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When to Use Quotation Marks ("") | Rules & Examples

Published on May 21, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 29, 2022 by Jack Caulfield.

Quotation marks (also known as quotes or inverted commas) are used to indicate direct speech and quotations.

In academic writing, you need to use quotation marks when you quote a source . This includes quotes from published works and primary data such as interviews . The exception is when you use a block quote, which should be set off and indented without quotation marks.

Whenever you quote someone else’s words, use a signal phrase to introduce it and integrate the source into your own text. Don’t rely on quotations to make your point for you.

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Table of contents

Single vs. double quotation marks, quotes within quotes, punctuation following quotations, quotation marks for source titles, indirect quotation, scare quotes, frequently asked questions about quotation marks.

There are two types of quotation marks: ‘single’ and “double.” Which one to choose generally depends on whether you are using US or UK English . The US convention is to use double quotation marks, while the UK convention is usually to use single quotation marks.

Double quotation marks can also be acceptable in UK English, provided you are consistent throughout the text. APA Style requires double quotations.

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When your quotations are nested (i.e., a quote appears inside another quote), you should use the opposite style of quotation marks for the nested quotation.

US and UK English also differ on where to place punctuation within quotation marks.

• In US English,  commas and periods that follow a quote are placed within the quotation marks.
• In UK English, all punctuation marks are placed outside the quotation marks, except when they are part of the original quotation.

In all variants of English, a question mark appears inside the quotation marks when the person quoted was asking a question, but outside when it’s you asking the question.

• Smith asks, “How long can this situation continue?”
• How many participants reported their satisfaction as “high”?

Note that when you include a parenthetical citation after a quote, the punctuation mark always comes after the citation (except with block quotes ).

• Solis described the situation as “precarious” (2022, p. 16).

Some source titles (e.g., the title of a journal article) should be presented in quotation marks in your text. Others are italicized instead (or occasionally written in plain text).

The rules for how to format different source titles are largely the same across citation styles, though some details differ. The key principles apply in all the main styles:

• Use italics for sources that stand alone
• Use quotation marks for sources that are part of another source

Some examples are shown below, with the proper formatting:

• The Routledge Companion to Critical Theory [book]
• “Poststructuralism” [book chapter]
• Philosophy, Psychiatry & Psychology [journal]
• “What Is Personality Disorder?” [journal article]
• Friends [TV series]
• “The One Where Rachel Quits” [TV episode]

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Indirect quotation means reporting what someone said without using exactly the same words they did.

It’s a lot like paraphrasing , except that you’re only changing the words you need to in order to fit the statement into your new sentence grammatically. For example, changing the pronouns or the verb tense .

Indirect quotation is more common in everyday speech, but it can occur in academic writing too. When it does, keep in mind that you should only use quotation marks around words taken directly from the original speaker or author.

• One participant stated that “he found the exercises frustrating.”
• One participant stated that he found the exercises frustrating.
• One participant described the exercises as “frustrating.”

“Scare quotes” are quotation marks used around words that are not a direct quotation from a specific source. They are used to signal that a term is being used in an unusual or ironic way, that it is borrowed from someone else, or that the writer is skeptical about the term.

• Many politicians have blamed recent electoral trends on the rise of “fake news.”

While scare quotes have their uses in academic writing (e.g., when referring to controversial terms), they should only be used with good reason. Inappropriate use of scare quotes creates ambiguity.

• The institution organized a fundraiser in support of “underprivileged children.”
• Scientists argue that “global warming” is accelerating due to greenhouse gas emissions.
• The “Brexit” negotiations are still ongoing.

In these examples, the words within scare quotes are widely accepted terms with clear meanings that can’t be attributed to a specific person or source. Using quotation marks implies skepticism about the concepts in question.

The use of single and double quotation marks when quoting differs between US and UK English . In US English, you must use double quotation marks. Single quotation marks are used for quotes within quotes.

In UK English, it’s most common to use single quotation marks, with double quotation marks for quotes within quotes, although the other way around is acceptable too.

A quote is an exact copy of someone else’s words, usually enclosed in quotation marks and credited to the original author or speaker.

If you’re quoting from a text that paraphrases or summarizes other sources and cites them in parentheses , APA and Chicago both recommend retaining the citations as part of the quote. However, MLA recommends omitting citations within a quote:

• APA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic (Jones, 2015; Sill, 2019; Paulson, 2020) shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).
• MLA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).

Footnote or endnote numbers that appear within quoted text should be omitted in all styles.

If you want to cite an indirect source (one you’ve only seen quoted in another source), either locate the original source or use the phrase “as cited in” in your citation.

Quotes within quotes are punctuated differently to distinguish them from the surrounding quote .

• If you use double quotation marks for quotes, use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes.
• If you use single quotation marks for quotes (e.g., in UK English ), use double quotation marks for quotes within quotes.

Make sure to close both sets of quotes!

Indirect quotation means reporting what someone said (or wrote) but not using their exact words. It’s similar to paraphrasing , but it only involves changing enough words to fit the statement into your sentence grammatically (e.g., changing the tense or the pronouns ).

Since some of the words have changed, indirect quotations are not enclosed in quotation marks .

Sources in this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

McCombes, S. (2022, November 29). When to Use Quotation Marks ("") | Rules & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/language-rules/quotation-marks/

Butterfield, J. (Ed.). (2015).  Fowler’s dictionary of modern English usage  (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Garner, B. A. (2016).  Garner’s modern English usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to quote | citing quotes in apa, mla & chicago, how to block quote | length, format and examples, what is your plagiarism score.

Formatting Titles

by Purdue Global Academic Success Center and Writing Center · Published October 2, 2020 · Updated November 5, 2020

Let’s face it: For whatever reason, formatting titles can be confusing, especially if you think about all the titles that need proper formatting–the title placed on the title page of a paper, the title of a journal article mentioned in the body of a paper, the title of a newspaper or a website on the list of references. There are titles of books and titles of chapters in those books; titles of blogs and titles of blog entries. Some titles are italicized and some are put in quotation marks. Titles on the list of references require formatting–some titles use title case, some sentence case; some titles are italicized and some are not. And then there are those situations where titles are used in in-text citations–some titles are truncated and italicized; some are put in quotation marks–you get the idea. 

First off, I am not going to address how to format titles when citing in the paper or listing on the list of references—those are formatting guidelines for another time. I am going to focus on titles on the title page, the first page of the paper, and within a paper. Here is what you need to keep straight:

Titles require special capitalization called title case. Title case requires one to

• capitalize the first letter of the first and last words of a title;
• capitalize the first letter of all verbs;
• capitalize all words of four or more letters;
• capitalize the first letter of all other words except a, an, the, short conjunctions such as “for, and, but,” and prepositions of fewer than four letters (words like “up, in, off”);
• capitalize the first letter of a word following a colon or dash;
• capitalize the first letter of a subtitle. 

When a title appears on the title page of an APA Style 7th edition student paper, that title should be centered, bolded, and in title case—no need to use all caps, no need to italicize or underline, and no need to use quotation marks or place a period at the end. 

Simply type out the title using title case and bold it–that’s it.

On the first page of the essay, center and repeat the title, bold it, and use title case. Again, do not use any special formatting. Do not use a bigger font size or style. Do not underline or italicize and so forth. Just use title case, bold, and center the title on the first page of the essay.

Easy enough, right?

Titles that appear within an essay require special formatting in addition to title case. If the title is for an article—content that is part of a greater whole—then the title should have quotation marks around it. If the title is for a book, journal, newspaper, or some other whole work, then the title is italicized.

Let’s say you have an article titled “The New Coffee Culture” that appears in the journal Studies in Popular Culture . Let’s also say that for whatever reason, you name both titles in the body of your paper. The article “The New Coffee Culture” appears in the journal Studies in Popular Culture , so the article is content that appears in a greater whole, right? 

Both titles would be in title case. The article “The New Coffee Culture” would have quotation marks around it, and the title of the journal, Studies in Popular Culture , would be italicized. 

I hope this blogcast clarifies exactly what you need to do when formatting titles in typical usage situations in APA style. 

Until next week–

Kurtis Clements

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Quotation Marks with Fiction, Poetry, and Titles

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Block Quotations

You should use a block quotation when the quotation occupies four or more typed lines on the page. Although they are allowed in any type of writing, you will likely most often use them when quoting from fiction or literature. A block quotation is removed from the main body of your text. Indent one inch from the main margin (the equivalent of two half-inch paragraph indentations) and begin your quote. Maintain double spacing throughout, but you do not need to use quotation marks.

Gatsby experiences a moment of clarity while standing with Daisy on his dock. Fitzgerald writes:

Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now to him vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one. (98)

Quoting Poetry

When you quote a single line of poetry, write it like any other short quotation. If the piece of poetry you are quoting crosses multiple lines of the poem itself, you may still type them in your text run together. Show the reader where the poem's line breaks fall by using slash marks.

If the quotation is four lines or longer, set it off like a block quotation (see above). Some writers prefer to set off two-line verse quotations for emphasis. Quote the poem line by line as it appears on the original page. Do not use quotation marks, and indent one inch from the left margin.

In his poem, "Mending Wall," Robert Frost questions the building of barriers and walls:

Before I built a wall I'd ask to know

What I was walling in or walling out,

And to whom I was like to give offense.

Writing Dialogue

Write each person's spoken words, however brief, as a separate paragraph. Use commas to set off dialogue tags such as "she said" or "he explained." If one person's speech goes on for more than one paragraph, use quotation marks to open the dialogue at the beginning of each paragraph. However, do not use closing quotation marks until the end of the final paragraph where that character is speaking.

Quotation Marks with Titles

Use quotations marks for:

• Titles of short or minor works
• Short Stories
• Short Poems
• One Act Plays
• Other literary works shorter than a three act play or complete book
• Titles of sections from longer works
• Chapters in books
• Articles in newspapers, magazines, or journals
• Episodes of television and radio series

Underlining or italics are used for the titles of long pieces or works that contain smaller sections.

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Title of Source. The title is usually taken from an authoritative location in the source such as the title page. It is the name of the source you are using. Capitalize the following parts of speech in a title: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, subordinating conjunctions (although, because, unless, after, until, when, where, while, etc.). Do not capitalize articles, prepositions, coordinating conjunctions, the "to" in infinitives if they appear in the middle of the title. A colon separates the title from the subtitle unless it ends in a question mark or exclamation. Titles should be italicized or enclosed in quotation marks. Titles that are independent and self-contained (e.g., books) and titles of containers (e.g., anthologies) should be italicized. Titles that are contained in larger works (e.g., short stories) should be in quotation s. Exceptions to the above rule are: 1) Scripture (Genesis, Bible, Gospels, Upanishads, Old Testament, Talmud, etc.) Titles of individualized scripture writings, however, should be italicized and treated like any other published work.(e.g. The Interlinear Bible) 2) Names of laws, acts and political documents (Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta, Treaty of Marseilles, etc.) 3) Musical compositions identified by form, number, and key (Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A, op. 92) 4) Series titles (Critical American Studies, Bollingen Series, etc.) 5) Conferences, seminars, workshops, and courses (MLA Annual Convention, English 110)

The title of the work follows the author and ends with a period . Mitchell, Margaret. Gone With the Wind . New York: Macmillan, 1961.

