Do You Italicize Book Titles? And Other Title Conundrums

Italics, quotation marks, underlines, plain old capital letters—when it comes to writing titles, the rules can feel like a confusing mess. Do you italicize book titles? What about movie titles?

And for goodness’ sake, what should you do with pesky things like TV shows, short stories, or Youtube videos?

With so many different kinds of media, it’s easy to get lost in all the rules. For instance, titles have special formatting rules, like italicization for some titles but not all of them. Just like capitalization rules, writing with MLA formatting can  confuse some writers.

Let’s demystify these grammar rules, shall we?

One Rule of Writing Titles

There are two ways we typically indicate titles: by italicizing them, or by putting them in “quotation marks.” We’ll get into the nuances of each in a moment. But let’s start off with one core principle:

Italicize the titles of works that are larger, like the titles of books and movies. For shorter works, like the title of a journal article or a poem, use quotation marks.

For some kinds of media, like book titles, the rules are clear. For others, like Youtube videos, they’re a little fuzzier.

Whatever kind of media you’re working with, examine it through this principle: italics for large works; quotation marks for small works.

This principle will help you navigate those areas of uncertainty like a pro.

When to Italicize the Title

Always italicize the titles of larger works such as books, movies, anthologies, newspapers and magazines. Additionally, newer media, such as vlogs and podcasts may be italicized.

Same goes for if the larger works that include punctuation, like a question mark. That part of the title should be included in italics, too.

What are other examples of large works? I’m glad you asked.

A large work might be:

• A book, like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• A movie, like The Dark Knight
• An anthology, like The Norton Anthology of English Literature
• A television show, like Friends
• A magazine, like The New Yorker
• A newspaper, like The New York Times
• An album, like Abbey Road

This principle holds true for newer forms of media, too, like:

• A vlog, like Vlogbrothers
• A podcast, like This American Life

The short answer: Do you italicize book titles? Yes.

When to Use Quotation Marks

What do anthologies, TV shows, magazines, newspapers, vlogs, and podcasts all have in common? They’re all comprised of many smaller parts.

When you’re writing the title of a smaller work, put it in quotation marks. A small work might be:

• A short story, like “The Lottery”
• A poem, like “The Road Not Taken”
• An episode of a TV show, like “The One With the Monkey”
• An article in a magazine or newspaper, like “Obama’s Secret to Surviving the White House Years: Books”
• A song, like “Here Comes the Sun”
• An episode of a vlog, like “Men Running on Tanks and the Truth About Book Editors”
• An episode of a podcast, like “Just What I Wanted”

Other Ways to Indicate Titles

We haven’t always used italics to indicate titles. Before word processing developed italics that were easy to type and easy to read, the titles of larger works were underlined. Since handwriting italics is difficult, underlining the titles of larger works is still an acceptable notation in handwritten documents.

And as our means of communication have continued to evolve, so have our ways of indicating titles. If you’re writing a post on Facebook, for instance, there’s no option to italicize or underline. In situations where neither is an option, many people use ALL CAPS to indicate titles of larger works.

Be Clear and Consistent

Here’s the secret: in the end, all these rules are arbitrary anyway, and different style guides have developed their own nuances for what should and shouldn’t be italicized or put in quotation marks. If you’re writing something formal, remember to double-check your style guide to make sure you’re following their guidelines.

Remember, though, that ultimately, the only purpose for these rules is to help the reader understand what the writer is trying to communicate. Do you italicize book titles? Whatever you’re writing, whether it’s a dissertation or a tweet, be clear and consistent in the way you indicate titles.

If you hold to that rule, no one will be confused.

Are there any kinds of titles you’re not sure how to write? Let us know in the comments.

Need more grammar help? My favorite tool that helps find grammar problems and even generates reports to help improve my writing is ProWritingAid. Works with Word, Scrivener, Google Docs, and web browsers. Also, be sure to use my coupon code to get 25 percent off: WritePractice25

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Alice Sudlow has a keen eye for comma splices, misplaced hyphens, and well-turned sentences, which she puts to good use as the content editor of The Write Practice and Short Fiction Break literary magazine. She loves to help writers hone their craft and take their writing from good to excellent.

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