an essay do you underline movie titles

How to Write a Movie Title in an Essay: Examples and Tips

• August 23, 2024
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Rules on how to write movie titles, do i capitalize movie titles in an essay, how to write movie titles in an essay with mla writing style, how to write movie titles in an essay in apa style, write about the correct movie, check the words of the title, be careful with words like “a” and “the”, use capital letters in the movie’s title, use italics in movie titles, write the movie’s release year, are movie titles italicized, watch it fully a couple of times, share your personal thoughts about the movie, consider it carefully, finish with some lessons learned, we also recommend.

My university professor once gave me an essay to write about a movie. I started with so much enthusiasm until I realized I was making no progress. This brought about many questions from my end. I didn’t even know how to write the movie title in the essay. All I knew was the movie plot.

Google became my friend for the assignment. It was a long shot, but I eventually finished.

Writing essays is hard on its own, now imagine writing an essay on a movie. How you write it will determine if you’ll get an A+ or a D-. We have outlined all you need in this article.

Are movie titles italicized? Do you underline movie titles? Are movie titles placed in quotes? Are film titles italicized? These questions have been answered in this article.

• Discuss the movie background first
• Share your personal experience
• Study the main ideas and topics, and discuss how they were portrayed in the movie
• Describe what lessons it can teach
• Basic grammar rules
• Use the required formatting style
• Write in the active voice
• Structure or organize your work
• Ensure smooth transitions between ideas
• Make sure to use proper punctuation for titles and headings.

See also: How To Write A Song Title in an Essay: 7 Rules to Remember

A movie title must start with a capital letter

Capitalize all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs.

Articles (the, a, or an), conjunctions, and prepositions must not be capitalized except; If they are long, use phrases such as still, furthermore, and additionally, or if they are the first word in the title

Proper nouns should always be capitalized.

So, now, let’s move to how to write movie titles in an essay written in different styles.

So, how do you write movie titles in an essay in MLA style? All movie names must adhere to the MLA standard for titles in papers. Essentially, there are only two main rules; Capitalize all first letters of significant words, avoiding non-essential phrases like conjunctions, articles, and prepositions (save those used at sentence openings). Secondly, Italicize every title in your essay’s body.

What exactly is MLA format? This style was created by the Modern Language Association and consists mostly of formatting and citation standards for academic writing.

The Great Gatsby

The Lord of the Rings

See also: How to Write in Third Person Point of View: 12 Tips for Writing in Third-Person Point of View

Capitalize the first letter of each essential word, excluding articles, prepositions, and other characters.

Place the entire title in italics.

APA also requires you to capitalize words that include 4 letters or more (even if it’s a preposition, etc.).

Another common format for writing a movie title essay is the APA format. It was designed by the American Psychological Association and is mostly used in academic writing and research in a variety of social science subjects, including sociology, psychology, and anthropology.

Keep in mind that to write all movie titles in an essay, you must use the same title case capitalization as MLA, APA, and Chicago styles. Furthermore, italics are required for all three styles. The formatting for MLA and APA is the same.

Gone With the Wind

How to Write a Movie Title in an Essay with Tips

The titles of some movies are strikingly similar. Some have identical titles. You don’t want to confuse Broken Arrow, a Jimmy Stewart western, with Broken Arrow, a John Travolta thriller, for example, As a result, before using a title in your writing, ensure that you have the correct movie.

Many movies have multiple titles, typically because their original titles were changed to better suit viewers in different countries.

When bringing up a movie, make sure you know the proper wording for the scenario and how your audience wants you to discuss it.

See also: How to Write a Review on Airbnb as a Guest | Step-by-Step Guide, Examples, & Samples

Many movie titles begin with an article that most people do not say, or do not have one at all.

It can be confusing, but before you input the title, double-check that the “a” or “the” at the beginning is truly part of it.

When writing a movie title, you will capitalize. That is, capitalize the title’s first and last words, as well as any proper nouns or key keywords.

In formal academic writing, you will use standard capitalization except in rare cases where another scheme is important for understanding. That means that if a movie uses ALL CAPS, you will not use all caps unless they are an essential part of the title.

Most major writing styles italicized movie titles. This makes the title different from other words in the essay. There are some exceptions to the rule about italicizing movie titles.

Later in the article, we will explain more about italicization.

When citing a film for the first time, it is often best to include the year of release in parenthesis next to the title.

See also: How to Write a Love Song | Step-by-Step Guide, Examples, & Free Templates

The APA, MLA, and Chicago Style guides require that movie names be italicized while following the case capitalization format. Television and radio show titles should be italicized, just like movie titles.

Not all movies use italicized titles. Short film titles are frequently displayed in quotation marks rather than italics. This usually applies to segments of longer films as well as short subject films that are less than 30 minutes long.

This guideline is not rigid, therefore you should consult the style guide for your preferred writing style to see whether you need to use a different punctuation mark.

News writing is another exception. When using the APA style, movie names are written in quotation marks, with italicization reserved for highly special circumstances.

Tips on How to write about a movie in an essay

Write about the background.

Tell us what you took away from the movie, how it affected you, and how you felt. Do not repeat the background and plot, instead, reflect on the people and things that most impacted you.

Evaluate the plot and themes, as well as how the filmmakers used special effects and music to leave a lasting impression, and the acting skills of the main characters, among other things.

Describe for the readers what the movie has taught you and other young people.

For instance, this movie teaches us significant life lessons such as the fact that parents are usually quite insightful, that appearances can be deceiving, that we are capable of dealing with any situation, and many more.

See also: How to Write a Grievance Letter | Step-by-Step Guide, Examples, & Free

This article has tried to be extensive in its descriptions We hope that it has answered all he questions you have as regards how to write a movie or film title in an essay.

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• MLA titles: Formatting and capitalization rules

MLA Titles | How to Format & Capitalize Source Titles

Published on April 2, 2019 by Courtney Gahan . Revised on March 5, 2024.

In MLA style , source titles appear either in italics or in quotation marks:

• Italicize the title of a self-contained whole (e.g. a book, film, journal, or website).
• Use  quotation marks around the title if it is part of a larger work (e.g. a chapter of a book, an article in a journal, or a page on a website).

All major words in a title are capitalized . The same format is used in the Works Cited list and in the text itself.

When you use the Scribbr MLA Citation Generator , the correct formatting and capitalization are automatically applied to titles.

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Table of contents

Capitalization in mla titles, punctuation in mla titles, titles within titles, exceptions to mla title formatting, sources with no title, abbreviating titles, titles in foreign languages, frequently asked questions about mla titles.

In all titles and subtitles, capitalize the first and last words, as well as any other principal words.

What to capitalize

What not to capitalize

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Use the same punctuation as appears in the source title. However, if there is a subtitle, separate it from the main title with a colon and a space, even if different (or no) punctuation is used in the source.

Example of a work with a subtitle

The exception is when the title ends in a question mark, exclamation point or dash, in which case you keep the original punctuation:

Sometimes a title contains another title—for example, the title of an article about a novel might contain that novel’s title.

For titles within titles, in general, maintain the same formatting as you would if the title stood on its own.

Titles and names that fall into the following categories are not italicized or enclosed in quotation marks:

• Scripture (e.g. the Bible, the Koran, the Gospel)
• Laws, acts and related documents (e.g. the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution , the Paris Agreement)
• Musical compositions identified by form, number and key (e.g. Beethoven’s Symphony no. 5 in C minor, op. 67)
• Conferences, seminars, workshops and courses (e.g. MLA Annual Convention)

Sections of a work

Words that indicate a particular section of a work are not italicized or placed within quotation marks. They are also not capitalized when mentioned in the text.

Examples of such sections include:

• introduction
• list of works cited
• bibliography

Introductions, prefaces, forewords and afterwords

Descriptive terms such as “introduction”, “preface”, “foreword” and “afterword” are capitalized if mentioned in an MLA in-text citation or in the Works Cited list, but not when mentioned in the text itself.

Example of descriptive term capitalization

In-text citation: (Brontë, Preface )

In text: In her preface to the work, added in a later edition, Brontë debates the morality of creating characters such as those featured in Wuthering Heights .

If there is a unique title for the introduction, preface, foreword or afterword, include that title in quotation marks instead of the generic section name when referencing the source in the Works Cited list or an in-text citation.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

For sources with no title, a brief description of the source acts as the title.

Example of a source reference with no title

Follow these rules for capitalization:

• Capitalize the first word
• Capitalize proper nouns
• Ignore other MLA rules for capitalization

There are some exceptions to this general format: descriptions including titles of other works, such as comments on articles or reviews of movies; untitled short messages, like tweets; email messages; and untitled poems.

