do you italicize a title of an essay

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Are Essay Titles Italicized? A Guide for APA and MLA Titles

• by Michael Smart
• January 16, 2024
• Custom Essay writing

Have you ever written an essay and then question yourself whether you have used italics appropriately in the titles? Is the use of italics something that worries you to the extent of avoiding them?

Well, you are not alone because many students do not fully understand how to apply them in their essays, particularly in the titles. 

This article will explain when to use italics in your essay and how to appropriately write them. However, before exploring this, it is important to note whether essay titles are italicized or not.

Are Essay Titles Italicized?

The answer to this question depends on the type of words in the title. Essay titles can be italicized. In case you have a title that includes names of vehicles, large works, television series, or movies, you should use italics when mentioning them.

Essay titles can be italicized if the words represent a literary work or are a quote that needs to be represented in italics. Essay titles can also be italicized if all the words or some of them represent certain non-English wordings that are not in the English dictionary.

Literary words are works of literature. Titles of plays, books, and other forms of works of art should also be italicized within the title to set them apart from the surrounding text. 

When writing an essay, you will be required by your instructor to format it academically in either APA or MLA since the two formats are the most commonly used.

Instances When to Italicize Titles in an Essay

1. when words need to be emphasized within the title.

As we have noted, italics are used to set a word or phrase apart from other text within the title.

When the word or phrase is set apart, it means that the reader will easily notice it and even prioritize its meaning compared to the rest of the words.

Therefore, if you have a word or words that need to be emphasized within the title of your essay, you can italicize them.

There are some words or phrases that you will include in your title and you wish your readers to take note of them.

They can be part of the essay’s keywords that you might explain from a different perspective to that of the readers.

However, it should be noted that emphasizing words using italics within the title is not commonly used in academic writing. 

2. When including Publication Names in your Title

Imagine you are writing an essay in which you are required to conduct an in-depth analysis of an article or case study within a publication.

In this case, you may need to include the name of the publication within your title to instantly communicate to the reader what the paper is all about. Such publication names include:

3. Standalone Works in the Essay Title

When you are including the title of a standalone work like complete plays and books, you should italicize them. Titles of sacred texts should also be italicized when they are included in the title of your essay. This is especially the case when analyzing the complete works in your essay.

For example, if your essay is analyzing a specific Harry Potter book, the title will appear like this: Elements of Style in  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows .

When it comes to places like Romeo and Juliet, your title will look like this: Elements of Style in  Romeo and Juliet .

For sacred or religious texts like the King James Version of the Bible, the title may appear like this: Understanding the Meaning from the Language used in  King James Bible . 

4. When Writing Titles of Creative Works

In case you are required or find yourself in a situation where you need to include the title of creative work in the title of your essay, you should italicize it. This should only include titles of standalone creative works. Such include: 

5. When Using Foreign and Unfamiliar Words

In case you have an essay title that requires you to include a foreign word, you should italicize it. The same case applies to words that you are not familiar with or words that are technical. 

6. When Referring to Legal Cases

When you are writing an essay that explores or analyzes a legal case, you should include the name of the case within the title of your essay to separate it from the rest of the text. For example, “Analyzing the Outcomes of the Case of  Brown v. Board of Education ”. 

How to Write Titles in an APA Essay?

Titles in an APA essay will utilize a unique system of headings that help in classifying and separating the different sections in your essay. They take levels. Note that the aforementioned instances of italicization will still apply on the different levels. 

The first level or the main topic of your APA essay will be centered, boldface, and with a title-case heading.

Remember to capitalize the first word, all the principle words, and the last word in the title.

Avoid capitalizing prepositions (“above”, “on”, “to”, “below”, etc.), articles (“an”, “a”, and “the”), and coordinating conjunctions (“for”, “nor”, “and”, “but”, “so”, “or”, and “yet”).

The paragraph will be left justified with the first sentence indented. 

The second level of the title should not be centered on your paper.

It should be flush left or it should begin at the left side of your page with no indentation.

It should also be typed in bold with a title case heading. The paragraph will also start from the left side of your paper with an indentation.

The third level of your titles should also begin at the left side of your page with no indentation. It should be boldface with a title case heading. However, the third level of your title should be italicized. The paragraph begins from the left side of your page with an indentation. 

The fourth level of your titles should be indented, boldface, and with a title-case heading. This level is not italicized. However, it ends with a period because the text of the paragraph that follows should continue on the same line as that of the title level. 

The fifth level of an APA title should also be indented, boldface, and with a title-case heading. However, this level is italicized. It also ends with a period since the next paragraph will start on the same line. 

How to Write Titles for MLA Essay

Titles in an MLA essay have different levels with the first level being centered, boldface, and with a title, case heading. The second level should be written in the same way as the first level with the only difference being that the second level is flushed to the left side of the paper. 

The third level should begin at the left side of your page with no indentation.

It should be boldface with a title case heading.

The third level of your title should be italicized.

The fourth level should be indented, boldface, and with a title, case heading.

This level is not italicized. However, it ends with a period.

