heavy Metal Impacted My Life

Best Essay Titles for College Students

  • The Possible Benefits and Risks of Artificial Intelligence for Humans
  • The Potential for Time Travel in Virtual Reality
  • What Role Has Mathematics Played in Human History?
  • How to Succeed in the Real Estate Industry
  • E-Commerce: An Empire of Virtual Businesses Worth Millions of Dollars
  • How to Achieve Financial Independence in the Digital Age Without Opening a Real Business

More Creative Titles for Essays

  • When getting rewarded for their grades, would kids do better left alone?
  • How Does Fake News Impact the Mainstream press?
  • Homelessness in Contemporary Society: A Dilemma
  • What News Reporters' Best Job Is in the Digital Age and How to Uphold It
  • Elon Musk: Brilliant Mind or Insane Person?
  • Positives and Negatives of Employing a Smoker
  • Do We Employ the Appropriate Student Success Metrics?

Professional Academic Help

Now that you know how to make a good title for an essay, you should also understand that you should approach the task as a process. While composing your essay title, you must condense your whole thesis and point of discussion into a single, concise, yet powerful sentence. If you have time before your deadline, give it some thought and don't hurry.

Don't forget that you can always rely on our professional academic assistance, whether you need a reflection paper , ideas for a strong essay title, or any other academic papers. Consider the following words - write my essay for me - magic keywords for delegating your most complex tasks to our skilled writers!

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How To Title An Essay?

How to title an essay in mla format, what are some good titles for an essay.

Daniel Parker

Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

creative title for college essay

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

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A title is the one thing that makes your essay and all academic papers impressive. This is because it is the first thing that a reader looks at and decides whether to give your essay a shot or not. 

Naturally, things with amusing and interesting titles tend to be more read-worthy.  A right and accurate title can either make your essay a success or a complete disaster. 

It might sound easy to give a title to your essay, but it can be daunting in reality. Creating a title is an art, and not everybody knows how to do it. 

This writing guide is provided to know how important it is to give a correct title to your writing and polish your writing skills. 

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What is an Essay Title

An essay title is the name or label given to an essay, which provides a brief summary of the main topic or theme of the essay.

It should be catchy, informative, and relevant to the content of the essay, while also giving readers an idea of what to expect from the writing. 

A good essay title should capture the reader's attention and make them interested in reading the essay.

Purpose and Importance of Essay Title

A title holds great importance in essay writing. It can easily make or break the quality of your work. 

Choosing a title that interests the audience and motivates them to read your essay. This is because they are intrigued, it serves as fertile land to present your knowledge, ideas, writing skills, and critical thinking.   

Qualities of an Essay Title

When coming up with the topic or title for your essays, keep in mind that it should contain the following qualities: 

  • Eye-catching and unique: The title should be eye-catching and unique to grab the reader’s attention.
  • Based on facts: A good title is always believable and based on facts. Especially for writing essay types and papers that stand on facts and logic should have believable titles. 
  • Audience-appropriate: Readability is key. Using fancy and bombastic vocabulary that is not common for the audience will affect the readership. 
  • Tone: A great essay title is always written in an active voice. 
  • Brief and Short: The title should be brief and to the point. Avoid dragging titles into long sentences. 
  • To-the-Point: An essay title should be accurate and clearly present the main theme of the essay. This will allow the reader to know what to expect from the document. 

Components of an Essay Title

Just as all formal writings have an outline to follow, a good essay title is constructed using a formula as well. Keep in mind that the shorter, the better. A title must not exceed 10 to 12 words.

The components of an essay title include

  • An attention-grabbing and catchy hook
  • Tone sets the overall mood or attitude conveyed by the title.
  • The focus keyword - the “where” and “when” in your essay. 

Once you know the importance and elements of an essay title, you are more likely to create a better title.

How to Title an Essay?

Almost all essay writers find it tricky to make an appropriate title for their essays. However, writing a title is not only based on good writing skills. You need to know the basics of creating it. 

A good and effective essay title can be created by taking the following steps:

1. First Write an Essay 

It will be extremely beneficial and easy to create a title once you have written an entire essay.

After writing your essay, you will be clear about what title suits your content the most. Complete your essay and then start reading it.

This will give you a clearer picture of how to address the essay properly.

Deciding on a topic or a title can be time taking. Another advantage of writing a title at the end is that it saves a lot of your time. 

Also, the wrong topic makes it difficult for you to choose the best essay title.  

Struggling with getting started with your essay? Check out this helpful guide on how to write an essay !

2. Use your Thesis Statement

There is another reason you should leave your title for an end.  An effective title provides a reason for the readers to read your essay. The best part to find a reason is in the thesis statement in the introduction of your essay. 

You can always get a title from a thesis statement or by using a part of that argument in the title. 

3. Popular Phrases

Catchphrases and cliches that go with the theme of your essay can be used as the titles as well. When popular phrases are appropriate and interesting, they make effective puns. 

Play with the cliches and twist them to create something of your own. Be creative and innovative for your titles as much as you can. 

4. Consider the Tone

Another trick to creating an effective title for your essay is to consider the essay’s tone and come up with something related to it. 

If the tone and subject of your essay are serious and sad, never make the mistake of addressing your title in an informal and fun way.  

Do not try to go off the wall in such cases. The tone of your essay and the title have a strong connection to a good essay. 

5. Use a Central Idea or a Quote 

It is not mandatory but an easy way to create a title that uses a central idea. You can use a quote as the title of your essay topic. 

If the purpose is served correctly, even song lyrics work the best sometimes. 

6. Summary in Three Words

The most common and basic technique is to get a title from the summary of your essay. 

A writer can summarize the entire essay or the central idea and thesis statement in three words and write a title. 

This can be a title by putting it in a headline, inserting a colon, and stating the purpose of your essay. 

7. Movie Titles in an Essay 

A movie title can also be used as a title in an essay.

There are some basic ways to do that. A writer can highlight the title, use a capital letter for the first letter of the movie title, and italicize its font. 

Another technique is by creating a sentence structure and using a movie title in it. You can use quotation marks as well as the underlining tool. However, title the essay according to the field of study and don’t make it irrelevant. 

Mistakes to Avoid While Giving a Title to Your Essay

Here are some tips to keep in mind when crafting effective essay titles to avoid common mistakes:

  • Positive themes

Avoid writing about sensitive, unethical, or immoral topics, such as drugs, prostitution, or murder.

  • Personal information

Your personal negative experiences should not be included in your essay. However, you can still include lessons learned from those experiences in a professional manner.

  • Relevant Questions

Make sure to ask questions that are relevant to your field of study to ensure you choose an appropriate topic.

  • Professional tone

Keep your essay professional and avoid including personal information or experiences that are not relevant. Your readers are not interested in your personal life.

  • Understanding requirements

It's important to understand your professor's requirements to avoid choosing the wrong topic and wasting time and effort.

  • Neutral perspective

Avoid taking an offensive approach in your essay and steer clear of controversial topics such as religion, abortion, and politics.

How to Title an Essay in Different Formats?

All academic essays require a format through which the writer shapes his document. This format varies from academic level to level and institution as well. The format styles include MLA, APA, Chicago, and Harvard. 

MLA, APA, and Chicago are the most common formats that are usually used. If you are writing an essay choosing a specific format, all of the parts should be drafted accordingly. 

From titling an essay to drawing a conclusion, the writer must follow the format properly to create a strong essay. 

How to Title an Essay in MLA Format?

No matter which essay format you are using to shape your argumentative essay, descriptive essay, etc. The qualities of the title and components remain the same.

Although the formatting of the title may differ. For an MLA style , format your essay title in the following pattern:

  • On the cover page of your essay, using double spacing, write your name in the upper left corner
  • Along with your name, present your instructor’s name, the course title, and the date. 
  • Double-space a line and using centered alignment, provide the essay title in font size 12 pt. 
  • Do not bold or italicize the title.
  • Capitalize important words only and not the articles in the title. 

How to Format an Essay in APA Format?

If you are writing an essay in APA style, you might be wondering how to title an essay in apa format. 

Simply use the following guidelines to format your title and make your writing process easy: 

  • Type the title in upper and lowercase letters
  • Use centered alignment on the upper half of the page and write the title
  • The title in APA style should not exceed more than 12 words
  • Avoid using abbreviations and irrelevant words 
  • The title should be presented in a line or two and not more than that
  • Use double spacing between the lines 
  • Beneath the title, write your name and the institutional affiliation.

How to Title an Essay Chicago Style 

To create an appropriate final version of the title for your essay in Chicago style, you should follow certain guidelines.

  • Use a heading level 2 (H2) for your title
  • Center the title on the page and use title case capitalization
  • Keep the title informative and concise, aiming for no more than 12-15 words
  • Consider including relevant keywords to make your essay easier to find
  • Avoid using slang or informal language in your title
  • Use proper grammar and punctuation

How to Choose a Good Title for an Essay 

Choosing a good title for an essay is crucial as it sets the tone and theme for the reader. 

Here are some important qualities to consider when selecting a title:

  • Informative: A good title should give the reader an idea of what the essay is about. It should be concise and clearly convey the main topic or argument of the essay.
  • Catchy and Memorable: A title that is catchy and memorable can grab the reader's attention and make them more likely to read the essay. Consider using wordplay, puns, or alliteration to make your title stand out.
  • Unique: A title that is unique and original can make your essay stand out from others. Avoid using generic or cliché titles that have been overused.
  • Accurate: A title should accurately reflect the content of the essay. Avoid using sensational or misleading titles that do not accurately convey the main point or argument of the essay.
  • Relevant: A title should be relevant to the current times or issues. Especially in subjects like current events, social or political issues, and scientific research.
  • Reflective of Tone: The title should also reflect the tone of the essay. If the essay is humorous, the title should be as well. If the essay is serious or academic, the title should reflect that.

