Titles in Scientific-technical English

The title is designed to stimulate the readers interest.

A good title should attract and inform the readers and be accurate but it also
needs to tell the reader what the paper or book is about.
As the success of many computer-based searches depends upon the title, it is
important to include in it some of the key words relating to the topic of the
paper. (Hartley, !!"#
TYPES OF TITLE
TH$%T&&' T()&* +, T$T-& (Hartley, !!"#./
1. Titles that announce the general subject.
0 The age of adolescence.
0 1esigning instructional and informational te2t.
0 +n writing scientific articles in &nglish.
2. Titles that particularise a specific thee follo!ing a general hea"ing.
0 )re-writing3 The relation between thinking and feeling.
0 The achie4ement of black 5aribbean girls3 6ood practice in -ambeth
schools.
0 The role of 4alues in educational research3 The case for refle2i4ity.
TH$%T&&' T()&* +, T$T-& (Hartley, !!"#.
#. Titles that in"icate the controlling $uestion.
0 $s academic writing masculine7
0 8hat is e4idence-based practice 0 and do we want it too7
0 8hat price presentation7 The effects of typographic 4ariables on essay
grades
%. Titles that just state the fin"ings.
0 *uprama2imal inflation impro4es lung compliance in patients with
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
0 Asthma in schoolchildren is greater in schools close to concentrated
animal feeding operations.
0 Angiopoetin- le4els are ele4ated in e2udati4e pleural effusions.
TH$%T&&' T()&* +, T$T-& (Hartley, !!"#.9
&. Titles that in"icate that the ans!er to a $uestion !ill be re'eale".
0 Abstracts, introductions and discussions3 How far do they differ in style7
0 The effects of summaries on the recall of information.
0 5urrent findings from research on structured abstracts.
(. Titles that announce the thesis )the "irection of the author*s arguent+.
0 The lost art of con4ersation.
0 )lus :a change ; 6ender preferences for academic disciplines.
0 1own with <op. cit..
TH$%T&&' T()&* +, T$T-& (Hartley, !!"#.=
,. Titles that ephasise the etho"olog- use" in the research.
0 >sing colons in titles3 A meta-analytic re4iew.
0 %eading and writing book re4iews across the disciplines3 A sur4ey of
authors.
0 $s ?udging te2t on screen different from ?udging te2t in print7 A
naturalistic email study.
.. Titles that suggest gui"elines an"/or coparisons.
0 *e4en types of ambiguity.
0 &ighty ways of impro4ing instructional te2t.
TH$%T&&' T()&* +, T$T-& (Hartley, !!"#.@
0. Titles that bi" for attention b- using startling or effecti'e openings.
0 <1o you ride an elephant and <ne4er tell them youre 6erman3 The
e2periences of Aritish Asian, black and o4erseas student teachers in the
>B.
0 *omething more to tell you3 6ay, lesbian and bise2ual young peoples
e2periences of secondary schooling.
0 Caking a difference3 An e2ploration of leadership roles in si2th form
colleges.
11. Titles that attract b- alliteration.
0 A ta2onomy of titles.
0 -egal ease and <legalese.
0 %eferees are not always right3 The case of the 9-1 graph.
TH$%T&&' T()&* +, T$T-& (Hartley, !!"#.D
11. Titles that attract b- using literar- or biblical allusions.
0 ,rom structured abstracts to structured articles3 A modest proposal.
0 -owE They came to pass. The moti4ations of failing students.
0 -ifting the 4eil on the 4i4a3 The e2periences of postgraduate students.
12. Titles that attract b- using puns.
0 'ow take this )$- ()atient $nformation -eaflet#.
0 A thorn in the ,lesch3 +bser4ations on the unreliability of computer-
based readability formulae (%udolph ,lesch de4ised a method of
computing the readability of te2t#.
TH$%T&&' T()&* +, T$T-& (Hartley, !!"#.F
1#. Finall-2 titles that -stif-.
0 Outside the whale. <+utside the whale refers to the fact that the author is
describing a typographic design course that was run for o4er ! years
independently of, and not swallowed up by, the reGuirements of fine arts
schools in the >B.
0 How do you know youve alternated? is about problems that sociologists
ha4e when alternating between presenting an accurate description of the
groups they study, and presenting their interpretation to the readers.
0 Is October Brown Chinese? +ctober Arown turns out to be the name of a
school teacher. .
