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 quotations.
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).