A sub-title is included after the main title . Joyce, Michael. Othermindedness: The Emergence of Network Culture. U of Michigan P, 2000. Baron, Sabrina Alcorn et al., editors. Agent of Change: Print Culture Studies after Elizabeth L. Eisenstein. U of               Massachusetts P /Center for the Book, Library of Congress, 2007.

The title of a story, poem or essay in a collection, as part of a larger whole, is placed in quotation marks . Dewar, James A., and Peng Hwa Ang. "The Cultural Consequences of Printing and the Internet." Agent of Change: Print             Culture Studies after Elizabeth L. Eisenstein. U of Massachusetts P /Center for the Book, Library of Congress,             2007, pp. 365-77. 

Independent work in a collection When a work that is normally independent (such as a novel or play) appears in a collection, the work's title remains in italics. Euripides. The Trojan Women . Ten Plays, translated by Paul Roche, New American Library, 1998, pp. 457-512.

The title of a periodical (journal, magazine, or newspaper) is in italics and the title of the article is in quotation marks. Goldman, Anne. "Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante." The Georgia Review, vol. 64, no. 1, 2010           pp. 69-88. Note: This rule applies to all media forms such as the title of a television series, an episode in a television series, a song or piece of music in an album, a posting or article on a web page. See examples below. Television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mutant Enemy, 1997-2003. Episode in a television series "Hush." Buffy the Vampire Slayer , created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah           Michelle Gellar, season 4, episode 10, Mutant Enemy, 1997-2003. Web site Hollmichel, Stefanie. So Many Books . 2003-13, somanybooksbkog.com Note: When giving a URL, omit http and https. Posting of an article on a web site Hollmichel, Stefanie. "The Reading Brain: Differences Between Digital and Print."           So Many Books, 25 April 2013, somanybooksblog.com/2013/04/25/the-reading-brain-differences-between-digital-           and-print/. A song or piece of music in an album Beyonce. "Pretty Hurts." Beyonce , Parkwood Entertainment, 2013,           www.beyonce.com/album/beyonce/?media_view=songs.

Untitled Source In the place of the title, provide a generic description of the source without italics or quotation marks. Capitalize the first word in the title and any proper nouns in it. Mackintosh, Charles Rennie. Chair of Stained Oak. 1897-1900, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Comment or review of a title in an online forum Jeane. Comment on "The Reading Brain: Differences Between Digital and Print." So Many Books, 25 Apr. 2013,            10:30 p.m., somanybooksblog.com/2013/04/25/the-reading-brain-differences-between-digital-and-            print/#comment-83030

Review of a title in an online forum Mackin, Joseph. Review of The Pleasures of Reading of an age of Distraction , by Alan Jacobs. New York Journal of Books, 2 June 2011, www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/            pleasures-reading-age-distraction.

Tweet Reproduce the full text without changing anything and enclose within quotation marks. @persiankiwi."We have report of large street battles in east and west of Tehran now. - #Iranelection." Twitter ,            23 June 2009, 11:15 a.m., twitter.com/persianwiki/status/2298106072.

E-mail message Use subject as the title. Subject is enclosed in quotation marks. Boyle, Anthony T. "Re: Utopia." Received by Daniel J. Cayhill, 21 June 1997.

Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword Capitalize the term in the works cited list but do not italicize or enclose in quotation marks. The term need not be capitalized in in-text discussion. Felstiner, John. Preface. Selected Poems and Prose of Paul Celan , by Paul Celan, translated by Felstiner              W.W. Norton, 2001, pp.xix-xxxvi.

Translations of Titles Place translations of titles for foreign works in square brackets in the works cited list. The translation appears next to the title.

Shortened titles The first time a title is mentioned in your work, it should appear in full. If the title is repeated in the work, it can be shortened to a familiar one (e.g., Skylark for Ode to a Skylark).

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Italics and Quotes for Titles: A Guide

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We’ve all been there. We’re writing along, solidly in the groove, when the Formatting Wall appears around a seemingly safe corner. Abruptly halting, you wonder: How the heck am I supposed to format this title?

Titles come in many shapes and sizes, but they all have rules for formatting that you master with just a little work. Italics, quotes, even plain text: they all apply in certain situations. How do you know which is which?

Use italics to set apart the title of a standalone work or a “container work”—that is, a work that has other, smaller works within it. Examples of titles that should be italicized include:

• Academic journals
• Music albums
• Large musical compositions such as symphonies and operas
• Anthologies of poems
• Art exhibitions

For example:

My brother insists that Fists of Fury is the best movie ever made.

Have you read the latest issue of Scottish Archaeology Journal ? It’s riveting!

I know it’s not a popular opinion, but I think La Boheme, by Giacomo Puccini, is an overrated opera.

I can’t believe the TV show Supernatural is in its fourteenth season.

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Use quotation marks to set apart the title of a subsidiary work or a work that is part of a bigger piece (one where the title of that bigger piece would be italicized). Examples of when to use quotes include:

• Book chapters
• Articles (published in a journal)
• Short stories
• Song titles
• TV episodes
• Works of art (including paintings, drawings, sculptures, and performance art)

Why do I have to read Hemingway’s “ A Clean, Well-Lighted Place ” in every English class?

I can’t get the tune to “Amazing Grace” out of my head.

Every time I think of William Carlos Williams, I get irritated. “ This Is Just to Say ” is a beautiful poem, but it reminds me of my terrible roommate.

And so you can easily demonstrate which is the work “inside” the other work with proper punctuation:

My favorite episode of Doctor Who is “Blink,” without a doubt.

I love everything by the Beatles, but I think “I Should Have Known Better” from A Hard Day’s Night is an underrated classic.

Modern Construction Envelopes is a very useful reference in general, but chapter 12, “Fabric Roofs,” is groundbreaking.

The highlight of the recent exhibition, Pin-Ups: Toulouse-Lautrec and the Art of Celebrity, had to be Steinlen’s “ Cabaret du Chat Noir .” It was fascinating to see in person what I’ve seen on a wall in every undergraduate dorm across the country.

There are, of course, exceptions. A few types of publications and creative works stand a little apart from the general categories of “standalone/wrapper work” and “subsidiary work.”

For example, dissertations are typically standalone documents, but their titles go in quotation marks.

The best dissertation ever written is “The False Optic: Poisoned Fictional Objects in Renaissance Revenge Tragedies.”

I’m always moved to tears by Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor , “From the New World .”

How to Remember

A relatively easy way to remember these rules involves whether a work is “big” or “little.” If it’s a grand, sweeping thing that might contain other bits within it, like a book or journal, then use italics. If it’s a smaller thing that might itself be contained within something else, like a newspaper article or work of art in an exhibition, then it goes in quotes.

Oh, and don’t forget to capitalize those titles correctly , in addition to formatting them right.

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When to Use Quotation Marks in Titles

Use quotation marks for the titles of short works. Short works are items that are usually published in a larger work or collection. Common examples include songs, poems, pages from websites, and articles from periodicals (journals/magazines/newspapers).

• Example for a Journal article: "Empathetic Approaches to Nursing"
• Example for a Song: "Bad to the Bone"
• Example for a Poem: "A Supermarket in California"
• Example for a Web page: “Eleven Secrets to Improving Your Essay”

Use italics for standalone works such as books, plays, online databases, periodicals (journals/magazines/newspapers), and websites.

• Example for a Book:  Moby Dick
• Example for a Play:  Fences
• Example for a Website:  CNN.com
• Example for a Periodical:  The New Yorker
• Printer-friendly version

Punctuation with Titles

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

In a previous Ask the MLA post, we explained how to incorporate titles ending in question marks or exclamation points into works-cited-list entries . But how do you incorporate such titles into your prose? How do you handle titles ending in other punctuation marks? And what should you do about other matters of punctuation related to titles?

Titles Ending in Question Marks or Exclamation Points in Your Prose

At the MLA, we never insert a period after a title ending in a question mark or exclamation point, but we insert a comma if doing so makes a sentence easier to read—for example, when such a title is one item in a series or when the title is contained in a nonrestrictive clause:

“I just saw Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , Oklahoma! , and Design for Living ,” Roland said.

The center hopes its 1992 theme, Explore New Worlds—Read!, will draw attention to geography.

But when possible, we prefer to reword:

The center hopes to draw attention to geography with its 1992 theme, Explore New Worlds—Read!

Titles That Need to Be Shortened 

When we need to shorten a really long title in a works-cited-list entry, we add an ellipsis after the first part of the title up to at least the first noun. If a work has an alternative title, we might include it. If a period is needed, we insert the period before the ellipsis and set the punctuation roman:

Bulwer, John.  Philocophus; or, The Deafe and Dumbe Mans Friend. . . .      Humphrey Mosely, 1648.

If a comma is needed, as it would be when the long title is the title of a container, we insert it after the ellipsis. We set the ellipsis and the comma roman:

Smith, Ann. Introduction.  Philocophus; or, The Deafe and Dumbe Mans Friend . . .  , Humphrey Mosely, 1648, pp. x-xxi.

In prose, we omit the ellipsis:

Philocophus; or, The Deafe and Dumbe Mans Friend  was written by John Bulwer.

Titles Ending in an Ellipsis or Dash

If the ellipsis is part of the title, we add the period or comma after the ellipsis. The ellipsis is set in italics if the title is italicized, but the additional punctuation is set roman:

One of the most popular comic films of the 1980s was Rob Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally . . . . One of the most popular comic films of the 1980s was When Harry Met Sally . . . , directed by Rob Reiner. Work Cited Reiner, Rob, director. When Harry Met Sally . . . . MGM, 1989.

We follow the same principle if a title ends in a dash:

A well-known poem about death is Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—.” A well-known poem about death is “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—,” by Emily Dickinson. Work Cited Dickinson, Emily. “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—.” The Poems of Emily Dickinson , edited by R. W. Franklin, Harvard UP, 1999.

Titles and Subtitles

Section 1.2.1 of the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook says, “Use a colon and a space to separate a title from a subtitle, unless the title ends in a question mark or an exclamation point. Include other punctuation only if it is part of the title or subtitle.”

The handbook provides the following examples:

Storytelling and Mythmaking: Images from Film and Literature

Whose Music? A Sociology of Musical Language

But sometimes titles are not straightforward. In such cases, we follow some additional rules.

For example, when a title is followed by two subtitles, we use two colons:

Finis Coronat Opus: A Curious Reciprocity: Shelley’s “When the Lamp Is Shattered”

When a period separates a title and a subtitle on the title page, we change the period to a colon. When a question mark, exclamation point, or dash separates a title and a subtitle on the title page, we leave the original mark:

On the title page: The East End. The Story of a Neighborhood

In your prose: The East End: The Story of a Neighborhood

Both on the title page and in your prose: What Do I Know? An Account of an Investigation

But if a title contains a title ending in a question mark or exclamation point, we add a colon:

Moby-Dick and Absalom, Absalom! : Two American Masterpieces

Here the exclamation point is part of the title Absalom, Absalom! , so a colon is needed to separate the title Moby-Dick and Absalom, Absalom! from the subtitle.