TITLES I3 S4IE3TIFI4 536 TE473I45L TE8TS
Titles in scientific an" technical te9ts
The purpose of a piece of scientific-technical te2t is to present information
clearl- and concisel- so that it can be easily understood. 5larity therefore
begins with the title.
$n scientific and technical te2ts, a poetic or styliHed title does not help the reader
at all
Titles in scientific an" technical te9ts
$rony, puns, humour, and literary and cultural references are difficult to
understand. They are probably best a4oided in the titles of academic articles.
Try to e2plain (if possible# titles containing3
acronyms (e.g. <Cental health for $A6 pro4iders#. ($A63 information,
ad4ice and guidance#
neologisms 0 words in4ented to describe a new phenomenon.
Are they clear7
8ired up .
Aehind the 8ire
5ontroller Area 'etworks (5A's#
6anoderma lucidum suppresses
motility of highly in4asi4e breast and
prostate cancer cells
Cushrooms kill cancer
Traffic &n4ironment *ensing 1etection *ystems
HaHards of smoking
,ormation of tetrahydro-I-carbolines
in the oral ca4ity of smokers
$',+%CAT$5*
8ired up .
Aehind the 8ire
5ontroller Area 'etworks (5A's#
$t does not tell the reader what e2actly
the paper is about
$t tells the reader 4ery clearly that the
paper is about monitor and control
functions pro4ided by network
applications
)%+5&** &'6$'&&%$'6
6anoderma lucidum suppresses
motility of highly in4asi4e breast and
prostate cancer cells
Cushrooms kill cancer
$t tells the reader 4ery clearly what the
sub?ect of the paper is
$t does not tell the reader what e2actly
the paper is about
&-&5T%$5A- &'6$'&&%$'6
Traffic &n4ironment *ensing 1etection *ystems
$t tells the reader 4ery clearly that the
paper is about ultrasonic parking
assistance
$t does not tell the reader what the
sub?ect of the paper is
5H&C$*T%(
HaHards of smoking
,ormation of tetrahydro-I-carbolines
in the oral ca4ity of smokers
$t does not tell the reader what e2actly
is the paper about
$t tells the reader 4ery clearly what the
sub?ect of the paper is
ELE:E3TS I3 5 TITLE
$n technical and scientific writing the title is a precise description of the
contents. $t should include specific words to indicate3
0 the topic; the main, general sub?ect you are writing about,
0 the focus; a detailed narrowing down of the topic into the particular,
limited area of your research,
0 optionally, for a scientific article, the purpose of your writing. This
means to tell the reader what kind of argumentation to e2pect
*ample titles3 $',+%CAT$5*
Purpose Topic Focus
A Arief $ntroduction to 5ontroller Area 'etworks(5A's #
A 5omparison between
,ull 5A' and Aasic
5A' Jersions
on the %educed 'umber
of $dentifiers to )ass on
to the Application
Cicrocontroller.
A 1iscussion of
6enetic &ngineering
Technology
and its &ffects on the
&n4ironment.
A *tudy of the Aus 1ata
with Ait-stuffing and
Codules 5onnected to
the Aus in a K8ired-andK
,ashion.
Purpose of your scientific.technical te2t
An Analysis of...
An Assessment of...
A 5omparison of...
A 1escription of...
A 1iscussion of...
An &4aluation of...
An &2planation of...
An +utline of...
E8E<4ISES O3 TITLES
1efine the terms on the left3
Analyse -ook at the 4arious parts and their relationships
1escribe 6i4e a detailed account
&2amine 1i4ide into sections and discuss each critically
*tate 6i4e a clear and simple account
*uggest Cake a proposal and support it
*ummarise 1eal with a comple2 sub?ect by gi4ing the main points
1efine &2press the essential nature of something
+utline 1escribe the main features
5ompare &2amine the similarities
5ontrast -ook at the differences
&4aluate 5onsider the 4alue, make a ?udgement based on criteria
Trace ,ollow, disco4er, or ascertain the course of de4elopment
$llustrate 6i4e e2amples
%elate -ink one thing to another and decide if there is a connection or
not.
,rom Title to +utline3
5onsider the title and decide which sections should be included
A description of the growth of the European Union since 1975 and its likely
form by 2020
A short account of &uropean history /L!!-!!!
An analysis of candidates for membership before !!
