Formatting titles

Key Notes:

1. What is Title Formatting?

  • Definition: Title formatting refers to the way titles of books, movies, songs, articles, and other works are presented in writing.
  • Purpose: Proper formatting helps to distinguish titles from the rest of the text, making them easily recognizable.

2. Basic Rules for Formatting Titles

A. Italics vs. Quotation Marks

  • Italics:
  • Use italics for titles of larger works such as books, movies, and newspapers.
  • Examples:
    • Books: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
    • Movies: The Lion King
    • Newspapers: The New York Times
  • Quotation Marks:
  • Use quotation marks for titles of shorter works such as poems, short stories, articles, and songs.
  • Examples:
    • Poems: “The Road Not Taken”
    • Short Stories: “The Gift of the Magi”
    • Songs: “Shake It Off”

3. Capitalization in Titles

  • Rule: Remember to capitalize important words in the title, following the rules of capitalization discussed previously.
  • Example:
    • Italics: A Tale of Two Cities
    • Quotation Marks: “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”

4. Examples of Formatting Titles

  • Correct Formatting:
  • Pride and Prejudice (book)
  • “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” (song)
  • National Geographic (magazine)
  • Incorrect Formatting:
  • “Pride and Prejudice” (should be italicized)
  • Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (should be in quotation marks)

5. Practice Examples

Students can practice formatting the following titles correctly:

  1. “the very hungry caterpillar”
  • Correct: The Very Hungry Caterpillar (book)
  1. the sound of silence
  • Correct: “The Sound of Silence” (song)
  1. “harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban”
  • Correct: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (book)

let’s practice!