In my theme, if I use this code:

echo '<h3 class="posttitle">' . the_title() . '</h3>';

What I get is:

The title
<h3 class="posttitle"></h3>

What I was expecting:

<h3 class="posttitle">The title</h3>

Also, similar problem here:

else if ( in_category( 'reviews' ) )	{
	echo 'Latest review: ' . the_title();
}

This displays the wrong way around. So, 'The title Latest review:' rather than 'Latest review: The title'

 

Any ideas?

Asuming you are talking about WordPress, you don't need echo. The the_title() method has the "echoing" build in. Also make sure you call the method from within the loop:

<?php
  // Start the Loop.
    while ( have_posts() ) : the_post();
?>
<h3><?php the_title() ?></h3>
<!--You get the content the same way-->
<div><?php the_content() ?></div>

<?php
    endwhile; 
    //the loop ends here. You can not call the methods outside the loop
?>

Edited August 16, 201511 yr by Nillervision

 

The the_title() method has the "echoing" build in.

 

Oh! Well, that explains it. Thanks, Nillervision

There's also of course the get_the_title() function which will return rather than echo the post title.