Double Titles

For an alternative or double title in English beginning with or , we follow the first example given in section 8.165 of The Chicago Manual of Style and punctuate as follows:

England’s Monitor; or, The History of the Separation (452)

But no semicolon is needed for a title in English that ends with a question mark or exclamation point:

“Getting Calliope through Graduate School? Can Chomsky Help? or, The Role of Linguistics in Graduate Education in Foreign Languages”

For double titles of foreign language publications, we follow the source.

Dates in Titles

Unless a date is part of a title’s syntax, we follow section 8.163 of Chicago and set it off with a comma:

Melodrama Unveiled: American Theater and Culture, 1800–1850 (451)

Serial Comma in Titles

Contrary to section 8.163 of Chicago , for English-language titles of books published in the United States, we add the serial comma before the conjunction preceding the final item in a series if the comma is missing. Otherwise, we follow the source. The following book was published by Verso in London, so the serial comma is not added:

Buelens, Geert. Everything to Nothing: The Poetry of the Great War, Revolution and the Transformation of Europe. Verso, 2015.

Works Cited

The Chicago Manual of Style . 16th ed., U of Chicago P, 2016.

MLA Handbook . 8th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016.

90 Comments

Omar 22 october 2017 at 07:10 am.

Dear Jennifer, I have a question regarding the use of semi-colons in the subtitle of report headlines. Specifically, I'd like to know whether or not the first word after the semi-colon should be capitalized. I know that the first word after the subtitle typically begins with a capital letter as per Chicago and AP rules, but the AP is silent on what to do when the subtitle is itself separated by a semi-colon. Is the below headline acceptable?

Hurricanes 2017: Galeforce winds batter UK; Flood warnings issued nationwide

Your e-mail address will not be published

Jennifer A. Rappaport 23 October 2017 AT 12:10 PM

Great question. MLA style, following Chicago , capitalizes the first letter of the first and last words of a title and the first letter of any other words in the title unless they are articles or prepositions, so in your example, we would capitalize not only "Flood" but also all the other words in the title: "Hurricanes 2017: Galeforce Winds Batter UK; Flood Warnings Issued Nationwide." (Note that "galeforce" is not in Webster's so if we were crafting this title we would style it "Gale-Force Winds," but if it were a published title, we would follow copy.)

Amy W 05 January 2018 AT 09:01 AM

What would you do if the title with a question mark was in quotes, rather than italicized? Would the comma go inside or outside the quotation mark? "...?," Or "...?",

Jennifer A. Rappaport 08 January 2018 AT 09:01 AM

The comma would be placed inside the quotation marks.

Colleen 24 April 2018 AT 02:04 PM

Where would the commas go if I listed multiple titles that had quotation marks? Ex. I read "Riding the Rails," "The Long Road to Oregon," and "Coming out West." Is that correct with the commas and period inside the quotation marks?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 24 April 2018 AT 08:04 PM

Yes, correct. Please see our related post for examples: style.mla.org/punctuation-and-quotation-marks/

Amy Nelson 26 January 2018 AT 05:01 PM

When the title of the work being cited in the WC list includes the title of another text (for example, the cited work is titled A Critical Edition of John Lydgate's _Life of Our Lady_, with the last four words in the title -- here set apart with underscores -- being the title of a long poem and thus italicized), should the secondary / interior title be italicized along with the main title, or should it be formatted in standard typeface in contrast with the main title's italics?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 31 January 2018 AT 09:01 AM

Thanks for your question. The answer is on p. 71 of the handbook (1.2.4 "Titles within Titles").

Patricia Bostian 20 February 2018 AT 12:02 PM

Can't find an answer for citing a title within a title when it comes at the end. This is for a citation: "An Overview of 'A Rose for Emily'." OR "An Overview of 'A Rose for Emily.'"

Jennifer A. Rappaport 21 February 2018 AT 12:02 PM

Great question. The period goes inside the single quotation mark.

Karen 12 March 2018 AT 12:03 AM

I have an issue with a document on line that I want to call attention to. This document has several sections or parts and each section or part has a name/header/sort of title. I need to mention the name/header/title of each section in this document. Should I put the names/headers/titles of each section in quotations or italics? How should I punctuate this? Also, to do certain things with this document, you have to navigate through it, for example: click "Save and finish later" or click "Next". Should these "Click" buttons be in quotation marks or italics as well? Thank you for your help.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 13 March 2018 AT 02:03 PM

Thanks for your question. We'll submit it to Ask the MLA.

Renee 15 March 2018 AT 10:03 PM

When citing an article title that contains periods, should the periods be omitted? For example: In the article "That's No Woman. That's My Wife.," the author states...

That's No Woman. That's My Wife. is the title, but the punctuation doesn't look correct. Thank you!

Jennifer A. Rappaport 16 March 2018 AT 07:03 AM

Good question. We'll submit it to Ask the MLA.

Frank 27 July 2018 AT 07:07 PM

Jennifer, thanks for this wonderful and useful piece. One issue I'm still confused about is how to handle the mid-sentence appearance of titles containing a single comma. (Some examples: Lust, Caution ; White Hunter, Black Heart ; New York, New York .

To consider the last example, I know that I would write a non-title version of the phrase as follows:

• I took a trip to New York, New York, and had a wonderful time.

But is this the correct way to place the title in the middle of a sentence?

• We watched the Scorsese film New York, New York and really enjoyed it.

Is no comma required at the end of the title to "close out" the comma in the middle?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 30 July 2018 AT 06:07 AM

Thanks for your question. Whereas a comma is needed before and after the state in formulations such as "New York, New York," when the city and state are used as the title of a work, no comma is needed following the name of the state, unless the grammar of the rest of the sentence requires it (After watching the movie New York, New York , we went out to dinner).

Alethia 14 August 2018 AT 03:08 PM

Is it common to place an additional comma between the year and time in a subtitle? i.e. meeting announcement August 21, 2018, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (EST)

Jennifer A. Rappaport 15 August 2018 AT 07:08 AM

Yes, a comma should generally separate a date from a time.

Cynthia Crosbie 30 August 2018 AT 12:08 AM

How would you punctuate this sermon title: “Building Wisely,” Part 1 Should Part 1 be written as part of the title? italicized? in parentheses? Should Part 1 be left off and only Part 2 and Part 3 written?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 03 September 2018 AT 06:09 PM

Thanks for your question. In MLA style, "part 1" would be included in the "Number" slot on the MLA format template:

https://style.mla.org/works-cited-a-quick-guide/

ML Corwin 08 November 2018 AT 04:11 PM

The author of this book has put colons after the chapter numbers followed by the chapter title. Three chapters are each about one of three "Power Blockers." How to punctuate those? Which of two styles is preferable? Use a second colon or not?

Chapter 6: Power Blocker #3 Misplaced Blame

Chapter 6: Power Blocker #3: Misplaced Blame

Jennifer A. Rappaport 09 November 2018 AT 09:11 AM

There's no hard-and-fast rule about how to style chapter numbers before titles, but in a table of contents, I would recommend the following in the example you've sent:

Chapter 6. Power Blocker #3: Misplaced Blame

Andrew Johnston 29 November 2018 AT 02:11 PM

My question concerns the title of an academic publication.

In my situation, the title concludes with a question and the subtitle gives further clarification.

How can I distinguish the title from the subtitle?

For example:

Competition Law within the European Union is Functioning Just Fine, but do fines cut it?: An exploration of the efficacy of corporate fines in achieving the goals of EU Competition Law, and the potential benefits of reform.

Competition Law within the European Union is Functioning Just Fine, but do fines cut it? An exploration of the efficacy of corporate fines in achieving the goals of EU Competition Law, and the potential benefits of reform.

I look forward to having this one resolved.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 30 November 2018 AT 08:11 AM

Thanks for your question. The question mark separates the title from the subtitle.

Competition Law within the European Union Is Functioning Just Fine, but Do Fines Cut It? An Exploration of the Efficacy of Corporate Fines in Achieving the Goals of EU Competition Law, and the Potential Benefits of Reform.

Sue 05 December 2018 AT 05:12 AM

Hi there, We are trying to figure out how to punctuate a role title. For example,

You are invited to be an Organization Lead at xyz company.

Should 'Organization Lead' have quotation marks like "Organization Lead" or single quotations or none at all?

And if a course title, do I add 'xx' or "xx" as well in a phrase? For example, Access "Digital Marketing" today.

Thank you for your help!

Jennifer A. Rappaport 05 December 2018 AT 07:12 AM

Thanks for your question. In MLA style, quotation marks are not used around professional titles or titles of courses. We also lowercase professional titles: organization lead.

Stevie D 11 December 2018 AT 04:12 PM

When using a short story title within a paper's title, and before a subtitle, where does the colon belong?

"A Rose for Emily:" Northern Progress Meets Southern Tradition or "A Rose for Emily": Northern Progress Meets Southern Tradition

Thanks for your help!

Jennifer A. Rappaport 11 December 2018 AT 07:12 PM

The colon goes after the title in quotation marks:

“A Rose for Emily”: Northern Progress Meets Southern Tradition

Shari 14 January 2019 AT 10:01 PM

Thank you so much for your help Jennifer, but what if the title is an analysis of a book. For example, about animals in Harry Potter?

Can I write:

Anthropomorphisation and Animal representation: A post humanistic analysis of Harry Potter.

Is this the right format for MLA?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 15 January 2019 AT 06:01 AM

Thanks for your question. The correct styling in MLA format would be

Anthropomorphization and Animal Representation: A Posthumanistic Analysis of the Harry Potter Books (since Harry Potter is the name of a series of books, not the name of a particular book).

Christine Dushack 22 January 2019 AT 12:01 PM

For the following, does the period go inside the quotation marks or outside? It is a title of a paper.

For questions 3-10, refer to "The Beetle Juice". Or For questions 3-10, refer to "The Beetle Juice."

Jennifer A. Rappaport 22 January 2019 AT 12:01 PM

Thanks for your question. See our answer here:

https://style.mla.org/punctuation-and-quotation-marks/

Mark 02 February 2019 AT 10:02 AM

While I understand how to punctuate a question, I'm a bit confuse as to the proper rule regarding titles that do not indicate it's a question but rather an answer.

For example, there are plenty of "how to" posts that do not have any punctation in the title.

How to prepare for a snowstorm

How do I prepare for a snowstorm?

I would think the proper way is ...

How to prepare for a snowstorm. (with a period)

But I'm finding several major newspapers and magazines do not punctuate these titles with a period. It seems to me it creates a conflict with citing sources using proper punctuations. Can you clarify how MLA handles this?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 03 February 2019 AT 08:02 AM

Thanks for your question. We would style the title as follows:

How to Prepare for a Snowstorm

Calla Andrews 26 March 2019 AT 02:03 PM

Does one need a period after a title ending with a question mark when the title is the end of the sentence? For example: We were analyzing the short story "Who's Afraid of the Storm?" I think that's enough punctuation, but should there be a period after the quotes? With a non-question mark title, the period for the end of the sentence would go inside the quotes.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 26 March 2019 AT 04:03 PM

A question mark is indeed enough punctuation in your example. There should be no period after the closing quotation mark.

