Full-text titles, such as books or newspapers, should be italicized. Short work titles, such as poems, essays, short tales, or chapters, should be surrounded by quotation marks. If the name of the book series is italicized, titles of books that are part of a larger body of work may be put in quotation marks. For example: "The Iliad": An Ancient Greek Poem That Shaped History.
Long titles, such as novels, movies, or record albums, should be italicized in general. For the names of shorter pieces of work, such as poems, essays, book chapters, songs, TV programs, and so on, use quote marks. Punctuation depends on whether the title is being quoted elsewhere in the text.
The requirements for putting quote marks around titles differ depending on the style guide you choose. Whether you use single or double quotes depends on which part of speech the title is: noun, pronoun, or adjective.
Italicized book, play, film, magazines, databases, and online titles are italicized. If the source is part of a larger work, put the title in quotation marks. Articles, articles, chapters, poems, websites, songs, and speeches are all surrounded by quote marks. Titles may contain other titles at times. For example, "The Lord of the Rings" contains the names of the three main books into which it was divided.
Here are some examples of how titles are used in texts: "Pinocchio's Pleasure Cruise by James Dean." "Book Title." "Books by John Doe." "Film Scripts by Woody Allen." "Magazine Article by Daniel Boulanger." "Database Entry for Harry Potter." "Website Address."
Titles can be used before names to indicate the subject of what follows. This is called an infinitive construction and works with verbs, adjectives, and nouns. For example, "To see is human," "Writing music is difficult," and "Reading poetry is fun."
When writing about books or films, it is common to use titles as well. These can also be infinitive constructions if what follows is a verb, an adjective, or a noun. For example, "I read all of Dickens' novels," "Watching movies is my favorite pastime," and "Poetry is my favorite genre of literature."
Avoid using single or double quotes within the title of your work.
Example: "Death of a Salesman" instead of "The Death of a Salesman."
Also avoid using special characters or abbreviations in chapter titles. This includes accents, periods, commas, and semicolons.
Example: "Émile Zola" instead of "Zola's Émile."
Chapters come in many different lengths and styles. The title should reflect that by being short and to the point. Sometimes authors include an illustration or photo with their books for added interest and appeal. These can be found in the back of most books or on bookstore shelves.
Images are important because they help readers visualize what the author wants them to understand. Using images in your book allows you to explain complicated concepts in a simple way that others can understand.
Books for Children Often have Chaptered Titles Young readers may not always be able to comprehend long, descriptive chapter titles. So, as a guide, try keeping chapter titles no longer than three words or sentences.
Work titles should be italicized (books, magazines, newspapers, movies, plays, and CDs). For shorter works, use quote marks (book chapters, articles, poems, and songs). You will occasionally find yourself trapped and unsure of what punctuation to use. In that case, follow the style of the work you are quoting.
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