Before moving on, look at the chapter titles for my study of I Peter.

Below are some examples of good and some not so good chapter titles for the book of Genesis:

1. Days of Creation (Good Title)
1. The Story of how God created the universe in seven days (Bad title; too long)
3. The First Temptation and Sin (Good Title)
3. If You Sin, You'll Pay the Price Like Adam and Eve (Bad Title; too long, and it interprets the passage rather than merely observing what happened)
12: The Call of Abram (Good Title)
12. The Call of A Great man (Bad title: Not specific enough, Too General -- lots of great people are called in the Bible.

Once you have read a book at least once and have written good chapter titles, you have a significant understanding of what the book is about. Here are two optional questions you should ask when you are reading a book and giving a title to each chapter:

1. What is the overall theme of this book? You can find the theme by noting specific, thematic words or ideas that occur through most or all of the book. All books are written with a theme, so always look for a theme when you are reading a book (any book).
2. What is the main problem this book addresses? Most books are written to solve problems, so ALWAYS look for one major problem that the author wants to solve. Don't focus on the little problems; look for the big problem, the all-encompassing problem about which the author would say, "This is why I write. I am passionate about solving this problem."

Once you are finished with this step, go on to the next step by clicking on "Literary Type" above.

Have you ever sat down and read a chapter or two of a book only to realize that, after you finished reading, you could not remember a thing you read? It happens to all of us. Our minds wander from one thing to another. Here's a step in Bible study that will keep you from wasting your time reading as your mind wanders: Write your own table of contents for the book you're reading by writing chapter titles for every chapter. If you are studying a short book, such as I John or Jude, just write a title for each paragraph.

CHAPTER TITLES HAVE THREE MAIN PURPOSES:
1. Recollection: Writing chapter titles forces us to remember what was in each chapter. So, we remember the contents of a book.
2. Reference: Writing chapter titles helps us remember the sequence of events or ideas in the book. What did the author write about first, second and last?
3.  Reflection: Writing chapter titles forces us to think about what we are reading or what we have read. We ask ourselves, "Now, how can I summarize what I have read in as few words as possible and still capture all that is in this chapter?"

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD CHAPTER TITLES:
a) They are brief:3-5 words. Disciplining yourself to write brief titles will make you think longer about what you have been reading, and it will save you the time and energy it takes to write longer titles.
b) They are descriptive rather than interpretive. One of the most common mistakes we make in Bible study is that we try to interpret what we have not seen. Since writing chapter titles comes at the beginning of the process, they should not interpret the passage; they should only describe what is in each chapter.
c) They are personal. Avoid the temptation of using the titles you might find in your Bible. I would suggest using a Bible that has no titles in it. Writing your own titles forces you to think about what you are reading, and that is our goal.
d) They are specific. In other words they tell you what is in that chapter so that when you read them at a later time, you will known what book of the Bible the come from.
e) They are suggestive: They bring to mind all that happened in that chapter.
f) They are accurate: They fulfill one of the main goals of observation in Bible study which is to observe things accurately and thoroughly.