The fifth level should also be indented, boldface, and with a title, case heading. This level is italicized. It also ends with a period. 

In MLA, you should also capitalize the first word, all the principle words, and the last word in the title. Don’t capitalize prepositions, articles, and coordinating conjunctions.

Read our guide on how to write good essay titles to get further insight and tips that will help you sharpen your writing skills.

I am an educational writer and blogger focussing on tech, education, and life improvement.

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MLA Style Guide Eighth Edition

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Title of Source. The title is usually taken from an authoritative location in the source such as the title page. It is the name of the source you are using. Capitalize the following parts of speech in a title: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, subordinating conjunctions (although, because, unless, after, until, when, where, while, etc.). Do not capitalize articles, prepositions, coordinating conjunctions, the "to" in infinitives if they appear in the middle of the title. A colon separates the title from the subtitle unless it ends in a question mark or exclamation. Titles should be italicized or enclosed in quotation marks. 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 quotation s. Exceptions to the above rule are: 1) Scripture (Genesis, Bible, Gospels, Upanishads, Old Testament, Talmud, etc.) Titles of individualized scripture writings, however, should be italicized and treated like any other published work.(e.g. The Interlinear Bible) 2) Names of laws, acts and political documents (Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta, Treaty of Marseilles, etc.) 3) Musical compositions identified by form, number, and key (Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A, op. 92) 4) Series titles (Critical American Studies, Bollingen Series, etc.) 5) Conferences, seminars, workshops, and courses (MLA Annual Convention, English 110)

The title of the work follows the author and ends with a period . Mitchell, Margaret. Gone With the Wind . New York: Macmillan, 1961.

A sub-title is included after the main title . Joyce, Michael. Othermindedness: The Emergence of Network Culture. U of Michigan P, 2000. Baron, Sabrina Alcorn et al., editors. Agent of Change: Print Culture Studies after Elizabeth L. Eisenstein. U of               Massachusetts P /Center for the Book, Library of Congress, 2007.

The title of a story, poem or essay in a collection, as part of a larger whole, is placed in quotation marks . Dewar, James A., and Peng Hwa Ang. "The Cultural Consequences of Printing and the Internet." Agent of Change: Print             Culture Studies after Elizabeth L. Eisenstein. U of Massachusetts P /Center for the Book, Library of Congress,             2007, pp. 365-77. 

Independent work in a collection When a work that is normally independent (such as a novel or play) appears in a collection, the work's title remains in italics. Euripides. The Trojan Women . Ten Plays, translated by Paul Roche, New American Library, 1998, pp. 457-512.

The title of a periodical (journal, magazine, or newspaper) is in italics and the title of the article is in quotation marks. Goldman, Anne. "Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante." The Georgia Review, vol. 64, no. 1, 2010           pp. 69-88. Note: This rule applies to all media forms such as the title of a television series, an episode in a television series, a song or piece of music in an album, a posting or article on a web page. See examples below. Television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mutant Enemy, 1997-2003. Episode in a television series "Hush." Buffy the Vampire Slayer , created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah           Michelle Gellar, season 4, episode 10, Mutant Enemy, 1997-2003. Web site Hollmichel, Stefanie. So Many Books . 2003-13, somanybooksbkog.com Note: When giving a URL, omit http and https. Posting of an article on a web site Hollmichel, Stefanie. "The Reading Brain: Differences Between Digital and Print."           So Many Books, 25 April 2013, somanybooksblog.com/2013/04/25/the-reading-brain-differences-between-digital-           and-print/. A song or piece of music in an album Beyonce. "Pretty Hurts." Beyonce , Parkwood Entertainment, 2013,           www.beyonce.com/album/beyonce/?media_view=songs.

Untitled Source In the place of the title, provide a generic description of the source without italics or quotation marks. Capitalize the first word in the title and any proper nouns in it. Mackintosh, Charles Rennie. Chair of Stained Oak. 1897-1900, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Comment or review of a title in an online forum Jeane. Comment on "The Reading Brain: Differences Between Digital and Print." So Many Books, 25 Apr. 2013,            10:30 p.m., somanybooksblog.com/2013/04/25/the-reading-brain-differences-between-digital-and-            print/#comment-83030

Review of a title in an online forum Mackin, Joseph. Review of The Pleasures of Reading of an age of Distraction , by Alan Jacobs. New York Journal of Books, 2 June 2011, www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/            pleasures-reading-age-distraction.

Tweet Reproduce the full text without changing anything and enclose within quotation marks. @persiankiwi."We have report of large street battles in east and west of Tehran now. - #Iranelection." Twitter ,            23 June 2009, 11:15 a.m., twitter.com/persianwiki/status/2298106072.

E-mail message Use subject as the title. Subject is enclosed in quotation marks. Boyle, Anthony T. "Re: Utopia." Received by Daniel J. Cayhill, 21 June 1997.

Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword Capitalize the term in the works cited list but do not italicize or enclose in quotation marks. The term need not be capitalized in in-text discussion. Felstiner, John. Preface. Selected Poems and Prose of Paul Celan , by Paul Celan, translated by Felstiner              W.W. Norton, 2001, pp.xix-xxxvi.

Translations of Titles Place translations of titles for foreign works in square brackets in the works cited list. The translation appears next to the title.

Shortened titles The first time a title is mentioned in your work, it should appear in full. If the title is repeated in the work, it can be shortened to a familiar one (e.g., Skylark for Ode to a Skylark).

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When writing a paper, do I use italics for all titles?

Simply put: no .

APA's Publication Manual (2020) indicates that, in the body of your paper , you should use italics for the titles of:

• "books, reports, webpages, and other stand-alone works" (p. 170)
• periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers)

Beyond APA's specific examples, know that certain types of titles are almost always written in italics. 

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. 

The table below isn't comprehensive, but it's a good starting point

On an APA-style  reference page , the rules for titles are a little different.  In short, a title you would italicize within the body of a paper will also be italicized on a reference page.  However, a title you'd place in quotation marks within the body of the paper (such as the title of an article within a journal) will be written without italics and quotation marks on the references page.

Here are some examples:

Smith's (2001) research is fully described in the Journal of Higher Education.

Smith's (2001) article "College Admissions See Increase" was published in the Journal of Higher Education after his pivotal study on the admissions process.

Visit the APA Style's " Use of Italics " page to learn more!

• Reading and Writing
• Last Updated Jun 12, 2022
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• Answered By Kate Anderson, Librarian

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Comments (8)

• Nice, quick, concise listing. Good format to save for quick reference by AlonzoQuixano on May 14, 2015
• Thank you so much for the information. It was so helpful and easily understandable. by mary woodard on Jun 29, 2015
• Is it the same for MLA writing? Thanks Sara, Librarian: Lesa, Rasmussen College doesn't teach or focus on MLA for students. But if you have specific MLA formatting questions, I recommend you take a look at the MLA FAQ website here: https://www.mla.org/MLA-Style/FAQ-about-MLA-Style by Lesa D.W on Dec 04, 2015
• What about the name of a community program, for example Friend's Read. Would you use quotations or italics? Sara, Librarian: Adriana, great question. for organization or program names in the text of a paper you don't need to use italics or quotation marks. Just capitalize the major words of the organization or program like you did above with Friend's Read. by Adriana on Apr 11, 2016
• Thank you for this posting. I am writing a paper on The Crucible and, surprisingly, I couldn't find on the wonderfully thorough Purdue Owl APA guide whether titles of plays are italicized or in quotes. by J.D. on Apr 18, 2016
• this was really helpful, thank you by natalie on Dec 11, 2016
• thank you so much, this is very helpful and easy to understand. by Mendryll on Jan 24, 2017
• Thank you! I am also wondering, do you capitalize only the first word of the title when using it in the text of your paper, like you are supposed to do in the references list? Or do you capitalize all the "important" words like usual? Sara, Librarian Reply: Ashley, within the text of your paper you should capitalize all the important words like you normally would. Thank you for your question! by Ashley on Dec 04, 2017

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• Writing Tips

Formatting Titles in Essays

2-minute read

• 8th May 2018

Handling your own headings is one thing, but how should you write the titles of other works? You need to mark them out somehow, and you have two standard options: italics or quote marks.

This is especially important in academic writing , as you’ll often have to discuss books and papers written by other people. Here, then, are some guidelines you should follow when formatting titles.

When to Use Italics

You can often spot a title from the capitalisation , but we still format titles to distinguish between different types of source. Titles of longer sources, for example, typically use italics:

Here, Kerrang! is italicised because it is the title of a magazine (i.e. a standalone work that is not one part of a larger whole). Other publications and productions that this applies to include:

• Academic journals
• Newspapers and magazines
• Websites and blogs
• Films and TV shows
• Radio programmes
• Plays and other stage shows
• Book-length poems
• Paintings and other works of art
• Music albums

The key here, then, is that italics are used for longer published works .

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When to Use Quote Marks

We use quote marks for the title of anything that doesn’t fit in the list above. Usually, this will be something that is part of a more substantial publication, such as an article from a magazine:

In this case, we see both the magazine title and an article title. Using italics on the former and quote marks on the latter makes it immediately obvious which is which. Other cases where quote marks are required include:

• Chapters from books
• Academic papers and journal articles
• Articles from newspapers and magazines
• Single pages from a website or posts from a blog
• Individual poems and short stories
• Single episodes of a TV series
• Single poems from a collection
• Songs and other short recordings

In this case, the key is that quote marks are used for shorter works . However, quote marks are also used for unpublished works regardless of length (e.g. a draft manuscript or a PhD dissertation).

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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. If it is something handwritten you should underline it instead of using italics.

Longer works are italicized while shorter works like song titles or an article from a magazine are put in quotes and are not italicized.