Exceptions to general format for sources with no title

If you need to mention the name of a work in the text itself, state the full title, but omit the subtitle.

If you need to refer to the work multiple times, you may shorten the title to something familiar or obvious to the reader. For example, Huckleberry Finn for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . If in doubt, prefer the noun phrase.

If the standalone abbreviation may not be clear, you can introduce it in parentheses, following the standard guidelines for abbreviations. For example, The Merchant of Venice ( MV ) . For Shakespeare and the Bible , there are well-established abbreviations you can use.

When you abbreviate a title, make sure you keep the formatting consistent. Even if the abbreviation consists only of letters, as in the MV example, it must be italicized or placed within quotation marks in the same way as it would be when written in full.

Abbreviating very long titles in the Works Cited list

Titles should normally be given in full in the Works Cited list, but if any of your sources has a particularly long title (often the case with older works), you can use an ellipsis to shorten it here. This is only necessary with extremely long titles such as the example below.

In the Works Cited list, if you are listing a work with a title in a language other than English, you can add the translated title in square brackets.

Example of a reference with a translated title

If you are using the foreign-language title in the text itself, you can also include the translation in parenthesis. For example, O Alquimista ( The Alchemist ) .

You don’t need to include a translation in your reference list or in the text if you expect your readers to be familiar with the original language. For example, you wouldn’t translate the title of a  French novel you were writing about in the context of a French degree.

Non-Latin script languages

For works in a language that does not use the Latin alphabet, such as Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, or Russian, be consistent with how you mention the source titles and also quotations from within them.

For example, if you choose to write a Russian title in the Cyrillic form, do that throughout the document. If you choose to use the Romanized form, stick with that. Do not alternate between the two.

Yes. MLA style uses title case, which means that all principal words (nouns, pronouns , verbs, adjectives , adverbs , and some conjunctions ) are capitalized.

This applies to titles of sources as well as the title of, and subheadings in, your paper. Use MLA capitalization style even when the original source title uses different capitalization .

In MLA style , book titles appear in italics, with all major words capitalized. If there is a subtitle, separate it from the main title with a colon and a space (even if no colon appears in the source). For example:

The format is the same in the Works Cited list and in the text itself. However, when you mention the book title in the text, you don’t have to include the subtitle.

The title of a part of a book—such as a chapter, or a short story or poem in a collection—is not italicized, but instead placed in quotation marks.

When a book’s chapters are written by different authors, you should cite the specific chapter you are referring to.

When all the chapters are written by the same author (or group of authors), you should usually cite the entire book, but some styles include exceptions to this.

• In APA Style , single-author books should always be cited as a whole, even if you only quote or paraphrase from one chapter.
• In MLA Style , if a single-author book is a collection of stand-alone works (e.g. short stories ), you should cite the individual work.
• In Chicago Style , you may choose to cite a single chapter of a single-author book if you feel it is more appropriate than citing the whole book.

The title of an article is not italicized in MLA style , but placed in quotation marks. This applies to articles from journals , newspapers , websites , or any other publication. Use italics for the title of the source where the article was published. For example:

Use the same formatting in the Works Cited entry and when referring to the article in the text itself.

The MLA Handbook is currently in its 9th edition , published in 2021.

This quick guide to MLA style  explains the latest guidelines for citing sources and formatting papers according to MLA.

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How to Format Movie Titles in Academic Writings

• by Lesley V.
• October 26, 2023

How to write a movie title in an essay?

Students, especially those in Arts, often refer to films or movie series in their papers. The formatting rules here are easy to remember. But:

They vary a bit, depending on the citation style you use.

In this post, I’ve gathered the guidelines for citing movie titles in five primary formats. Examples included, for you to compare and remember everything better.

How to Write Movie Titles in Essays

Are movie titles italicized?

It’s the most frequent question students ask when looking for this information online. Indeed, most citation formats prescribe italicizing. Other general rules include:

• Uppercase for subtitles
• Extra short movie names (like “It” ) may also go in quotations
• When using quotation marks (AP style), put punctuation inside them

Below are the details on how to format movie titles in essays and reference lists correctly.

Writing Film Titles in Different Citation Styles

For APA style (1):

• Uppercase all four-letter words and above
• Uppercase the first and the last word of a movie title, even if they are short articles (a, the) or pronouns (in, at, etc.)
• Italicize the entire name

For MLA format (2):

• Uppercase movie titles and subtitles
• Use capital letters for both parts of hyphenated words
• No uppercase for articles (a, the) and short conjunctions within the movie name
• Italicize the entire movie title

For Chicago style:

• Uppercase all main words
• Lowercase short conjunctions (below four letters) within the movie title
• Uppercase prepositions, regardless of their length

For AP citation style:

• Lowercase articles (a, the) and prepositions/conjunctions that are shorter than four letters
• Uppercase articles and prepositions/conjunctions in the beginning/end of the title
• No italics; put movie names in quotation marks

For Harvard style:

• Uppercase all primary words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.)
• Lowercase articles and prepositions/conjunctions (below four letters) within the movie title

How to Capitalize Movies in Papers

When writing a film name in a sentence, capitalize every word except for:

• Articles (a, an, the) within the movie title
• Short (below four letters) prepositions and conjunctions within the title

If a movie name begins with the above, use uppercase. Also, write long prepositions/conjunctions (moreover, although, etc.) with a capital letter. For example:

Italics vs. Quotations vs. Underlines

Most citation styles, except AP, prescribe italicization for movies and film series titles. When writing in AP, use quotation marks.

Quotes are also possible to use if you mention super short movie names like “It” or “M.” You italicize them in APA, MLA, or Chicago.

Underlines are for handwritten essays. When written by hand, you can’t italicize, huh? Use underlining instead to highlight a movie title somehow.

How to Format Punctuation in Movie Titles

If punctuation is a part of a film name, place it inside quotation marks or italicize it.

For example:

Writing Movie Titles in Reference Lists

Do You Italicize Movie Titles?

Here they go, the rules on formatting movie titles in essays. Now that you know how to write a movie title in an essay properly, the only detail remains:

Check the formatting guidelines before writing. What citation style does an educator or editor ask you to follow? If none assigned, choose one and stick to it for consistency.

References:

• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/index.html  
• https://lib.westfield.ma.edu/c.php?g=354010&p=2388441

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• Writing Tips

Are Movies Italicized?

• 3-minute read
• 16th September 2023

If you’ve ever found yourself hesitating before handing in a paper because you’re wondering whether the movie titles you refer to should be italicized, you’re not alone. Proper formatting of movie titles can be tricky, especially when following different style guides for various writing purposes.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the rules and conventions regarding italicizing movie titles in different contexts, from essays to news articles to blog posts.

Should You Italicize Movie Titles in an Essay?

In academic writing, maintaining consistent formatting is essential for clarity and professionalism. When it comes to movie titles in essays, the general rule is to italicize them. This will help to differentiate them from the rest of the text, making your paper more organized and readable. For example:

But the final answer, of course, will depend on your style guide.

Should You Italicize Movie Titles for MLA?

The Modern Language Association (MLA) provides specific guidelines for formatting essays and research papers. It’s often required for humanities courses, especially English and literature. According to MLA style , you should italicize movie titles. For example:

Should You Italicize Movie Titles in APA?

American Psychological Association (APA) style , commonly used in social sciences, has different rules for formatting movie titles. In APA style, movie titles are also italicized , but note that APA has different rules than other style guides when it comes to capitalization of titles in general.

In APA, you write the movie title with title case (all major words capitalized) in the main body of an essay, but in the reference list, the title should use sentence case (except for proper nouns and words following a colon). For example:

In both cases, the movie title is italicized.

Should You Italicize Movie Titles in Chicago/Turabian?

The Chicago Manual of Style and Turabian style , often used in history and other social sciences, align with the general practice of italicizing movie titles. Here’s an example:

Should You Italicize Movie Titles in News or Web Articles in AP Style?

When writing for news articles or web content following the Associated Press (AP) style , movie titles are placed in quotation marks rather than italicized. AP Style doesn’t use italics. For example:

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Remember to consult the specific style guide required for your writing to ensure accurate formatting. Properly formatted movie titles enhance the overall professionalism and readability of your work.

Here’s a quick rundown of the guidelines of this post:

●  In essays: Typically, movie titles are italicized for clarity and consistency. But check your style guide!

○  In MLA style: Italicize movie titles.

○  In APA style: Italicize movie titles but pay attention to title capitalization guidelines for the main body of the paper vs. the reference list.

