Lecture 4: Choosing a Title & Author Names

## lecture 4 ### Choosing a title: - The first thing readers will notice about your paper. - Descriptive of the paper's content. - Should not contain abbreviations. ### characteristics of an effective title: - **Identify the main issue of the paper** - **Attractive** (few words) - **Usually has...

## lecture 4 ### Choosing a title: - The first thing readers will notice about your paper. - Descriptive of the paper's content. - Should not contain abbreviations. ### characteristics of an effective title: - **Identify the main issue of the paper** - **Attractive** (few words) - **Usually has no verbs (label only)** - **Contains key words** - **Short** (10-15 words) - **Describe paper contents** - **No abbreviations, formulas, or jargon** ### There are three ways to write a title: 1. **Title that gives the independent variable, dependent variable & population** (e.g. the effect of _____ on _____) 2. **Title that poses a question** (e.g. does _____?) 3. **Title that gives an answer to a question** (e.g. _____ is caused by _____) The second way is better because it catches people's attention. ### Title tricks and tips - Remove unnecessary words. - Make it specific and accurate. - Do not include something in the title that's not in the paper. - Include as many keywords as possible. - Bold the most important words at the beginning. - Follow the style guide of the journal you're writing for. ### Names of the authors should: - Be complete to avoid confusion. - Include only the true authors. - Be listed in a logical order (alphabetically or by importance). - Be followed by their address. ### Key points: - Only the people who actually participated in the research should be listed as authors. - Technicians who were involved in data collection, should be put under acknowledgements. - Everyone listed as an author must agree with the final version of the paper.