How to Begin a Writing Assignment
Revising and Editing
While you're writing an essay, if you have a good idea for a title, write it down. But often the best time to choose a title is when you've completed a first draft and read it over. You'll have a more complete picture of your essay. Be creative, but don't overdo it. For example, if you're writing a paper about deforestation, “ Knock on Wood” might seem clever, but it doesn't accurately fit the topic.
Use good judgment when you choose a title. Consider the tone of your essay and your audience. “No More Mr. Nice Guy” might be a good title for a personal essay on the loss of your gullibility, but think twice before using it as the title of your analytical paper on Shakespeare's character Macbeth. (It's true, however, that one instructor who had received dozens of papers with unimaginative titles reacted well to the student who called hers “ Dial ‘M’ for Murder: The Character of Macbeth.”)
The best advice is to take a middle road. Avoid both dullness and strained cleverness. Consider a good quotation from a work you are writing about, an effective phrase from your own essay, or an appropriate figure of speech:
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“Sleep No More”: The Role of Macbeth's Conscience
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RATHER THAN Macbeth's Conscience
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“I'm Nobody”: Finding Emily Dickinson in her Poetry
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RATHER THAN Emily Dickinson and her Poetry
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Gaining Safety or Losing Freedom: The Debate over Airport Security Measures
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RATHER THAN Airport Security Measures
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Only Skin Deep?
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RATHER THAN The Importance of Beauty to Today's Woman
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Fit to be Tried: An Examination of the McNaughton Rule
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RATHER THAN Judging Legal Sanity