○  In Chicago/Turabian style: Italicize movie titles.

○  In AP style for news or web articles: Place movie titles in quotation marks.

So, the next time you’re discussing your favorite films, you’ll know just how to format their titles with confidence.

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How to Write Movie Titles in Essays?

Table of Contents

Writing a movie title in essay projects may be necessary when handling different academic assignments. Thus, knowing how to write movie captions in the correct format is vital for composing successful papers. While mastering this art is necessary, many students face challenges doing it. 

This subject raises many questions regarding various components. For instance, italicizing, quoting, underlining, and punctuating are some of the challenges some students face. 

Fortunately, relevant guidance exists to address all these challenges and improve your writing skills. This post addresses these difficulties in all the major academic writing styles like APA , Chicago, and MLA. Keep reading to learn more and master this area of academic writing. 

How to Put a Movie Title in an Essay

Writing a movie title in essay has different components that have evolved through the ages. The rise of computer technology has drastically changed how learners handle this subject. It has changed some elements, like underlining movie titles. For instance, before personal computers became common, students used typewriters to write academic papers. This technology required them to underline movie titles. Also, underlining movie headlines was necessary because some scholars hand-wrote their assignments. The reason is that italicizing a title was difficult in a hand-written essay. 

Rules to Follow When Writing a Movie Title in Essay

Here are the main rules to follow to write movie titles correctly in your academic papers. 

Title Sources 

As a rule of thumb, you should list the full title as it appears in the source you are citing. However, few exceptions exist for this rule, particularly when punctuating subtitles and standardizing capitalization. 

• You must capitalize every principal word, like an adjective, noun, and verb. However, don’t capitalize articles, prepositions, or conjunctions in the title’s middle. However, capitalize them if they are long, such as additionally and furthermore, or if they are a title’s first word. 
• Always separate subtitles with colons and spaces.

Italicization 

Italicization is another vital component to pay attention to when including a movie title in essay .

You must italicize titles from self-contained and independent sources. Remember to italicize every book, play, film, periodical, database, and website title.

Quotation Marks 

Put a title in quotation marks if its source is a part of a larger work.

Titles with Other Titles  

Titles containing other titles occur commonly in academic writing. Also, if the title usually appears in double quotation marks, enclose the caption in single quotes. For instance, 

“Madness in David’s ‘Make Common Sense Common Again.'”

Capitalization 

Capitalization is another core component when drafting movie captions in essays. You should apply all the established capitalization rules when writing these titles. These laws require you to do the following: 

• Begin all movie captions start with capital letters. 
• Always capitalize all proper nouns.

However, you must pay special attention to some exceptions when applying these rules to place a movie title . The final rules will depend on the writing style you use. Please note that different academic formats disagree on minor matters that may complicate matters. So, use these rules, knowing they don’t apply universally across various educational writing styles. 

Movie Title in Writing

You will format your essays using APA, MLA, or Chicago styles. While these disagree on different issues, they agree on a few core components. For instance, these styles need you to capitalize all movie titles. They also require you to capitalize adverbs, nouns, verbs, and pronouns. These formatting styles also agree on capitalizing prepositions, articles, and conjunctions only if they are the first word in titles. 

APA requires capitalizing all words with more than three letters. It also capitalizes a caption’s first word and proper nouns. Here is an excellent example: When the bells ring .

When formatting your essay using AP style, place your movie titles in quotes. You still have to abide by all the rules of writing titles within quotes. For example:

• “The Passion of the Christ” shuttered records within its first year of release.
• “We are happy to work on any movie as popular as ‘The Lord of the Ring,'” John exclaimed. 

While you should always italicize all TV shows and movie titles, several exceptions occur; for instance, treat every heading of a specific scene or episode and a short film as a shorter work. Therefore, place such captions in quotations. 

Here are two main questions students ask about placing a movie title in essay s, plus their answers. 

How do you write a movie title in an essay?

Capitalize all the major words in the headline, such as pronouns, verbs, proper nouns, and adverbs. However, don’t capitalize short prepositions articles like a, an , and the . The only exception occurs when these words open movie headlines or are four letters long and more, for instance, beneath or about. However, the three main formatting styles disagree on this last rule. So, consult your essay’s style guide before applying this rule. 

How to draft a movie title in an essay MLA?

The MLA format for writing a movie title requires formatting all headlines uniformly in the entire essay. It has two major principles you must pay attention to.

• Capitalize all the first letters of the main words except minor ones, such as conjunctions, articles, and prepositions. The only exception here applies when they exist at a headline’s beginning.  
• Italicize every title in the essay’s body.

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Home > Blog > Tips for Online Students > Tips for Students > Knowing When To Underline Or Italicize: Your Go-To Guide

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Knowing When To Underline Or Italicize: Your Go-To Guide

Updated: June 19, 2024

Published: May 27, 2021

Knowing when to underline or italicize can be confusing. But it doesn’t have to be! In this article, we’ll lay out all the basics, plus a few common difficulties that confuse many writers, so you’ll be an expert in no time.

At the end of the article, you’ll get the chance to practice your hand at some sample sentences, so you’ll be sure that you know the ins and outs of using italics and underlines.

Italics Vs Underline: Clarifying The Confusion

In the past (before computers and MLA handbooks), italics and underlines were used to emphasize certain words or titles within the text. It let the reader know what was important, or what was separate from the rest of the sentence. They were both used interchangeably, as long as they were consistent.

Now, with the ability to change formatting with the click of a button, italics are generally used to indicate titles, and only sometimes for emphasis. Meanwhile, underlining is mostly reserved to replace italics in handwritten papers. Manuals and guidebooks, such as the MLA handbook, are now widely used in large institutions or according to the country’s standards, so that specific writing conventions, grammar rules, and formatting styles have become uniform.

With that said, the general rule is that italics are used for titles of books, movies, TV and radio shows, magazines, works of art, and long poems. As mentioned before, underlining is a substitute for italics when writing titles by hand.

Proper formatting in an essay can be confusing for many students: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-blue-blazer-holding-white-paper-3727468/

Titles of long works.

Titles that should be italicized are longer works. These include titles of books, movies, TV and radio shows, journals and magazines, and long poems. In the next section, we’ll see how these works differ from titles of shorter works which are put in quotations instead.

• The novel Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, was published in 1847 under the pen name of Currer Bell.
• The movie Home Alone , released in 1990, made a worldwide total of $476,684,675 in box office revenue.

Titles Of Smaller Works

The titles of smaller works are put in “quotations” in order to differentiate them from longer works. These smaller works include titles of chapters, short stories, TV or radio show episodes, articles, and short poems.

In the examples below, note how you can recognize the difference between the shorter works and larger works just by seeing how they are emphasized in the sentence. This makes it impossible to confuse the title of a chapter with the book that it belongs to, or the episode from its TV show.

• The chapter entitled “The Castaway” in Moby Dick describes the near-death experience of a character named Pip.
• Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” was originally published in a Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine.
• The pilot episode of Friends , which was released on September 22, 1994, is called “The One Where Monica Gets A Roommate.”

Punctuation In Titles: Common Confusions

Question marks.

Confusion can come up when a title includes a question mark or an exclamation mark in the title itself. For example, the book Who Has Seen the Wind? includes a question mark in it.

The way to deal with these titles is to italicize the question mark as well, just as it is above. By doing so, you can differentiate this title from an actual question, such as writing: Have you read Gone With the Wind ?

The same idea applies to exclamation marks — for example, the movie Mamma Mia! , which includes an exclamation mark in the title. Note the italicization, and the difference between writing Mamma Mia! , the movie, and writing: I can’t believe that you never watched The Parent Trap !

Commas and periods

The confusion of commas and periods when it comes to quotations is a debate between different handbooks and countries. According to the MLA (Modern Language Association) handbook, commas and periods are placed inside of quotation marks.

• “The Seinfeld Chronicles , ” the first episode of Seinfeld , had 15.4 million viewers in America.
• Among the short stories of James Joyce included in the collection Dubliners are “Araby , ” “The Sisters , ” and “The Encounter.”

Solidify your new skills by completing practice sentences: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-wearing-black-and-white-stripe-shirt-looking-at-white-printer-papers-on-the-wall-212286/

Let’s practice.

Try your hand at your new skills! Below are five sentences without any italics or quotations. Italicize the longer works and put the shorter works in quotations. If you get stuck, check back in the article, and you’ll be an expert in no time. Be sure to pay attention to tricky commas, periods, and question marks.

