It's bad enough we have to read the inane, ungrammatical ramblings of adolescents, but couldn't they at least come up with a catchy title? I vowed one February afternoon, after grading 327 essays with the same 6 titles--"My Essay," "Persuasive Essay," "My Persuasive Essay," Essay Assignment," "Persuasive Essay Assignment," and "My Persuasive Essay Assignment"--that I would answer the unasked question: "How do I write an effective title for my essay?"
This is what I came up with.
- Write on the board the same 6 titles that appeared in all 327 student essays.
- Ask which of those titles would make them want to read the essay.
- When they answer "none of them," Yell, as loud as you possibly can, "Then what makes you think I want to read them?"
- Fake a seizure.
Here's an alternative, not as effective, but less likely to bring about a lawsuit.
- Write the following question on the board: "How do you decide whether or not to read a book, article, poem, or story?"
- Discuss.
- Write their answers on the board. Title, length, and subject matter are the three most common responses.
- Discuss: An effective title must meet one or more of the following criteria:
- It should accurately predict the contents or focus (main idea) of the piece.
- It should set limits on the topic.
- It should communicate the dominant impression the writer wants his or her essay to make.
- It should grab the readers' attention.
Lesson Plans: Fine Tune Your Writing Focus
Writing that lacks focus confuses readers. Student writing lacks focus because they rarely have a purpose, do not know how to make a point, and write to an imaginary, non-existent audience. End their pointless meanderings with these simple lesson plans.
