How to tell where a title comes from (and progression towards it)

Left-clicking on the ground is the most reliable way to deselect all targets.

ESC deselects any selected targets, but if nothing is selected you will bring up your menu (can be annoying mid-combat).

There is also a key binding to target the nearest ally, which will select yourself if no other allies are around. This is useful if you are having trouble finding a patch of ground to click on. This key is not assigned by default, so look for "Nearest Ally" under Targeting in Options->Controls.

You can also select the next closest target using TAB, in case you do actually want to direct your spells towards a different enemy then the one you current have selected. Then again, a left-click on the target works more reliably if multiple targets are in view.

There is also a Guild Wars 2 printable keyboard layout to help you visualize the default key bindings.

Unfortunately, there is no way to tell.

You can either keep track manually, or keep killing mobs on your own until it pops.

I've found it helpful to get this achievement over multiple characters; even only two different starting zones should have enough variety to quickly earn the achievement.