How To Create Good Dissertation Titles: Free Guidelines And Examples

You have a great topic for your dissertation but you also need to spend some time working out a really great title.

Why write a title?

• It is a summary of what you work is about.
• It communicates the essence of your dissertation.
• Accurately envelops what follows.

How to write a title?

• Make it forceful and persuasive. If you have difficulty in coming up with a few ideas then try talking to another student and see what ideas that you come up with.
• Don’t leave writing it as the last task for of your work. When you are working through your dissertation, make a few notes about ideas for the title. You may find that you work your way through several ideas.
• Make sure that it is relevant to the aims of your work. You will not have the room to put in any extra words. Keep your it specific as this will help demonstrate the precision of your work.
• There is always a lot of emphasis put on writing an abstract, but the first thing that any reader will see about in your work is the title. Make sure that it is crystal clear and not open to any misinterpretation.
• Although you want it to stand out, make sure that it is for the right reasons. Don’t try out a pun on words or involve humour this will only detract from the importance of your work.
• A good one should make it easily distinguishable from other writing (essays and extended reports), that cover similar topics as your dissertation. Remember your work is unique so keep it that way and use specific vocabulary.
• The title should always have its own page which needs to be formatted to the requirements that you have been given by your professor, which will include details such as your name and a word count.
• Dissertations come in many forms, in every fields of study and this includes differences and diversities within your field of study. You need to make sure that your title places your work within the correct area of study.
• It should give a good view of the focus and the extent of your writing. The scope of your work will be acknowledged and discussed in the introduction to your work. Again, focus on the on the relevancy to the topic.
• Different areas of study have set and predictable formats, which will give you very strict guidelines on how they should be structured. You may feel that they do not allow much flexibility.