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| Yes | 20% | 292 votes | Total: 1468 votes | |
| No | 80% | 1176 votes |
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Add to FavoritesMany writers think it is a good idea to include all or parts of the article title in the first line of a written article. I agree! It is not necessary to repeat it exactly, but it can often be used as a basis for a topic sentence for beginning your article. At the very least, the title topic needs to show up in your first paragraph.
In using a rewrite of the title in your first sentence or paragraph, you do not have to be the same as everyone else. Get creative and twist the title as a hook for your writing. Suppose I started my article with the title as my beginning sentence. Anyone could do that, and it shows no writing creativity. Instead, I could change it around to achieve a unique beginning line such as the one I used above.
Beginning with a topic sentence that includes or rewords the title, allows people to see where you are going with your article in the very beginning of the piece. It supports your first paragraph, and gives you an 'in'. While it is certainly not necessary for all articles, I believe many will be improved by following this maxim.
I personally attempt to at least include the gist of the article title in my first sentence, or twist it somewhat in a strong response to the article title. In this way, the article title becomes part of the article as a whole so it is not a break from the title to the beginning of the article. This makes the whole thing flow together in continuity. There is no break between title and article, one flows into the other.
If the gist of the title is not used in the first sentence, it can be placed at the end of the first paragraph as the topic sentence. This helps the reader reiterate the purpose of the article and yet separates them somewhat.
From a keyword perspective, it is good to include certain keywords from your title throughout your article. This will help the search engines to pick it up which will help you make more cash. So finding creative ways to include the title in your article body can help with this process.
While this is my personal method, it may not work for everyone. It takes practice to turn the title into something else instead of just a repeat, but it is worth the trouble. But, for those of you who cannot recreate it, repeating the title is a good way to begin your journey into the topic of the article.
Learn more about this author, Angela S. Young.
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No
When learning to write an essay in school, one of the first things students are taught is to not regurgitate the article's title in the opening sentence. The best way to begin is to indicate your stance on a subject through the rewording the title. This shows an understanding of the subject matter as well as the position you are about to defend and puts it all in your own words.
Creative writers grab attention early. They provide a thought-provoking or emotion-stirring first sentence or two and then build on it to retain interest and compel the reader forward. It's referred to as the A.I.D.A. approach. Attention. Interest. Desire. Action. Reiterating the article's title in the opening inserts a visual speed bump. It's slows things down because it's boring, unimaginative and shows a lack of expertise on the part of the writer. The initial attention is strained, interest is lost, desire to continue wanes, and the only action the audience wants to take is to stop reading altogether.
I write radio commercials for a living and teach how to write in a variety of formats for radio and TV at a local college. In the world of :30 to :60 audio, you have approximately 3-4 seconds...yes, seconds...to pull the listener in. While there are marked differences between audio and visual writing styles, one thing remains true to both - you absolutely must grab the audience's attention early and retain their interest. If you've rated articles on Helium for any length of time, you know this. Punctuation and grammar mistakes quickly turn the reader off, but a slow starting article - one that repeats an article title verbatim - is also one that causes at least this reader to start skimming instead of delving into the text.
While all the attention-grabbing information I've put forth here is true, there is an even more compelling argument I haven't made yet. Here on Helium, don't most of us read the title before reading or rating an article? If so, then why would the repetition of the article title make sense? It simply doesn't. So essay writers, the bottom line about the first line is this - we're creative, expressive people here at Helium, who should never resort to being a parrot! Express your unique, intriguing thoughts in a way everyone can get excited about from the very first sentence. It will help your article get noticed, and the resulting action of the reader will be to rate your essay highly!
Learn more about this author, T S Campbell.
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