Your title builder pack
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Your title builder pack

Everything you need to give your students their own essay title builder. Pick one of the three, or use them together. Bookmark this page so you can come back to it.

1Your embed codePut the builder on a Google Site 2The AI promptAny AI sets it up from your unit plan 3The Google Forms guideTitles collect in a sheet for you

1Your embed code

Here is the title builder you made on the blog, filled in as you left it. You can keep editing it here. When the preview looks right, copy the embed code underneath and paste it into a Google Site, a school website or any learning platform that accepts embed code.

You, onceSet it up hereFill in the boxes for your topic and check the preview.
You, oncePaste one embed codeInto your Google Site or school website.
Your studentsBuild their titles thereNo code for them: they pick, type and copy their title.

Your title builder

Everything stays in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

1

Focus

What students write about
2

Aspects

The parts of your topic
3

Scope

How much the essay covers
4

Command terms

One row each
5 · What your students see

The code updates as you edit the builder.

Put it on a Google Site

  1. Copy the codeClick "Copy code" above.
  2. Open your Google SiteGo to sites.google.com and open the site, or create one with the + button. A private site that only your school can see is fine.
  3. Insert the codeOn the right, choose Insert → Embed, then the Embed code tab. Paste, then click Next → Insert.
  4. Make it biggerDrag the box's corner handles until the whole builder shows without a scroll bar.
  5. Publish and shareClick Publish, then post the site link on Google Classroom.

Students copy their title. The builder doesn't send titles to you. Ask students to paste their finished title into a Classroom assignment, or use the Google Form in part 3 if you want titles collected for you.

2The AI prompt

This prompt has an AI chatbot read your unit plan and set up the whole title builder for you. It works in any AI chatbot, so use whichever your school allows.

  1. Remove names firstTake school and student names out of your unit plan before you upload it.
  2. Attach two filesYour unit plan and your curriculum's list of command terms.
  3. Paste the promptCopy it below and change the highlighted parts.
  4. Check its tableThe AI stops after step 3 and shows you every example title. Fix anything that reads badly before you let it build.
  5. Choose what it buildsReply "A" for an embeddable page or "B" for Google Form instructions.
Prompt
I'm a teacher. I'm attaching two things:
1. My unit plan for [subject, year group and unit name].
2. My curriculum's list of command terms [e.g. the MYP command terms].
(I have removed school and student names.)

Each student will write [an essay / a research question] about their own [country / text / event / company / experiment]. I want them to build their own title from three choices:

- COMMAND TERM: one from my attached list
- FOCUS: their own [country / text / ...]
- SCOPE: one of three levels:
    a) the whole topic
    b) two aspects of the topic, compared
    c) one aspect in depth, with three sub-points (this one needs teacher approval)

Please do this in four steps, and stop after step 3 so I can check it.

STEP 1 – ASPECTS
From my unit plan, list 6 to 10 aspects of the topic (usually one per lesson or main idea). Write each as a short noun phrase that reads naturally inside a sentence, e.g. "the rise of TNCs", not "TNCs". Also give me a short phrase for the whole topic, e.g. "globalisation".

STEP 2 – COMMAND TERMS AND SENTENCE PATTERNS
Choose 3 to 5 command terms from my attached list that suit this task. For each one, give:
- the official definition, copied exactly from my list
- a one-sentence note in brackets on what it means for THIS essay, written for a [age]-year-old
- one sentence pattern with two gaps, {scope} and {focus}, e.g. "To what extent has {scope} been good for {focus}?"

STEP 3 – CHECK EVERY PATTERN
Test each pattern three ways: with the whole-topic phrase, with two aspects joined by "and", and with a single aspect. Show me all the example titles in a table. If any title reads badly or makes no sense (e.g. "To what extent has e-waste dumping been good for Ghana?"), rewrite the pattern or the aspect wording and say what you changed.

Then stop and ask me: "Do you want any changes, and should I build (A) an embeddable page or (B) a Google Form?"

STEP 4 – BUILD IT (only after I reply)
(A) Embeddable page: one self-contained HTML file (all HTML, CSS and JavaScript in one file, no external libraries) that I can paste into a Google Site with Insert > Embed > Embed code. It should have:
- drop-downs for command term and scope, and a text box for the focus
- the note for the chosen command term shown underneath
- extra drop-downs that appear for "two aspects", and an aspect drop-down plus three text boxes for "one aspect in depth"
- the finished title in large text, updating live, with the command term, scope and focus each highlighted in a different colour
- a status label: "Ready for approval", or "Not ready yet" with a reason if the focus is blank, the two aspects are the same, or any sub-point box is empty
- a "Copy title" button
- clear, friendly styling that works on a phone and a classroom board
Then tell me in simple steps how to put it on a Google Site.

(B) Google Form: give me click-by-click instructions to build it, including:
- section 1: name, command term, focus and scope questions
- section 2 (two aspects) and section 3 (one aspect + three sub-points), with "Go to section based on answer" set on the scope question
- linking it to a Google Sheet
- a formula for the first row of the Sheet that turns every response into the finished title, using ARRAYFORMULA so new rows fill in automatically, plus an "Approved" tick-box column

Test before students see it. If the AI builds a page, paste the code into the free W3Schools Tryit Editor (w3schools.com/html/tryit.asp?filename=tryhtml_default) and click Run. Then try it as a student would: leave a sub-point blank and pick the same aspect twice. It should say "Not ready yet" both times.