Here are some italics examples:

Karlie Kloss to Relaunch Life Magazine at Bedford Media

NBF Expands National Book Awards Eligibility Criteria

Striking Writers and Actors March Together on Hollywood Streets

Vice Media Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Oprah Selects The Covenant of Water as 101st Book Club Pick

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Tips for Online Students , Tips for Students

When To Italicize – The Rules You Need To Know

Updated: December 23, 2022

Published: June 30, 2020

English has a lot of grammatical rules to keep in mind. From the usage of commas to capitalization, knowing how to write properly is an important skill to hone for those in school and beyond. Whether you are writing research papers or formal letters, you’ll come across instances of italicization. Knowing when to italicize is an important skill to master.

Let’s take a look at how italics came to exist and when to italicize. With this guide, you’ll soon be an italics pro!

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

The history behind italics.

Italics is when a typeface is slanted to the right. Like this!

Italics are used to distinguish words from other parts of the text and draw attention. Like underlining, it can create emphasis; therefore, you wouldn’t want to both underline and italicize the same word. Yet, underlining and italicizing may often be used interchangeably.

Underlining was the precursor to italicizing. Once word processors and printers became more sophisticated to handle italics, it has become a popular alternative to underlining.

When To Italicize

With this being said, using italics isn’t always a choice of personal preference. There are rules and guidelines to follow to know when to italicize. Let’s take a look at some of the rules!

7 Rules For Italics

1. emphasis.

Want a word or phrase to stand out in a block of text? Try writing in italics. Example: I went to grab pizza with friends today. It was so delicious that I ate an entire pie. (Notice how you read the word “so” with more emphasis than the rest of the words in that statement).

2. Titles Of Work

The titles of works should be italicized (or underlined). Examples include:

• Books – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Newspapers – The Los Angeles Times
• Movies – The Dark Knight
• Magazines – People
• Plays – A Streetcar Named Desire
• Works of Art – Frida Kahlo’s The Two Fridas
• TV/radio programs – Friends
• CDs/albums – Drake’s Views

3. Articles

Based on the above, you may be questioning, “Are articles italicized?” Articles are shorter forms of work. As such, they are put into quotation marks rather than italicized. For example, you could write something like: In his article “A Mystery Explained” for The New York Times, the author exposed the details of the crime.

4. Foreign Words

If you’re writing in one language but you want to introduce a word in another language, you may consider italicizing it. For example, “The word for war in Spanish is guerra.”

5. Names Of Trains, Ships, Spaceships

Words that are names of transportation vehicles (with the exception of cars) are italicized. For example, the space shuttle Challenger is in italics.

6. Words As Reproduced Sounds

If you want to write out the way something sounds, then you can leverage italics. To depict, “The bees went bzzz in my ear.” This doesn’t mean that you would write verbs that are sounds in italics. (i.e., “There was a loud thud.”)

7. Words As Words

When you are writing a word to use it as a word for reference, then you can put it in italics. For example, “He defined close in context of the situation as being within 6 feet of each other.”

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Examples for when to use italics.

There are various writing formats that have slightly different rules. When you’re writing a scholarly paper, you may be advised to write in MLA format or APA format.

The MLA format may allow for interchangeability between italics and underlines. In the APA format, these are some examples of when to use and when not to use italics — and they aren’t always in line with the examples above. In APA format, for example, you should not use italics just for emphasis.

So before writing any scholarly paper, it’s useful to double check the rules for italics according to the specific guidelines.

Use Italics

• First introduction to a new term – i.e., “ Communism is defined as, ‘ a form of government…’”
• Titles of book and web pages – i.e., “ Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson”
• English letters used as math symbols – i.e., “Solve for the variable x .”
• Anchors of scale – i.e., “Rate your experience on a scale of 1 ( extremely dissatisfied ) to 10 ( extremely satisfied )”
• First use of words in a different language – i.e., “She was the crème de la crème .”

Do Not Use Italics

• For the title of book series – i.e., “the Dan Brown series”
• Punctuation around italics – i.e., “( extremely dissatisfied )”
• Words from foreign languages that are in the dictionary of the language you are writing – i.e., “per se”

Things To Remember

This list of rules and exceptions can feel overwhelming. And there’s still more to learn and remember on top of the points above! Keep in mind:

• Don’t italicize the titles of songs, chapters in books, or poems. Instead, use quotations. For example, you could write: On the Drake album Views, I really like the song “Fire & Desire.”
• Don’t italicize religious texts – i.e., the Torah or the Koran. Instead, these are capitalized.
• Don’t underline and italicize together like this . (That sure is painful to read!)

Although there is a lot to remember when it comes to what to italicize, the good news is that you can always research whether or not something should be italicized online or refer back to this list!

Italics Or Not? That Is The Question

As a student, it’s important to fine tune your grammar skills now so that when you graduate and enter the workforce, you can produce exemplary work every time!

As mentioned, when writing research papers or any other academic paper, your professor will share what standards they want you to abide by. Whether it’s MLA or APA formats, you can look up the rules for when to italicize before and during the writing process.

Then, when you edit, be sure to check all your usages of underlines, italics, and quotation marks to ensure they are implemented correctly!