Carly Bondár 02 April 2019 AT 01:04 PM

Hi there. I have a question about listing book titles that have commas in their titles. For example, I want to list four book titles in a single sentence, but two of the books have commas in the titles. How do I write out the list so as to be clear about which commas are part of the titles and which are separating items in a list? Do I use semicolons? It doesn't look right. As of now the only thing distinguishing the commas in the titles from the commas used as list separators is that the former are italicized and the latter are not. I just worry this isn't clear enough when the font is small.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 03 April 2019 AT 07:04 AM

Great question, Carly. You have it exactly right: the commas between the titles are not italicized, so those commas separate one title from another.

Eitan 03 July 2019 AT 07:07 PM

In my academic field, I often see titles that include some made-up system name, a colon, and a short description of the system. Something like: "Gizmo: a great new way to do things". Is there a name or term for the first word in this title, the system name? It's clearly not the subtitle or the title, but is there anything else I can call it?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 15 July 2019 AT 12:07 PM

In this case, "Gizmo" is the title, and "A Great New Way to Do Things" is the subtitle.

Jesse P 14 July 2019 AT 07:07 PM

Hi, I'm wondering what to do when a question inside quotation marks is the first half of a title (i.e. followed by a subtitle). I see that it says here, “Use a colon and a space to separate a title from a subtitle, unless the title ends in a question mark or an exclamation point. Include other punctuation only if it is part of the title or subtitle.” However, does that still hold true when the title is in quotation marks? In that case might the colon be added back (since technically the quotation mark would make for a barrier between the question mark and the colon so they wouldn't be directly in a row)? Or still no? For example: "A Man for All Seasons?" Reflections on John Wayne OR "A Man for All Seasons?": Reflections on John Wayne

Jennifer A. Rappaport 15 July 2019 AT 01:07 PM

We retain the colon:

"A Man for All Seasons?": Reflections on John Wayne

David Charles Burt 29 July 2019 AT 03:07 PM

I need advice on how to use commas in a title of a piece I've written for an American publication. The title is: From Brass Pins Pistols and Swords to Warships.

How are the commas to be placed in this title ? David Burt, England.

Izabel 02 December 2019 AT 11:12 PM

Hi! I'm an artist (a painter) and sometimes I have two names, or titles, for my paintings. How to write it correctly? Usually I just place it in quotation, for example: "The painting one", or "The painting two". I'm originally from Russia, and we have these punctuation rules (with comma before 'or' with double titles), but I doubt it is correct in English. Please, help.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 03 December 2019 AT 07:12 AM

Thanks for your question. We also have rules in English for punctuating double titles. See the section "Double Titles" above.

Zaine Pittman 10 December 2019 AT 04:12 PM

Hello, I have a question. What if there is a book with a title that has the article "The" in it. When you write it on a document or something, would you put the article after the full title, and separate the article and end of the title with a comma? for example, "Maze of Bones, The"?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 11 December 2019 AT 07:12 AM

Thanks for your question. In prose and works-cited-lists, the article should remain at the start of the title, but in an index, it would likely be listed as Maze of Bones, The.

Kara Wood 09 January 2020 AT 07:01 PM

I have a list of newspaper article titles that are being analyzed by some high school students; naturally, one of the article titles ends with a question mark. What is MLA's rule on this?

Here's the opening to his précis:

In his 2019 articles “Sea Level Rise Could Claim Mar-a-Lago — and Trump’s empire,” “U.S. Women’s Soccer Players Shouldn’t be Paid as Much as Men. They Should Get More.,” and “What Can a Black Person do to Keep from Getting Killed by Police in this Country?” American columnist Eugene Robinson unabashedly addresses various controversial topics, ranging from the everyday lunch conversation starter, climate change, to the heated, yet popular political campaign platforms of gender and racial discrimination in order to . . .

Jennifer A. Rappaport 15 January 2020 AT 07:01 AM

Thanks for your question. We would insert a comma between the question mark and the closing quotation mark because it makes the sentence easier to read.

Reb 03 March 2020 AT 04:03 PM

If a book title within an article title is not italicized should this be corrected in the citation?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 04 March 2020 AT 06:03 AM

Thanks for your question. See section 1.2.4 of the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook .

christina 03 March 2020 AT 07:03 PM

Is it correct if I were to have my title with a colon and a question mark? If so, do I add a space between?

Thanks for your question. A colon and a question mark should not generally appear next to each other in a title. So, for instance, if a title ends in a question mark and the title is followed by a subtitle, do not add a colon between the title and the subtitle. See the example above: Whose Music? A Sociology of Musical Language .

Reb 04 March 2020 AT 11:03 AM

Thanks but 1.2.4 does not address my question. Yes, a book title within a journal article title should be italicized. But if the book title is NOT italicized in the actual journal article, do I make that correction in my works cited page?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 05 March 2020 AT 07:03 AM

Thanks for the clarification. If the book title is not italicized in the journal article, do not italicize it. Copy the article title as it appears in the source.

Reb 05 March 2020 AT 05:03 PM

Jeff dailey 17 april 2020 at 08:04 am.

I want to title a play with a long title and need your thoughts on both my chosen punctuation and capitalization and thank you. Here is my title: An Angel with Flowers, Broadway Bound in Twenty-Seventeen, B.C. [Before COVID-19]

Jennifer A. Rappaport 20 April 2020 AT 06:04 AM

Thanks for your question. You might consider An Angel with Flowers: Broadway-Bound in 2017 BC (before COVID-19)

Julie 27 April 2020 AT 11:04 AM

Should university course titles be punctuated if they are mentioned in a letter?

For example: "I look Introduction to Film last spring, and it helped me understand movies."

Thank you for such a helpful forum!

Jennifer A. Rappaport 28 April 2020 AT 07:04 AM

Thanks for your question. In MLA style, course titles are set roman without quotation marks, so your example is correct.

Ricardo Bravo 29 June 2020 AT 10:06 AM

Hi There, Names of restaurants, theaters should be in italic as well? Best and thanks!

Jennifer A. Rappaport 29 June 2020 AT 03:06 PM

Thanks for your question. Names of restaurants and theaters should be styled roman without quotation marks.

Mark 22 August 2020 AT 10:08 AM

Good Day Jennifer, is it a grammer law that you Must put a question mark at the end of your title if the title is a question...I"m just trying to find out the Pros and Con"s and the benefits of using the question mark in this type title.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 29 August 2020 AT 08:08 AM

Thanks for your comment. It's probably a good idea to include a question mark if you are creating a title that is a question.

Valerie Exar 06 October 2020 AT 09:10 AM

Hello, For the title of a paper I'm writing:

A Comparison of Water Supply in Houston, TX and Baltimore, MD

Do I put a comma after TX, as I would insert within the body of the paper? (Same question would apply if I spelled out the state names)

Jennifer A. Rappaport 07 October 2020 AT 07:10 AM

Thanks for your question. Yes, there should be a comma after "TX" or after "Texas."

Madeline Patrick 14 October 2020 AT 03:10 PM

Hello, Jennifer A. Rappaport. As a high school junior enrolled in a college class, I want to, well, I want to show off to my classmates. I mustn't have errors! After some reading online, I have received mixed answers on whether or not I can put a period at the end of a précis title for emphasis. Could you help me?

With many thank yous, Madeline A. Patrick

Jennifer A. Rappaport 15 October 2020 AT 08:10 AM

Thanks for your question. A title should not end in a period.

Samantha Hanna 10 December 2020 AT 11:12 AM

What would you put after by in the title?

By: someone? A

By; someone? B

By, someone? C

Jennifer A. Rappaport 10 December 2020 AT 11:12 AM

Thanks for your question. Are you referring to the byline rather than the title? If so, there should be no punctuation between "by" and the author's name.

Patrick Love 23 February 2021 AT 12:02 PM

Thank you for your post. I have a question concerning how to punctuate a short story title, but I am trying to add an apostrophe "s" to the title. I am trying to make this sentence: "The Necklace's" ending is an example of situational irony because ...

So I am wondering if it is correct to add the apostrophe "s" inside of the quotation marks or should it be added outside of the quotation marks?

Thank you for your time, Patrick

C. Barney Latimer 09 March 2021 AT 10:03 AM

The apostrophe and "s" go after the title’s closing quotation mark (“The Necklace”’s). However, an easier and more readable solution would be to reword the sentence to avoid this awkward use of the possessive: The ending of “The Necklace” is an example of situational irony because. . . .

Judy Lee 06 May 2021 AT 09:05 AM

I think a period is needed at the end of the following sentence: The peddler went up, took out a scroll, and showed him the verse “Who is the man who desires life […]?” (Psalms 34:13). What say you? Thanks.

Chris Davis 19 May 2021 AT 02:05 PM

How do you punctuate a title and subtitle that are BOTH questions?

A Water-Proof Phone?: Is There a Market for Water Resistant Smartphones? OR A Water-Proof Phone? Is There a Market for Water Resistant Smartphones?

C. Barney Latimer 25 May 2021 AT 04:05 PM

When the main title of a work ends in a question mark or exclamation point, no colon precedes the subtitle, even if the subtitle also ends in a question mark or exclamation point. The correct format for your example is therefore “A Waterproof Phone? Is There a Market for Water-Resistant Smartphones?” Note that no period follows the question mark at the end of the subtitle when the title appears at the end of the sentence. However, if a title ending in a question mark appears in the middle of a sentence, a comma may be used if it makes the sentence easier to read, as in this example: “After reading ‘A Waterproof Phone? Is There a Market for Water-Resistant Smartphones?,’ I accidentally dropped my smartphone in the bath.”

W. 16 October 2021 AT 01:10 PM

If the title of a work appears at the end of a sentence, where does the period go? before or after the quotations marks for the work? B) Aesop uses allegory and satire to expose humanity’s ego in his fable, “The Fox and the Grapes”. or B) Aesop uses allegory and satire to expose humanity’s ego in his fable, “The Fox and the Grapes.”

Wyatt F. 18 November 2021 AT 09:11 AM

How would you punctuate a title that exclaims itself?

Ammy 23 November 2021 AT 09:11 AM

How the author can enter the number/part of the paper in the title of their essay/monograph/article for publication in a journal. The MLA Template shows the sequence of writing the numbering when quoting/referring someone's work; but it does not answer the question of how the author should compose their title correctly when the work is divided into parts. For example:

1// Short Title: A Long Subheading Containing Ten Words—Paper 1 of (a/the?) Historical Jesus Review Series

2// Short Title: A Long Subheading Containing Ten Words Part 2 of Historical Jesus Review Series /as second line/

3// Short Title: A Long Subheading Containing Ten Words. Part 3 of Historical Jesus Review Series

4//Short Title: A Very Long Subheading Containing Fourteen Words. I Short Title: A Very Long Subheading Containing Fourteen Words. II

How it is advisable to design the numbering itself: Article 1, Essay 2, Part 3, IV, or just Paper 5?

The question is fundamental and will help many people who divide their articles into parts. Thank you for your comprehensive responsiveness.

Christin Bonin 17 January 2022 AT 08:01 AM

I am about to publish my dissertation. The Title is: The Broadway Belt The Musical Diva and her Belt Voice from Technical, Ethnic, and Feminist Perspectives Now my big question: Oxford Comma after Ethnic/before and ... or not?