Essay Title Examples

Just like the tone of every essay differs, the title also differs from each type of essay. For example, movie titles can only be used for informal writing and narrative essays. 

Some examples of essay titles are provided below.

Here are some more examples of essay titles.

Tips to Draft an Essay Title

Titles for Different Types of Essay

How To Title An Essay About A Book

Bad vs Good Essay Title Examples - H3

Tips for Crafting an Outstanding Title 

Here are some tips for crafting an outstanding title:

  • Brainstorm: Begin by brainstorming a list of potential titles for your essay or paper. Write down as many ideas as you can think of, even if they seem silly or irrelevant at first.
  • Be Specific: A good title should be specific and accurate. It should give the reader an idea of what the essay is about. Avoid vague or general titles that don't provide any useful information.
  • Use Keywords: Including keywords in your title can make it easier for readers to find your work in searches. Consider what words or phrases a person might use to search for your topic and incorporate them into your title.
  • Be Creative: A creative and unique title can make your work stand out from others. Consider using wordplay, puns, alliteration, or metaphors to create a memorable and attention-grabbing title.
  • Keep It Short and Sweet: While a title should be specific and informative, it should also be concise. Try to keep your title under 10-12 words, as longer titles can be difficult to read and remember.

For more tips, you can check out this video:

The success of your overall essay is not just based on how well you presented the argument and conducted research to gather the information. A title plays a vital role as well. 

Creative titles are like the icing on the cake. Nobody will want to read it when it will not appeal to them. 

Make your college essay and paper flawless, as they are the only thing that will get you scores in academics. So, you have to know what mistakes to avoid and what to do when title the essay.   

However, you can ask professionals at our best essay service to write your essays perfectly and with the best quality.

Place your " write my college essay for me " request today to get your essays and research papers written by professionals and get writing services at exciting prices. 

Also, try our AI writing tool to make your academic journey easier!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it better to use a question or a statement as my essay title.

Whether to use a question or a statement as your essay title depends on the content and purpose of your essay.

Using a question can be effective if your essay is exploratory and seeks to answer a specific question. On the other hand, using a statement can be more appropriate if your essay has a clear argument or thesis statement.

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Barbara is a highly educated and qualified author with a Ph.D. in public health from an Ivy League university. She has spent a significant amount of time working in the medical field, conducting a thorough study on a variety of health issues. Her work has been published in several major publications.

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How to Find a Catchy Title for Your Paper/Essay

Last Updated: February 23, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Stephanie Wong Ken, MFA . Stephanie Wong Ken is a writer based in Canada. Stephanie's writing has appeared in Joyland, Catapult, Pithead Chapel, Cosmonaut's Avenue, and other publications. She holds an MFA in Fiction and Creative Writing from Portland State University. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,070,534 times.

Coming up with an effective title can end up being the most difficult part of your essay. A catchy title can make your paper stand out from the pile and give your reader a sense of the content, slant, and perspective of your essay. To craft a strong title, you need to focus on the three elements of a standard title: the hook, the key terms, and the source or location. This structure applies specifically to academic essays, but you can also apply this structure to narrative essays.

Understanding the Structure of a Title

Step 1 Craft a hook.

  • The hook can be collection of keywords, an image, a play on words, or a quote from your essay.

Step 2 Choose one or two key terms.

  • Keep in mind good titles never state the obvious or contain generic terms or phrases. Titles like “Paper on 1950s China” or “Report on Shakespeare” are too general and do not give the reader a sense of the content of your paper. Avoid general and non specific terms like “society” “culture” “the world” or “mankind” in your title.

Step 3 Cite the source or location.

  • For example, a paper about Mao’s Great Leap Forward in Communist China in the late 1950s may have a title that has a hook (catchy phrase), one or two key terms, and the source or location (1950s Communist China). A possible title could be: “The Failure of One, the Fall of Many: Mao’s Great Leap Forward in 1950’s Communist China”.

Using Keywords or Images

Step 1 Consider the tone of your essay.

  • For example, the title of an essay about the Great Leap Forward might be something simple, professional, and clear, such as: "The Failure of the Great Leap Forward: China in the late 1950s". An essay about Shakespearean comedy may be more playful, such as: " Love's Labour Lost and Other Comedies."

Step 2 Sum up your paper in three words or less.

  • For example, an essay about the Great Leap Forward in 1950s China may focus on the failed use of industries like steel and farming by Mao’s government and the resulting mass famine in China. Three words that sum up the paper may be: steel, land, famine. A possible title of the essay could be: “Steel, Land, and Famine: The Failure of the Great Leap Forward”.

Step 3 Choose two to three keywords from your introduction or conclusion.

  • Look for two to three keywords that are short, descriptive, and clear. Consider if the words fit together in some way, or how they are very different. For example, your introduction on 1950s China may have keywords like “industrialization” “collectivization” and “collapse”. A possible title for the essay could then be: “The Collapse of Collectivization in 1950s China”.
  • In an essay on the conventions of Shakespearean comedy, the tone of the essay may be less serious or rigid, and you can look for keywords that are playful or humorous. For example, your conclusion may have keywords like “lovers” “obstacles” and “improbable” or “supernatural”. A possible title for the essay could then be: “Lovers in an Improbable Situation: The Conventions of Shakespearean Comedy.”

Step 4 Use a strange or unique image.

  • For example, a paper about a volcano could have the title: “The Day the Earth Bled: The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius”.

Using a Quote or a Play on Words

Step 1 Look for a key quote or phrase in your essay.

  • For example, an essay on Shakespearean comedy may quote A Midsummer Night’s Dream , where a character named Theseus professes his love to his betrothed, the Amazonian queen Hippolyta. “Hippolyta, I woo'd thee with my sword/ And won thy love doing thee injuries,/ But I will wed thee in another key,/With pomp, with triumph, and with reveling.”
  • A possible title for the essay may then be: “With pomp, with triumph, and with reveling: The Conventions of Shakespearean Comedy”.
  • Alternatively, you can look up a key quote or phrase that is not in your essay but reinforces central ideas or themes in your essay. Type keywords from your essay into a search engine, along with the word “quote” and see what comes up. You can then take a fragment of the quote and use it in your title.
  • For example, for an essay on Mao’s Great Leap Forward, you may use quotes from propaganda posters for the Great Leap Forward made by the Mao government, which are available online. A propaganda quote like “Brave the wind and the waves, everything has remarkable abilities” could be shortened to a title like: “Brave the wind and the waves: False Promises by Mao’s The Great Leap Forward”.

Step 2 Reword a cliche.

  • An essay on Shakespearean comedy could use the cliche “laughter is the best medicine” and change it into “laughter is thy best medicine.” A possible title could be: “Laughter is Thy Best Medicine: The Conventions of Shakespearean Comedy”.

Step 3 Go for a play on words, or a double entendre.

  • For example, an essay about missionaries in West Africa during the colonial period could have a title that plays on two key words, such as: “Prophets or profits: The European Colonial Invasion of West Africa”.

Community Q&A

Community Answer

  • There are also tools available online that can generate essay titles for you based on your topic. However, the effectiveness of these title generators vary and the quality of the titles may not be as high as if you take the time to create your own. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

  • Your title is the first thing readers will look at, so remember it's an important part of your essay! Pick one that really captures what your paper is about.
  • Take your time picking a good title. If you're stuck, take a break and come back to it later.

creative title for college essay

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  • ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-a-hook/
  • ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6398294/
  • ↑ http://canuwrite.com/article_titles.php
  • ↑ https://writing.umn.edu/sws/assets/pdf/quicktips/titles.pdf
  • ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/essay-title/
  • ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/title
  • ↑ https://education.seattlepi.com/come-up-catchy-titles-college-essays-2131.html

About This Article

Stephanie Wong Ken, MFA

To find a catchy title for your paper or essay, start by thinking of 1 or 2 keywords or phrases to include in the title that applies to the topic of your essay and will hook your reader in. You can also try looking for a key quote or phrase and using part of it in your title. Alternatively, reword a cliche or familiar phrase so that it is specific to your essay. To give your title some punch, use a play on words or double entendre, like “Prophets or profits: The Colonial Invasion of West Africa,” which will show off your creativity. For more tips from our Writing reviewer, like where and how to find good keywords to use, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Title an Essay

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How to Title an Essay? Everything an Essay Guru Should Know

As soon as you sit down to compose an academic paper, you may be troubled by how to name your essay so that it reveals the essence of your text and grabs the audience’s attention at first sight. Ideally, that’s what a good title should achieve – informing and engaging. 

So, what’s the secret recipe for an ideal essay title ? How long should an essay title b e to comply with the college rules and formatting standards? 

The answer is not that straightforward, as you need to be inventive when creating an essay title . Some pro tactics will always help you move on and find a good title for an essay on any topic, and your task is to master the art of naming your works like a pro. 

Read on to get an exhaustive answer to the question, “ What is a good title for an essay ?” Your search for the best essay title ends here. Our guide covers the main principles of title formatting, structuring, and selection to make you a naming guru. We’ve also paired theory with practice and have given a series of catchy essay title examples to illustrate the manual. 