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MLA Style Guide, 8th & 9th Editions: Title of source

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Title of source (Works Cited)

The title of source is the second core element in the Works Cited entry. In general, the title of a work is taken from the title page of the publication.

• Capitalize all principal words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.). Do not capitalize articles, prepositions, or conjunctions when they fall in the middle of a title.
• Separate a subtitle with a colon and a space.
• Italicize titles if the source is self-contained and independent. 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.
• Example of a journal article title which includes the title of a book: "Unbearable Weight of Authenticity: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Theory of 'Touristic Reading'."
• Example of a journal article title which includes the title of a short story: "Individualism in O'Connor's 'A Good Man is Hard to Find'."

Danticat, Edwidge.  Brother, I'm Dying.   Knopf , 2007.  

Chapter title in a book or anthology : 

Howard, Rebecca Moore. “Avoiding Sentence Fragments.” Writing Matters: A Handbook for Writing and Research, 2nd ed., McGraw Hill, 2014, pp. 600-10.

Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers:

Houtman, Eveline. “Mind-Blowing: Fostering Self-Regulated Learning in Information Literacy Instruction.” Communications in Information Literacy, vol. 9, no. 1, 2015, pp. 6-18. www.comminfolit.org/index.php?journal=cil&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=v9i1p6&path%5B%5D=203​.

Meade, Rita.  "It's Not Too Late to Advocate."  S crewy Decimal,  1 June 2016, www.screwydecimal.com/2016/06/its-not-too-late-to-advocate.html.

Entire Website:

Meade, Rita. Screwy Decimal .   2010-16, www.screwydecimal.com/.

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Titles in Essays (Italics or Quote Marks?)

4-minute read

• 26th February 2018

Formatting your own essay title is easy (just bung a Heading style on it). Unfortunately, the rules about formatting the titles of existing published works (e.g. a textbook or an article from a journal) are more complicated. Usually, though, it comes down to one question: italics or quote marks?

But most students will need to name a book, journal or website in an essay at some point, so it’s important to know how this works. To help you out, we’ve prepared this guide on when to use italics and when to use quote marks for titles.

When to Use Italics

Titles of longer works are usually italicised. A ‘longer work’ in this case is something presented as a standalone publication. Charles Dickens’ famous novel, for example, would be written as Great Expectations if it were named in an essay.

Other examples of longer works that should be italicised include:

• Books and book-length poems (e.g. ‘An analysis of The Wasteland shows…’)
• Journals, newspapers and magazines (e.g. ‘According to The Guardian …’)
• Websites and blogs (e.g. ‘The project was funded via Unbound …’)
• Films (e.g. ‘ Jaws broke several box-office records…’)
• TV series (e.g. ‘Many fans of The X-Files claim…’)
• Plays and other stage shows (e.g. ‘This production of Swan Lake is…’)
• Paintings and works of art (e.g. ‘The Mona Lisa is currently housed…’)
• Music albums (e.g. ‘The album Sticky Fingers was released in…’)

The key factor is that all of these are standalone products, not part of a greater whole. The main exceptions to this rule are holy texts, such as the Bible, which are not typically italicised.

Italics are also used for the names of particular vehicles in some cases, especially ships and spacecraft. For example, we might write about the space shuttle Enterprise or the HMS Beagle (note that the ‘HMS’ is not italicised, since this is an abbreviation).

When to Use Quote Marks

Quote marks , meanwhile, are usually saved for shorter works. These are often part of a larger publication, such as an article in a newspaper or a chapter in an edited book. For example, if we were to name a book and a chapter in one place we’d write:

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Hugh Wilder’s ‘Interpretive Cognitive Ethology’ was first published in Readings in Animal Cognition , edited by Marc Bekoff and Dale Jamieson.

As indicated by the italics, the book here is called Readings in Animal Cognition . ‘Interpretive Cognitive Ethology’, meanwhile, is an essay from the book, so we use quote marks for this title.

Cases where quotation marks are used for titles include:

• Chapters from books
• Articles in newspapers, magazines and journals
• Particular pages or articles from a website
• Individual poems and short stories
• Episodes from a TV show

It is also common to use quote marks for unpublished writing regardless of length. For example, if you were referring to an unfinished manuscript or a PhD dissertation, you would put the title in quote marks; but if these same documents were published, you would use italics.

Look Out for Exceptions!

The guidelines above will apply in most cases, but there are exceptions. The APA style guide, for example, recommends italicising book titles in the main text of an essay, but not in the reference list. As such, it is wise to check your style guide to see if it has specific advice on formatting titles.

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If a book title within an essay title is not italicized in the source, should I italicize it in my works-cited-list entry?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Yes. A title within a title should be styled according to the guidelines in section 1.2.4 of the  MLA Handbook , regardless of how a title within a title is styled in the source.