Aliaa Bondok 09 February 2022 AT 08:02 PM

Hello! Unfortunately, I could not find an answer to my question in the MLA guide, so here is it: How do I punctuate a certain quote take from a novel when I include this quote in a title, heading, or sub-heading? Should I capitalize the words of the quote or just copy them as they are in the novel? Example: the original quote reads: “a future of poverty and despondency” I want to include it in a subheading a) Escaping “a future of poverty and despondency” b) Escaping "a Future of Poverty and Despondency" Which version is correct, (a) or (b)?

Thanks in advance!

Pallavi 20 April 2022 AT 12:04 PM

Is this title correct ?

Prone to dominance and criminality ? : The scientist figure in selected films

Russ 21 April 2022 AT 01:04 PM

My book title contains a colon, but I am told that the title, when placed on the book cover, binding and title page, should be written without the colon. I am confused!

Jadyn 03 October 2022 AT 06:10 PM

If the title is inside quotation marks at the end of a sentence (Example: This is discussed in the book "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success") Does the period go inside or outside the quotation?

Laura Kiernan 24 October 2022 AT 04:10 PM

Thanks for your question. In MLA style, titles of books are italicized, so, in the example you supplied, you wouldn't surround Mindset: The New Psychology of Success in quotation marks. For guidance on punctuation around titles, see section 2.105 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Nour 30 October 2022 AT 05:10 PM

Hi i have a question regarding article titles is it : Study Suggests Video Games Can Help Mental Health. or Study Suggests Video Games Can Help Mental Health with ponctuation or without ponctuation ??

Kristina 03 October 2023 AT 01:10 PM

Hi there, I'm working on a subtitle for my children's book. Title: A children's picture book about monsters (or perhaps not-so-scary monsters) I would use caps, but I'm not exactly certain which words wouldn't be capitalized other than or? I'm wondering if you can use parenthesis in a book subtitle? Originally I was thinking about using the line: A children's picture book about scary monsters (or ARE they)? Again, I'm not sure about the parenthesis or ending a book subtitle with a question mark. I've seen one so far and they placed the question mark inside the parenthesis and didn't have any punctuation after the parenthesis. Just wanted to get your advice. Thanks so much!

Uma Maheswari 08 November 2023 AT 09:11 PM

I want to frame a question in MLA style. Which one is correct regarding the question mark at the end? What is the significance of the title of the poem "An African Elegy"? What is the significance of the title of the poem "An African Elegy?" Note: The title of the poem does not have a question mark. It is mine. Thank you

Laura Kiernan 09 November 2023 AT 04:11 PM

Thank you for your question about MLA style. For guidance, see section 6.53 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Emma 17 February 2024 AT 09:02 AM

In my list of works cited, titles of self-contained sources need to be italized, now my question is, does the period right after it have to be italized as well or just the title? Thank you!

Noir 27 March 2024 AT 07:03 PM

Can I include a period at the end of a sentence for a title?

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When to Put Titles in Quotation Marks

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In your writing, sometimes you may need to include the title of a magazine, the headline of a newspaper article, the title of a song or movie, and so on. In English, when punctuating these magazine titles, headlines, and song or movie titles, keep in mind these two options:

Put the title in quotation marks. Quotation marks enclose titles of smaller works or parts of a whole.

Set the title off from the rest of the writing with italic or underlining. By using italic or underlining, you set off titles of larger works or complete works.

These options aren’t interchangeable. Each option has a different use. To put it another way, quotation marks are for jockeys. Italic and underlining are for basketball players. One is for little, the other for big.

Use quotation marks for the titles of

Chapter titles

Magazine or newspaper articles

Individual episodes of a television series

Page of a Web site

Use italic or underlining for the titles of

Collections of poetry, stories, or essays

Titles of books

Titles of CDs or tapes or records (Do they still make records?)

Magazines or newspapers

Television and radio shows

The title of the entire Web site

Here are some examples:

“A Thousand Excuses for Missing the Tax Deadline” (a newspaper article) in The Ticker Tape Journal (a newspaper)

“Ode to Taxes Uncalculated” (a poem) in The Tax Poems (a book of poetry)

“I Got the W2 Blues” (a song title) on Me and My Taxes (a CD containing many songs)

“On the Art of Deductions” (an essay) in Getting Rich and Staying Rich (a magazine)

“Small Business Expenses” (an individual episode) on The IRS Report (a television series)

April 15th (a play)

“Deductions Unlimited” (a page in a Web site) in Beat the IRS (the title of a Web site)

When a title is alone on a line —on a title page or simply at the top of page one of a paper — don’t use italic or quotation marks. Don’t underline the title either. The centering calls attention to the title. Nothing else is needed. One exception: If part of the title is the name of another work, treat that part as you would any other title. For example, suppose you’ve written a brilliant essay about Gloria's poem, “I Hate Homework.” The title page contains this line, centered:

Freudian Imagery in “I Hate Homework”

If your brilliant essay is about the magazine Happy Thoughts , the title page includes this line (also centered):

The Decline of the School Magazine: A Case Study of Happy Though ts

About This Article

This article can be found in the category:.

• Grammar & Vocabulary ,
• How to Climb the Ladder of Language Formality
• How to Match Your Message to the Situation
• How to Choose the Correct Verb for Negative Expressions
• How to Question with Verbs
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Quotation Marks or Italics In Titles?

| Candace Osmond

| Punctuation

Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.

You’ve probably asked yourself while writing an essay: Should I italicize a play title or enclose it in quotation marks? What about a song title?

Don’t feel guilty for not knowing the rules for quotation marks or italics in titles . Even the most experienced writers have the same problem.

I’ll show you the basic rules for choosing between quotation marks and italics in titles. This guide features the guidelines of Chicago, MLA, and APA.

Using Italics or Quotation Marks in Titles

Using italics vs. quotation marks in titles depends on your style guide. But the general rule is to italicize long titles, such as titles of books, movie titles, or album titles.

Meanwhile, you must write titles in quotation marks for shorter pieces like musical titles, magazines, TV series, and articles. Note that the AP style does not put magazines, newspaper style, or journals in quotation marks.

• “How You Feel About Gender Roles Will Tell Us How You’ll Vote” is an article worth the read.
• My favorite song is “If I could Fly.”
• My Year of Rest and Relaxation is for readers who want to escape their stressful lives.

Works That Require Italics

Use Italics for titles such as the following:

• Pieces with sections, such as a collection or anthology.
• Some scientific names.
• Computers and video games.
• Titles of newspapers and titles of articles from newspapers.
• Play titles.
• Works of art.
• Court cases.
• Television and radio shows.
• Episode titles.
• Book titles.
• Magazine articles.
• Album titles.
• Names of Ships.
• Operas, musical titles, and other musical works.

Here are some examples of italicized works:

• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
• Michelangelo’s David.
• When Harry Met Sally.
• Do you have a copy of Wag the Dog by award-winning author Larry Beinhart?
• My favorite mystery book is In the Woods by the bestselling author Tana French .

The source’s title is usually italicized in a bibliography or reference list entries. But it can also depend on the source type. If you’re citing a journal article, every citation style italicizes the journal title instead of the article.

• Asher, J. (2017). Thirteen reasons why . Penguin Books.
• (2011). When Harry met Sally . Santa Monica, Calif: MGM Studio distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Works That Require Quotation Marks

Use double quotes for the following types of work.

• Comic strips.
• Article title.
• Generic titles.
• Short works like essays
• Short story titles.
• Song titles.

Remember that quotation marks come in pairs, so add both opening and closing quotation marks. Here are some examples where we use friendly quotation marks in titles:

• “Cul de Sac” is a darkly humorous comic.
• “Cinderella” is my favorite chapter title from the Big Blue Book .

Big Things vs. Little Things

“Big things” include a collection of novels or book series, movies, cartoon series, and other works that can stand independently. We can also consider them as complete bodies of work.

Meanwhile, the “little things” depend on other groups, so we put them in quotes.

Think of a “single” in an album title or a “book chapter” in a book title. Another good example includes “manuscripts” in collections.

Remember that this isn’t a perfect rule. But it helps writers determine whether they should quote or italicize the title of a work.

Italics vs. Quotation Marks in Style Guides

The grammar rules on italicizing or quoting titles are usually a matter of style. Take a look at the title formats’ differences among style guides.

In the Modern Language Association style guide, a quick rule is to italicize titles that are longer. Experienced writers state that these “longer works” include books, journals, court cases, etc. Ship names and other notable names are also in italics.

But for shorter works like articles and poems, MLA Style Guide recommends you format titles with double quotation marks.

Chicago Style

The Chicago Manual of Style goes by the same basic rules as MLA. Titles of major works, such as books, and special names like a ship should be in italics. But place the item in quotation marks for subsections of larger bodies like journal articles, blogs, and book chapters.

According to the APA Style 7th edition , you should use italics for titles like journals, magazines, and newspapers. Books, artworks, webpages, and any other larger body of work also use italics.

However, writers who follow APA use the regular type of format for shorter works. These include essays or works in journal articles and lectures.

When to Not Use Italics or Quotation Marks

There’s a specific type of title that all major style guides have no recommendations for. The following do not use italics or quotation marks for titles:

• Commercial products.
• Political documents.
• Legal documents.
• Major religious books or scriptures.
• Name of artifacts.
• Names of buildings.
• Constitutional documents.
• Traditional game.

If you are formatting titles on a website, there’s no need to follow the rules on italics vs. quotation marks. You can go with any more visually appealing style since online web pages are less formal than print materials.

Prioritize the font type, size, and headings when formatting websites and web pages. Make decisions based on what will attract visitors.

When to Underline Instead of Quote or Italicize

If you write using pen and paper, italicizing works can be challenging. Many style manuals recommend underlining the source instead. It’s easier, more practical, and keeps your handwriting legible.

Final Word on Italics vs. Quotes in Titles

An easy way to remember is that most types of titles are almost always in italics. APA, MLA, and Chicago manuals of style recommend italics for longer works.

I hope this guide on using quotation marks and italics in titles helps you become a better writer. 

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Using quotation marks in titles

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Video transcript

Italics vs Quotation Marks in Titles

Explanation.

Generally and grammatically speaking, put titles of shorter works in quotation marks but italicize titles of longer works. For example, put a “song title” in quotation marks but italicize the title of the album it appears on.

Titles in Italics

( source type : example)

Books : On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous Magazines/Journals : Newsweek or Cave Canem Newspapers : St. Louis Post-Dispatch Pamphlets : How to Take Your Own Blood Pressure Movies/Plays/Musicals : The Producers or Two Trains Running or Hamilton Long Poems : The Odyssey or The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Radio/TV Program : This American Life or Game of Thrones Ballet/Dance : Les Sylphides or Rodeo Operas/Musical Pieces : La Traviata or Rhapsody in Blue Paintings/Sculptures : Mona Lisa or The Burghers of Calais Ships/Planes/Trains : Titanic or Air Force One or the Mistral Musical Albums : A Hard Day’s Night Computer/Video Games : Minecraft , Fortnite Web Sites : Facebook , Wikipedia

Titles in Quotation Marks

Articles/Essays : “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Book Chapters : “Legal Issues and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome” Short Stories : “Fly Already” Short Poem s: “At Black River” Songs : “Can’t Buy Me Love” Radio/TV Episodes : “Rookie” from Queen Sono

Works Needing Capitals But Not Italics or Quotation Marks

Music in Number or Key : Prelude and Fugue in E flat Major Sacred Writings : Bible or Koran or Bhagavadgita Editions or Societies : Kittredge’s Shakespeare or Anglo-Norman Text Society Diseases : Tay-Sachs disease (but not cancer, polio, leukemia, etc.) Acronyms : FBI, NAACP, GIF Conventional Titles : U.S. Constitution or Declaration of Independence Student’s Paper Title : Role of the Djinns in Islamic Belief

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How do I cite a quote in the title of a paper

I have written a paper (only internally marked) and I have a title:

"GCR2: A Riddle, Wrapped in a Mystery, Inside an Enigma".