• The Lazy Controller, chapter two of Thinking Fast and Slow, talks about multitasking and its effect on thinking.
• The Yellow Wallpaper, a short story by Catherine Perkins Gilman, was originally published in The New England Magazine in January 1892.
• John Lennon’s album Imagine included favorites such as Gimme Some Truth, How Do You Sleep?, and, of course, Imagine.
• The premiere episode of Family Matters is called The Mama Who Came To Dinner, and relays the drama of Carl’s mother coming to live with him.
• The short story Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway was first published in a magazine called Transition, and was only later published in his book Men Without Women.

Why Is Proper Indentation Important?

College essays  .

No matter what you study in college, most students write a lot of essays during their school years. While some degrees may put more of an emphasis on writing proper essays , most teachers and professors will expect a certain level of basic grammar and formatting knowledge. Before you even step foot into college, you’ll most likely be expected to write an application essay . It’s important to put your best foot forward, and small formatting rules can go a long way in making a good first impression.

Landing your dream job  

In addition to college essays, prospective employers and job positions will require and look for basic (or advanced, depending on the position) writing skills. Whether you think your dream job requires writing skills or not, writing is a part of everyday life and work, from emails and text messages, to presentations and reports. Having good writing skills will help you make a good first impression, land your dream job, and do your best work.

Proper writing is an important skill for any job: https://www.pexels.com/photo/writing-notes-idea-class-7103/

Having a successful career.

Though different students earn a degree for different reasons, many are hoping to work toward a successful career. In order to do this, the right preparation is key. Preparation may be earning a degree, gaining specific skills, or having the right guidance along the way.

University of the People prepares our students for successful careers by providing program advising , mentorship , and an emphasis on career development . We know that these extra details, much like formatting in an essay, make a big difference for the future success of our students. University of the People is a tuition-free online university that offers degree programs in business administration, computer science, health science, and education.

Wrapping Up

Now you know when to underline or italicize, and much more. To wrap up, italics should be used for the titles of longer works such as movies, books, and TV shows, and underlining for handwritten papers.

In addition, we hope you’ve learned the more tricky rules such as question marks and commas, and that you’ve given some thought to the importance of writing for your future education and success.

In this article

At UoPeople, our blog writers are thinkers, researchers, and experts dedicated to curating articles relevant to our mission: making higher education accessible to everyone. Read More

How to Write the Name of a Movie in an Essay

Writing essays entails finding information from books, journals, or online sources. The diversity of sources enhances your writing creativity. Sometimes your professor may ask you to refer to movies. In such a case, there will be a concern about how to write the name of the movie. You need think of a good way to use a movie title in an essay.

There are various styles of writing a movie title. The choice of a style depends on your preference or your professor's guidelines. You will always be concerned about the formats and whether to italicize the titles. There will also be the issue of mentioning the names of actors. Below is a simple guideline to ensure you get the title right.

Main Principles Of Writing Movie Titles In Essays

Choosing the right movie can help you to get started. Be careful in your selection because some movies may have similar titles. Also, consider the words used in the title. Many movies have multiple titles because they are retitled to fit different countries. Others have had their titles changed with time. When referring to a movie, ensure you know its actual title.

If you don't understand the essay writing principles, find online help. By having your work done by our essay writing service , you will submit an excellent project. Our writers are professionals in academic writing and will deliver work on time.

Other rules of writing titles are as follows:

• Share your experience
• Highlight the lessons from the movie
• Start by discussing the background
• Understand the main topics and ideas. Discuss the way they have been disclosed in the movie. 
• Follow the right formatting style
• Follow the right structure
• Use active voice
• Use the correct punctuation of titles and headings
• Connect ideas well

How To Write Movie Titles In APA Format

APA is a common style used in writing movie titles. It applies to academic writing, mainly in social sciences. APA, Chicago, and MLA use the same approach to title case capitalization.

In APA format, always capitalize the first letters of significant words. This excludes articles and prepositions. The title should also be capitalized. You must capitalize words with more than four letters, including prepositions or articles. For example, “Tapping The Sky.”`

Put the name of the movie in italics and the name of the DVD chapter in quotes. The name of the movie scene should also be in a quote.

How To Write Movie Titles In MLA Format

This writing style was developed by the Modern Language Association. It is a collection of formatting and citing guidelines applied in academic writing. You should format all titles consistently in the entire paper.

Capitalize the first letters of the main words. This excludes insignificant words such as articles, prepositions, and conjunctions. Capitalize the insignificant words if they appear at the beginning of a sentence. All titles in your work's body also need to be capitalized.

The words that should not be capitalized when using movie title in an essay include:

• Prepositions that are part of the title (for example, between, on, of, against)
• Articles that are part of the title
• Coordinating conjunctions such as “but”, “and”, “for”, and “or”

Do I need to underline my title movie?

Many people tend to underline their titles using a word processor. The best approach is not to underline.

Is the year of release necessary in a movie title?

Yes, you need to mention the year of release in your reference. You don't have to include it in the main text. However, you can include it in the text if different movies have the same title.

Do I need to quote the title of the movie in my essay?

When using APA referencing style, use quotation marks in the movie title. For other referencing styles, there is no need to quote the movie title.

Why should I do a film title?

Any long work, such as a television series or a movie, should be italicized. Short work such as poems, articles, and stories should be put in quotes.

How should I quote a film line?

Use the movie title in the form of parenthesis in the in-text citation. MLA style uses the name of the author and the page number for citations. Movies have no page numbers. So use the movie name under the “works cited”

What is the ideal length of a movie title?

Movie titles need to be short and clear. Movies with a one-word title can have a significant impact if they capture the essence of the movie. So, it is good to avoid a one-word title.

How should I cite a film script?

• Always start with the last name of the author at the beginning of your citation line.
• Write the film name in italics, followed by a period
• Write the name of the publisher
• After the publisher, including the year of script creation

What is the best way to cite a character?

Begin the first entry of your reference list with the performer's name. Only focus on the performer whose character is outstanding. List the actor's last name and first name in that order.

How do I create a script title?

As a writer, be careful about the words in the script. Your title must provide a taste of the genre and the main storyline.

What is the general way of quoting a film title in an essay?

Use the film title only in your essay. Instead of italicizing the title, use quotation marks around your title. The first and the last words of the film must be capitalized. Capitalize prepositions and verbs if they have three letters or more.

Should movie titles be italicized?

Italicizing movie titles applies to most writing styles. The purpose of italicizing is to set your text apart from the other parts of the sentence. It also shows the words that are part of the movie title.

Besides italicizing the titles of short movies, you should also place them in quotation marks. This applies to movies under thirty minutes and segments within larger movies. This rule is not very strict. So, check the writing style guide to see when to use different punctuation.

There is also an exception in news writing. For the Associated Press style of writing, always include quotation marks in your titles. Italics are not necessary because AP style prohibits the use of italicization in most academic writing.

In summary, these are the basic rules:

• Italicize the series name
• Italicize the film name
• Quote the DVD chapter or the scene name
• Quote the episode's name

Do you underline movie titles?

MLA and APA referencing styles use the same format for movie titles. In these styles, you should not underline the film titles. Write them in italics in the main body of your essay. Underlining texts was more popular during the previous age. When you type on a computer, the usual practice is to use italics.

Demonstrate your skills to your professors by naming your movie well in an essay. By following the guidelines, you can create an excellent project. This can also be fun and interesting. Choose an interesting essay topic and follow the above guide carefully. This is the easiest way to get good grades and excel academically. You can also order essay and get affordable assistance and great value. Reach out to professional academic writers instead of struggling to meet deadlines.

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Titles: when to italicize, underline, or use quotation marks.

Titles are everywhere; we need them in order to be able to refer to any of the countless stories, pictures, blogs, movies, books, songs, and other works of art being created every single day.   Since most writing is about things you’ve experienced- things you’ve read, seen, heard, or touched – chances are very high that you will be including a title of something one day in your writing.

Before that happens, though, you need to know the rules that govern how to correctly write titles.  And when I say “titles,” I’m not referring to forms of addressing people.  Although I’m sure there are specific rules of etiquette that govern when to call someone “Miss” or “Ms.,” the rules I will be describing in this post apply to works of art, like books and music.

When it comes to titles, you can either italicize them or put them in quotation marks.  The 7th edition of the MLA Handbook eliminates underlining (underlining is still acceptable when hand-writing papers). Skip to the end of this post to see a note about underlining titles .  Keeping the rules for italicizing and using quotation marks straight isn’t easy, which is why there are different techniques that make remembering when to do what easier.

Big Things and Little Things

One way of looking at titles is to determine if it belongs to something that is big or something that is little.  A big thing is something that contains little things .  For example, a CD album contains many songs.  A book contains many chapters.  An anthology contains many essays or stories.  A web site contains many web pages.  A TV series contains many episodes. You get the point. 

