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QQ.1 Learn to format titles

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What does it mean to format titles?

Formatting titles means writing the names of books, articles, stories, poems, plays, and other works correctly, using capitalization, underlining, italics, or quotation marks as needed.

Examples:
  • Book: Charlotte’s Web
  • Poem: “The Road Not Taken”
  • Movie: The Lion King
Note

Different kinds of titles follow different rules. Always check what type of work you are writing about.

Titles of books and longer works

Titles of books, novels, movies, television shows, and other long works should be written in italics when typed or underlined when handwritten.

Examples:
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (book)
  • Frozen (movie)
  • The Tonight Show (television show)
Note

When handwriting, use underlining instead of italics because italics are hard to show with pen or pencil.

Titles of shorter works

Titles of poems, short stories, songs, and articles should be placed inside quotation marks.

Examples:
  • “Casey at the Bat” (poem)
  • “The Gift of the Magi” (short story)
  • “Let It Go” (song)
  • “How Volcanoes Work” (article)
Note

Quotation marks show that the title belongs to a smaller piece that is part of something larger.

Capitalization in titles

Capitalize the first word, the last word, and all important words in a title. Do not capitalize small words like a, an, the, and, in, or of, unless they are the first or last word.

Examples:
  • The Secret Garden
  • “A Day in the Park”
  • Night at the Museum
Note

Think of capitalization in titles as giving extra importance to the main words so the title looks correct and professional.

Using titles in sentences

When writing, titles should always stand out correctly within a sentence, following the rules for italics, underlining, or quotation marks.

Examples:
  • We read Charlotte’s Web in class.
  • My favorite song is “Firework.”
  • Did you watch The Lion King last weekend?
Note

Always make sure your titles follow the correct format inside your writing, not just when they stand alone.