When typing was done on typewriters, book titles were always underlined because we were not able to change the way the font looked. Shorter titles were sometimes put in quotation marks for the same reason.
Now, with computers, we can change the way words look with and print.
So, what is the correct way to show when writing?
This is a good question.
Chicago Manual of Style and the Modern Language Association tell us to use for all titles of books, newspapers, and magazines.
by Charles Dickens
by Harper Lee
by Mark Twain
The AP styleguide tells us to use around the titles of books.
"Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain
If you are writing an essay for a class or for a publication, you might ask your teacher or editor which you should follow.
The most important thing is to pick a style and stick to it.
I usually use:
1. for longer works such as books
2. "quotation marks" for shorter works such as poems and articles.
There are also several different methods of capitalizing titles. These methods do not always agree.
This page does not cover all the different views, just one method that we like to use. Click here to add your own comments
Return to Questions and Answers about English.
Please share this page with others:
- Spanish Version
- Textbooks and Workbooks
- Why Learn English
Downloads & Products
- English Short Stories Book and Workbook
- Stories and Exercises to Practice Grammar
- Online English Courses
Videos & Tips
- Learn English Videos
- ESL Lessons
Speaking & Pronunciation
- Learn To Speak English
- English Pronunciation
- English Reading Practice
- English Short Stories
- English Reading Comprehension
- Learn to Write in English
- Writing Tips
- Vocabulary Activities
- Building Vocabulary
- Vocabulary Games
- English Dictionaries
- English Spelling Rules
- Confusing Words
- English Grammar Center
- English Grammar Exercises
- English Tenses
- English Parts of Speech
- Parts of a Sentence
- Gerunds and Infinitives
- English Modal Verbs
Teaching Center
- How to Teach English
- Tips & Resources
Keep in Touch
- Ask Questions
- Learn English Blog
- About This Site
- Affiliate Program
- Useful Links
- Privacy Policy
- English Short Stories Book & Workbook
- ESL/EFL Resources for Teachers
- Free ESL/EFL Downloads
- Spanish Version (Español)
Downloads & Products:
Videos & tips:, speaking & pronunciation:, vocabulary:, teaching center:, keep in touch:.
Online English Courses: Interactive and Fun
Copyright © 2010-2023 Really-Learn-English.com. All rights reserved.
- Western Libraries
- Ask Us! Answer Service
Q. How do I refer to a book by title in-text in APA format?
- Research & Writing Studio
- 21 Accounts
- 14 Acquisitions
- 4 Anthropology
- 71 APA citations and formatting
- 35 Archives
- 31 Archives & Special Collections
- 36 Articles
- 14 Business resources
- 11 Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
- 3 Chemistry
- 8 Chicago citations and formatting
- 85 Circulation Services (check out/return/renew items)
- 42 Citations and style guides
- 43 Collections
- 50 Community services
- 1 Computer science
- 38 Computers
- 47 Copyright
- 79 Databases
- 22 Digital collections
- 86 Directions
- 7 Education (studies)
- 3 Engineering
- 2 English literature
- 7 Environmental studies/sciences
- 23 Equipment
- 42 Faculty services
- 3 Fairhaven
- 9 Fines and fees
- 39 First-year students
- 12 Fun facts
- 21 Government information
- 5 Graduate students
- 2 Grant writing
- 1 Guest services
- 5 Human Services
- 50 Inter-library loan
- 17 Journals
- 29 Learning Commons
- 8 Library instruction
- 78 Library services
- 13 MLA citations and formatting
- 29 Multimedia
- 5 Newspapers
- 55 OneSearch
- 4 Online Learning
- 64 Outreach and Continuing Education
- 29 Policies
- 2 Political science
- 29 Primary sources
- 30 Printing related
- 3 Psychology
- 2 Rehabilitation Counseling
- 86 Research
- 17 Research & Writing Studio
- 37 Reserves
- 6 Scholarly communication
- 3 Sociology
- 10 Special Collections
- 1 Streaming video
- 44 Student services
- 28 Student Technology Center
- 1 Teaching and Learning Academy
- 16 Technology
- 3 Troubleshooting
- 5 Tutoring Center
- 5 Undergraduate Research Award
- 5 Undergraduate Students
- 18 Video tutorial
- 11 Western CEDAR
- 1 Women's Studies
- 37 Writing related
- 93 WWU general info
Answered By: Gabe Gossett Last Updated: Jun 22, 2023 Views: 662283
The basic format for an in-text citation is: Title of the Book (Author Last Name, year).
One author: Where the Wild Things Are (Sendak, 1963) is a depiction of a child coping with his anger towards his mom.
Two authors (cite both names every time): Brabant and Mooney (1986) have used the comic strip to examine evidence of sex role stereotyping. OR The comic strip has been used to examine evidence of sex role stereotyping (Brabant & Mooney, 1986).
Three or more authors (cite the first author plus et al.): Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy (Clare et al., 2016) depicts a young man's experience at the Shadowhunter Academy, a place where being a former vampire is looked down upon.OR Clare et al. (2016) have crafted a unique story about a young man's journey to find himself.
