Writing Lessons & Advice: Writing with Titles
Whether you are writing research into an essay or--like me-- casually blogging about pop culture, some deliberation may be encountered over indicating the titles of source material, namely whether a title is underlined, italicized, or in quotation marks. Here’s a short reference to help make sense of how to write with titles. My source material will have a few more examples and tips if needed.
Italicize titles of work that are their own entity, like the titles of books, long poems, movies, TV or radio shows, music albums, works of art, even names of ships, trains, airplanes, or spacecraft.
Examples: Doctor Who (tv show), Mona Lisa (art), Titanic (movie and ship) Creatures of the Night (album by KISS) Seventeen (magazine)
Underlining is just an alternative to italicizing titles. Underlining titles is an older practice that was done before italics were commonplace. It may still be done if writing by hand or if some kind of style guide or other authority recommends it. Also, active webpage links underline by default.
Quotation marks enclose titles of smaller works or parts of a bigger work, like the titles of chapters, short stories, short poems, newspaper, magazine, or blog articles, song titles, speeches, or episodes in tv or radio shows.
Examples: “Nightmare in Silver” (a Doctor Who episode), “I Love It Loud” (song title from Creatures of the Night album) “The Best New Teen Movies of 2023” (an article from Seventeen)
Other tips:
Religious texts are an exception to these rules, unless you are using a specific published edition.
If a title includes end punctuation, be sure to appropriately format the punctuation as well. Example: Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret (book by Judy Blume)
Chapter numbers do not need to go in quotations.
Never combine the formats for a title. Use each where appropriate or consult an authority if you are unsure.
Formatting titles correctly is one of many conventions that shape the standards of written work, and following along leads to better-quality writing, understanding, and content usage. Without the visual distinctions, a reader might not know a work’s complete or appropriate title. Italics, quotation marks, or underlines help set apart source material titles from the rest of the content, making a work that much easier to read and follow.
Hopefully this helps make more sense of how to write with titles! You might check and correct your usage while you proofread. Be sure to avoid plagiarism as well to put your best work forward!
If there’s a topic you want me to cover in the future, you’re welcome to reach out to me on the web chat features or socials!
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