For example, the title of an essay about Gone with the Wind  is styled in EBSCOHost  as follows: 

“Painfully Southern”: “Gone with the Wind,” the Agrarians, and the Battle for the New South

Since Gone with the Wind is the title of a novel, if you were to include this essay in your works-cited list, you would set it in italics instead of enclosing it in quotation marks:

Adams, Amanda. “‘Painfully Southern’: Gone with the Wind , the Agrarians, and the Battle for the New South.”  Southern Literary Journal , vol. 40, no. 1, Fall 2007, p. 58.  EBSCOHost Connection , connection.ebscohost.com/c/literary-criticism/28439869/painfully-southern-gone-wind-agrarians-battle-new-south.

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Citation Basics / Do You Italicize Article Titles?

Do You Italicize Article Titles?

No, typically you don’t italicize article titles. Instead, you may enclose article titles in double quotation marks (MLA 9: “Article Title”) or simply use regular font without quotation marks (APA 7: Article title). The exact format for article titles depends on the style guide you’re using. Different academic disciplines use different style manuals that follow differing rules. However, generally, you do italicize the larger work of which the article is a part ( Journal/Magazine/Newspaper Title ) . 

Let’s look at how MLA 9, APA 7, and Chicago styles handle title formatting for articles.

MLA 9 Style for Article Titles

Since journal, magazine, and newspaper articles are part of a larger standalone work, you use regular font (not italics) for article titles and double quotation marks in MLA 9 style.

Here is a template for a magazine article in MLA 9-style:

Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of the Article.” Magazine Title , Publication Month. Year, pp. #-# or URL.

Here is an MLA 9-style reference list entry example for a magazine article:

Parker, James. “An Ode to My Thesaurus.” The Atlantic , July-Aug. 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/07/an-ode-to-my-thesaurus/638453/

Notice the regular font for the magazine article and the italics for the magazine title:

• Article title: “An Ode to My Thesaurus”
• Magazine title : The Atlantic

MLA 9’s style manual uses the term containers for larger standalone works. For example, a book is a container for a chapter. Here are more container examples:

• Container –> Item in container
• Album –> Song
• Book –> Chapter
• Journal –> Article
• Television show/series –> Episode
• Newspaper or Magazine Publication –> Interview

Standalone works or containers are italicized . That includes the titles of the following:

• Journal Titles
• Magazine Titles
• Newspaper Titles
• Photo/Image/Painting
• Television series
• Webpages/Websites

Works contained within a standalone work should be enclosed in double quotation marks. In the works-cited entry, these titles are placed before the container’s, or standalone work’s, title. Titles of works that are part of larger standalone works include the following:

• Book chapters
• Interviews in a magazine
• Journal articles
• Magazine article
• Newspaper article
• Short stories
• Song on an album
• Webpage/Website articles

APA 7 Style for Article Titles

Since journal, magazine, and newspaper articles are part of a larger standalone work, you use regular font (not italics) for article titles in APA style.

Here is a template for a journal article in APA 7-style:

Author Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Publication Year). Title of the journal article: Subtitle of article. Title of the Journal, VolumeNumber (IssueNumber), Page#-#. URL.

Here is an APA 7-style reference list entry example for a journal article:

Jacoby, W. G. (1994). Public attitudes toward government spending. American Journal of Political Science, 38 (2), 336-361. https://doi.org/10.2307/2111407

Notice the regular font for the journal article and the italics for the journal title:

• Article title: Public attitudes toward government spending.
• Journal title : American Journal of Political Science

In APA 7, you italicize titles of sources that stand alone. Standalone sources are not part of another work. Standalone works that you italicize in APA include:

• Journal Titles ( not journal articles)
• Magazine Title
• Music Album ( not a song on the album)
• Newspaper Title
• Podcast ( not a podcast episode)
• Television Series
• YouTube Video

Works that are just a part of another work, like a chapter in a book, are not italicized. Sources that are part of another work and in regular font in APA include:

• Edited Book Chapters
• Journal Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Podcast episodes
• Songs on an album
• Television episodes

Chicago Style (17th ed. notes-bibliography format)

Since journal, magazine, and newspaper articles are part of a larger standalone work, you use regular font (not italics) and quotation marks for article titles in Chicago style.

Here is a template for a newspaper article in Chicago-style:

• Author First Name Last Name, “Newspaper Article Title,”  Newspaper Title , Publication Month Day, Year, URL.

Bibliography:

Author Last Name, First Name. “Newspaper Article Title.” Newspaper Title , Publication Month Day, Year. URL.

Here are Chicago-style note and bibliography entry examples for a newspaper article:

• Emmett Lindner, “Keeping Up With Crypto,” New York Times , June 3, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/03/insider/keeping-up-with-crypto.html.

Lindner. Emmett. “Keeping Up With Crypto.” New York Times , June 3, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/03/insider/keeping-up-with-crypto.html.

Notice the regular font for the newspaper article and the italics for the newspaper title:

• Article title: “Keeping Up With Crypto”
• Newspaper title : New York Times

In Chicago style, you italicize titles of sources that stand alone. Standalone sources are not part of another work. Standalone works that you italicize in Chicago include:

Works that are just a part of another work, like a chapter in a book, are not italicized. Sources that are part of another work and in regular font in Chicago style include:

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The article title does not appear in in-text citations. It appears only in the corresponding works-cited-list entry. To cite the article title in MLA style in your works cited list, you need to follow the format given in the below template. An example of an article written by a single author is given for your understanding.

