The title is a very important part of any essay. After all, it's the first thing people read. When writing the title for a compare and contrast essay, you need to establish the topics you will compare and how you will do it. Some essays require a more formal and informative title, while others allow you to be more creative. Remember that you should always write a short, interesting and relevant title.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Create an Informational Title
Step 1. Determine the audience
Before choosing an essay title, you have to know the audience. Is your essay directed at your teacher, your professor and colleagues, your boss, your co-workers, blog or magazine readers? By identifying your audience, you can choose a suitable type of title for your essay.
Informational titles such as: "The benefit of having a cat versus a dog" is suitable for the school setting, while a more creative title such as: "My dog is better than a cat" is preferable for a blog
Step 2. Make a list of the things you want to compare
An informational title should specify exactly what you will be comparing. List the topics you want to compare to make sure you include them in the title.
- You should only include the most general topics or points that you will be comparing, such as cats and dogs. Don't worry about mentioning specific points in the title as they will be included in the body of the essay.
- Perhaps you are comparing a theme in itself over time, such as rock music in the 20th and 21st centuries or Renaissance art in Italy and the Netherlands. If this is the case, you can make a list with the topics that you want to compare, the places and time periods that you will use.
Step 3. Decide if you want the essay to be persuasive or not
Some comparison and contrast essays are intended to persuade readers to a certain opinion, such as "Why are cats better than dogs?" Other essays aim to offer a more objective comparison of content and events, such as "The benefits of having a cat versus a dog." Determine if you want the goal of your essay to be just comparison or to persuade through comparison.
- Persuasive essay titles may include words such as "benefits," "best," "benefits," "duty," "will," and other words that convey the advantage of one thing over another.
- Informational titles can include words such as "versus," "compared," or "difference." These words do not suggest that one thing is better than another, but simply indicate that it is different.
Step 4. Write the informative title
When you've decided what you want to compare, how you want to do it, and if the best option is to use an informative title, it's time to put it all together. Choose persuasive or informative words to tie your themes together.
The title should tell the reader in a few words what you want to compare and contrast and how you intend to do it
Method 2 of 3: Come up with a creative title
Step 1. Determine what your purpose will be
If you want to come up with a creative headline, the important thing is to grab your audience's attention. Think about your audience and what you want to achieve by writing your essay for them. Will you include more data? Will you reinforce a popular idea? Will you rebut a popular idea? Your purpose will help you to know how to choose the best words for your title.
- For example, if you only want to compare white and milk chocolate, you will provide facts. Your goal will not be to make your audience think that one is better than the other.
- Instead, if you want your audience to think that milk chocolate is better, you are reinforcing a popular idea. If you want to establish why white chocolate is better, you are debunking a popular idea.
Step 2. Avoid using direct comparison words
If you want to come up with a creative title, avoid words or phrases that imply a direct comparison. Words such as "versus" and phrases such as "compared to" are informative but not that interesting. Instead, set an action between topics.
"Preparing potato chips instead of French fries as an accompaniment to hamburgers" creates a tension between the two issues and challenges popular opinion. It is a much more attractive title to readers than "Comparison of Potato Chips and French Fries as Side of Burgers."
Step 3. Use the colon
Titles with alliteration, figurative language, or puns are a lot of fun but generally do not provide the necessary information on the topic to be developed in the essay. Use the colon to connect a creative title with an informative descriptor.
For example, if you want to write an essay to compare two works of art by Van Gogh, you can write: "Van Gogh: Comparison of the floral composition in the almond blossom and the poppy flower."
Method 3 of 3: Keep the title interesting and relevant
Step 1. Write the paper first
Whether your essay is formal or informal, persuasive or not, you should write it first and then choose the title. Text changes and takes on new forms as you type. When you have finished writing your essay, you will know for a fact what it is that you want to communicate in the title.
Step 2. Write a short title
Some headlines, especially those that include a colon to connect informative and creative ideas, can be as long as a sentence. A title should not be longer than that and should not be separated into multiple sentences. Try to keep your title short and attractive and express your ideas.
You will include the discussion in the essay. The title only has to include the topics and establish what you want to compare and contrast in a certain way
Step 3. Ask a friend for their opinion of the title
If in doubt, ask a friend or family member to read the title. Don't let me read the rest of the essay. When he has finished reading the title, ask him, "What will the essay be about?" Their response will let you know if you have to write a more specific title or not.