A Secret Recipe of a Good Essay Title 

To understand what a good title for an essay looks like, we need to understand its purpose. Wise people say that a reader shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Yet, in fact, that’s what usually happens, and this means that your essay headline will be the first (and sometimes the last) information the reader gets about your intellectual product. 

As a rule, paper titles serve the following goals: 

  • Inform the readers what your essay is about. 
  • Motivate them to go on reading. 
  • Excite their interest in the subject. 
  • Catch the readers’ attention to make them read until the end.

Using these features of a good essay title , we may easily arrive at a definition of a winning headline: 

  • A good title captures the main topic and essence of the essay. 
  • It differentiates your piece from hundreds of texts on a similar topic. 
  • It hooks the readers’ attention and urges them to continue. 
  • A good title also exemplifies your expertise on the subject. 

Essay Title Composition Rules You Should Know 

Now, let’s proceed to the essay title format , which also can’t be ignored when composing an academic paper. Professors may require students to use a variety of referencing styles, each of which has specific instructions about the essay or research paper title . 

Guidelines for Essay Titles in MLA Format 

How to title an essay in MLA? A good title for an essay in the MLA referencing style should follow these conventions: 

  • Use title case for notional words. 
  • Place the title at the center and do not underline, bold, or italicize it. 
  • Double-space the heading as the rest of your essay’s text. 

Guidelines for Essay Titles in APA Format 

How to title an essay in APA? The APA essay title format requires you to follow these instructions: 

  • The APA title is placed on the title page and then repeated on the first page. 
  • It should be capitalized (notional words). 
  • It should be centered on the page and written in the bold font. 

Guidelines for Essay Titles in Chicago Manual of Style Format 

How to title an essay in Chicago? When you’re writing an academic task in the Chicago style, your good title for an essay should be structured as follows: 

  • The title should be placed one-third of the page down from the page’s top. 
  • It should be centered and capitalized. 
  • No bolding or italicization is required.  

How to Title an Essay: Pro Guidelines 

Before we proceed to title ideas for essays , let’s briefly cover the step-by-step algorithm for arriving at a good title your professor will love. So, how to title an essay correctly by using a simple instruction? 

#1 Complete Your Essay 

A pro tip for crafting a good essay title is not to start your work with it but rather to end it. Try this tactic out, and you will see how simple it is to formulate a good headline after the whole text is ready. 

#2 Sum It Up 

Your road to a creative title starts with a recap of your essay’s content. You should re-read the text and summarize it in a couple of sentences to see what it’s exactly about. 

#3 Determine the Keywords 

You can create a good title by using the key phrases and words that capture the gist of your essay. So, pick 3-5 main words that characterize the content and make up several versions of the title using their combinations. 

#4 Mind the Format 

As we’ve already noted, a good headline should be composed in line with the referencing style you need to follow. So, you should check whether your essay should be in the APA, MLA, or other format and use appropriate guidelines in composition.  

#5 Rephrase 

Once you have the key ideas in one place, experiment with paraphrasing to find your good title . 

Creative Essay Title Examples 

Now, it’s time to cover some of the coolest essay titles that can make your paper stand out of the crowd and attract the professor’s attention with creativity and originality. We’ve compiled a list of examples of good titles for essays of various types so that you have go-to prompts regardless of the homework your tutor gives. 

Argumentative 

How to title an essay that should argue a point? When you write an argumentative essay , titling an essay should include the position you’re planning to argue. That’s why a good essay heading of an argumentative type should contain your stand. Some great essay names for argumentative pieces are: 

  • Importance of school uniforms in US public schools. 
  • Severity of the greenhouse effect problem in Canada. 

Compare and Contrast 

Creating an essay title for a compare-and-contrast type of paper is a no-brainer, generally speaking. It should name all the subjects you’re planning to compare and may also include the characteristics by which you want to conduct the comparative analysis. Some great paper titles in the comparative format are: 

  • Distinctive features of wild animals compared to domesticated ones. 
  • Online vs. offline learning. 

Analytical 

How to title an essay with an analytical approach? It requires in-depth analysis of an assigned subject using a variety of academic sources. Thus, a good headline for this piece of work should reflect your analytical standpoint and reveal the essence of your inquiry. Best titles for essays of this kind may look as follows: 

  • Therapeutic benefits of CBT for PTSD. 
  • Limitations of AI applications in creative professions. 

Persuasive 

Titling an essay in a persuasive format should look convincing and reflective of the stand you’re holding. A great persuasive essay heading may look as follows: 

  • The need for more nuanced sex education in public schools. 
  • The unmet needs of cyberbullying victims. 

Expository 

How to title an essay in an expository format? This is a form of writing that requires you to describe a specific subject and introduce it to the audience in as much detail as possible. Thus, this essay title format won’t require argumentation or emotional appeals; an expository essay headline should simply name the subject you will deal with. Good titles for essays of this type can be: 

  • Socio-economic reforms in Sweden. 
  • The peacemaking activities of the UN. 

Use these essay title examples as inspiration to create your own good headline once your next assignment arrives. 

Final Word 

Now you know everything about the principles of writing creative essay titles that impress the readers and have several essay title examples for guidance. If you still have many lingering questions about how to title an essay or what the best essay title should look like, don’t struggle with these academic hardships on your own. 

Come to our service and partner with one of our experienced writers. Each expert in our team knows how to pick a title for an essay , how to select the most suitable essay title format , and what impact great college essay titles produce on your grades. Transform your grades with our pros’ support and guidance, and creating an essay title will never be a challenge for you again. 

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, got any creative college essay title ideas.

Hi everyone! I'm working on my college essays right now, and I'm stuck on creating a catchy title. Does anyone have fun examples or tips on how to come up with creative titles for college essays? Thanks!

Hey there! It's great to see you're focusing on the little details like your essay title. It can add a nice touch and make your essay stand out in the admissions process. Here are a few ideas on how to come up with creative titles:

1. Play with words: Try using puns, alliterations, or a play on words that relates to your essay topic. For example, if your essay is about your passion for music, a fun title could be 'Between the Lines and the Strings: A Symphony of Life'.

2. Ask a question: A thought-provoking question can be an interesting way to entice the reader. For example, 'Can You Really Find Joy In A World Of Competition?'

3. Use a quote: You can incorporate a relevant quote or saying in your title that can set the tone for your essay. For example, 'Finding My Way: In the Footsteps of J.R.R. Tolkien', if your essay talks about your love of literature.

Remember to keep the title intriguing but also relevant to your essay's content. Ultimately, the title should work to pique the curiosity of the admissions reader so they're eager to dive into your essay. Good luck!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

How to Write a Great College Application Essay Title

Learn why you should craft an effective title and how to make it work

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Your application essay' s title is the first thing admissions officials will read. Although there are many ways to approach the title, it's important that the words at the top of the page make the proper impression.

Key Takeaways: Application Essay Titles

  • Don't skip the title. It's the first thing the admissions folks will read, and it is your chance to grab their interest.
  • Avoid vague titles and cliché phrases. Make sure the title gives a sense of your essay's content.
  • A little humor can be fine in a title, but it isn't necessary and cleverness should never be forced.

Importance of the Title

Ask yourself which work you'd be more excited to read: " Give Goth a Chance " or "Carrie's Essay." If you don't provide a title, you don't give your reader—in this case, busy admissions officials sorting through thousands of applications—any reason to be interested in reading your essay other than a sense of duty. Ensure that college admissions officers are motivated to read your essay due to curiosity rather than necessity.

Alternatively, imagine a newspaper in which every article lacks a title: You would be unlikely to pick up the paper and read anything. Clearly, a newspaper without titles would be confusing for readers. Application essays are similar in that way: Your readers want to know what it is that they are going to read.

The Purpose of an Application Essay Title

A well-crafted title should:

  • Grab your reader's attention
  • Make your reader want to read your essay
  • Provide a sense of what your essay is about

When it comes to the third item, realize that you don't need to be too detailed. Academic essays often have titles that look like: "Julia Cameron's Photography: A Study of the Use of Long Shutter Speeds to Create Spiritual Effects." For an application essay, such a title would come across as cumbersome and even pompous.

Consider how a reader would react to an essay with the title, "The Author's Trip to Costa Rica and How It Changed His Attitude Toward Biodiversity and Sustainability." After reading such a long and belabored title, admissions officials would have little motivation to read the essay.

Essay Title Examples

A good title can be clever or play with words, such as "Porkopolis"  by Felicity or "Buck Up"  by Jill. "Porkopolis" is a nonsense word, but it works well for an essay on becoming a vegetarian in a meat-centric world, and "Buck Up" employs both a literal and figurative meaning of the phrase. However, don't try to be too clever. Such efforts can backfire.

A title can be provocative. As an example, a student who wrote about encountering new foods while abroad titled her essay "Eating Eyeballs." If your essay focuses on a humorous, shocking or embarrassing moment in your life, it's often easy to write an attention-grabbing title. Titles such as "Puking on the President," "Romeo's Ripped Tights," and "The Wrong Goal" are sure to pique your reader's interest.

Simple and direct language can also be quite effective. Consider, for example, "The Job I Should Have Quit"  by Drew,  "Wallflower"  by Eileen, and "Striking Out"  by Richard. These titles don't play with words or reveal great wit, but they accomplish their purpose perfectly well.

In all of these examples, the title provides at least a sense of the essay's subject matter, and each motivates the reader to continue reading. After viewing such titles, even harried admissions officials are sure to ask: What the heck does "Porkopolis" mean? Why did you eat eyeballs? Why should you have quit your job?

Avoid These Title Mistakes

There are some common missteps that applicants make when it comes to titles. Be aware of these pitfalls.