This was initially a Winston Churchill quote about Russia (after the colon anyway). However, it seems silly to reference it directly in the title and I have been looking around on the web and cannot find how to reference something that only appears in the title.

Any guidance or links to websites will be very helpful (although I couldn't find any!)

4 Answers 4

No-one would expect a reference in the title. There are a few alternatives you can consider.

The simple one would be to add "(Winston Churchill)" after the quote in the title.

A better option in my opinion, is to start the introduction with the same quote built into an explanatory sentence and then add the reference there. After all, the quote must have a significant meaning for your work, otherwise it would not form the title. I am not sure what the "GCR2" stands for but in general one should avoid abbreviations in the title.

A third possibility is to rewrite the title to something more explicit. you can have the quote as the main title followed by a subtitle that explains the significance. Different field have different ways of handling such titles so I cannot say what would be suitable for you. The title should draw attention to your work and make readers decide whether the work is worth reading. For me it has no meaning and although I am in a different field, I think that is a sign that the construct is not optimal.

• 1 Oh GCR2 is a name of protein, and usually they are abbreviated in the title. Okay, cool I'll change the title and use the reference in the introduction. Thankyou! –  Mark Ramotowski Commented Dec 3, 2013 at 14:13
• Thanks for the clarification, then clearly the title make more sense in your field than for me. My brother worked with NPY and I had similar problems understanding his titles :-) Clearly, my expertise is in a different field. –  Peter Jansson Commented Dec 3, 2013 at 14:21
• 3 I'd personally like more the other way round: make an explanatory title, and keep the witty quote as a subtitle. –  Federico Poloni Commented Dec 3, 2013 at 14:31
• 10 I don't like at all the suggestion of adding the words (Winston Churchill) to the title. Think about people citing your work: with the wrong reference style, the citation could look like it refers to a paper written by Churchill. –  Federico Poloni Commented Dec 3, 2013 at 14:34
• @FedericoPoloni Good points but, as I stated, how to best handle the title will vary between fields so it is difficult to provide any patented general solution. –  Peter Jansson Commented Dec 3, 2013 at 14:41

Leave the title as you suggest,

GCR2: A Riddle, Wrapped in a Mystery, Inside an Enigma

without any citations or quotation marks, or any mention to Churchill or any of it. In the introduction of the paper, however, make sure to mention where appropriate the quote, and to give the appropriate reference(s) to it.

In particular, do not try to add footnotes, or references to the title. Any of it would result in turning a clever choice of title into something very confusing, which may further lead to unintentional mistakes when others try to reference your paper.

(Truth be told, I imagine --hope-- a referee would ask you to change the title if you tried to include footnotes or the like.)

If you are worried that you are not giving due credit to Churchill (hehe) or somesuch, don't. Your introduction will hopefully clarify all of it.

In fact, if your title were something like "To be or not to be. Of proteins and men", where what you quote or reference is essentially universally known, I would suggest not to bother explaining it anywhere, as it could be perceived as you suggesting your readers would not understand it otherwise, and they in turn may react negatively to such a suggestion.

I think that phrase is so trite that it almost doesn't need a citation.

All that said, if you want to avoid the ugly of an endnote in the title, you could use the phrase in the first para or so of the intro (not the abstract) and then put an endnote citation on that first usage. This also has the benefit of cluing in the unwashed towards the beginning of your paper (and making the smarty pants pat themselves on the back).

For example: "In 1952, Winston Churchill penned the famous quote "blabla" to describe the secretive Soviet Union.(endnote number1) In recent years, GCR2 has drawn the interest, and frustration, of researchers trying to understand how it [does whatever it does]. This review will describe the major recent findings and remaining questions for this critical protein [or whatever it is]."

In some other case, I could even imagine just adding the citation number superscript to the title.

I advise not to weight a title down with (Winston Churchill). Titles should be strong and brief. Don't weigh a title down with a parenthetical. That's worse than the ugly superscript number.

While I love the quote, you could also consider to kill it in the title. There is a point of view in science writing (and all writing) that you should find whatever you did that you think is cute and kill it. Note, I'm not endorsing this...I like a little "juice". But it is an option. However, it does work very well for the title of an oral talk (where a little "tease" is helpful).

This is not unheard of, though it's fairly uncommon.

My favorite example, which may give you some insights on how others have handled their desire to use a reference for a title (especially if you can access the published version):

One Ring to Rule Them All ... and in the Darkness Bind Them?

The authors quickly explain why the plain meaning of the two references are relevant (they were studying "black rings", and there was "one" that basically governed things; and black holes and bound states were discussed, hence the second part), and there's a footnote in the acknowledgments/funding disavowing any association with the Tolkien estate.

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A Guide to Using Quotations in Essays

Quotations Add Credibility to a Persuasive Essay

• Love Quotes
• Great Lines from Movies and Television
• Quotations For Holidays
• Best Sellers
• Classic Literature
• Plays & Drama
• Shakespeare
• Short Stories
• Children's Books
• M.B.A, Human Resource Development and Management, Narsee Monjee Institution of Management Studies
• B.S., University of Mumbai, Commerce, Accounting, and Finance

If you want to make an impact on your reader, you can draw on the potency of quotations. The  effective use of quotations  augments the power of your arguments and makes your essays more interesting.

But there is a need for caution! Are you convinced that the quotation you have chosen is helping your essay and not hurting it? Here are some factors to consider to ensure that you are doing the right thing.

What Is This Quotation Doing in This Essay?

Let us begin at the beginning. You have a chosen a quotation for your essay. But, why that specific quotation?

A good quotation should do one or more of the following:

• Make an opening impact on the reader
• Build credibility for your essay
• Make the essay more interesting
• Close the essay with a point to ponder upon

If the quotation does not meet a few of these objectives, then it is of little value. Merely stuffing a quotation into your essay can do more harm than good.

Your Essay Is Your Mouthpiece

Should the quotation speak for the essay or should the essay speak for the quotation? Quotations should add impact to the essay and not steal the show. If your quotation has more punch than your essay, then something is seriously wrong. Your essay should be able to stand on its own legs; the quotation should merely make this stand stronger.

How Many Quotations Should You Use in Your Essay?

Using too many quotations is like having several people shouting on your behalf. This will drown out your voice. Refrain from overcrowding your essay with words of wisdom from famous people. You own the essay, so make sure that you are heard.

Don't Make It Look Like You Plagiarized

There are some rules and standards when using quotations in an essay. The most important one is that you should not give the impression of being the author of the quotation. That would amount to plagiarism . Here are a set of rules to clearly distinguish your writing from the quotation:

• You may describe the quotation in your own words before using it. In this case, you should use a colon (:) to indicate the beginning of the quotation. Then begin the quotation with a quotation mark ("). After you have completed the quotation, close it with a quotation mark ("). Here is an example: Sir Winston Churchill made a witty remark on the attitude of a pessimist: "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
• The sentence in which the quotation is embedded might not explicitly describe the quotation, but merely introduce it. In such a case, do away with the colon. Simply use the quotation marks . Here is an example: Sir Winston Churchill once said, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
• As far as possible, you should mention the author and the source of the quotation. For instance: In Shakespeare ’s play "As You Like It," Touchstone says to Audrey in the Forest of Arden, "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool." (Act V, Scene I).
• Ensure that the source of your quotation is authentic. Also, verify the author of your quotation. You can do so by looking up the quotation on authoritative websites. For formal writing, do not rely on just one website.

Blend Quotations In

An essay can seem quite jarring if the quotation does not blend in. The quotation should naturally fit into your essay. No one is interested in reading quotation-stuffed essays.

Here are some good tips on blending in your quotations:

• You can begin your essay with a quotation that sets off the basic idea of the essay. This can have a lasting impact on your reader. In the introductory paragraph of your essay, you can comment on the quotation if you like. In any case, do ensure that the relevance of the quotation is communicated well.
• Your choice of phrases and adjectives can significantly boost the impact of the quotation in your essay. Do not use monotonous phrases like: "George Washington once said...." If your essay is written for the appropriate context, consider using emphatic expressions like: "George Washington rocked the nation by saying...."

Using Long Quotations

It is usually better to have short and crisp quotations in your essay. Generally, long quotations must be used sparingly as they tend to weigh down the reader. However, there are times when your essay has more impact with a longer quotation.

If you have decided to use a long quotation, consider paraphrasing , as it usually works better. But, there is a downside to paraphrasing too. Instead of paraphrasing, if you use a direct quotation , you will avoid misrepresentation. The decision to use a long quotation is not trivial. It is your judgment call.

If you are convinced that a particular long quotation is more effective, be sure to format and punctuate it correctly.   Long quotations should be set off as block quotations . The format of block quotations should follow the guidelines that you might have been provided. If there are no specific guidelines, you can follow the usual standard—if a quotation is more than three lines long, you set it off as a block quote. Blocking implies indenting it about half an inch on the left.

Usually, a brief introduction to a long quotation is warranted. In other cases, you might need to provide a complete analysis of the quotation. In this case, it is best to begin with the quotation and follow it with the analysis, rather than the other way around.

Using Cute Quotes or Poetry

Some students choose a cute quotation first and then try to plug it into their essay. As a consequence, such quotations usually drag the reader away from the essay.

Quoting a verse from a poem, however, can add a lot of charm to your essay. I have come across writing that acquires a romantic edge merely by including a poetic quotation. If you are quoting from poetry, keep in mind that a small extract of a poem, say about two lines long, requires the use of slash marks (/) to indicate line breaks. Here is an example:

Charles Lamb has aptly described a child as "A child's a plaything for an hour;/ Its pretty tricks we try / For that or for a longer space; / Then tire, and lay it by." (1-4)

If you use a single line extract of a poem, punctuate it like any other short quotation without the slashes. Quotation marks are required at the beginning and at the end of the extract. However, if your quotation is more than three lines of poetry, I would suggest that you treat it like you would have treated a long quotation from prose. In this case, you should use the block quote format.

Does Your Reader Understand the Quotation?

Perhaps the most important question you must ask yourself when using a quotation is: "Do readers understand the quotation and its relevance to my essay ?"

If the reader is re-reading a quotation, just to understand it, then you are in trouble. So when you choose a quotation for your essay, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is this too convoluted for my reader?
• Does this match the tastes of my audience ?
• Is the grammar and vocabulary in this quotation understandable?
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• Famous Last Words: Fictional Characters, Books and Plays
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• Make His Father's Day Special With These Quotes About Dads
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How to make a cover page for an essay, how to shorten an essay.