Once you’ve determined if the title you’re trying to punctuate belongs to a big thing or a little thing, you can punctuate it.  The titles of big things are always italicized, while the titles of little things are placed within quotation marks.  The following are some examples of properly punctuated titles:

• Words Fail Me is a book with a chapter “Are Your Eggs Ready to Hatch?”
• The first episode of first season of the British television series Black Books is called “Cooking the Books.”
• “Head Over Feet” is a song on Alanis Morissette’s third studio album Jagged Little Pill.

As nice as the “big things/little things” trick is for remembering how to punctuate titles, it stops working when it encounters more complex collections of art.  For example, how do you punctuate the titles of the plays you bought in a book called The Collected Plays of William Shakespeare ? Are they considered chapters? They are little things inside of a bigger book, after all.  What about Beowulf?  It’s a poem, which is a little thing, but the MLA Handbook says that poems which are “long” need to be italicized.  What exactly does “long” mean and how are you going to remember to include those poems in with big things?

Don’t toss the towel in yet on this whole punctuating titles business – I’ve come up with a different way to remember whether or not to italicize or put a title in quotation marks.

Can You Buy It?

If you can go out and physically buy a copy of whatever title it is you’re trying to punctuate, italicize it.  If you can’t, put it in quotation marks. 

Since you can go to Barnes and Noble and find Beowulf on the shelves, it gets italicized.  The same can be said about each one of Shakespeare’s plays; you can find them in one large collected works book OR you can find them sold individually.  What you can’t do is drop by Blockbuster and try to rent ONLY the one episode of Lost you missed .  You have to rent the DVD that has several episodes on it, one of which being the episode you missed.  Therefore, you put episode titles of television series in quotation marks. 

This idea even works for web sites and web pages.  When you buy a domain, you’re buying only up to the first .com or .org or .info (or whatever extension you chose).  So only that much of a web site gets italicized (For example, GuildWars.com or Writing Simplified ). Anything after the first extension is a sub page on the web site, and gets placed inside of quotation marks (For example, the “About Me” section of my blog or any one of the titles of my individual blog posts). 

Even this trick for remembering how to punctuate titles breaks down, though.  You can buy singles of songs and there are entire works of fiction put online for free all the time.  Taken in conjunction with the “big things/little things” technique, the “Can you buy it?” trick should help you get through punctuating at least 98% of every title you’ll encounter successfully. 

For the other 2% of titles you encounter and don’t know what to do with, well, that’s what I’m here for.  Use your professor! Don’t feel embarrassed about asking when you’re unsure about how to do something.  Chances are, your teacher won’t know the answer off the top of his/her head either and will learn something in the process of looking it up for you. 

Names of Forms, Games, Restaurants, Etc.

Style guides like those published by the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) are great sources to turn to when you need to know how to punctuate something properly for a paper. But if you’re not writing an academic paper or your writing includes topics that aren’t typically found in professional publications, they won’t provide you with the answers you need. For those issues, you have to rely on your own judgment in applying the rules because an official standard hasn’t been set.

• Names of Forms : It’s rare for someone to cite a blank document (i.e., an unfilled-out form) so examples of this in published peer-reviewed literature are scarce. However, webpages and print documents refer to form titles when indicating that such and such a form needs to be filled out, or explaining the purpose of certain forms. Every single instance that I've seen so far simply capitalizes the first letter of each word in the form title. For example: "Fill out the Motor Vehicle Records Form to request information about a particular vehicle involved in an accident," "If you are employed in the US, you must fill out a W-4 Form," and "Make sure to fill out all shaded areas in Form I-765." Also notice that the word “Form” is in every name.
• Names of Restaurants: I still remember when it was natural to go to a bookstore to pick up a restaurant guide.  Nowadays, you turn to the Internet for restaurant reviews and suggestions, so finding a print standard for how to punctuate the title is difficult.  As far as the online standard goes, you have the choice to either 1) capitalize the first letter of each word in the restaurant’s name or 2) italicize (or underline!) the restaurant’s name.  You would never put the name in quotation marks, though. As the restaurant is the “big” thing that includes “smaller” things like menu choices, you would put the names of dishes in quotation marks, unless it’s a general food item that’s well known. For example, “Have you been to Chili’s ? I love their chicken parmesan,” or “I’ll see you at Hula Hut. Don’t forget to order me the ‘Funky Dunky Onion Strings’.” Both examples show acceptable ways to punctuate.
• Names of Games: Since the games themselves are the "big" thing that include smaller components, I would italicize their titles.  For example, Magic: the Gathering is a card game similar in playing style to Pokemon Trading Card Game .  I did run a quick search through a research database to see how peer-reviewed journal articles treat game titles as games are a popular topic of education-related journals. The articles I found only capitalized the first letter of each word in the game's name without italicizing or underlining it.  However, no article ever placed the game's name inside quotation marks.  With that evidence, I'd say it's a matter of personal preference whether to italicize the name or leave it unembellished.  I personally prefer the italics since it's what the rule would call for.
• Etc.: Use your personal judgment in applying the rules or drop me a line (in a comment or an e-mail). I’ll update this list with more troublesome title issues as I’m made aware of them.

A Note About Underlining Titles

Before the advent of computers and word-processing programs, there were only two options available to you when punctuating a title: underlining or quotation marks. When computers starting to become more commonplace, a third option - italicization - was added as an alternative to underlining.

Underlining titles was viewed as necessary only when handwriting titles because it is difficult to italicize one's own handwriting - especially if you're writing in cursive. Many style manuals now omit underlining as an option, stating that computers are accessible to the majority of people living in today's society and underlining is no longer needed.

However, there ARE a couple of situations that still exist where italics is either not supported or redundant:

• Social Media : Some social applications online (e.g., Facebook) do not support embedded HTML code, which means when adding comments you do not have the option of italicizing your font.
• Italicized Fonts : If you enjoy using fonts other than the default Times New Roman or Calibri, you may run across lovely fonts that mimic cursive handwriting. Although it is possible to italicize those fonts even more, the difference between regular and italicized versions of the font is often imperceptible and could confuse your reader.

When you find yourself in a situation where italicizing your font is simply not an option, surround the words you want underlined with underline dashes (Shift + the dash key).  For example, I am reworking my father’s book _Dan, A Man Without Youth_ while concurrently working on my own book, tentatively titled _Online Tools for Writers_.

Good luck with your writing endeavors! If you have any questions about how to go about punctuating titles or getting around the character limitations of online programs, send them my way and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Photo credit: Lutrus

21 comments:

Thank you!! I'm working on a book and the titles of CDs, movies, books, TV shows etc were giving me fits. I saw quite a few things online but your explanation is by far the most lucid (and fun to read). Great stuff!

Aww! Thanks for the kind words, Jackie! I'm glad my post helped someone :).

Thanks for the info...we started a few blogs recently and this was helpful. I am the editor (but using that term very loosely!)

What do you do about book titles that you can buy, but can't italicize- as on Facebook posts? What do you do then? Quotation marks?

Hi Anonymous! Sorry it took a while to publish your comment; Blogger wasn't cooperating these past few days. To answer your question, you would surround the title with underline dashes (press Shift + the dash key). For example, I like to watch the tv show _The Office_ and I just finished ordering the book _The Antithesis_ on Amazon.com. The reason you would use underline dashes instead of quotation marks is when italicizing titles is not an option, you revert back to the rules of our pre-word processor days. The option to italicize only became available when computers became a writing tool. Before the advent of computers, the only way a person could italicize his handwriting was to switch to cursive - but that was only an option if he were not already writing in cursive. When handwriting, the rule is to underline titles that require italicization. Most style guides mention the rule in passing, although the more common computers become, the fewer books bother to call attention to the option to underline. I can understand why as it might confuse students to know that they had THREE options when punctuating titles: underline, italicize, or enclose in quotation marks. It's even more confusing when you try and tell students that TWO of those options denote the same idea. I hope this helps!

As a teacher who needs to explain these rules often, I'm delighted by the simple clarity of the "big things"/"little things" explanation. I'm envious! Why didn't I think of this? Thanks so much!

What about the title of a form? Would you put quotes around it?

Unfortunately, forms are not addressed in any of the style guides as it's very rare for a person to what to cite something that is blank (i.e., not filled out with information) so I don't have an "official" position to refer you to when it comes to writing their titles. what I _can_ tell you is that I've been looking at how webpages and print documents refer to form titles when indicating that such and such a form needs to be filled out, or explaining the purpose of certain forms and every single instance that I've seen so far simply capitalizes the first letter of each word in the form title. For example: "Fill out the Motor Vehicle Records Form to request information about a particular vehicle involved in an accident," "If you are employed in the US, you must fill out a W-4 Form," and "Make sure to fill out all shaded areas in Form I-765." Also, I noticed that almost every form had the word "Form" somewhere in its name. Hope this helps you!

