Put titles of smaller works poems, articles in quotation marks. Books are italicized or underlined and articles are put in quotation marks. Quotation marks are used for quoting text from books, short story titles, articles in periodicals. Therefore, when something needed to be italicized, that fact was represented by underlining. And for goodness sake, what should you do with pesky things like tv shows, short stories, or youtube videos. When we reference the title of a book in our writing, the book s title should appear in italics. Note that this category addresses the use of quotation marks other than in the presentation of direct quotations. Be sure to right justify page numbers on the top of each page. Aug 01, 2016 book titles are usually put in the same category as other big, standalone, or complete bodies of work like newspapers, symphonies, or publications. According to the chicago manual of style and the modern language association, titles of books and other complete works. Style guides that prescribe the use of italics, such as the chicago manual of style or the ama manual of style, say that titles of such works should be put into italics when appearing in text.
Only the authors exact words should be surrounded by quotation marks. Its easy for students to forget that different types of titles require different typographical features. Italics are used to draw attention to key terms and phrases when providing definitions and to format parts of reference list entries. Eat, pray, love, harry potter and the deathly hollows and bossypants why do writers put a comma that separates a title from other in between the quotation marks. It is even harder to remember which type of title requires which type of punctuation. If a title contains punctuation, include it in the italics or quotation marks. The mla and apa style guides apparently treat ebooks as regular books with italics. As we mention in the post, book titles and magazine names are italicized, and articles are enclosed in quotation marks. Do not use quotation marks to enclose the bible or other books that are considered sacred. It is underlined under mla rules or in italics under the apa rules, but never in qoutation marks. Formatting your own essay title is easy just bung a heading style on it. Even the most experienced writers have a problem remembering the proper punctuation for certain types of titles. Use quotation marks around the title of a work which appears within a larger collection or work.
Should the title of songs, stories, movies, books, screenplays, etc. Jan 30, 2008 an epigraph is a quotation at the beginning of a book or chapter of a book that includes the authors name and can also include the book title. Mar 15, 2011 the ap stylebook doesnt use italics for anything but thats thanks to historic newspaper printing conventions, so its not of much relevance here. You should also italicize the title of a book when you refer to it within the text of your paper.
Instead, italicize the titles of published works, and put shorter works in quotation marks. She said, i loved the book where the red fern grows. I read the cat in the hat, it wouldnt necessarily be clear what the book title was, or even that there was a book title at all. You only need to use italics or quotation marks when you are referring to a work. Dec 02, 20 just remember, the title of any piece that stands alone as a single, unified work should be italicized. Use single quotation marks if the book title is contained in a quotation, and you have chosen not to use underlining or italics.
These italics and quotation marks are used to set the title apart from the text surrounding it. Generally speaking, when we cite the title of a work that stands alone as a single entitysuch as a book, movie, magazine, newspaper, album, or playwe should use italics. Instead, use italics for titles, for emphasis, and for words, letters, and numbers referred to as such. Use quotation marks and underlining or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text, e. And, as with italics and quotation marks, titles are not underlined at the head of an essay or article. Finally, list the location, followed by a colon, and then the publisher.
The general rule is to use italics on book titles, album titles and publication names for a web document or when you are using a word processing tool. Stories or chapters from within a book are considered parts of the book. Is the title of a book underlined or in quotes answers. This book contains over pages and instructs how to handle everything from what to italicize to how to properly use punctuation. In writing the titles of newspapers, do not italicize the word the, even when it is part of the title the new york times, and do not italicize the name of the city in which the newspaper is published unless that name is part of the title. In your writing, sometimes you may need to include the title of a magazine, the headline of a newspaper article, the title of a song or movie, and so on.
Quotation marks are not used for paraphrased quotes. The title is usually prominently displayed in the work, often near the author. Sep 22, 2019 furthermore, italicize or underline any published collection, like a book of poetry. Erin servais is the founder of dot and dash, llc, an authorservices company focusing on women writers and offering a range of editing, coaching, and social media packages. Titles of articles in newspapers or magazines and chapter titles in books should be in quotation marks. In english, when punctuating these magazine titles, headlines, and song or movie titles, keep in mind these two options. A general rule to go by is that short titles and sections of works, such as a chapter title in a book or an episode of a tv show, use quotation marks, while larger titles.
If a book title within an essay title is not italicized in. Titles of books that form a larger body of work may be put in quotation marks if the name of the book series is italicized. Italicize the titles of comic books, manga, and graphic. So, italics and quotation marks make a title stand out. Same with chicago, although all three are really thinking only of the most traditional, booklike ebooks.