59 mins ago

How to Write a Song Title in an Essay

Can you guess one of the most popular questions regarding writing essays in college? Most often, students ask about citations and quotes because the formatting requirements for citations are unreasonably strict and undoubtedly counterintuitive. Let’s discuss one exciting aspect of the vivid and entangled quotation art: the guidelines for including song titles in quotes in your academic paper. It is relatively simple, but (oh, there is always a “but”) there are some vital nuances you probably would want to know.

How to Punctuate Song Titles

Long story short: you should always surround your music title with quotes. That is pretty much it: if you want to cite music composition in your academic paper, you should do it the same as in the examples below. 

Example: Of all the country songs released in 2000, the title track from Toby Keith’s How Do You Like Me Now? had the most airplay. “Country Comes to Town” and “You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like That” are two other beloved tracks from the same album.

As you can see, “Country Comes to Town” and “You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like That” are song titles that are properly formatted by putting quotation marks around them. Sounds fairly simple, right? Well, there is a little bit more to it. 

To speed up the citation process, consider giving a chance to our free generator!

Confused When Referencing? Try our Free Citation Generator

How to write song titles: exceptions .

There is also an italic font in the example above, which is not a mistake. You should put quotation marks around song titles, but it is common practice to highlight the album names with italics. So, “How Do You Like Me Now?” is an album title, and it should be written in cursive to be included in your academic paper. 

Example 2: “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing” was Trace Adkins’ first number-one song, released in 1997 on his album Dreamin’ Out Loud .

In the example, “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing” is the song title, and “Dreamin’ Out Loud” is the album name. But what should you do if the song and album titles are the same? There is a simple solution: just use quotation marks when quoting the song and italics when addressing the album.

Example 3: “How Do You Like Me Now?” is my favorite song from the album How Do You Like Me Now?

How to Quote a Song Title: General Guidelines 

We recommend always asking your academic advisor about the proper academic format. In general, there are the following formatting rules regarding song titles:

🔖 Place quotation marks around the names of songs: Using the correct typographic quotation marks and apostrophes (curly quotes) can ensure that your professionally typeset text looks its best.

🎼 Make all album and CD titles italic: Avoid fake italics in typeset material. Although this isn’t a rule of grammar, it is a rule of good printing and design.

📝 Do not underline: Unless you’re using a typewriter or writing the titles by hand, you should not use underlining instead of italics.

How do I title a song in an essay?

You should put the song title in quotation marks to cite it properly while writing your college paper. If you want to address the album’s name, you should use italics.

Are song titles italicized in MLA?

No, they are not. The common practice in MLA is to put song titles in quotation marks and italicize only names of albums.

Is a song title in quotes?

Yes, it is recommended to put the song title in quotes by all popular academic formats. We suggest consulting with your advisor if you are unsure about your academic format.

How to write song titles in APA?

Regarding grammar and style, songs’ titles should be written in quotation marks in APA, whereas album titles should be italicized. This style requirement is shared by APA, MLA, and other popular academic formats.

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“A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles

There’s an older gentleman I see every summer at the beach. With his striking white hair and serious tan, clad only in swim shorts, he walks up and down our local six-mile beach, reading. Every time I see him, he’s reading—reading and walking, walking and reading. One day, I saw him reading the New York Times best-seller A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. I had already heard good things about it, but I wanted his opinion since I knew from previous conversations that we had a mutual appreciation for thoughtful literature. He said he was enjoying it and that his wife’s book club had claimed it was probably the best book they had ever read.

After my mother shipped out the family copy to me, I couldn’t wait to start reading it. My first thought was that this was going to be a rather comical book. The opening transcription of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov’s 1922 trial before the Soviet “Emergency Committee of the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs” was clever, humorous, and certainly piqued my interest. When Prosecutor Comrade A. Y. Vyshinsky inquires about his occupation, Rostov answers, “It is not the business of gentlemen to have occupations.” When Comrade Vyshinsky asks how Rostov spends his time, the Count responds, “Dining, discussing. Reading, reflecting. The usual rigmarole” (4). After further dialogue, Comrade Ignatov chimes in to say how surprised he is that the alleged “author of the poem in question could have become a man so obviously without purpose.” To that, Rostov says, “I have lived under the impression that a man’s purpose is known only to God” (5).

After a brief recess, Ignatov delivers the committee’s verdict. Concluding that Rostov had “succumbed irrevocably to the corruptions of his class—and now poses a threat to the very ideals he once espoused,” they were inclined to put him “against the wall” (5). But since this 1913 poem ( Where Is It Now? ) was considered to be the work of a hero of the “prerevolutionary cause,” they were instead putting him under house arrest—or in this case, hotel arrest. As he had been staying at the elegant Hotel Metropol in Moscow (specifically, suite 317), he would remain there (though no longer in that nice suite). “But make no mistake,” Ignatov warns him, “should you ever set foot outside of the Metropol again, you will be shot” (6).

There you pretty much have the entire plot of A Gentleman in Moscow .

Like my distinguished fellow reader walking up and down the long stretch of beach, reading, chatting, and getting ever tanner, so Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov (a “Former Person of Interest”) spends his days in the Hotel Metropol “dining, discussing. Reading, reflecting. The usual rigmarole.” Although there are some charming scenes, I soon began to wonder if in addition to a “man’s purpose [being] known only to God,” the purpose of this novel was known only to the author! This is not a short book, and I wondered if I should continue to linger in this hotel, where not much was happening apart from “the usual rigmarole” for the Count. I decided to persevere, however, trusting the others who praised it—including the critics and the fact that it was on the New York Times best-seller list. When my resolve further waned, a coworker told me how much he loved it, and he strongly encouraged me to stick with the Count and the Hotel Metropol. My final encouragement to read to the end came, however, when I heard that Kenneth Branagh was directing and starring in a television series based on the book. Being a serious Branagh fan, I was now intrigued. If this genius of cinema and all things Shakespearean liked it, then there must be something to it!

Just like the book, this review may seem to be slowly going nowhere in particular. Now that you’ve read this far, however, I will confess that by the time I arrived at the final page of this novel, I was glad I had indeed persevered. It had been more subtle than I had sensed while reading it (and I consider myself a careful reader). But now looking back on the storyline, I think I “get” it.

Since the book jacket copy says it so well, I’ll quote the hardworking marketing folks at Viking:

An indomitable man of erudition and wit, Rostov must live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors.

This was one of the truly fascinating aspects of the story for me. The Hotel Metropol was situated near the Kremlin; and during his imprisonment in the hotel, Rostov survives the rule of Stalin and then Khrushchev. While the hotel grows a bit worn over the years, it still draws top Soviet officials and foreign (including American) visitors. As Rostov wanders the corridors of his old luxury hotel, growing older himself, his friends begin disappearing into Siberia. At one point, his life-long friend Mishka visits him at the hotel after sneaking into the restaurant kitchen.

“Who would have imagined,” he said, “when you were sentenced to life in the Metropol all those years ago, that you had just become the luckiest man in all of Russia.” (292)

Although under arrest, the Count had indeed been safe within these hotel walls during the “tumultuous decades.”

One remarkable friendship that develops over the years (which apparently is another reason for the Count’s protection from outside forces) is between Rostov and a Soviet official (and former Red Army colonel), Osip Ivanovich Glebnikov. Having lived life only as a gruff soldier, Osip seeks out the Count to learn the ways of a gentleman, now that he is a Soviet dignitary among Europeans and Americans. Osip particularly wants to understand Americans, and so he and the Count begin watching American films (after a failed attempt at reading de Tocqueville). Osip especially likes Humphrey Bogart, considering him to be a “Man of Intent” (295).

One of the films they watch together is the 1937 Marx Brothers’ A Day at the Races . It is here that we find some insight into Osip’s Communist perspective regarding American culture—and his genuine concern:

“Just look at their Depression,” he said. “From beginning to end it lasted ten years. An entire decade in which the Proletariat was left to fend for itself. . . . If ever there had been a time for the American worker to cast off the yoke, surely that was it. But did they join their brothers-in-arms? Did they shoulder their axes and splinter the doors of the mansions? Not even for an afternoon. Instead, they shuffled off to the nearest movie house, where the latest fantasy was dangled before them like a pocket watch at the end of a chain.” (293)

Unfortunately, we don’t have enough space here to delve into the ensuing conversations between Osip and his friend Alexander regarding American movies (and a different, more positive interpretation of them by an American later in the book). Suffice it to say that Osip is scandalized by what he sees and claims that “Hollywood is the single most dangerous force in the history of class struggle” (294). It has no positive influence on the suffering masses and works only as a narcotic to numb them. “How did this happen, Alexander?” Osip asks. “Why do they allow these movies to be made? Do they not realize they are hammering a wedge beneath their own foundation stones?” (294).

The years pass and Rostov becomes intrigued with the 1942 Bogart/Bergman classic film Casablanca . Apart from the interesting discussions about “individualism” versus “the common good” (298), it was only when I reached this part near the end that I suddenly realized the important role of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, especially as Headwaiter for the acclaimed Boyarksy Restaurant in the Hotel Metropol. Close to the conclusion (I suppose you could call this a plot spoiler, though I am leaving out all the exciting events of the climax, so proceed at your own discretion!), the Count says to his friend Viktor Stepanovich regarding Casablanca , “Ah. You must see it one day” (453). When Viktor finally gets this chance, he remembers what the Count said to him and concentrates on the film:

As Rick [Bogart] began making his way through the disconcerted crowd toward the piano player [Sam], something caught Viktor’s eye. Just the slightest detail, not more than a few frames of film: In the midst of this short journey, as Rick passes a customer’s table, without breaking stride or interrupting his assurances to the crowd, he sets upright a cocktail glass that had been knocked over during the skirmish.

Yes, thought Viktor, that’s it, exactly.

For here was Casablanca, a far-flung outpost in a time of war. And here at the heart of the city, right under the sweep of the searchlights, was Rick’s Café Américain, where the beleaguered could assemble for the moment to gamble and drink and listen to music; to conspire, console, and most importantly, hope. And at the center of this oasis was Rick. . . . In setting upright the cocktail glass in the aftermath of the commotion, didn’t he also exhibit an essential faith that by the smallest of one’s actions one can restore some sense of order to the world? (458–59)

I then realized how life had still happened—and quite fully—to a “Former Person of Interest” forced to remain inside a hotel for decades. But it’s not so much that life happened to our friend Alexander (or, more affectionately, Sasha). It’s that Alexander ensured that life happened for all those around him—not necessarily “the usual rigmarole” of one’s day, but the assurance that beauty and order continue regardless. Just as Rick’s café was an oasis from the horror of the Nazi regime and the subsequent events of the Second World War (which, in our story, follow the First World War and the Bolshevik Revolution), so too was Alexander’s grand hotel. I now understood that this was a book about aesthetics. Count/Headwaiter Rostov’s primary business was to safeguard each guest’s dining pleasure—the food, the music, the ambience, the elegant and gracious decorum despite the barbarity of the world outside the hotel doors. As with Viktor, I realized that Alexander, like Rick (or Bogie, the “Man of Intent”), believed that with “the smallest of one’s actions one can restore some sense of order to the world.”