When citing a historical document, you would italicize, correct?

Hey Anonymous! You're right; you would italicize famous stand-alone historical documents (e.g., _The Articles of Confederation_, _US Constitution_, _Emancipation Proclamation_, etc. - individual articles and amendments get placed inside quotation marks) when you reference them in your text. As of the newest MLA edition, you no longer have to include well known historical documents in your list of Works Cited.

This is a wonderful site.  But here's one I don't know what to do with:  Games.  How do I refer to the game Magic that my son and his friends play?  Italicize it or put it in quotes?  I suppose the same question would arise about Monopoly and Clue and many others.  

 Hi Gary! That's a great question. Since the games themselves are the "big" thing that include smaller components, I would italicize their titles.  For example, _Magic: the Gathering_ is a card game similar in playing style to _Pokemon Trading Card Game_.  I did run a quick search through a research database to see how peer-reviewed journal articles treat game titles and the articles I found only capitalized the first letter of each word in the game's name without italicizing or underlining it.  However, no article ever placed the game's name inside quotation marks.  With that evidence, I'd say it's a matter of personal preference whether to italicize the name or leave it unembellished.  I personally prefer the italics since it's what the "rule" would call for. If you were to write about individual cards in the game, I would definitely place them in quotation marks. For example: If your opponent is drawing mana from many forest cards, I would deploy "Acid Rain" to destroy them.

Would you italicize Second Life, which is proprietary, free, open source software where people can interact with one another as avatars?

 Hi, journaleditor! Yes, I would absolutely italicize _Second Life_ as it's the official title of the entire world/gaming platform.  Don't be surprised if you see the name written as is without any extra punctuation or font effects, though, as few people conform to the rule when writing about things online.

You should do something about your double spaces after each sentence.  http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/space_invaders.html

 Hey Curt! Actually, double-spacing after periods is a convention carried over from pre-computer times when typesetters manually set and inked type for printing purposes. With the advent of proportional font faces and word-processors, double-spacing the beginning of sentences has become a matter of personal taste, not necessity. 

Is a section of a magazine titled or used in italics?

 Hi, Miriam! I would say a section of a magazine would be written inside quotation marks while the magazine title itself would be italicized. For example: I saw a great recipe I have to make for Thanksgiving in the "Food Finds" section of _Greater Living_.

i can make better websites than this trash

I'm writing a piece of fiction. Is this written correctly? John ran his finger across the names of four kings: ' The King of Great Armies,' ' The King of the Castle,' and ' The King of Nobles.' Sorry about spacing, but I'm typing this on phone. Anyway, the above are fictional Titles within a list within a piece of fiction.

Great article! Thank you. What about the name of a musical group or a popular festival/event?

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How To Write A Movie Title In An Essay

Are you planning on referencing a movie in an essay you are writing? You'll have to find out how to write the movie title down correctly, or you may lose points. It might seem like a no-brainer at first glance, but you'd be surprised about the variety of approaches different style guides take to writing movie titles.

With this guide, you'll be able to get writing a movie title in an essay right.

How To Write a Movie Title In An Essay

How should you write a movie title in an essay — whether that essay is a movie analysis, or one not related to cinematography or creative writing at all, like one about history, psychology, or sociology? That depends, in short, on the context in which you're writing your essay.

If you are hoping to reference a movie title in a high school essay, you may not have to use a particular style guide — a manual that instructs you on the correct way to incorporate particular elements into your essay. In this case, your best bet is to use title case and to italicize the movie title.

Title case capitalizes all major words in a title or headline, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adverbs. Minor words such as short prepositions and articles (the, a, an) remain in lower case. The first and last words of the title should always be capitalized, regardless of what they are. To make it easier for you, we'll recommend that you also capitalize prepositions with more than four letters, such as "about" and "underneath", though some style guides do not do this. Since you are using italics, there is absolutely no need to use quotation marks as well.

Have you got no clue what we're talking about? Let's see this in action. (Warning: Some of the links definitely contain spoilers if you haven't watched any of these movies yet!)

• The BBC refers to "Spider-Man: Far From Home" , without any italics.
• Wikipedia follows the structure recommended above, as in, for instance, " War of the Worlds ".
• Popular movie review platform Screen Rant follows the structure described above as well, in the body of their texts. " One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest " is one example. To allow you to see as many example as possible, we're linking to a post of theirs about the 15 movies with the longest titles .

If you are required to use a style guide, such as AP, APA, or MLA — common if you are writing a college essay — you will have less freedom. On the other hand, each writing style will also tell you exactly what to do, so you won't be in the dark.

Do you not have the entire style manual lying around on your desk? No problem. We'll make it easy for you.

Rules on Writing a Movie Title On An Essay

Whether you have been asked to use a particular style manual while citing and referencing movie titles in an essay, or you are committed to maintaining a consistent style yourself, style guides can be a little confusing. Here is a closer look at some of the most popular writing styles and their rules for writing movie titles.

You won't just be writing the movie title in the body of your essay, of course, but also cite it in the references. Each style guide has specific guidelines on how to do this, as well.

In APA, you do this by:

• Citing he director of the movie — last name, first initial.
• Place the release year in brackets.
• Follow this with the title.
• Reference the medium used to watch it, for instance DVD.
• Specify the location of the distributor, and the name of the distributor (for instance, California: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures).

In MLA, you:

• List the director like this: Last name, First name.
• Write the movie title.
• Specify the name of the distributor.
• Mention the release year.

In Harvard style, you would:

• List the director by last name and first initial.
• Follow with the location and name of the distributor.

Why Is Proper Formatting Important?

Style guides are conventions established to ensure consistency, which adds clarity to your essay. In practical terms, however, taking care to format the movie titles you may reference in any essays is important because not doing so will cause you to lose points, which will result in a lower grade.

You only have to familiarize yourself with the rules set out by a particular style manual once, and after that you will likely remember what they are. There is no good reason not to make sure that you get this right, and every reason to make the effort.

Is a movie title underlined in an essay?

That is actually a very interesting question. Nowadays, nearly everyone writing an essay will do so on a PC or laptop computer, using word-processing software. This trend has led the practice of underlining movie titles to go all but extinct, since it's just as easy to italicize a movie title as to underline it.

Underlining the things we now italicize used to be more common, because people wrote things by hand or used typewriters. Especially when handwriting something in cursive, italics simply aren't possible. That's why underlining movie titles, book titles, and even scientific names used to be more common. Underlining movie titles remains the correct alternative to italicizing them if you are writing an essay by hand.

Do you also include the year of release with the movie title?

Yes, you should mention the release year as you cite a movie in your references. There is no need to do so in the body of your text, unless multiple movies exist by the same title. With remakes, this has become more common in recent times.

Do you quote a movie title in an essay?

Place quotation marks around a movie title in an essay only if you are using AP style.

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Do you underline movie titles?

The style you are using should guide you on how to format your movie title. Formatting and capitalization in the different methods vary. These styles include the Chicago formatting style, American Psychological Association, and Modern Language Association techniques which all place titles of movies in italics. Other styles such as the Associated Press (AP) usually adopt quotations for movie titles.

About a movie title in the body of a given work or paper, all the listed styles above use title casing in that all the keywords within the work’s title are capitalized.

In APA, MLA and Chicago styles, film or movie titles are formatted the same. In each of these styles, you should not underline movie titles – instead, they should be written in italics in the body of the text. An instance of this is as outlined below: Avengers: Endgame  has received heavy critic reviews for satisfying the past to deliver nothing short of a thrilling and emotional conclusion to superhero adventure.

The APA, MLA, and Chicago styles all use the case capitalization for the movie titles. All wordings, from nouns to pronouns, adjectives, verbs to adverbs are all capitalized. Nonetheless, minor wording such as conjunctions and prepositions use the lower case in the text unless they are the beginning words in the title.

It is a rule that under APA, all words that have more than four letters should be capitalized. For instance:  Rick and Morty . In the reference lists, APA employs sentence case capitalization which translates that only the first words of the title, for example:  For Whom the bell tolls  and proper nouns such as place names and people names should be capitalized.

Under the AP style, the titles of movies are put in quotations. It is worth mentioning that standard rules for quotes within other quotes still apply. A good instance of this is: The 2019 “Avengers: Endgame” broke the IMAX and Box office worldwide opening record to beat “Star Wars” which was the previous record holder.

