Using Titles

When you use sources in your writing, inevitably, you will have to mention the title of the source. When you discuss any work of literature or cinema in writing, print the titles of the pieces appropriately. These rules apply to your Works Cited page as well.

Capitalization for Most Titles

In the U.S., it is standard practice to capitalize the first letter of each major word in a title. Connecting words like "and," "of," "the," "to," and "for" are not capitalized unless they begin the title. [NOTE: The underlines are just for emphasis here.]

The Sun Also Rises

The St. Martin's Guide to Writing

"Dry Salvages"

The Sound and the Fury

"Pater Familias, Mater Familias, and the Gendered Semantics of the Roman Household"

The Simon and Schuster Handbook for Writers

Using Italics or the Underline for Long Works

For the titles of long works such as books (novels, collections of short stories, readers, school textbooks), epic poems, plays, newspapers, journals, magazines, and movies, either italicize or underline the title. Italics look more professional, and most word processors will allow you to use them. However, if you are limited to a typewriter, you will probably have to use the underline option. Do not make the mistake of doing both. Either/or is the rule; just be consistent.

A NOTE ABOUT WORKS CITED PAGES: This rule applies even to long works appearing in larger anthologies. So on a Works Cited page, the novel Madame Bovary gets marked, and the larger anthology it appears in, The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, gets marked as well, since they're both books. Don't make the mistake of assuming a long work should now be considered a short work just because it appears in a longer work. :)

Augustus or Augustus (novel)

The Odyssey or The Odyssey (epic poem)

A Raisin in the Sun or A Raisin in the Sun (multi-act play)

The Stories of John Cheever or The Stories of John Cheever (short story collection)

Midnight Cowboy or Midnight Cowboy (movie)

The New York Times or The New York Times (newspaper)

Time or Time (magazine)

Newsweek or Newsweek (magazine)

Classical Philology or Classical Philology (scholarly journal)

The Art Bulletin or The Art Bulletin (scholarly journal)

The Journal of Theological Studies or The Journal of Theological Studies (scholarly journal)

Using Quotation Marks for Short Works

For the titles of short works such as short stories, essays, newspaper articles, and lyric poems, use "quotation marks."

"What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" (short story)

"The Warren Cup: Homoerotic Love and Symposial Rhetoric in Silver" (scholarly essay)

"Richard Cory" (lyric poem)

"The Court's Dilemma" (editorial in a newspaper)

To Wrap Up

"You only notice when the house is dirty!" a househusband says to his callous wife. "You never notice when its clean!" Printing titles correctly is evidence of your knowledge of appropriate form in writing. When correct, your readers don't notice (it's a thankless job); when incorrect, it's glaringly evident. So use proper form and thank yourself for doing the right thing.

Gary Enns, English Faculty, Cerro Coso Community College