Italics vs Quotation Marks in Titles (2024)

FAQs

Italics vs Quotation Marks in Titles? ›

In general use italics for major works (titles of books, newspapers, magazines, plays, musicals etc.) Use quotes for minor works (magazine and newspaper articles, song titles, etc).

Explanation. Generally and grammatically speaking, put titles of shorter works in quotation marks but italicize titles of longer works. For example, put a “song title” in quotation marks but italicize the title of the album it appears on.

Generally, shorter works (poems, song titles, chapters) go in quotation marks, and longer works (movies, books, newspaper titles) are italicized. o Books are italicized, but a chapter inside a book is in quotation marks. o The name of a TV show is italicized, but a specific episode is in quotation marks.

A general rule of thumb is that within the text of a paper, italicize the title of complete works but put quotation marks around titles of parts within a complete work.

This is the standard way of representing emphasis or contrast; you should not try to use quotation marks or other punctuation marks for this purpose. Another use of italics is to cite titles of complete works: books, films, journals, musical compositions, and so on: We saw a performance of the Messiah on Saturday.

A couple of generations ago, it was the custom to enclose all titles in quotation marks: titles of books, titles of poems, titles of films, titles of newspapers, and so on. This usage, however, has now largely disappeared, and the modern custom is to write most titles in italics.

Titles of books, plays, films, periodicals, databases, and websites are italicized. Place titles in quotation marks if the source is part of a larger work. Articles, essays, chapters, poems, webpages, songs, and speeches are placed in quotation marks. Sometimes titles will contain other titles.

When referring to a title, use italics (or underlining in handwriting) for longer works and quotation marks for shorter works. Don't use either one for the title on a document you are writing yourself, such as an essay. You only need to use italics or quotation marks when you are referring to a work.

For example, italics are used to draw attention to key terms and phrases when providing definitions and to format parts of reference list entries (e.g., titles of books and periodicals). Quotation marks are used to present linguistic examples and titles of book chapters and articles in the text.

Do you use italics or quotation marks for titles MLA? ›

Titles that are independent and self-contained (e.g., books) and titles of containers (e.g., anthologies) should be italicized. Titles that are contained in larger works (e.g., short stories) should be in quotations.

Writing dialogue in italics is more than just a quirky visual effect. It's a sound stylistic choice and a useful craft exercise to boot, accomplishing just as much—more, actually—than silly old quotation marks.

The reasons vary, but more writers are dropping speech marks to explore distances between readers and narrators and even to eliminate hierarchies. Going quote free can in large part be attributed to modernist writers who eschewed quote marks as part of a larger experimentation with form.

Titles that are independent and self-contained (e.g., books) and titles of containers (e.g., anthologies) should be italicized. Titles that are contained in larger works (e.g., short stories) should be in quotations.

You DO need to cite the movie if you use ideas, themes, or quotes expressed in the film. Movie titles should be in italics, not placed in quotation marks for APA.

In MLA style, italics in a quotation are assumed to be in the original unless otherwise indicated. See the MLA Handbook for more details on quoting sources exactly (75) and on italics added for emphasis (86).