No author: Cite the first few words of the reference entry (usually the title) and the year. Use double quotation marks around the title of an article or chapter, and italicize the title of a periodical, book, brochure, or report. Examples: From the book Study Guide (2000) ... or ("Reading," 1999).
Note: Titles of periodicals, books, brochures, or reports should be in italics and use normal title capitalization rules.
If you are citing multiple sources by multiple authors in-text, you can list all of them by the author's last name and year of publication within the same set of parentheses, separated by semicolons.
Example: (Adams, 1999; Jones & James, 2000; Miller, 1999)
For more information on how to cite books in-text and as a reference entry, see the APA Publication Manual (7th edition) Section 10.2 on pages 321-325 .
Links & Files
- APA Workshop
- Citation Quick Guides and Style Manuals
- Share on Facebook
Was this helpful? Yes 112 No 88
Comments (13)
- This was very useful for me! I was having a really hard time finding information on how to mention an article title AND the author in text in APA so this was very helpful!!! by Ryan Waddell on Jun 27, 2019
- If I just mention that I used a book to teach a topic do I have to include it in the reference list? by Franw on Oct 17, 2019
- @Franw, if it is a source that informs your paper in any way, or if your reader would have reason to look it up, then you should include a full reference list entry for the book. by Gabe [Research & Writing Studio] on Oct 18, 2019
- Maybe I'm misunderstanding the question, but I think the OP is asking how to refer to a book title, not how to cite one. I believe APA uses quotation marks around book titles and MLA uses italics. by AB on Dec 12, 2019
- @AB: The first sentence has been tweaked to clarify title of book usage, reflecting the examples given. For APA style you should use italics for book titles. It would be quotation marks. by Gabe [Research & Writing Studio] on Dec 12, 2019
- Hi, can any one help me with in-text-citation of this, how can i cite it in the text Panel, I. L. (2002). Digital transformation: A framework for ICT literacy. Educational Testing Service, 1-53. by Milad on Aug 20, 2021
- @Milad: In that case it would be (Panel, 2002). If you are quoting, or otherwise choosing to include page numbers, put a comma after the year, then p. and the page number(s). by Gabe Gossett on Aug 20, 2021
- Hey, I'm a little bit curious, what if I'm mentioning a book and paraphrasing it but still want to give credit. Would I put the information into parenthesis instead? Like: Paraphrased info. ("Title in Italics" Author, year) by Kai on Sep 14, 2023
- @Kai: Apologies for not seeing your question sooner! (Our academic year has not started yet). If I am understanding your question correctly, what I suggest is referring to the book title in the narrative of your writing, rather than in the in-text citation. I do not see an examples of using a book title in an in-text citation except for rare circumstances including citing a classic religious text or using the title when there is no author information because it is the start of your reference list entry. Basically, APA's in-text convention is supposed to make it easy for your reader to locate the source being cited in the reference list. So the first part of the in-text citation, usually authors, comes first to locate it alphabetically. Putting the book title first when you have an author name can throw that off. by Gabe Gossett on Sep 21, 2023
- Perhaps this is along the lines of the response to Kai - Can you reference a book title as a common point of social understanding to demonstrate a common concept? Is official citing required if you use widely known titles such as "Where's Waldo" and "Who Moved My Cheese?" to make a point of illustration? by Chez Renee on Sep 30, 2023
- @Chez: Aside from some classical religious texts, if it is a published book, I'd try to make sure that it is appropriately cited for APA style. That said, I think I understand where it gets tricky with things like Where's Waldo, since that is a series of books and stating "Where's Waldo" is a cultural reference many people would understand, though you can't reasonably cite the entire series. I don't believe that APA gives guidance for this particular issue. If it is being referred to in order to back up a claim, it would help to cite a particular book. If not, then it might work to use a statement such as, "Hanford's Where's Waldo series . . ." by Gabe Gossett on Oct 02, 2023
- How to cite a dissertation thesis in apa form? by Elizabeth on Feb 05, 2024
- @Elizabeth: For citing a dissertation or thesis you can check out our page answering that here https://askus.library.wwu.edu/faq/153308 by Gabe Gossett on Feb 05, 2024
- Find the librarian for your subject area
Related Topics
- APA citations and formatting
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Use capital letters to write the title of the novel. For example, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Use italics and capital letters to write the name of the author and his/her other works mentioned in a book title—for example, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (1813). You should use quotation marks when writing headings of short ...
4. In-Text Citations. When referencing a book title in the body of your essay, it should be italicized. If you are referring to a specific chapter or section, place the title of the chapter in quotation marks. This ensures clarity and helps the reader distinguish between the book title and other elements of your text.
Writing Style / Format. General Rules of Writing a Book Title. MLA. Italicize the full title of a book and place it in title case (Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness). Place the name of a single chapter in quote marks, instead ("The Great Towns" from Condition of the Working Class in England by Friedrich Engels). APA.