By the time we reach the last page, we see how Alexander has managed to transcend the ugliness of the world by simply “dining, discussing. Reading, reflecting.” Of course, Alexander performs some good deeds along the way (and Towles provides a dramatic climax to the story). But I think that what we learn from the Count about how to enrich each day—for ourselves and those around us—is more important. I am glad I took the advice of my coworker and persevered to the end. Alexander Ilyich Rostov proved not to be “a man so obviously without purpose,” but rather a “Man of Intent.” Even if, like Rick, he was merely righting an upset glass, he was truly a gentle man in Moscow.

Patricia Anders  is the managing editor of Modern Reformation and editorial director of Hendrickson Publishers on the North Shore of Boston.

Patricia Anders

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A Gentleman in Moscow

Amor towles.

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Amor Towles's A Gentleman in Moscow . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

A Gentleman in Moscow: Introduction

A gentleman in moscow: plot summary, a gentleman in moscow: detailed summary & analysis, a gentleman in moscow: themes, a gentleman in moscow: quotes, a gentleman in moscow: characters, a gentleman in moscow: terms, a gentleman in moscow: symbols, a gentleman in moscow: theme wheel, brief biography of amor towles.

Historical Context of A Gentleman in Moscow

Other books related to a gentleman in moscow.

• Full Title: A Gentleman in Moscow
• When Written: 2009-2016
• Where Written: New York City
• When Published: 2016
• Literary Period: Contemporary
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Setting: The Metropol Hotel, Moscow, 1922-1954
• Climax: The Count escapes from the Metropol
• Antagonist: The Bishop; the Bolsheviks
• Point of View: Third person omniscient

Extra Credit for A Gentleman in Moscow

The Grand Metropol Hotel. Although most of the characters in the novel are fictional, the Metropol Hotel is a real hotel in Moscow’s Theatre Square. It opened in 1905 and remains in business today.

An Author’s Alliteration. All of the words in the chapter titles in A Gentleman in Moscow begin with the letter “A.” Towles has stated that this is his own way of playing Zut , the game invented by the Count and Sofia in the novel, in which they must come up with answers that fit a given category.

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How to cite ChatGPT

Use discount code STYLEBLOG15 for 15% off APA Style print products with free shipping in the United States.

We, the APA Style team, are not robots. We can all pass a CAPTCHA test , and we know our roles in a Turing test . And, like so many nonrobot human beings this year, we’ve spent a fair amount of time reading, learning, and thinking about issues related to large language models, artificial intelligence (AI), AI-generated text, and specifically ChatGPT . We’ve also been gathering opinions and feedback about the use and citation of ChatGPT. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and shared ideas, opinions, research, and feedback.

In this post, I discuss situations where students and researchers use ChatGPT to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript. We know instructors have differing opinions about how or even whether students should use ChatGPT, and we’ll be continuing to collect feedback about instructor and student questions. As always, defer to instructor guidelines when writing student papers. For more about guidelines and policies about student and author use of ChatGPT, see the last section of this post.

Quoting or reproducing the text created by ChatGPT in your paper

If you’ve used ChatGPT or other AI tools in your research, describe how you used the tool in your Method section or in a comparable section of your paper. For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.

Unfortunately, the results of a ChatGPT “chat” are not retrievable by other readers, and although nonretrievable data or quotations in APA Style papers are usually cited as personal communications , with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating. Quoting ChatGPT’s text from a chat session is therefore more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.

When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

You may also put the full text of long responses from ChatGPT in an appendix of your paper or in online supplemental materials, so readers have access to the exact text that was generated. It is particularly important to document the exact text created because ChatGPT will generate a unique response in each chat session, even if given the same prompt. If you create appendices or supplemental materials, remember that each should be called out at least once in the body of your APA Style paper.

When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Creating a reference to ChatGPT or other AI models and software

The in-text citations and references above are adapted from the reference template for software in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10). Although here we focus on ChatGPT, because these guidelines are based on the software template, they can be adapted to note the use of other large language models (e.g., Bard), algorithms, and similar software.

The reference and in-text citations for ChatGPT are formatted as follows:

• Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)
• Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

Let’s break that reference down and look at the four elements (author, date, title, and source):

Author: The author of the model is OpenAI.

Date: The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.

Title: The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers.

The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.

Bracketed text is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.

Source: When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).

Other questions about citing ChatGPT

You may have noticed the confidence with which ChatGPT described the ideas of brain lateralization and how the brain operates, without citing any sources. I asked for a list of sources to support those claims and ChatGPT provided five references—four of which I was able to find online. The fifth does not seem to be a real article; the digital object identifier given for that reference belongs to a different article, and I was not able to find any article with the authors, date, title, and source details that ChatGPT provided. Authors using ChatGPT or similar AI tools for research should consider making this scrutiny of the primary sources a standard process. If the sources are real, accurate, and relevant, it may be better to read those original sources to learn from that research and paraphrase or quote from those articles, as applicable, than to use the model’s interpretation of them.

We’ve also received a number of other questions about ChatGPT. Should students be allowed to use it? What guidelines should instructors create for students using AI? Does using AI-generated text constitute plagiarism? Should authors who use ChatGPT credit ChatGPT or OpenAI in their byline? What are the copyright implications ?

On these questions, researchers, editors, instructors, and others are actively debating and creating parameters and guidelines. Many of you have sent us feedback, and we encourage you to continue to do so in the comments below. We will also study the policies and procedures being established by instructors, publishers, and academic institutions, with a goal of creating guidelines that reflect the many real-world applications of AI-generated text.

For questions about manuscript byline credit, plagiarism, and related ChatGPT and AI topics, the APA Style team is seeking the recommendations of APA Journals editors. APA Style guidelines based on those recommendations will be posted on this blog and on the APA Style site later this year.

Update: APA Journals has published policies on the use of generative AI in scholarly materials .

We, the APA Style team humans, appreciate your patience as we navigate these unique challenges and new ways of thinking about how authors, researchers, and students learn, write, and work with new technologies.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

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Trump Promises Rollback On Trans Rights: Here's What He's Said

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Former President Donald Trump on Friday said he would undo a new Biden administration policy that will offer protections for transgender students under the Title IX federal civil rights law—his latest promise to restrict LGBTQ rights if elected to a second term.

Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks during a rally on May ... [+] 1, 2024 at Avflight Saginaw in Freeland, Michigan.(Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

Trump said on “day one” he would reverse the Biden administration’s expansion of Title IX that will prohibit federally funded schools from preventing transgender students from using bathrooms, locker rooms and pronouns that align with their gender identities.

Trump told a crowd in Iowa in March he would sign an executive order to “cut federal funding” for schools pushing “critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”

In January, he released a video detailing a range of policies targeting gender-affirming care for minors, including pressing Congress to approve a federal ban and several measures to restrict federal funding when it came to trans issues.

Trump said he would block doctors who provide gender-affirming care from Medicare and Medicaid, forbid federal agencies from actions to “promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age,” and task the Justice Department with investigating the medical industry to see if they “deliberately covered up horrific long-term side effects of sex transitions in order to get rich.”

In the video, Trump laid out additional plans for extending the restrictions to schools, promising “severe consequences,” including potential civil rights violations, for educators who “suggest to a child they could be trapped in the wrong body.”

In 2022 Trump told a crowd in Texas he would ban transgender individuals from competing in women’s sports, and attacked transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, weeks after her hotly debated record-breaking swim meet in Ohio while she was competing on the University of Pennsylvania swim team.

Trump and Republicans attacked President Joe Biden for recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility, which coincidentally fell on March 31 this year, the same day as Easter Sunday. Trump’s campaign falsely claimed that Biden “chose” Easter to mark the advocacy day, even though it’s fallen on March 31 since 2009 and the Biden administration has recognized the day every year of his presidency.

Crucial Quote

“The left-wing gender insanity being pushed at our children is an act of child abuse. Very simple. Here’s my plan to stop the chemical, physical and emotional mutilation of our youth,” Trump said in the January video.

What To Watch For

The Biden administration’s expansion of Title IX will take effect on Aug. 1. More than 20 Republican-led states are suing the administration to block the law.

Surprising Fact

Trump’s daughter, Tiffany Trump, defended her father’s relationship with the LGBTQ community at a “Trump Pride” event in Florida in 2020, arguing that “prior to politics, he supported gays, lesbians, the LGBQIA+ community,” omitting the T in the acronym that stands for “transgender.” Trump called himself a “real friend” of the gay community in 2016. More recently, he hosted a gathering of the conservative LGBTQ organization, Log Cabin Republicans, at Mar-A-Lago in December 2022, where he declared “we’re fighting for the gay community, and we are . . . fighting hard,” Politico reported. Trump told “60 Minutes” in 2016 he was “fine” with same-sex marriage, despite previously suggesting he would appoint Supreme Court judges who would support reversing its legalization. His administration also launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality in countries where it is illegal.

Key Background

Trump’s attacks on transgender rights and healthcare date back to his first days in the White House, when he removed virtually all mentions of LGBTQ people from federal websites. He subsequently enacted a string of regulations to scale back protections for transgender individuals in anti-discrimination laws across the education, housing, employment and health care sectors, filed legal briefings in opposition of LGBTQ rights in numerous court cases and banned transgender people from serving in the military (a policy Biden has since reversed).

Further Reading

Trump Campaign Blasts Biden For Recognizing ‘Transgender Day Of Visibility’ On Easter Sunday—But Visibility Day Always Falls On March 31 (Forbes)

Here’s How Americans Really Feel About LGBTQ Issues (Forbes)

Biden Admin Bolsters Protections For Gay And Trans People In Healthcare, Reversing Trump Policy (Forbes)

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Soccer-France's story already a success, emotional Henry says

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Wallabies coach Schmidt sticks to long-term plan after thrashing by Springboks

Australia coach Joe Schmidt said he will not make sweeping changes to his team despite their heavy defeat by South Africa in their Rugby Championship opener on Saturday and that he has faith in the long-term plan for the side.

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Trump Cancels a Debate With Harris on ABC News and Pitches One With Fox News Instead

Mr. Trump said in a social media post that the previously scheduled presidential debate to be hosted by ABC News was “terminated” once President Biden dropped out of the race.

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By Neil Vigdor Maggie Haberman and Simon J. Levien

• Published Aug. 3, 2024 Updated Aug. 9, 2024

Former President Donald J. Trump declared late on Friday that he was dropping out of an ABC News debate scheduled for Sept. 10 and presented a counterproposal to Vice President Kamala Harris, his presumptive opponent, to face off on Fox News six days earlier.

The change, which Mr. Trump announced on his social media site, Truth Social, raised objections from the Harris campaign and appeared to throw a potential showdown between the rivals into question.

A campaign official for Ms. Harris on Saturday accused Mr. Trump of scheming up the Fox News debate to distract from reneging on his commitment to the ABC debate. Mr. Trump had agreed to that debate in May, before President Biden dropped out of the race and before Mr. Biden’s calamitous performance in a CNN debate on June 27.

“Donald Trump is running scared and trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to and running straight to Fox News to bail him out,” Michael Tyler, the communications director for the Harris campaign, said in a statement. “He needs to stop playing games and show up to the debate he already committed to on Sept 10.”

Mr. Tyler said that the Harris campaign was open to discussing further debates if Mr. Trump honored his commitment to the ABC debate.

“Mr. Anytime, Anywhere, Anyplace should have no problem with that unless he’s too scared to show up on the 10th,” he said.

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