Vague language . You'll be off to a remarkably bland start if your essay is titled "Three Things That Matter to Me" or "A Bad Experience." "Bad" (or "good" or "evil or "nice") is a painfully subjective and meaningless word, and the word "things" might have worked well in Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," but it rarely adds anything of value to your essay. Be precise, not vague .

Broad, overly general language . This is a continuation of the vague language problem. Some titles try to cover far too much. Don't call your essay "My Life Story" or "My Personal Growth" or "An Eventful Upbringing." Such titles suggest that you are going to attempt to narrate years of your life in a few hundred words. Any such effort is doomed to failure, and your reader will doubt your essay before beginning the first paragraph.

Overblown vocabulary . The best essays use clear and accessible language. When a writer attempts to sound intelligent by adding unnecessary syllables to every word, the reading experience is often torturous. For example, if an essay's title is "My Utilization of Erroneous Rationalizations During My Pupilage," the reader's immediate response is going to be pure dread. No one wants to read 600 words on such a subject.

Strained cleverness . Be careful if you're relying on wordplay in your title. Not all readers are fans of puns, and a title may sound ridiculous if the reader doesn't understand a supposedly clever allusion. Cleverness is a good thing, but test out your title on your acquaintances to ensure that it works.

Clichés . If your title relies on a cliché, you're suggesting that the experience that you are narrating is unremarkable and commonplace. You don't want the first impression of your essay to be that you have nothing original to say. If you find yourself writing "When the Cat Got My Tongue" or "Burning the Midnight Oil," stop and reevaluate your title.

Misspellings . Nothing is more embarrassing than a misspelled title. There, at the top of the page in bold letters, you've used the word "it's" instead of "its ," or you wrote about "patients" instead of "patience." Take extra care to check the spelling of your essay title—and, indeed, your essay in general. An error in the title is sure to eliminate any confidence your reader has in your writing ability.

A Few Title Tips

Many writers—both novices and experts—have a difficult time coming up with a title that works well. Write your essay first and then, once your ideas have truly taken shape, go back and craft the title. Also, seek help with your title. A brainstorming session with friends can often generate far better titles than a solitary session of pounding your head on your keyboard. You want to get the title right so that the admissions officials read your essay in a curious and eager state of mind.

If you're writing your essay for the Common Application , keep in mind that your title will go in the text box with the rest of the essay, and the title will count toward your essay's overall word count.

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  • Sample Application Essay - Porkopolis
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  • Bad Essay Topics for College Admissions
  • "Grandpa's Rubik's Cube"—Sample Common Application Essay, Option #4
  • Ideal College Application Essay Length
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  • "Gym Class Hero" - a Common Application Essay Sample for Option #3
  • College Application Essay - The Job I Should Have Quit
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  • Should an Application Essay Be Single-Spaced or Double-Spaced?

Essay Title: Rules, Tips, Mistakes to Avoid

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Table of contents

  • 1 What Makes a Good Title?
  • 2.1 Use your essay to develop your topic
  • 2.2 Identify keywords and take advantage of them
  • 2.3 Use Multiple Titles
  • 3.1 MLA Format
  • 3.2 APA Format
  • 3.3 Chicago Format
  • 4 What to Avoid When Writing a Title for an Essay?
  • 5 Take into account Your Paper Style
  • 6 Types Of Papers and the Best Titles For Them
  • 7.1 Questions make Catchy
  • 7.2 Describe the Paper in 5 Words
  • 7.3 Use One Direct Word
  • 7.4 Extract a Sentence from the Paper
  • 7.5 Take advantage of Pop-Culture
  • 7.6 Put “On” at the beginning
  • 7.7 Start with a Verb in “-ing”
  • 7.8 Give a Mental Visualization of Your Topic
  • 7.9 Modify a Title that was Rejected
  • 7.10 Choose 2 Variants That Were Considered and Declined; Then Join Them Together
  • 8.1 Why is an essay title important?
  • 8.2 Can a title be a question?
  • 8.3 How long should the title be?

Good paper titles could be the difference between the audience viewing or ignoring your essays. When chosen carefully, essay titles could well capture the attention of someone who would not typically read the topic. Learning the proper method for titling an article can work wonders in creating an attention-grabbing heading. A well-titled article will also tell readers what to expect. Knowing how to create a topic for an essay that commands the reader’s attention is important. That is why this piece is designed to help you write just that.

What Makes a Good Title?

The importance of a great title cannot be overemphasized in the essay-writing process . And that is where you question yourself – what makes good essay headlines?

  • A good title for an essay must be memorable. You want to think up something that stands out as much as possible to capture the audience’s eyes and minds. Remember – your title is the first thing your reader sees.
  • Your essay name must possess a near-perfect degree of accuracy. Titling an essay like a clickbait heading could have the viewer on strings at the beginning, but they may not be disposed towards reading it to the end. Even so, it might not leave them with the desired impression.
  • A good essay title has to be written in a language the target audience would understand easily. You might want to keep the language of your essay headline simple, but it should reflect as much expertise as the target audience would reasonably expect.
  • A proper heading for an essay must be easy to read. The main idea is that your title gives a brief insight into what the audience should expect. Keep it concise and eye-catching, and ensure it is in active voice.

How to Title an Essay?

Having understood the importance of creative essay titles, you also know what features they are supposed to contain. The next item on the agenda is for you to know how to make a title for a write-up. This is not an arbitrary undertaking. It is a multi-step ritual that helps you ensure you are on the right track to connect with your audience using a catchy essay title.

Use your essay to develop your topic

This may seem rather confusing, but it is a very efficient step to follow while coming up with great naming ideas. You should start writing your essay once you have a subject matter identified. By the time you finish writing your essay, you can use the write-up details to construct the most suitable title. It would also give you much more clarity on the subject matter and what the audience wants from it since you would have conducted more research on the issue. As such, your title can be more precise and connected to the paper.

Identify keywords and take advantage of them

Your essay’s title must scream “This is what you want” to the reader. And no matter how fun and memorable it may be, it might not be as successful if it does not capture what the audience is exactly looking for. This is where keywords will work for you. They are terms that would let readers know that your essay is relevant to what is in question.

For instance, imagine trying to research articles on symptoms of pregnancy – but the name you see has nothing like “symptoms” or “pregnancy” in them. They might be catchy essay headers and even end up being related to the search, but they don’t exactly strike you like that is what you seek. You don’t need to stuff your title with key phrases. Just two or three core ones will do the trick.

Use Multiple Titles

Nobody said you have to use just one main topic. Segmenting your paper and sub-titling each makes your essay much more readable.

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Essay Title Formats and Punctuations

It is perfectly fine if you would rather freestyle your essay heading. After all, a little creative license never hurts as long as you craft a good essay title. Though, you might want to play it safer by defining parameters, especially if your essay is formal. In that case, you should opt for an essay title format. These are internationally recognized sets of prescribed guidelines for titling your papers. There are three main essay title styles – the MLA, the APA, and the Chicago.

The rules of MLA style  emphasize that your essay topics should be centralized on the page. Perhaps the most important rule of this style is that the title must be written in “title case”. This means every word should begin using capital letters except prepositions, coordinating conjunctions, “to” when it is alongside a verb in its infinitive form, and articles. However, the first and last words must have capital letters, no matter what they are. This style also discourages italicizing, underlining, or placing the topics in quotation marks.

This formatting APA style is particular about the brevity of the title, stipulating a maximum of 12 words. It emphasizes a short and straight-to-the-point without abbreviations or redundancies. A title in this style aims to share as much information with the audience in as few words as possible. It does not encourage the use of figurative words because it is used in technical and professional writing. Thus, expect to see it deployed toward a research paper title and formal articles. It also supports centralizing the title toward the top of the page.

Chicago Format

Like the other two formats, this style is particular about having the title in the title case. However, it gives more leeway and license to the writer than the others. In fact, the Chicago style prescribes no further guidelines beyond title casing.

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What to Avoid When Writing a Title for an Essay?

Developing interesting titles for essays can be a challenge for some. Tips include avoiding negativity and offensive or controversial terms and keeping it professional. Even the cover page could be done properly thanks to a writing service like the APA title page generator, which can also help you write a good title for an essay.

Making a good start means staying positive. Even when the essay topics are dreary, attempt to write less negatively. Good headlines for essays also use appropriate language to attract more possible readers to the paper. Lastly, its image should remain neutral – don’t overshare.

Take into account Your Paper Style

The style of your essay is essential to your topic. Identify and study what kind of essay it is, e.g., an argumentative essay or narrative essay, and ensure that the essay topic reflects it. Essays have tones depending on their kind, the audience, and the subject matter. For instance, academic writing would likely assume a formal tone. Having identified the tone of your essays, you should ensure your essay topics don’t go off-key. It should complement the tone of the essay itself in order to have the desired effect on the readers.

