2. Composition
2.1 Titles
The purpose of a piece of scientific writing is to present information clearly and concisely so that it can be easily understood. Clarity therefore begins with the title.
Elements in a title
In technical and scientific writing the title is a precise description of the contents. It should include specific words to indicate the following:
Some sample titles:
| Purpose | Topic | Focus |
| A Direct Comparison of | Muscle Force Predictions | Using Linear and Non-linear Programming. |
| A Determination of | Contact Hip Stress | from Nomograms Based on Mathematical Model. |
| A Mathematical Estimation of | Stress Distribution | in Normal and Dysplastic Hips. |
| A Sensitivity Analysis of | Stress and Strain Fields | in Relation to Material Characteristics of the Hip Joint. |
Punctuation of titles: capital letters
- It is clearer to type your title in lower case rather than in capital letters.
- Use capital letters for the first letter of all the main words in the title, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, longer prepositions, conjunctions.
- Do not use capital letters for short structural words (except when they are the first word of the title), such as articles (a, an, the), short prepositions (of, in, to ,at), co-ordinating conjunctions (and, or, nor, but, for, as). See the sentences above as examples.
Points to check in your own writing:
- Be precise and concise; strive for clarity and avoid terms with multiple meanings which might lead to misunderstanding
- Use key words from the paper to inform readers of the content, but try not to choose too many technical words as this will not attract a wider audience
- Titles stand alone; they are not a part of the opening sentence or paragraph
