When referring to a title, use italics (or underlining in handwriting) for longer works and quotation marks for shorter works. Don't use either one for the title on a document you are writing yourself, such as an essay. You only need to use italics or quotation marks when you are referring to a work.
- Hint:
- If you could buy the item by itself, use italics. If you have to buy a larger object in order to get what you want, use quotes.
| Italics | Quotation Marks | Examples |
|---|---|---|
|
Book Book-length play |
Chapter Poem Essay Short story Short (1-2 act) play |
I read the fourth chapter, "Acrobatic Kites," in the book Best Kite Building Ever. Our class read the television play "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" before we tackled Hamlet. |
| Magazine or Newspaper | Article | The article "Four Fabulous Heroes" in last week's New York Times was inspiring. |
| Television series | Episode | "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" was the most watched episode of M*A*S*H*. |
| Movie | Scene (You would only refer to a scene when referring to the movie script itself, and only if that scene has an actual title.) |
I think I have watched The Sound of Music at least twenty times. We had to shoot the last scene, "The Goodbye," twenty-three times. |
| CD or album | Song | My favorite song is "Isn't She Lovely" from Stevie Wonder's album Songs in the Key of Life. |
| Website | Web page | I found this information on Wikipedia on the page "William Crookes." |
| Building | N/A | While we were in New York, we visited the Empire State Building. |
| Vehicle | N/A | The space shuttle Discovery is now in Washington, D. C. |