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Types Of Papers and the Best Titles For Them

There are several situations that could involve you writing an essay paper. And depending on the situation or the target of the piece, several kinds of papers exist as well. These may include a narrative paper, expository essay, business paper, and thesis statement in academic writing, among others. Some of the most creative examples of titles include:

Research Paper

The Role of COVID-19 in the Growth of Digital Services

Impacts of Climate Change on Developed Countries

Business Paper

Why Franchising Is the Way for New Small Business Owners

How Digital Services Can Influence the Global Supply Chain

College Essay

The Golden Rule of Wholesome Studentship

Finding Success in My Failures

Reflective Essay

The Time I Met My Mentor

My First Surgery

Personal Statement

My Nine Lives as an Immigrant Student

The Three Horsemen of Ambition

Literary Analysis

The Use of Symbolism in The Pulley

Thematic Preoccupations of Shakespeare’s Othello

Report Titles

Earlier Vaccinations Would Not Have Subsided the Coronavirus Pandemic

Students Want Mixed Dormitories in American Universities

Good Titles for Essays about Yourself

Why I Am the Way I Am

A Letter To the 7-Year-Old Me

Good Titles for Narrative Writing

The Day the World Stood Still

My Perfect Birthday Party

MLA Essay Title Format

The Old Man and the Sea: A Critical Analysis of Ernest Hemingway

Why You Can Do What You Do Without Knowing Who You Are

Argumentative Essay

Are Electric Cars the Solution To Carbon Emissions?

Should Reparations Be Paid To Marginalized Groups?

Compare and Contrast Essay

Left Wing Versus Right Wing: What Ideologies Do We Need?

Good Versus Bad: The Constant Clashes of Morality

Persuasive Essay

Why Dogs Make Better Pets Compared to Cats

Digital Banking: The Peak of Fintech

Scholarship Essay Titles Examples

What Can You Contribute to the Student Community?

Narrate a Defining Experience in Your Life

Nursing Essay

COVID-19 and the Growing Demand for Nursing Staff

Prioritizing Ethical Education in the Nursing Profession

Title The Government’s Role in Poverty Alleviation

Myths and Facts about Tuberculosis

10 Tips to Create an Exceptional Title

There are numerous ways in which a writer can craft a quality naming experience. Unless you use a title generator for an essay , titling an essay is as simple or as hard as the writer makes it. It is often necessary to edit the essay online multiple times. Finding their own style is dependent on the type of essay and the purpose of the writing. In the quest to title an essay, here are some tips for arriving at a really creative title.

Questions make Catchy

Titles Interesting headings for essays can be created by using a cause-and-effect approach. Start considering a common problem and think about what question does that paper answers. You can compose a title out of it.

Describe the Paper in 5 Words

If you were, to sum up the entire paper in 5 words, what words would be chosen? Not only does this unique creation bring some fun to the process, but it can also birth a catchy phrase – which translates to a highly effective title.

Use One Direct Word

Sometimes the best essay title ideas are simpler than we think. For some essay topics, one idiom could be all you need. Though it might not be easy how to come up with one, it may give your research paper an edge over others.

Extract a Sentence from the Paper

It’s usually a good solution to pick the heading after the text is drafted. At this point, there are many title options. Just pick one that sums up your concepts better than the others.

Take advantage of Pop-Culture

Don’t be shy to use something related to pop culture. Titles for papers may definitely contain references to songs, books, or movies as long as they fit the paper topic. This could be especially powerful for college essay titles and other essays for younger readers. You just need to ensure that the audience can recognize it easily.

Put “On” at the beginning

Depending on what you’re writing, this option might be a bit tricky. It works very well for books, songs, or movie reviews. Just name the object of your research paper or article. For example, “On The Importance of Being Earnest.”

Start with a Verb in “-ing”

Especially persuasive essay types can greatly benefit from titles for papers starting like this. Be sure to find a verb straightforward enough to grab the attention.

Give a Mental Visualization of Your Topic

This works wonders when the topic you write about is art-oriented. Even if the mental image brings something that is not seen by most people, it could go far for those that grab it.

Modify a Title that was Rejected

Using old, rejected essay topics to design new ones is usually possible. All it takes is a bit of creativity and a decent name.

Choose 2 Variants That Were Considered and Declined; Then Join Them Together

Although 2 separate entities did not work out, it does not mean that those phrases can’t work together for your new paper. So keep that list of paper titles!

Why is an essay title important?

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College Essays

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Most colleges and universities in the United States require applicants to submit at least one essay as part of their application. But trying to figure out what college essay topics you should choose is a tricky process. There are so many potential things you could write about!

In this guide, we go over the essential qualities that make for a great college essay topic and give you 50+ college essay topics you can use for your own statement . In addition, we provide you with helpful tips for turning your college essay topic into a stellar college essay.

What Qualities Make for a Good College Essay Topic?

Regardless of what you write about in your personal statement for college , there are key features that will always make for a stand-out college essay topic.

#1: It’s Specific

First off, good college essay topics are extremely specific : you should know all the pertinent facts that have to do with the topic and be able to see how the entire essay comes together.

Specificity is essential because it’ll not only make your essay stand out from other statements, but it'll also recreate the experience for admissions officers through its realism, detail, and raw power. You want to tell a story after all, and specificity is the way to do so. Nobody wants to read a vague, bland, or boring story — not even admissions officers!

For example, an OK topic would be your experience volunteering at a cat shelter over the summer. But a better, more specific college essay topic would be how you deeply connected with an elderly cat there named Marty, and how your bond with him made you realize that you want to work with animals in the future.

Remember that specificity in your topic is what will make your essay unique and memorable . It truly is the key to making a strong statement (pun intended)!

#2: It Shows Who You Are

In addition to being specific, good college essay topics reveal to admissions officers who you are: your passions and interests, what is important to you, your best (or possibly even worst) qualities, what drives you, and so on.

The personal statement is critical because it gives schools more insight into who you are as a person and not just who you are as a student in terms of grades and classes.

By coming up with a real, honest topic, you’ll leave an unforgettable mark on admissions officers.

#3: It’s Meaningful to You

The very best college essay topics are those that hold deep meaning to their writers and have truly influenced them in some significant way.

For instance, maybe you plan to write about the first time you played Skyrim to explain how this video game revealed to you the potentially limitless worlds you could create, thereby furthering your interest in game design.

Even if the topic seems trivial, it’s OK to use it — just as long as you can effectively go into detail about why this experience or idea had such an impact on you .

Don’t give in to the temptation to choose a topic that sounds impressive but doesn’t actually hold any deep meaning for you. Admissions officers will see right through this!

Similarly, don’t try to exaggerate some event or experience from your life if it’s not all that important to you or didn’t have a substantial influence on your sense of self.

#4: It’s Unique

College essay topics that are unique are also typically the most memorable, and if there’s anything you want to be during the college application process, it’s that! Admissions officers have to sift through thousands of applications, and the essay is one of the only parts that allows them to really get a sense of who you are and what you value in life.

If your essay is trite or boring, it won’t leave much of an impression , and your application will likely get immediately tossed to the side with little chance of seeing admission.

But if your essay topic is very original and different, you’re more likely to earn that coveted second glance at your application.

What does being unique mean exactly, though? Many students assume that they must choose an extremely rare or crazy experience to talk about in their essays —but that's not necessarily what I mean by "unique." Good college essay topics can be unusual and different, yes, but they can also be unique takes on more mundane or common activities and experiences .

For instance, say you want to write an essay about the first time you went snowboarding. Instead of just describing the details of the experience and how you felt during it, you could juxtapose your emotions with a creative and humorous perspective from the snowboard itself. Or you could compare your first attempt at snowboarding with your most recent experience in a snowboarding competition. The possibilities are endless!

#5: It Clearly Answers the Question

Finally, good college essay topics will clearly and fully answer the question(s) in the prompt.

You might fail to directly answer a prompt by misinterpreting what it’s asking you to do, or by answering only part of it (e.g., answering just one out of three questions).

Therefore, make sure you take the time to come up with an essay topic that is in direct response to every question in the prompt .

Take this Coalition Application prompt as an example:

What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What's the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?

For this prompt, you’d need to answer all three questions (though it’s totally fine to focus more on one or two of them) to write a compelling and appropriate essay.

This is why we recommend reading and rereading the essay prompt ; you should know exactly what it’s asking you to do, well before you start brainstorming possible college application essay topics.

body_girl_thinking_bubble_idea

53 College Essay Topics to Get Your Brain Moving

In this section, we give you a list of 53 examples of college essay topics. Use these as jumping-off points to help you get started on your college essay and to ensure that you’re on track to coming up with a relevant and effective topic.

All college application essay topics below are categorized by essay prompt type. We’ve identified six general types of college essay prompts:

Why This College?

Change and personal growth, passions, interests, and goals, overcoming a challenge, diversity and community, solving a problem.

Note that these prompt types could overlap with one another, so you’re not necessarily limited to just one college essay topic in a single personal statement.