In the book world, the chicago manual of style is the primary style guide first published in 1906. Put the individual entry, like a poem, in quotation marks. Using italics and quotation marks in titles set certain bits of text apart from the rest. For example, if you were writing a sentence that explained i read the cat in the hat it wouldnt necessarily be clear. However, when using the computer or typing, italics should always be used. Determining whether to use quotation marks, underlining or italics to indicate a title. How to use quotations for book titles pen and the pad. Underline or use italics to indicate the title of a work published on its own. In this video, i go over the rules of italicizing or quoting titles of books, poems, paintings, essays, tv shows, movies, etc.
This is intended as a quick rundown or cheat sheet. Neither means that the usual headlinestyle or titlestyle caps still apply, but the titlename is naked as far as quotes and italics are concerned. When we refer to the titles of works that appear inside those larger entitiessuch as articles, poems, short stories, and songswe should enclose them in quotation marks. Quotation marks, underlining or italics to indicate a title. The titles of books, magazines and newspapers, however, are quoted in italics if the base text is roundroman or roundroman if the base text is in italics. Italicize the titles of comic books, manga, and graphic novels, but put the titles of individual comic strips in quotation marks. The title of a journal article is not in italics or in quotation marks. Dont use either one for the title on a document you are writing yourself, such as an essay.
If it is something handwritten you should underline it instead of using italics. A title within a title should be styled according to the guidelines in section 1. When we refer to the title of a work, how do we know whether to use italics or quotation marks. Quotation marks are used to present linguistic examples and titles of book chapters and articles in the text. If italic is not a formatting option, then the book s title should be underlined. Which titles are italicized and which are enclosed in. Longer works are italicized while shorter works like song titles or an article from a magazine are put in quotes. With some exceptions, most style books tell us to use italics when we write the title. Mar 15, 2017 prior to computers, people were taught to underline titles of books and plays and to surround chapters, articles, songs, and other shorter works in quotation marks. The following list offers guidance on how to handle the many diverse titles, works, and events referenced in college communications, including titles of published works, original art, musical productions, journal names, etc. The book title is preferably italicized, and you may use an em dash before the authors name, but it is optional. Generally and grammatically speaking, put titles of shorter works in quotation marks but italicize titles of longer works. Unfortunately, the rules about formatting the titles of existing published works e.
How you handle book titles in your work is a style choice not governed by grammarian law. Following is the breakdown between ap style and chicago style. In some circumstances quotation marks can be used instead of underlining or italics. Italics, quotation marks, underlines, plain old capital letterswhen it comes to writing titles, the rules can feel like a confusing mess. Titles of full works like books or newspapers should be italicized. When referring to a title, use italics or underlining in handwriting for longer works and quotation marks for shorter works. The issue is addressed by the top stylebooks, but the answers vary. With some exceptions, most style books tell us to use italics when we write the title of a work that stands alone as a single entity. Websites with no print counterpart are capitalized in title case and set in roman type. In general, underlining and italics are used interchangeably, so the above rules for italics also apply for underlining. Feb 17, 2017 in this video, i go over the rules of italicizing or quoting titles of books, poems, paintings, essays, tv shows, movies, etc. Do not use quotation marks, underline, or italics together. May 12, 2014 when youre deciding between italics and quotation marks, always remember the rules of clarity and consistency.
The following are two examples of epigraphs from the chicago manual of style. If you have to make a choice that doesnt fit a rule or you choose to flout a rule, do so on purpose and do so each time the circumstances are the same. In the world of publishing, there are two style books that pull most of the weight. Titles of short works like poems, articles, short stories, or chapters should be put in quotation marks. According to the chicago manual of style and the modern language association, titles of books and other complete works, such as newspapers. When to use italics, underlining, and quotation marks.
If the title has a subtitle, include it after the main title titles and subtitles are given in the entry in full exactly as they are found in the source, except that capitalization and punctuation are standardized. Oct 03, 2018 if a book title within an essay title is not italicized in the source, should i italicize it in my workscitedlist entry. In other words, underlining something is equivalent to italicizing it, so it is not proper to both italicize and underline a title. Titles using italics and quotation marks italics and quotation marks are used for titles of books, plays and other works of art. Quotation marks in titles this document was developed by the college writing center stlccmeramec revised 20. Italics, quotation marks, underscore grammar and punctuation. Is a book title underlined or italicized when typing in apa. Mar, 2008 1 underlining and italics serve the same purpose. When writers follow guidelines for the use of italics and quotation marks, their papers become more consistent and readable. The name of a journalmagazine article should be in quotation marks.