Works cited list template and example

The title of the article is in plain text and title case; it is placed inside quotation marks. Follow the punctuation and formatting as given in the example.

Surname, First Name. “Title of the Article.” Journal Title , volume #, issue #, publication date, page range.

Etchells, Tim. “On the Skids: Some Years of Acting Animals.” Performance Research , vol. 5, no. 2, 2000, pp. 55–60.

The article title of a journal, newspaper, or magazine is never italicized in either APA or MLA style. In APA style, the article title is given in plain text and sentence case. In MLA style, the article title is written in title case and given in quotation marks.

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Reference List: Basic Rules

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This resourse, revised according to the 7 th  edition APA Publication Manual, offers basic guidelines for formatting the reference list at the end of a standard APA research paper. Most sources follow fairly straightforward rules. However, because sources obtained from academic journals  carry special weight in research writing, these sources are subject to special rules . Thus, this page presents basic guidelines for citing academic journals separate from its "ordinary" basic guidelines. This distinction is made clear below.

Note:  Because the information on this page pertains to virtually all citations, we've highlighted one important difference between APA 6 and APA 7 with an underlined note written in red.  For more information, please consult the   Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , (7 th  ed.).

Formatting a Reference List

Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text.

Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the essay; label this page "References" in bold, centered at the top of the page (do NOT underline or use quotation marks for the title). All text should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay.

Basic Rules for Most Sources

• All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
• All authors' names should be inverted (i.e., last names should be provided first).
• For example, the reference entry for a source written by Jane Marie Smith would begin with "Smith, J. M."
• If a middle name isn't available, just initialize the author's first name: "Smith, J."
• Give the last name and first/middle initials for all authors of a particular work up to and including 20 authors ( this is a new rule, as APA 6 only required the first six authors ). Separate each author’s initials from the next author in the list with a comma. Use an ampersand (&) before the last author’s name. If there are 21 or more authors, use an ellipsis (but no ampersand) after the 19th author, and then add the final author’s name.
• Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.
• For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.
• Note again that the titles of academic journals are subject to special rules. See section below.
• Italicize titles of longer works (e.g., books, edited collections, names of newspapers, and so on).
• Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as chapters in books or essays in edited collections.

Basic Rules for Articles in Academic Journals

• Present journal titles in full.
• Italicize journal titles.
• For example, you should use  PhiloSOPHIA  instead of  Philosophia,  or  Past & Present   instead of  Past and Present.
• This distinction is based on the type of source being cited. Academic journal titles have all major words capitalized, while other sources' titles do not.
• Capitalize   the first word of the titles and subtitles of   journal articles , as well as the   first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and   any proper nouns .
• Do not italicize or underline the article title.
• Deep blue: The mysteries of the Marianas Trench.
• Oceanographic Study: A Peer-Reviewed Publication

Please note:  While the APA manual provides examples of how to cite common types of sources, it does not cover all conceivable sources. If you must cite a source that APA does not address, the APA suggests finding an example that is similar to your source and using that format. For more information, see page 282 of the   Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7 th  ed.

Do You Italicize Book Titles? MLA, Chicago Manual, and APA Rules (Examples)

Whether you are writing a book, a business blog, a research paper, or a magazine article, staying true (and consistent) to grammar and style is extremely important. It makes the entire article/ manuscript consistent and reading easy !

But with so many styles and style guides around, losing track is very common. This is especially true when you are writing titles – of books, stories, poems, chapters, and more – in your articles. Don’t you wonder whether you should underline the book titles, put them in italics, write them in quotation marks , or follow the traditional capital letter style? Well, we all do, and we often find ourselves hovering over different options, completely unsure of which one to choose .

So, should you italicize book titles or underline them?

The general rule says, always italicize book titles, if they are long and complete work. This keeps them distinct and makes them easily recognizable, especially when you are mentioning a book within your content. Italicizing also helps the reader to understand that this particular book is separate from the rest of the work they are reading. However, short titles – of poems, stories, articles, and chapters are often written in quotation marks.

For example:

Long title: Have you read In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust?

Short title: Grab your copy of “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy.

Now, this sometimes, can get very confusing and can put your writing all over the place. So when you are stuck between a right and a wrong, always follow the rule of thumb – How you write book titles in your work is a matter of choice (style). It is not governed by any grammarian law. There is no single source that governs how you must handle titled works and mostly depends on the style guide your publication is following – APA, Chicago, MLA, or any other.

So ask your editor his/ her preference and stick to it across your content. After all, consistency is the key to turning your writing into the most professional-looking copy .

