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:
| An Evaluation of | the Effects of High-Dose Fexofenadine | on the Central Nervous System. |
| A Study of | the Pharmacokinetics of Cefpirome Sulphate | in the Elderly |
| A Physicochemical and Biological Evaluation | of Cationic Polymethacrylates | as Vectors for Gene Delivery. |
| A Determination of | Compatibility and Stability of Drugs | Used in Palliative Care |
| A Comparison of | the Efficacy and Safety of Fenofibrate and Lovastatin | in Patients with Primary Type IIa or IIb Hyperlipidaemia |
| A Characterization of | the Permselective Properties of Rabbit Skin | during Transdermal Iontophoresis |
These rules are not rigid, and sometimes the omission of one more elements may be warranted:
| purpose | topic | Focus |
| Effects of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs | on Prostacyclin and Thromboxane in the Kidney |
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.
- Note that there is a trend towards not capitalising the first letter of all the main words in a title. If you are writing for publication in a specific journal you must follow the stylesheet of that journal.
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