  • How a particular major or program will help you achieve your academic or professional goals
  • A memorable and positive interaction you had with a professor or student at the school
  • Something good that happened to you while visiting the campus or while on a campus tour
  • A certain class you want to take or a certain professor you’re excited to work with
  • Some piece of on-campus equipment or facility that you’re looking forward to using
  • Your plans to start a club at the school, possibly to raise awareness of a major issue
  • A study abroad or other unique program that you can’t wait to participate in
  • How and where you plan to volunteer in the community around the school
  • An incredible teacher you studied under and the positive impact they had on you
  • How you went from really liking something, such as a particular movie star or TV show, to not liking it at all (or vice versa)
  • How yours or someone else’s (change in) socioeconomic status made you more aware of poverty
  • A time someone said something to you that made you realize you were wrong
  • How your opinion on a controversial topic, such as gay marriage or DACA, has shifted over time
  • A documentary that made you aware of a particular social, economic, or political issue going on in the country or world
  • Advice you would give to your younger self about friendship, motivation, school, etc.
  • The steps you took in order to kick a bad or self-sabotaging habit
  • A juxtaposition of the first and most recent time you did something, such as dance onstage
  • A book you read that you credit with sparking your love of literature and/or writing
  • A school assignment or project that introduced you to your chosen major
  • A glimpse of your everyday routine and how your biggest hobby or interest fits into it
  • The career and (positive) impact you envision yourself having as a college graduate
  • A teacher or mentor who encouraged you to pursue a specific interest you had
  • How moving around a lot helped you develop a love of international exchange or learning languages
  • A special skill or talent you’ve had since you were young and that relates to your chosen major in some way, such as designing buildings with LEGO bricks
  • Where you see yourself in 10 or 20 years
  • Your biggest accomplishment so far relating to your passion (e.g., winning a gold medal for your invention at a national science competition)
  • A time you lost a game or competition that was really important to you
  • How you dealt with the loss or death of someone close to you
  • A time you did poorly in a class that you expected to do well in
  • How moving to a new school impacted your self-esteem and social life
  • A chronic illness you battled or are still battling
  • Your healing process after having your heart broken for the first time
  • A time you caved under peer pressure and the steps you took so that it won't happen again
  • How you almost gave up on learning a foreign language but stuck with it
  • Why you decided to become a vegetarian or vegan, and how you navigate living with a meat-eating family
  • What you did to overcome a particular anxiety or phobia you had (e.g., stage fright)
  • A history of a failed experiment you did over and over, and how you finally found a way to make it work successfully
  • Someone within your community whom you aspire to emulate
  • A family tradition you used to be embarrassed about but are now proud of
  • Your experience with learning English upon moving to the United States
  • A close friend in the LGBTQ+ community who supported you when you came out
  • A time you were discriminated against, how you reacted, and what you would do differently if faced with the same situation again
  • How you navigate your identity as a multiracial, multiethnic, and/or multilingual person
  • A project or volunteer effort you led to help or improve your community
  • A particular celebrity or role model who inspired you to come out as LGBTQ+
  • Your biggest challenge (and how you plan to tackle it) as a female in a male-dominated field
  • How you used to discriminate against your own community, and what made you change your mind and eventually take pride in who you are and/or where you come from
  • A program you implemented at your school in response to a known problem, such as a lack of recycling cans in the cafeteria
  • A time you stepped in to mediate an argument or fight between two people
  • An app or other tool you developed to make people’s lives easier in some way
  • A time you proposed a solution that worked to an ongoing problem at school, an internship, or a part-time job
  • The steps you took to identify and fix an error in coding for a website or program
  • An important social or political issue that you would fix if you had the means

body_boy_writing_notebook_ideas

How to Build a College Essay in 6 Easy Steps

Once you’ve decided on a college essay topic you want to use, it’s time to buckle down and start fleshing out your essay. These six steps will help you transform a simple college essay topic into a full-fledged personal statement.

Step 1: Write Down All the Details

Once you’ve chosen a general topic to write about, get out a piece of paper and get to work on creating a list of all the key details you could include in your essay . These could be things such as the following:

  • Emotions you felt at the time
  • Names, places, and/or numbers
  • Dialogue, or what you or someone else said
  • A specific anecdote, example, or experience
  • Descriptions of how things looked, felt, or seemed

If you can only come up with a few details, then it’s probably best to revisit the list of college essay topics above and choose a different one that you can write more extensively on.

Good college essay topics are typically those that:

  • You remember well (so nothing that happened when you were really young)
  • You're excited to write about
  • You're not embarrassed or uncomfortable to share with others
  • You believe will make you positively stand out from other applicants

Step 2: Figure Out Your Focus and Approach

Once you have all your major details laid out, start to figure out how you could arrange them in a way that makes sense and will be most effective.

It’s important here to really narrow your focus: you don’t need to (and shouldn’t!) discuss every single aspect of your trip to visit family in Indonesia when you were 16. Rather, zero in on a particular anecdote or experience and explain why and how it impacted you.

Alternatively, you could write about multiple experiences while weaving them together with a clear, meaningful theme or concept , such as how your math teacher helped you overcome your struggle with geometry over the course of an entire school year. In this case, you could mention a few specific times she tutored you and most strongly supported you in your studies.

There’s no one right way to approach your college essay, so play around to see what approaches might work well for the topic you’ve chosen.

If you’re really unsure about how to approach your essay, think about what part of your topic was or is most meaningful and memorable to you, and go from there.

Step 3: Structure Your Narrative

  • Beginning: Don’t just spout off a ton of background information here—you want to hook your reader, so try to start in the middle of the action , such as with a meaningful conversation you had or a strong emotion you felt. It could also be a single anecdote if you plan to center your essay around a specific theme or idea.
  • Middle: Here’s where you start to flesh out what you’ve established in the opening. Provide more details about the experience (if a single anecdote) or delve into the various times your theme or idea became most important to you. Use imagery and sensory details to put the reader in your shoes.
  • End: It’s time to bring it all together. Finish describing the anecdote or theme your essay centers around and explain how it relates to you now , what you’ve learned or gained from it, and how it has influenced your goals.

body_pen_crinkled_up_paper

Step 4: Write a Rough Draft

By now you should have all your major details and an outline for your essay written down; these two things will make it easy for you to convert your notes into a rough draft.

At this stage of the writing process, don’t worry too much about vocabulary or grammar and just focus on getting out all your ideas so that they form the general shape of an essay . It’s OK if you’re a little over the essay's word limit — as you edit, you’ll most likely make some cuts to irrelevant and ineffective parts anyway.

If at any point you get stuck and have no idea what to write, revisit steps 1-3 to see whether there are any important details or ideas you might be omitting or not elaborating on enough to get your overall point across to admissions officers.

Step 5: Edit, Revise, and Proofread

  • Sections that are too wordy and don’t say anything important
  • Irrelevant details that don’t enhance your essay or the point you're trying to make
  • Parts that seem to drag or that feel incredibly boring or redundant
  • Areas that are vague and unclear and would benefit from more detail
  • Phrases or sections that are awkwardly placed and should be moved around
  • Areas that feel unconvincing, inauthentic, or exaggerated

Start paying closer attention to your word choice/vocabulary and grammar at this time, too. It’s perfectly normal to edit and revise your college essay several times before asking for feedback, so keep working with it until you feel it’s pretty close to its final iteration.

This step will likely take the longest amount of time — at least several weeks, if not months — so really put effort into fixing up your essay. Once you’re satisfied, do a final proofread to ensure that it’s technically correct.

Step 6: Get Feedback and Tweak as Needed

After you’ve overhauled your rough draft and made it into a near-final draft, give your essay to somebody you trust , such as a teacher or parent, and have them look it over for technical errors and offer you feedback on its content and overall structure.

Use this feedback to make any last-minute changes or edits. If necessary, repeat steps 5 and 6. You want to be extra sure that your essay is perfect before you submit it to colleges!

Recap: From College Essay Topics to Great College Essays

Many different kinds of college application essay topics can get you into a great college. But this doesn’t make it any easier to choose the best topic for you .

In general, the best college essay topics have the following qualities :

  • They’re specific
  • They show who you are
  • They’re meaningful to you
  • They’re unique
  • They clearly answer the question

If you ever need help coming up with an idea of what to write for your essay, just refer to the list of 53 examples of college essay topics above to get your brain juices flowing.

Once you’ve got an essay topic picked out, follow these six steps for turning your topic into an unforgettable personal statement :

  • Write down all the details
  • Figure out your focus and approach
  • Structure your narrative
  • Write a rough draft
  • Edit, revise, and proofread
  • Get feedback and tweak as needed

And with that, I wish you the best of luck on your college essays!

What’s Next?

Writing a college essay is no simple task. Get expert college essay tips with our guides on how to come up with great college essay ideas and how to write a college essay, step by step .

You can also check out this huge list of college essay prompts  to get a feel for what types of questions you'll be expected to answer on your applications.

Want to see examples of college essays that absolutely rocked? You're in luck because we've got a collection of 100+ real college essay examples right here on our blog!

Want to write the perfect college application essay?   We can help.   Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will help you craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay to proudly submit to colleges.   Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now:

Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

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How to Start a College Essay: 5 Effective Techniques

creative title for college essay

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Impressionable Openers

Descriptions and demonstrations, show vulnerability, be authentic, stay personal, fun & quirky, common mistakes to avoid in your college essay.

  • Ways to Overcome Writer's Block

Frequently Asked Questions About Starting a College Essay

College essays are a huge part of your college career. If not huge, one of the biggest, and for someone who has been there and done that, I know the amount of pressure the beginning of a college essay, as well as the entire essay, can put on your shoulders.

Not only are you trying to juggle things like word count and grammar errors, but you're also trying to create the perfect college essay introduction that will attract admissions officers to your application or professors to your writing skills. And that, itself, can feel impossible, fill you with dread and self-doubt, but just breathe. I am here to help all present and future students know how to start a college essay.

Today is all about starting a college essay. I have come up with five easy and effective techniques that will help you create essays so good you're going to leave your readers wanting more , starting with your opening sentence! So, this is for all college students and college applicants. Stress no more! This guide was created to help you write a successful college essay. Let's get into it.

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creative title for college essay

The beginning of your essay should, first and foremost, always have a strong opening sentence . This sentence sets the tone for not only your readers but for the entire essay. Having a wobbly, almost interesting opener can steer an admissions officer and/or professor away, so you want it to be strong. And it doesn't have to be complicated! Less is more in this situation. Here are a couple of ways you can accomplish this.

  • Look within and be relatable
  • Use your real life for inspiration
  • Think about ways to evoke emotion

Here are some examples of impressionable openers:

  • Example 1: When I was 11 years old, my mother told me she had cancer over breakfast.
  • Example 2: Maybe yellow isn't my favorite color.
  • Example 3: I sat next to this girl in class who made me feel stupid.