Exceptions to the Rule. The rule for writing book titles in italics applies specifically to running text. If the book title is standing on its own, as in a heading, there's no need to italicize it. Additionally, if the book is part of a larger series and you're mentioning both the title of the series and that of the individual book, you can ...
Capitalize the first word of titles of books in papers, the first word after a colon, and all major words. Avoid capitalizing minor words (e.g., articles, prepositions, conjunctions) unless they are the first word of the name or longer than four letters. Always place the book title after the author's name.
For example, you would write the name of William Faulkner's novel Absalom, Absalom! with both the comma and the exclamation point in italics. 4. Highlight the book name. Hover your cursor at the beginning of the book name and left click your mouse. Hold the key down and drag your cursor over the title of the book.
Use quotation marks around the title if it is part of a larger work (e.g. a chapter of a book, an article in a journal, or a page on a website). All major words in a title are capitalized. The same format is used in the Works Cited list and in the text itself. When you use the Scribbr MLA Citation Generator, the correct formatting and ...
2. Use Title Case: When writing the title of the book, capitalize the principal words, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. Articles, conjunctions, and prepositions are generally not capitalized unless they are the first or last word in the title or part of a hyphenated word. Here's an example:
The Great Gatsby's "Chapter 5: The Meeting". "The Mirror of Erised" from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. 3 — Capitalize both stand-alone book titles and the parts within a complete work. For example: The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Stephen King. "Sometimes They Come Back" from Stephen King's Night Shift.
Shorter works' titles (articles, essays, poems, songs, or book chapters) come in quotations. (1) Do you underline book titles? Underlining book titles is an outdated practice. Some still use it in handwritten essays, but it's not a must-follow rule. Neither APA nor MLA (or Chicago) mentions underlining book names in academic papers. How to ...
Begin by placing your title in the center of the page, and if required, use bold or larger font size. Italicize titles of longer works, such as books or movies, within your essay title to distinguish them. 4. Be Consistent: Maintain consistency in capitalization and formatting throughout your essay.
How to Write Book Titles in Essays in Different Formatting Styles. There are a lot of rules to properly writing a book title into an essay. However, what you first need to understand is which formatting style your text be following. Because this will be the main determining factor for the specific guidelines you will have to follow.
Identify the Book Title. In your text, clearly identify the title of the book you're discussing. This could be within the context of your argument or as a standalone sentence. Previous. Step 1. Step 2. Step 3. Step 4. Writing an essay requires attention to detail, and one of the most overlooked details is the correct formatting of a book title.
Provide the author's full name, italicize the book title, the publishing place (for works older than 1900), the publisher, and the publication date. If the copy has several authors, you write the first author's surname and their name after a comma and then name other authors in the usual name-surname order.
The answer is: in this case, yes. In other cases, sometimes. It's really not as confusing as it seems. When you are talking about a book series but don't want or need to include the complete series titles for the purposes of your work, you only have to put words in italics that also appear in the book titles. So, because Harry Potter is ...
In MLA style, the formatting rules for book titles and author names are slightly different: Book titles: Italicize the title of the book. Do not underline or place it in quotation marks. Capitalize the first letter of all major words in the title. Place the title in quotation marks if it is part of a larger work (e.g., a chapter in a book).
When citing a book title within the text of your paper, use title case and italicize it. When including book titles in your reference list, use sentence case and italicize it. Example 3: Punctuation. Here's an example of proper punctuation and citation within the text and reference list: In-text citation.
In fact, most style guides, including MLA and Chicago style, require book titles to be italicized, not underlined. If the book title has a subtitle, the subtitle should be italicized as well and separated by a colon to be formatted correctly for MLA style, as in: Natural History of the Intellect: the last lectures of Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Use initials for the first and middle names of authors. Use one space between initials. All names are inverted (last name, first initial). Do not hyphenate a name unless it is hyphenated on the item. Separate the author's names with a comma and use the ampersand symbol "&" before the last author listed. Spell out the name of any organization ...
A reference to the book title may occur only once, but it gives the reader of your essay information about the subject of your discussion. ... In the case of a handwritten essay, the title of the book should be underlined. Novels, textbooks and anthologies should all be italicized, while portions of these books, including chapters, short ...
As indicated by the italics, the book here is called Readings in Animal Cognition. 'Interpretive Cognitive Ethology', meanwhile, is an essay from the book, so we use quote marks for this title. Cases where quotation marks are used for titles include: Chapters from books. Articles in newspapers, magazines and journals.
The most important thing is to pick a style and stick to it. 2. "quotation marks" for shorter works such as poems and articles. There are also several different methods of capitalizing titles. These methods do not always agree. This page does not cover all the different views, just one method that we like to use.
The basic format for an in-text citation is: Title of the Book (Author Last Name, year). Examples. One author: Where the Wild Things Are (Sendak, 1963) is a depiction of a child coping with his anger towards his mom. Two authors (cite both names every time): Brabant and Mooney (1986) have used the comic strip to examine evidence of sex role stereotyping.