In this article, we’ll help you learn the styling parameters that different style guides follow while writing book titles:

MLA rules for italicizing book titles

MLA stands for Modern Language Association – a United States-based society that styles manuals for students and scholars across the world. The MLA Handbook follows a particular style for documenting book titles, in the text as well as at the end of the article. As per the MLA style guide:

• Titles that are independent and self-contained are italicized.
• If the book title has a subtitle, the subtitle is italicized and separated by a colon (:).
• Titles that are contained in larger works ( e.g. , short stories, chapters) are put in quotations.
• However, when it comes to series titles, the MLA rules are a little confusing. In MLA, if a series title forms a part of the book title, then it is italicized. Otherwise, it is left in plain text. For example, the ‘Twilight Saga’ is a series title that you won’t italicize because it is not the tile of the book. But Harry Potter (a series title) you will italicize because it also forms a part of the title.  
• Godfrey, Wyck., et al. The  Twilight Saga :  New Moon . Two-disc special ed. [Los Angeles, CA], Summit Entertainment, 2010.
• Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 1998.

Chicago Manual of style rules

The Chicago Manual of Style is another widely accepted and used citation system. It is used across various disciplines like the humanities, sciences, social sciences, and more. It has its own style for citing books , titles, and full-length and freestanding works. If you want to follow the Chicago Manual of Style while formatting your book titles, here are some points to remember:

• Always italicize and capitalize the titles of your full-length, freestanding works. These include books, magazines, journals, blogs, research papers, and more.
• Online book citation also follows the same format.
• Chapter titles are always written in quotations and are not italicized.

APA style guide rules

The American Psychological Association (APA) is one of the most common and widely used reference styles. It is mostly used as a citation style for books and manuals written in the field of social sciences, psychology, sociology, and more.  It has its own set of rules for in-text and reference list citations. But when it comes to italicizing the books’ titles, the rules are pretty similar.

• Though in the APA, italicizing is kept to the bare minimum, long book titles, periodicals, webpages, reports, and standalone work are all italicized.
• Chapter titles in the APA are neither italicized nor written within quotes; the book titles however are. Also, the name of the chapter’s author is written in the first position.

7th Edition rules

The seventh edition of the APA is the latest edition and its purpose is to help students, scholars, and researchers write and communicate more effectively. Some of the biggest changes brought by the APA in its seventh edition include:

• The first letter (of the first word) of the title is capitalized.
• If there is a colon (:) in the title, the first letter after the colon is also capitalized.
• Proper names in titles are always capital
• Titles of books, magazines, journals, and newspapers are always italicized.
• Titles of articles or book chapters are not italicized.
• The title of the webpage is always italicized.
• The publisher’s location is no longer included in the reference.

When to Italicize Book Titles

As you could see , when it comes to writing book titles, a common rule applies across all styles ( barring a few exceptions ). So, if you are not following a particular citation style that asks you to do otherwise, this is a general rule that you can easily fall back on:

• Always italicize the titles of self-contained, independent work: books, albums
• Always italicize the titles of large books, like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Always italicize magazine names, like The New Yorker
• Always italicize newspapers, like The New York Times

Italicizing titles creates a visual hierarchy and helps a reference source stand out from the rest of the text.

When to Avoid Italicizing Book Titles?

While most book titles should be italicized, there are some exceptions to the rule:

• Short titles or titles of smaller works are not italicized. These include titles of short stories, poems, and chapters.
• The title of the series is not italicized. For example, while you would italicize Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , you would not highlight the Harry Potter Series.
• Holy Books like The Bible and Quran, along with their sections, are not italicized.
• Headlines and course titles are also not italicized.

Do You Underline Book Titles?

No, we do not underline book titles . Underlining is an old formatting style that was once extensively used to emphasize certain words, phrases, and titles. But today, due to the availability of extensive formatting options, underlining has lost its mark and is not used as a preferred formatting option.   

However, if you are writing with a medium that does not offer the option to italicize, you may underline the text to emphasize it.

Do You Quote Book Titles?

Books, magazines, newspapers, and series all comprise many smaller parts, like a short poem, a chapter, a short story, and an episode. When citing these small pieces of work, we prefer writing them in quotation marks.

The teacher read a story titled “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl.

I missed the last episode of “Shaun the Sheep”.

 Susan is reading “The Fellowship of the Ring” from the Lord of the Rings .

Do You Italicize Book Series Titles?

While italics are used to emphasize book titles, trilogies and book series titles are only capitalized, not italicized.

What About Children’s Book Titles, Do Those Get Italicized?

Children’s books in style guides get the same treatment as other authored books. That is, titles of full works are italicized but short titles of poems, short stories, articles, or chapters are put within quotation marks. Also, in addition to the author’s name, they also include the illustrator’s name.

• Italics and Underlining: Titles of Works
• Treatment of titles
• Do You Italicize Book Titles In APA? A Must Read
• Should You Underline Or Italicise Book Titles?
• Do You Italicize Book Titles? Essay Secrets Revealed
• Should You Italicize Book Titles? A Guide to Formatting Titles

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Dalia Y.: Dalia is an English Major and linguistics expert with an additional degree in Psychology. Dalia has featured articles on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Grammarly, and many more. She covers English, ESL, and all things grammar on GrammarBrain.

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