DISCLAIMER : your opener should ALWAYS adhere to the essay prompts. These are just a few examples that can capture your reader's attention almost immediately.

In order to keep readers interested, visuals are key . Image-based descriptions will not only add value to your writing, it will give your readers front seats to your essay's journey. These descriptions let actions speak for themselves.

Here is an example of a description and demonstration in an essay:

  • Example 1: "I was sitting on a bar stool when the word 'cancer' hit me like the smell of her coffee brewing on the stove. The Rice Krispies were popping in my cereal bowl, and MTV Jams was playing in the background, yet all I could hear was the sound of doom all around me. The lips of my mother were moving, but I was frozen, crumbling on this stool like my mother's health. She was sick, and I didn't know how sick or what that even meant, and that terrified me."

Why This Works:

Here you can clearly feel the writers emotional state: shocked, still, scared. Not only is this moment at breakfast traumatic, you feel frozen in time with the writer. Using descriptions like this will evoke so much emotion and leave your reader wanting more.

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Something one of my teachers told me in high school was any good essay will have personal elements in it, no matter the topic. That always stuck with me and became the way I approached my college essays. Showing vulnerability in your writing will always guarantee interest. It also evokes emotion.

You can show vulnerability by:

  • Being honest
  • Explaining what's going on inside underneath the exterior
  • Describe what's going on around you at the moment
  • Letting go of the fear of being seen
  • Connecting with the topic
  • Being transparent about mistakes/flaws

Examples of showing vulnerability:

  • Example 1 : My mother telling me she had cancer over breakfast was not on my bingo card this year.
  • Example 2 : I never thought losing someone I love would change me.
  • Example 3: I had to lose everything in order to gain everything.

I know being vulnerable can be tough for some , but showing this side of you to college admissions officers and/or professors will not only make you stand out, but it can also help free you of things that might be weighing on your mind. Not to sound corny, but it can be therapeutic and make you a better writer . Just make sure you are staying on track with the essay prompt, and you're set!

Whether it's believed or not, an admissions officer wants to see pieces of you in your personal statement, so starting your essay by showing authenticity is a major major key. Along with being vulnerable, there are a few ways you can achieve this.

  • Reflect : Take the time to reflect on your experiences, values, and beliefs that have shaped who you are today. Let your values, passions, and interests shine through in your writing.
  • Mind Your Voice : Write in your own voice and avoid trying to sound like someone you're not. Authenticity comes from being genuine and true to yourself.
  • Tell Your Story : Share personal anecdotes and insights that show your unique perspective.
  • Be True to You : Focus on what matters to YOU (as long as you're on topic!). Write about what is meaningful and important to you rather than what you think admissions officers want to hear.

Above all, be open . Showing introspection and self-awareness in your essay will show any admissions committee who you are beneath the surface, as well as your personal growth.

You can also begin your essay being as random and silly as you'd like . It goes hand-in-hand with other important factors like vulnerability and authenticity. But don't get too crazy . Beginning your essay with something strange will definitely draw readers in. Let me show you what I mean.

  • Example 1 : I start my mornings off in silence and solitude to keep people away from me.
  • Example 2 : Sometimes, I like to circle big words in complex articles to learn new words. Yeah, but to also keep one in my back pocket for later use.
  • Example 3 : Being the youngest child means getting away with everything you want, and that's exactly how I like it.

Do you see how each sentence draws you in? Not only are they light-hearted, but they also make you want to know why you want to keep people away in the morning and what kind of weapon you're forming against others with new words. And every youngest sibling will attest to feeling that exact same way. All of these examples are sure to make your essay fun, show who you are, and leave readers wanting more.

mistakes to avoid in college essays

Years of writing college essays have taken me through every high and low of the process possible. And when they're good, they're great! But for some reason, my mistakes stick out more than anything. So, I've compiled a list of common mistakes to avoid when writing your college essay .

  • Avoid Being Cliche - While you want to be captivating, you want to avoid overly used syntax and phrases that could potentially lose your reader's curiosity. For example, "in today's day and age," "follow my heart," "don't judge a book by its cover," etc. are all cliches that can be avoided by thinking outside of the box.
  • Using Vocabulary to be Impressive - I know you want to impress the admissions committees, but it's important to stick to what you know and not what you can allude to. That is, use verbiage that resonates with your personality. Using extravagant words can work against you, and they can also sound forced. College admissions officers want to see the real you, so show it to them.
  • Steer Clear of Controversy - Though it's not said enough, your college essay should tell your personal story and not touch on things that can stir the pot. For instance, talking about politics and religious beliefs may not be the route you want to take UNLESS it's called for in the college essay topic. And if so, stay on track with the essay prompts.
  • Procrastinating : Waiting until the last minute to start writing your essay will bite you in the butt. You will feel rushed and end up writing a poorly crafted piece. Give yourself enough time to complete an essay draft, edit the draft, and repeat this two-step cycle until your essay is complete.
  • Lack of originality : This goes hand-in-hand with avoiding cliches. Your college essay should exude a lot of your personality, so show admissions officers and teachers who you are! Include your cultural background, test scores that you're proud of, any future aspirations, etc. This all depends on the essay prompts, of course, but in my experience, every essay topic has room to show who you are.
  • Ignoring the prompt : This is a major key. STAY ON TRACK. Make sure to carefully read and understand the essay prompt, and write your essay accordingly. The last thing you want to do is write a college essay that has nothing to do with the prompt. Reading is essential here.
  • Lack of focus : If you want to know how to start a college essay, that means knowing how to stay focused. Find a quiet space, turn off electronics, hide your phone, and really nestle into how you want to capture your reader's attention. This will help you use your five senses clearly, keep your writing strong and not write an overly wordy essay. Focus is the tool here.
  • Poor organization : Make sure your essay has a strong structure with clear transitions between paragraphs. An outline will work best to accomplish this. If you go into starting your college essay without a plan, be prepared to hit all roadblocks.
  • Neglecting to Revise and Edit : Like procrastinating, don't fail to revise and edit your work. Always, always, always proofread your essay for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors , as well as clarity and coherence.
  • Not Seeking Feedback : Listen, I know that completing an essay is an accomplishment in itself, and you immediately want to submit it, but it's so beneficial to have others read your essay for feedback. You can only spot so many holes in your work when your eyes are constantly reviewing it, so a second, third, or even fourth set of eyes can help point out areas for improvement.

Above all, trust the writing process. Though I do want you to be aware of your jargon, don't get too wrapped up in thinking you're making a mistake. That's what editing is for! Once you complete your college essay, you should always revise and edit accordingly . What you thought sounded good might make you edit it to sound great. Just keep in mind that many colleges are looking for honesty and authenticity vs how well you can sound on paper . So, if you're aware of these factors, you'll be good to go.

ways to overcome writers block

Ways to Overcome Writer's Block

Take it from someone who has suffered from chronic writer's block, it's a pain to get through . Imagine being on a writing streak so good that when you stop, the entire essay writing process stops as a whole. It's definitely a challenge, but after 10 years of writing essays and really honing my craft, I learned a few things that have helped me get through even the thickest of writer's blocks, and I want to share them with you. Check them out:

  • Take a break : This works every single time. Take a short break and step away from your computer to clear your mind and come back with a fresh perspective. For me, 15 minutes is all I ever need. If you need more time, that's okay. Just try not to make your break a rest.
  • Freewriting : Sometimes, I'd start writing without worrying about my structure or grammar to get the ideas flowing, and surprisingly enough, I found my essay taking a pleasant turn.
  • Change your environment : Move around. Don't underestimate the effects of a different location or workspace to stimulate creativity. Try coffee shops, bookstores, a park, or a new room in your house. New environment, new energy.
  • Set small goals : This one is actually the most important. Some people get overwhelmed with the word "essay" for things like lack of proper writing skills, pressure to write a great essay, etc. But if you try breaking down your writing task into smaller, manageable chunks to make it less overwhelming, it can help. For example, set a goal of three paragraphs one day, take a day to edit those paragraphs, two more the next day, and so forth. Find a formula that works for you.
  • Brainstorming : Write down all your ideas--everything. No matter how small you think the idea is, write it down. Even if these ideas seem unrelated, they will help you generate new thoughts and connections.
  • Read or listen to music : It took me a while to realize this helps, but engaging in other forms of art can inspire new ideas and break through mental blocks. And new creativity can lead you to impress admissions officers.
  • Talk it out : As a writer, it's hard to let people in on the creative process, but discussing my ideas with a friend, family member, or colleague helped me gain new perspectives and insights.
  • Relax and Meditate : Hear me out: it works! Practice deep breathing and/or meditation to reduce stress and anxiety that may be contributing to writer's block.

I won't sugarcoat it: the college application process can be intimidating , but it doesn't have to throw you off your game. When it comes to college essays, I see them as opportunities to be fun and expressive. Trust me when I say if you have fun with it, you'll attract the reader's attention , paint vivid details, and write an essay that will leave the admissions officer wanting you at their school. So, take it one step at a time and watch your personal statement come to life.

essays

How can I make my college essay stand out to admissions officers?

Simply put, be yourself. As long as you stay on track with the essay's topic, showing pieces of yourself will allow admissions officers to know more about who you are. Essays are meant to show readers who you are, how you feel, and what you think naturally, not robotically, so be authentic in your writing, and you'll be sure to stand out amongst the rest.

What are some common mistakes to avoid when writing a college essay?

