Pedagogy Apr 2014

A Rhetoric of Titles

Anne-Marie Womack

Abstract

Strong writers often implicitly know how to create strong titles by managing audience expectations to draw interest and describe information. This article makes these internalized strategies explicit for all writers. The list of eighteen forms and examples provides students with concrete starting points to create an engaging preview. Creating the title allows students to think globally about their projects, as well as to signal their entrance into academic discourse. By mixing and matching forms from the list of strategies, students learn to concisely and coherently relay the content of their papers to an academic audience.

Journal
Pedagogy
Published
2014-04-01
DOI
10.1215/15314200-2400548
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism discourse analysis
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (4)

  1. Fish (2012)
    How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One
  2. Graff (2012)
    They Say, I Say
  3. Harris (2006)
    Rewriting: How to Do Things with Texts
  4. Johnson (2003)
    A Rhetoric of Pleasure: Prose Style and Today’s Composition Classroom
CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Res Rhetorica Apr 2026
    Logos in ancient Greek discourse on rhetoric: An overview ↗
    Arkadiusz Sokolnicki
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument
  2. Rhetoric of Health and Medicine Apr 2026
    What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Constructing Risk at Advanced Maternal Age ↗
    Melissa Carrion
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis
  3. Poroi Feb 2026
    Multi-Methodological, Multiply Ontological: Pivoting Methodologies in Rhetorical Analysis of Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) ↗
    Paige Welsh; S. Scott Graham
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis
  4. Poroi Feb 2026
    Using Stasis Theory as a Heuristic for Examining Epistemological Dilemmas in a Post-Truth Landscape ↗
    Bruce Bowles
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument
  5. Written Communication Feb 2026
    Rhetoric and Affect: The Role of Faith in Student Writers’ Wayfinding ↗
    Amy D. Williams; Jonathan Ostenson
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis empirical research affect and writing