Title

Purpose

A clear title that summarizes the work presented in your paper is key to attracting readers. Your instructor has to read your paper, but in the real world your paper must compete against thousands of research papers published everyday. Biologists frequently decide in seconds, based on a paper's title, if they will or will not look at a paper.

What to include

• The title needs to be interesting, informative, specific, descriptive and concise.
• It should clearly identify the content of the paper.
• If possible, the title should indicate the key findings in your study.
• The title can be a phrase of a complete sentence.

Strategy

• Generally the title is the very last part of the report to be written.
• Ask yourself, "If I had to tell a friend what my study showed in one phrase, what would I say?"
• Start from this point and work on making the phrase clear, complete, and succinct.

Examples

Vague: Aspects of algal photosynthesis.
Informative: Temperature acclimation of algal photosynthetic oxygen evolution.

Vague: Bacterial growth.
Informative: Growth of Escherichia coli in Tryptic Soy Broth.