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Quotes or Italics? Citing Titles of Books, Movies & TV Shows

When citing titles of songs, books, movies or tv shows, should you place them in italics or quotation marks? The answer is, ‘It depends.’

There are certain things you need to know if you’re writing about your favorite song, novel, film or television series. Some people insist that when citing titles, you should use italics. Others get bent out of shape and insist that’s wrong and that you should put quotes around them instead. There’s an easy way to know which to use when you cite book, movie and TV show titles.

But the fact that there’s an easy way doesn’t mean it’s one you’ll like.

In fact, it all boils down to the style guide you use. If you’re in school, there’s almost certainly a style guide your school prefers. Professionally, you don’t necessarily have to be a journalist to face the quirks of a style guide.

Unfortunately, different style guides offer different rules. So here’s a sampling of how a few of them differ.

I’m going to start with the Associated Press Style Book because that’s the one I use in my professional job. It’s also the one I mostly rely on for this blog, although here I may deviate occasionally.

AP makes everything simple when it comes to citing such titles. But you may not agree with their simplicity.

Don’t feel bad: A lot of us who use AP Style don’t always agree with everything they come up with. I could make a list.

The Perdue Writing Lab says you use quotation marks in AP Style. You’ll note in that last sentence I listed that source in bold. That’s not AP Style, but I think for a blog, it’s nice when you make bold a source that you’re actually hyperlinking to. So if you follow AP Style and can’t deviate, don’t use bold, either.

AP Style dictates that you should put quotation marks around books, songs, television shows, computer games, articles, poems, lectures, speeches and works of art. Don’t put quotation marks around titles of magazines, newspapers, books that are catalogs of reference materials or the Bible.

AP’s dislike of italics dates back to the old printing presses. It was impractical to stock more letters for italics. I doubt that any newspapers still rely on old-fashioned linotype machines. In this computer age, why can’t we just italicize?

Hey, that’s not up to me. So until AP changes that rule, stick with quotes: forget you even have the option of italics… if AP Style is your style guide.

If you’re in academia, you probably rely on the Modern Language Association’s style guide, which you’ve probably only ever heard of as “MLA Style.”

Like most guides other than AP, MLA mixes it up a bit. Northern Arizona University sums it up nicely in their MLA resource page.

But let me give you a snapshot: Book, movie and TV show titles go in italics. Individual episodes of TV shows go in quotation marks:

• My favorite episode of The Andy Griffith Show is “Man in a Hurry.”

Newspaper and magazine names go in italics. But names of broadcast networks are merely capitalized.

Albums and musicals are set in italics. Individual song titles go in quotes.

The one I find most curious is the style guide of the American Psychological Association. Since I doubt most of you have to deal with this one, which is more often used in academic medical papers, I won’t spend a lot of time on this one.

If you do use APA Style, I appreciate you. You make me realize that my gripes with AP Style may not be so bad after all.

What bothers me about APA Style is its rule of using sentence case for show titles in citations . AP Style would call Rod Serling’s famous program “The Twilight Zone.” MLA would style it as The Twilight Zone . But in citations, APA styles it as The twilight zone . Only the first word is capitalized.

Your mileage (and style guide) may vary.

The best advice I can give you here is to check the style guide that you use.

If you don’t use a style guide, the one that makes the most sense to me in the 21st century would be MLA, in which you italicize book, newspaper, magazine, album, movie and TV shows and put episode and song titles in quotes.

That practice, I think, makes the most sense to most readers without being distracting. I don’t think AP’s rule about putting everything in quotes confuses anyone, but I think italics look better.

As for APA, well, if the sentence case TV show titles rule makes sense to you, more power to you. I can’t see that as anything but a mistake!

But again, you should either consult the style guide you’re required to use or codify your own policy for such instances. That way, you remain consistent whenever you write.

That’s always a good thing.

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Do you underline a movie title for an essay?

Yes, you may underline movie titles or put them in italics.

A way to remember this is to ask yourself if it would be able to sit on a shelf.

Because movies, books, and such are able to sit on a shelf, you underline them.

However, if it is a poem, article, short story, etc.. these are not physically able to sit on shelves, and in this case, you put them in quotations.

Actually . . . the use of underlining is pretty much gone now. Underlining was originally used in a manuscript to indicate that something was to be italicized in print. Now that you have the ability to word process, it's only used now when writing in long hand.

Add your answer:

Do you underline a movie title in a sentence?

Do you underline a movie title or use quotation marks.

you underline it because you cant you a quotation mark to present a book or the title of a movie.

How do you format movie titles in a text?

you underline the title of the movie

Do you underline a movie title?

If you are writing by hand, then yes you underline it, but if you are typing, you need to italicize it.

When writing a paragraph do you quote a movie or underline it?

yes or italicize it

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Do You Underline a Movie Title When Writing? Discover the Norms

My name is Debbie, and I am passionate about developing a love for the written word and planting a seed that will grow into a powerful voice that can inspire many.

The Popular Dilemma: Do You Underline a Movie Title When Writing?

Understanding the formatting conventions for movie titles, the evolution of movie title formatting: from underlining to italics, navigating the digital age: are movie titles underlined or italicized, sticking to style guides: recommendations for writing movie titles, modern preferences: capitalizing movie titles for clarity and consistency, clearing up confusion: addressing common misconceptions about movie title formatting, key takeaways: best practices for writing and formatting movie titles, frequently asked questions, insights and conclusions.

When it comes to movie titles, there seems to be a popular dilemma: should you underline them when writing? While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, it’s important to understand the different style guides and formatting rules to make an informed decision. Here is a breakdown of the main factors to consider:

1. Style Guides: Different style guides have different recommendations regarding movie title formatting. For instance, the MLA style guide suggests italicizing movie titles, whereas the APA style guide recommends using quotation marks. So, it’s crucial to be aware of the preferred style guide in your academic or professional setting.

2. Consistency: Consistency is key when it comes to formatting movie titles. Whether you choose to underline, italicize, or put them in quotation marks, make sure to apply the same style consistently throughout your writing. This will not only enhance the readability of your work but also demonstrate your attention to detail.

Movie titles follow specific formatting conventions to ensure consistency and clarity in the film industry. Understanding these conventions is essential for creating professional-looking movie titles and avoiding common errors. Below is a breakdown of the key formatting guidelines to keep in mind when working with movie titles:

1. Capitalization: Movie titles should generally be capitalized in title case, where the first letter of each major word is capitalized (e.g., “The Shawshank Redemption”). However, articles (like “a,” “an,” and “the”), coordinating conjunctions (such as “and,” “but,” and “or”), and prepositions (such as “in,” “on,” and “at”) are usually not capitalized, unless they are the first or last words of the title.

2. Punctuation: Movie titles typically do not include any punctuation within the title itself, except when it is part of a proper noun (e.g., “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”). However, if a movie title includes a question mark or exclamation point, they should be included as part of the title. Additionally, titles should be enclosed in quotation marks (“”) rather than italics or underlining in most cases.

3. Series and Franchise Names: When a movie title is part of a series or franchise, it is common to include a specific order or installment number. This helps distinguish one film from another with similar titles. For instance, “Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back” indicates that it is the fifth movie in the Star Wars series. Additionally, franchise names are usually consistent throughout the series, with each movie title following a similar format (e.g., “Fast & Furious 6,” “Fast & Furious 7,” etc.).

With the rise of technology and the ever-changing landscape of cinema, the formatting of movie titles has evolved significantly over the years. Gone are the days of underlining titles in handwritten movie posters or newspaper articles. Today, italics have become the standard format for movie titles, adding a touch of elegance and professionalism to any written or digital media.

The transition from underlining to italics can be traced back to the rapid advancement of printing technology. With the introduction of typewriters in the late 19th century, underlining became a popular method of emphasizing movie titles. However, as printing techniques improved, italics gradually took over as a more aesthetically pleasing alternative. Italics not only enhanced the visual appeal of movie titles but also allowed for better readability, especially as films gained worldwide recognition.

The shift to italics has become even more prevalent with the digital age. In today’s Internet-driven world, movie titles are often hyperlinked to their respective official websites or online streaming platforms. By utilizing italics, web developers can ensure consistency in formatting across different platforms and maintain a cohesive visual experience for users. Additionally, italics make it easier for search engines to identify and categorize movie titles, improving the overall discoverability of films in online searches. So next time you come across a movie title online, be sure to appreciate the evolution from underlining to italics and the careful thought that goes into presenting these cinematic masterpieces.

