Creating Effective Titles

What is it about?

Crafting a good title is like bending a straight line into a seamless connected circle. Let me explain. Titles are the first thing readers see, yet they are often the final part of writing a manuscript, and just as often given the least attention. Guides on writing scientific papers recommend starting with the Methods section, followed by Results, Discussion, Introduction, Abstract, and Title. There is a certain degree of logic to this linear order, since authors already have detailed notes and documentation on the methods used, the results obtained, and the interpretation of the results when they begin to write a paper. The title, however, is the component that closes the circle. The title draws from the other sections of the paper and becomes the face of the paper—the descriptor, the advertisement, the pitch. Like a billboard, it is your 10-second opportunity to connect with the passerby (the reader). So it is important to make the title count. Here I provide some tips and examples to help you reach this goal.

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Why is it important?

The title is one of the first things that readers see whan looking through a table of contens for a journal, as well as deciding which articles to read AND cite.