LibGuides: MLA Style Guide, 8th & 9th Editions: Title of source (2024)

The title of source is the second core element in the Works Cited entry.In general, the title of a work is taken from the title page of the publication.

  • List the full title as it is written on the source. Exceptions to this rule are for standardization of capitalization and subtitle punctuation.
    • Capitalize all principal words (nouns,verbs, adjectives, etc.). Do not capitalize articles, prepositions, or conjunctions when they fall in the middle of a title.
    • Separate a subtitle with a colon and a space.
  • Italicize titles if the source is self-contained and independent. Titles of books, plays, films, periodicals, databases, and websites are italicized.
  • Place titles in quotation marks if the source is part of alarger work.Articles, essays, chapters, poems, webpages, songs, and speeches are placed in quotation marks.
  • Sometimes titles will contain other titles. For example, ajournal article about a novel, short story, play, film, etc. may mention the title of the work the article isabout in the article'stitle.
    • If the title mentioned is usually indicated by italics, use italics for the title within the title. Examples of these titles are films, novels, entire books, journals, and entire websites.
      • Example of a journal article title which includes the title of a book: "Unbearable Weight of Authenticity: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Theory of 'Touristic Reading'."
    • If the title mentioned is usually indicated by double quotation marks, enclose the title in single quotations marks. Examples of these titles are poems, short stories, book chapters, and journal articles.
      • Example of a journal article title which includes the title of a short story: "Individualism in O'Connor's 'A Good Man is Hard to Find'."

Books:

Danticat, Edwidge.Brother,I'm Dying.Knopf, 2007.

    Chapter title in a book or anthology:

    Howard, Rebecca Moore. “Avoiding Sentence Fragments.” Writing Matters: A Handbook for Writing and Research, 2nd ed., McGraw Hill, 2014, pp. 600-10.

    Journals,Magazines, and Newspapers:

    Houtman, Eveline. “Mind-Blowing: Fostering Self-Regulated Learning in Information Literacy Instruction.” Communications in Information Literacy, vol.9, no. 1, 2015, pp. 6-18.www.comminfolit.org/index.php?journal=cil&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=v9i1p6&path%5B%5D=203​.

    Web page:

    Meade, Rita."It's Not Too Late to Advocate."Screwy Decimal,1 June2016, www.screwydecimal.com/2016/06/its-not-too-late-to-advocate.html.

    Entire Website:

    Meade, Rita. Screwy Decimal.2010-16, www.screwydecimal.com/.

    LibGuides: MLA Style Guide, 8th & 9th Editions: Title of source (2024)
    Top Articles
    Latest Posts
    Article information

    Author: Dan Stracke

    Last Updated:

    Views: 6097

    Rating: 4.2 / 5 (43 voted)

    Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

    Author information

    Name: Dan Stracke

    Birthday: 1992-08-25

    Address: 2253 Brown Springs, East Alla, OH 38634-0309

    Phone: +398735162064

    Job: Investor Government Associate

    Hobby: Shopping, LARPing, Scrapbooking, Surfing, Slacklining, Dance, Glassblowing

    Introduction: My name is Dan Stracke, I am a homely, gleaming, glamorous, inquisitive, homely, gorgeous, light person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.