In today’s digital age, style guides and formatting rules have become more essential than ever before. When it comes to movie titles, the question of whether to underline or italicize them often arises. With the advent of the internet and advancements in typography, the conventional practice of underlining movie titles has gradually given way to italicization in most writing contexts. Let’s dive deeper into the reasoning behind this shift and explore some guidelines for properly formatting movie titles in the digital realm.

The use of italics for movie titles offers several benefits in the digital age. Italicizing movie titles not only enhances the aesthetics but also helps to maintain consistency across various media platforms. Here are a few key reasons why italicization has become the preferred choice:

• Clarity: Italicizing movie titles makes them stand out, ensuring that readers can easily distinguish them from the rest of the text.
• Accessibility: In the era of web browsing and electronic media, underlined text can sometimes be mistaken for hyperlinks. By using italics, we can avoid confusion and ensure a smooth reading experience for our audience.
• Modern Convention: As technology continues to shape our writing practices, italics have become the contemporary norm for emphasizing titles, including movie titles.

While it’s important to adapt to the changing times, remember that style conventions may vary across different publishing platforms or style guides. Always consult the specific guidelines provided by the target platform or adhere to the preferred style guide rules (e.g., APA, MLA) to ensure correct formatting. Embracing the shift from underlining to italicizing movie titles allows us to stay current in this rapidly evolving digital landscape .

Movie titles are crucial elements in capturing the essence of a film and enticing audiences. To ensure consistency and professionalism in your writing, it is essential to adhere to style guides when it comes to formatting and capitalizing movie titles. Here are some recommendations to help you confidently present movie titles in your written works.

1. Capitalization rules: – Always capitalize the first and last words of the title, regardless of their part of speech (e.g., “The Wizard of Oz”). – Capitalize all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions (e.g., “Back to the Future”). – Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor), and prepositions (e.g., “The Fault in Our Stars”).

2. Formatting considerations: – Use italics to format the title of a standalone movie (e.g., The Shawshank Redemption ). – Enclose the title of a short film or a segment of a larger work in quotation marks (e.g., “La Luna” from Cars 2 ). – For foreign films, retain the original title but include an English translation in parentheses, if necessary (e.g., Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain (Amelie)).

By following these recommendations, you will not only demonstrate your attention to detail but also enhance the readability and credibility of your written content. Remember, consistent and accurate representation of movie titles adds an extra layer of professionalism to your work, and effectively communicates your ideas to the reader.

When it comes to writing movie titles, there has been an ongoing debate about whether to capitalize every word in the title or only the significant words. In modern writing practices, the general preference is to capitalize every word in a movie title for clarity and consistency. This ensures that the title stands out and is easily recognizable, especially when it appears in written text or promotional material.

By capitalizing every word in a movie title, it provides visual emphasis and helps to differentiate it from the rest of the text. It also aligns with common practices in the film industry, where capitalization is used extensively for titles and credits. This consistency not only helps in creating recognition for the movie but also aids in maintaining a professional and polished appearance in written works, including articles, reviews, and social media posts.

• Clarity: Capitalizing every word in a movie title helps in distinguishing it from other elements in a sentence, making it easier for readers to identify and comprehend.
• Consistency: Following the capitalization of every word in movie titles allows for uniformity in writing practices, aligning with the film industry’s established conventions.
• Visibility: Capitalization provides a visual impact, drawing attention to the title and making it more prominent in various mediums.
• Recognition: By adhering to modern preferences for capitalization, movie titles become more recognizable, aiding in marketing efforts and building a loyal audience.

In the world of movie titles, there often seems to be confusion surrounding the correct formatting. Let’s clear up some common misconceptions to help you navigate this sometimes perplexing terrain.

1. Capitalization: It’s essential to understand that movie titles should be capitalized except for certain smaller words, such as articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or), or short prepositions (in, on, at). For example, “The Lord of the Rings,” “Gone with the Wind,” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.” However, if one of these smaller words is the first or last word of the title, it should still be capitalized.

2. Punctuation: When it comes to punctuation in movie titles, there are a couple of rules to remember. First, all major words in the title should be capitalized. For example, “Kill Bill: Volume 1” or “The Silence of the Lambs.” Second, if a movie title includes a question mark or exclamation point, it should be included at the end of the title. But if the title is punctuated by a comma, colon, or dash, these marks should go at their usual places within the title. For instance, “The Shape of Water,” “A Star Is Born: Extended Edition,” or “To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You.”

• Keep it short and snappy: Movie titles should ideally be concise and memorable. Aim for titles that can easily be remembered and shared.
• Be descriptive yet intriguing: A good movie title gives the audience a hint about the film’s genre, theme, or plot while also piquing their curiosity. Strike a balance between revealing enough to generate interest and withholding enough to create a sense of mystery.
• Avoid generic titles: Steer clear of overused or cliché phrases that fail to capture the essence of your movie. Instead, opt for original, creative titles that reflect the uniqueness of your story.
• Consider readability: Make sure your movie title is easily readable and understandable, both on posters and in digital formats. Utilize clear fonts, appropriate capitalization, and avoid excessive stylization that may hinder legibility.
• Think about search engine optimization: When titling your movie, consider how it will perform in online searches. Incorporate relevant keywords that would help potential viewers find your film more easily.
• Use punctuation strategically: Be mindful of using punctuation marks in movie titles. While they can add impact or clarify meaning, excessive or unusual punctuation may make your title appear confusing or difficult to type or search for online.
• Experiment with typography: Play around with creative typography to make your movie title visually appealing. Utilize bold, italics, or stylized fonts to add emphasis or evoke a specific mood or tone for your film.
• Include your brand: If you are a filmmaker or production company with an established brand, consider including your brand name within the movie title to strengthen brand recognition and create a consistent identity across your body of work.

Remember, crafting an engaging movie title is an art form that requires thoughtful consideration and understanding of your target audience. By following these best practices, you can increase the chances of attracting viewers and standing out in the crowded world of cinema.

Q: Do you underline a movie title when writing? A: No, it is not common to underline a movie title when writing. The standard practice is to use italics or quotation marks instead.

Q: What is the purpose of underlining a movie title? A: Underlining a movie title was a typographical convention used before the advent of word processors and computers. It was a way to distinguish titles in written material. However, with modern writing standards, this practice has changed.

Q: What are the current norms for writing movie titles? A: The generally accepted norms for writing movie titles can be divided into two categories: using italics or quotation marks. Most style guides, such as APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association), recommend using italics for movie titles.

Q: When should italics be used for movie titles? A: Italics should be used when you are writing a formal document or an academic paper. This includes articles, essays, research papers, or any other professional writing. However, if you are writing a casual piece, such as a blog post or social media content, you can use quotation marks instead.

Q: Are there any exceptions to using italics for movie titles? A: Yes, there are a few exceptions where italics may not be available or used. For instance, if you are writing by hand or using a typewriter, you may use underlining to indicate movie titles instead of italics. However, in the digital age of word processing software, underlining is no longer recommended.

Q: Can you give an example of using italics for a movie title? A: Certainly! Let’s take the movie “Casablanca” as an example. In a formal document, you would write it as: The film “Casablanca” is considered a classic of American cinema.

Q: When should quotation marks be used for movie titles? A: Quotation marks are typically used for shorter works, such as an episode of a TV show or a short film. However, for full-length movies, italics are the preferred choice. Quotation marks are generally reserved for titles within titles, like a song within a movie.

Q: Can you provide an example of using quotation marks for a movie title? A: Of course! Let’s use the movie “Inception” as an example. In a more casual setting, you would write it like this: Last night, I watched the mind-bending movie “Inception,” and it blew my mind!

Q: Is it necessary to follow these guidelines in every writing scenario? A: While it is essential to adhere to specific guidelines in formal writing, such as academic papers, using italics for movie titles may not be strictly enforced in all situations. In casual writing, you have more flexibility in deciding whether to use italics or quotation marks.

Q: Are there any other important rules to remember about writing movie titles? A: One crucial rule to remember is consistency. Whatever format you choose, whether italics or quotation marks, make sure to apply it consistently throughout your writing. This helps ensure clarity and professionalism in your work.

Q: Are there any specific resources or style guides to consult for further guidance? A: Yes, various resources such as the APA Style Guide, the MLA Handbook, and The Chicago Manual of Style provide detailed guidelines on how to format titles, including movie titles. It is recommended to consult these resources for further guidance and to ensure adherence to specific style guidelines.

In conclusion, when writing, it is important to adhere to the proper grammar and style guidelines. It is customary to italicize or underline movie titles to ensure clarity and consistency in your writing.

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