A discussion of the current economic situation in &urope
A summary of the enlargement of the &> from /LF@ to now
A summary of the arguments in fa!our of pri!atisation and its record in
"ritain
A case study of electricity pri4atisation
An analysis of the international trends in pri4atisation
A study of ma?or pri4atisations in the >B
A discussion of the benefits achie4ed by pri4atisation
,rom Title to +utline3
5onsider the title and decide which sections should be included
A description of the growth of the European Union since 1975 and its likely
form by 2020
A short account of &uropean history /L!!-!!!
MM An analysis of candidates for membership before !!
A discussion of the current economic situation in &urope
M A summary of the enlargement of the &> from /LF@ to now
A summary of the arguments in fa!our of pri!atisation and its record in
"ritain
A case study of electricity pri4atisation
An analysis of the international trends in pri4atisation
A study of ma?or pri4atisations in the >B
A discussion of the benefits achie4ed by pri4atisation
,rom Title to +utline3
5onsider the title and decide which sections should be included
A description of the growth of the European Union since 1975 and its
likely form by 2020
A short account of &uropean history /L!!-!!!
MM An analysis of candidates for membership before !!
A discussion of the current economic situation in &urope
M A summary of the enlargement of the &> from /LF@ to now
A summary of the arguments in fa!our of pri!atisation and its record in
"ritain
A case study of electricity pri4atisation
An analysis of the international trends in pri4atisation
MM A study of ma?or pri4atisations in the >B
M A discussion of the benefits achie4ed by pri4atisation
=rite 2 or # sections !hich shoul" be inclu"e" in each paper;
*ample titles3 )%+5&** &'6$'&&%$'6
Purpose Topic Focus
A discussion of
genetic engineering
technology
and its effects on the
en4ironment.
An e4aluation of sewage treatment
as a tool in en4ironmental
protection.
=rite 2 or # sections !hich shoul" be inclu"e" in each paper;
*ample titles3 5H&C$*T%(
Purpose Topic Focus
An analysis of
estrogenic acti4ity of
foodstuffs and cigarette
smoke
using a yeast estrogen
screening method.
An o4er4iew of
analytical chemistry of
phenolic compounds
in foods.
=rite 2 or # sections !hich shoul" be inclu"e" in each paper;
*ample titles3 &-&5T%$5A- &'6$'&&%$'6
Purpose Topic Focus
A 1escription of
>ltrasonic )arking
Assistance
on *hort %ange
Applications
An +utline of *ecure 5ockpit 1oors
to Tighten Air
Transportation *ecurity
A 1iscussion of
6enetic &ngineering
Technology
and its &ffects on the
&n4ironment.
A *tudy of A N1AC
Tests of a ,ull *cale Noint
1irect Attack Cunition
><5::5TI45L 4O3ST<?4TIO3S I3 TITLES
><5::5TI45L 4O3ST<?4TIO3S I3 TITLES O*oler (!!F# in Hartley, (!!"#P
,ull-sentence constructions, for e2ample <-earning induces a 515-related
protein kinaseQ
'ominal group constructions, for e2ample <Acute li4er failure caused by diffuse
hepatic melanoma infiltrationQ
5ompound constructions (i.e. di4ided into two parts, mainly by a colon#, for
e2ample <%omanian nominaliHations3 case and aspectual structureQ
Ruestion constructions, for e2ample <1oes the ,lynn effect affect $R scores of
students classified as learning-disabled7.
><5::5TI45L 4O3ST<?4TIO3S I3 TITLES O*oler (!!F# in Hartley, (!!"#P
,ull-sentence constructions only occurred in the science research papers.
'ominal group constructions were the most popular form of title, and their
usage was relati4ely constant across the disciplines.
5ompound constructions were less freGuent, but more common in social science
research papers.
Ruestions were hardly used at all.
)unctuation of titles
$t is clearer to type your title in lower case rather than in capital letters.
>se capital letters for the first letter of all the main words in the title, including
nouns, pronouns, 4erbs, ad?ecti4es, ad4erbs, longer prepositions, con?unctions.
1o not use capital letters for short structural words (e2cept when they are the
first word of the title#, such as articles (a, an, the#, short prepositions (of, in,
to ,at#, co-ordinating con?unctions (and, or, nor, but, for, as#.
The abstract summarises the content. The half-doHen of key words, sometimes called
<descriptors, together with the title and the abstract, facilitate computer-based search
and retrie4al.