Some common mistakes to avoid in your essay are using cliches and boring wording. You also want to avoid procrastinating, wasting time, not focusing, not editing, etc. When writing your essay, you want to make sure you give your writing the time and attention it deserves, so make sure you're aware of what is pulling you away from your writing. This will help you stay focused. If you have any other doubts, refer to the section about mistakes in this article and let it guide you to success.

How important is the college essay in the admissions process?

Your college essay is key in the admissions process . It's an admissions committee's first impression of you as a writer and potential student, so it should be taken very seriously. Trying to cut corners or rush through the writing process will be obvious, and it will stand out more than things like test scores, academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and any other positive influence you've had in your life. So, don't take the easy way out and really work on your essay.

Feeling confident in your college essay skills and want to explore some other essay content? Explore our blog on the comma splice to enhance your technical writing skills!

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Academic Essay Writing Made Simple: 4 types and tips

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The pen is mightier than the sword, they say, and nowhere is this more evident than in academia. From the quick scribbles of eager students to the inquisitive thoughts of renowned scholars, academic essays depict the power of the written word. These well-crafted writings propel ideas forward and expand the existing boundaries of human intellect.

What is an Academic Essay

An academic essay is a nonfictional piece of writing that analyzes and evaluates an argument around a specific topic or research question. It serves as a medium to share the author’s views and is also used by institutions to assess the critical thinking, research skills, and writing abilities of a students and researchers.  

Importance of Academic Essays

4 main types of academic essays.

While academic essays may vary in length, style, and purpose, they generally fall into four main categories. Despite their differences, these essay types share a common goal: to convey information, insights, and perspectives effectively.

1. Expository Essay

2. Descriptive Essay

3. Narrative Essay

4. Argumentative Essay

Expository and persuasive essays mainly deal with facts to explain ideas clearly. Narrative and descriptive essays are informal and have a creative edge. Despite their differences, these essay types share a common goal ― to convey information, insights, and perspectives effectively.

Expository Essays: Illuminating ideas

An expository essay is a type of academic writing that explains, illustrates, or clarifies a particular subject or idea. Its primary purpose is to inform the reader by presenting a comprehensive and objective analysis of a topic.

By breaking down complex topics into digestible pieces and providing relevant examples and explanations, expository essays allow writers to share their knowledge.

What are the Key Features of an Expository Essay

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Provides factual information without bias

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Presents multiple viewpoints while maintaining objectivity

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Uses direct and concise language to ensure clarity for the reader

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Composed of a logical structure with an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion

When is an expository essay written.

1. For academic assignments to evaluate the understanding of research skills.

2. As instructional content to provide step-by-step guidance for tasks or problem-solving.

3. In journalism for objective reporting in news or investigative pieces.

4. As a form of communication in the professional field to convey factual information in business or healthcare.

How to Write an Expository Essay

Expository essays are typically structured in a logical and organized manner.

1. Topic Selection and Research

  • Choose a topic that can be explored objectively
  • Gather relevant facts and information from credible sources
  • Develop a clear thesis statement

2. Outline and Structure

  • Create an outline with an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion
  • Introduce the topic and state the thesis in the introduction
  • Dedicate each body paragraph to a specific point supporting the thesis
  • Use transitions to maintain a logical flow

3. Objective and Informative Writing

  • Maintain an impartial and informative tone
  • Avoid personal opinions or biases
  • Support points with factual evidence, examples, and explanations

4. Conclusion

  • Summarize the key points
  • Reinforce the significance of the thesis

Descriptive Essays: Painting with words

Descriptive essays transport readers into vivid scenes, allowing them to experience the world through the writer ‘s lens. These essays use rich sensory details, metaphors, and figurative language to create a vivid and immersive experience . Its primary purpose is to engage readers’ senses and imagination.

It allows writers to demonstrate their ability to observe and describe subjects with precision and creativity.

What are the Key Features of Descriptive Essay

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Employs figurative language and imagery to paint a vivid picture for the reader

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Demonstrates creativity and expressiveness in narration

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Includes close attention to detail, engaging the reader’s senses

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Engages the reader’s imagination and emotions through immersive storytelling using analogies, metaphors, similes, etc.

When is a descriptive essay written.

1. Personal narratives or memoirs that describe significant events, people, or places.

2. Travel writing to capture the essence of a destination or experience.

3. Character sketches in fiction writing to introduce and describe characters.

4. Poetry or literary analyses to explore the use of descriptive language and imagery.

How to Write a Descriptive Essay

The descriptive essay lacks a defined structural requirement but typically includes: an introduction introducing the subject, a thorough description, and a concluding summary with insightful reflection.

1. Subject Selection and Observation

  • Choose a subject (person, place, object, or experience) to describe
  • Gather sensory details and observations

2. Engaging Introduction

  • Set the scene and provide the context
  • Use of descriptive language and figurative techniques

3. Descriptive Body Paragraphs

  • Focus on specific aspects or details of the subject
  • Engage the reader ’s senses with vivid imagery and descriptions
  • Maintain a consistent tone and viewpoint

4. Impactful Conclusion

  • Provide a final impression or insight
  • Leave a lasting impact on the reader

Narrative Essays: Storytelling in Action

Narrative essays are personal accounts that tell a story, often drawing from the writer’s own experiences or observations. These essays rely on a well-structured plot, character development, and vivid descriptions to engage readers and convey a deeper meaning or lesson.

What are the Key features of Narrative Essays

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Written from a first-person perspective and hence subjective

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Based on real personal experiences

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Uses an informal and expressive tone

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Presents events and characters in sequential order

When is a narrative essay written.

It is commonly assigned in high school and college writing courses to assess a student’s ability to convey a meaningful message or lesson through a personal narrative. They are written in situations where a personal experience or story needs to be recounted, such as:

1. Reflective essays on significant life events or personal growth.

2. Autobiographical writing to share one’s life story or experiences.

3. Creative writing exercises to practice narrative techniques and character development.

4. College application essays to showcase personal qualities and experiences.

How to Write a Narrative Essay

Narrative essays typically follow a chronological structure, with an introduction that sets the scene, a body that develops the plot and characters, and a conclusion that provides a sense of resolution or lesson learned.

1. Experience Selection and Reflection

  • Choose a significant personal experience or event
  • Reflect on the impact and deeper meaning

2. Immersive Introduction

  • Introduce characters and establish the tone and point of view

3. Plotline and Character Development

  • Advance   the  plot and character development through body paragraphs
  • Incorporate dialog , conflict, and resolution
  • Maintain a logical and chronological flow

4. Insightful Conclusion

  • Reflect on lessons learned or insights gained
  • Leave the reader with a lasting impression

Argumentative Essays: Persuasion and Critical Thinking

Argumentative essays are the quintessential form of academic writing in which writers present a clear thesis and support it with well-researched evidence and logical reasoning. These essays require a deep understanding of the topic, critical analysis of multiple perspectives, and the ability to construct a compelling argument.

What are the Key Features of an Argumentative Essay?

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Logical and well-structured arguments

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Credible and relevant evidence from reputable sources

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Consideration and refutation of counterarguments

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Critical analysis and evaluation of the issue 

When is an argumentative essay written.

Argumentative essays are written to present a clear argument or stance on a particular issue or topic. In academic settings they are used to develop critical thinking, research, and persuasive writing skills. However, argumentative essays can also be written in various other contexts, such as:

1. Opinion pieces or editorials in newspapers, magazines, or online publications.

2. Policy proposals or position papers in government, nonprofit, or advocacy settings.

3. Persuasive speeches or debates in academic, professional, or competitive environments.

4. Marketing or advertising materials to promote a product, service, or idea.

How to write an Argumentative Essay

Argumentative essays begin with an introduction that states the thesis and provides context. The body paragraphs develop the argument with evidence, address counterarguments, and use logical reasoning. The conclusion restates the main argument and makes a final persuasive appeal.

  • Choose a debatable and controversial issue
  • Conduct thorough research and gather evidence and counterarguments

2. Thesis and Introduction

  • Craft a clear and concise thesis statement
  • Provide background information and establish importance

3. Structured Body Paragraphs

  • Focus each paragraph on a specific aspect of the argument
  • Support with logical reasoning, factual evidence, and refutation

4. Persuasive Techniques

  • Adopt a formal and objective tone
  • Use persuasive techniques (rhetorical questions, analogies, appeals)

5. Impactful Conclusion

  • Summarize the main points
  • Leave the reader with a strong final impression and call to action

To learn more about argumentative essay, check out this article .

5 Quick Tips for Researchers to Improve Academic Essay Writing Skills

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Use clear and concise language to convey ideas effectively without unnecessary words

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Use well-researched, credible sources to substantiate your arguments with data, expert opinions, and scholarly references

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Ensure a coherent structure with effective transitions, clear topic sentences, and a logical flow to enhance readability 

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To elevate your academic essay, consider submitting your draft to a community-based platform like Open Platform  for editorial review 

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Review your work multiple times for clarity, coherence, and adherence to academic guidelines to ensure a polished final product

By mastering the art of academic essay writing, researchers and scholars can effectively communicate their ideas, contribute to the advancement of knowledge, and engage in meaningful scholarly discourse.

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  19. 53 Stellar College Essay Topics to Inspire You

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  24. Types of Essays in Academic Writing

    2. Descriptive Essay. 3. Narrative Essay. 4. Argumentative Essay. Expository and persuasive essays mainly deal with facts to explain ideas clearly. Narrative and descriptive essays are informal and have a creative edge. Despite their differences, these essay types share a common goal ― to convey information, insights, and perspectives ...