3The Google Forms guide

Use this if you want every title to land in one Google Sheet for you to approve. It takes about 20 minutes and needs no code. The example uses my globalisation essay. Swap in your own command terms and aspects.

Part 1: the first section

  1. Create the formGo to forms.google.com and click Blank form. Give it a title, such as "Build your essay title", and a one-line description.
  2. Ask for their nameRename the first question "Your name" and change its type to Short answer.
  3. Add the command term questionClick the + on the right. Call it "Command term", set it to Multiple choice, and type each command term as an option. Press Enter after each one to add the next.
  4. Add the focus questionClick + again. Call it "Your country" (or your focus) and set it to Short answer.
  5. Add the scope questionClick +. Call it "Scope", set it to Multiple choice, and add three options: "Globalisation as a whole", "Two aspects, compared" and "One aspect in depth (needs teacher approval)".
Google Form preview showing the title, name box and four command terms
What students see first.
Google Form preview showing the country box and three scope options
The country and scope questions.

Part 2: the two extra sections

  1. Add section 2Click the Add section icon at the bottom of the right-hand toolbar (two stacked rectangles). Call it "Two aspects, compared".
  2. Add two aspect drop-downsAdd a question called "Aspect 1", set it to Drop-down, and type your aspects as options. Then click the Duplicate icon and rename the copy "Aspect 2".
  3. End section 2Under section 2, change "After section 2" from "Continue to next section" to Submit form.
  4. Add section 3Add another section called "One aspect in depth". Add a Drop-down question called "Your aspect" with the same options, then three Short answer questions: "Sub-aspect 1", "Sub-aspect 2" and "Sub-aspect 3".
Google Form preview of the One aspect in depth section with an aspect drop-down and a sub-aspect box
Section 3, as students see it.

Students only see the section that matches their scope. Someone writing about the whole topic goes straight to submit.

Part 3: send each scope to the right section

  1. Open the scope question's menuClick the scope question, then the ⋮ in its bottom-right corner.
  2. Turn on branchingChoose Go to section based on answer. A drop-down appears next to each option.
  3. Set the three destinationsWhole topic → Submit form. Two aspects → Go to section 2. One aspect → Go to section 3.
  4. Make questions requiredSwitch on Required for each question so no one skips a part.
Google Forms editor: the Scope question with each option sent to a different section
The branching on the scope question. This is the step that makes the form work.

Part 4: collect the titles in a sheet

  1. Link a Google SheetOpen the Responses tab, click Link to Sheets, choose Create a new spreadsheet and click Create.
  2. Check your columnsThe sheet lists the questions in order. In my sheet, C is the command term, D the country, E the scope, F and G the two aspects, H the single aspect and I to K the sub-aspects. L is the first empty column.
  3. Paste formula 1 into L1It works out the scope wording for each student.
  4. Paste formula 2 into M1It builds the full title. Both formulas fill every row automatically, including new responses.
  5. Add Approved and Comment columnsType "Approved" in N1. Select N2 down to N40 and choose Insert → Tick box. Type "Comment" in O1.
Formula 1 · Scope (cell L1)
={"Scope";ARRAYFORMULA(IF(E2:E="","",
  IF(LEFT(E2:E,3)="Glo","globalisation",
  IF(LEFT(E2:E,3)="Two",F2:F&" and "&G2:G,H2:H))))}
Formula 2 · Essay title (cell M1)
={"Essay title";ARRAYFORMULA(IF(L2:L="","",
  IF(C2:C="Evaluate","Evaluate the impact of "&L2:L&" on "&D2:D&".",
  IF(C2:C="Discuss","Discuss whether "&L2:L&" has brought more benefits than costs to "&D2:D&".",
  IF(C2:C="To what extent","To what extent has "&L2:L&" been good for "&D2:D&"?",
  "Examine how "&L2:L&" has changed "&D2:D&".")))))}

Using your own words? Change "globalisation" in formula 1 to your whole-topic phrase, and the sentences in formula 2 to your own patterns. If your columns are in a different order, paste both formulas into any AI chatbot with your column headings and ask it to adjust them.

The linked Google Sheet with test students, Scope and Essay title columns, Approved tick boxes and comments
The finished sheet with test entries. Read down the Essay title column, tick the ones that work, and leave a comment on the ones that don't.

Part 5: test it, then share it

  1. Test as a studentClick the eye icon (Preview) and fill it in three times, once for each scope. Check each title appears correctly in the sheet.
  2. PublishClick Publish. In the publish settings, limit responses to your school if you can.
  3. Share itCopy the responder link and post it on Google Classroom.
  4. Delete your test rowsBefore students start, delete your test responses from the sheet (Responses tab → ⋮ → Delete all responses).

What's next

I'll email you when I post the next classroom tool. If you make a title builder for another subject, I'd love to see it: reply to any of my emails.