In addition to the amount quoted and line breaks, other factors that matter include stanza breaks, and unusual layouts.
Special Issues: Stanza Breaks, Unusual Layouts
Stanza Breaks: Mark stanza breaks that occur in a quotation with two forward slashes, with a space before and after them ( / / ) (78).
William Carlos Williams depicts a vivid image in “The Red Wheelbarrow”: “so much depends / / upon / / a red wheel / / barrow / / glazed with rain / / water / / beside the white / / chickens” (“Williams”).
Unusual Layouts: If the layout of the lines in the original text is unusual, reproduce it as accurately as you can (79).
The English metaphysical John Donne uses indentation in some of his poems to create unusual layouts, as the first stanza of including “A Valediction: of Weeping” demonstrates:
Let me pour forth My tears before they face, whilst I stay here, For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear, And by this mintage they are something worth, For thus they be Pregnant of thee; Fruits of much grief they are, emblems of more, When a tear falls, that thou falls which it bore, So thou and I are nothing then, when on a divers shore. (lines 1-9)
When you must quote dialogue from a play, adhere to these rules:
Example: One of the flashbacks in Margaret Edson’s Wit suggests Vivian Bearing’s illness causes her to question some of her previous interactions with students:
STUDENT 1. Professor Bearing? Can I talk to you for a minute?
VIVIAN: You may.
STUDENT 1: I need to ask for an extension on my paper. I’m really sorry, and I know your policy, but see—
VIVIAN: Don’t tell me. Your grandmother died.
STUDENT 1: You knew.
VIVIAN: It was a guess.
STUDENT 1: I have to go home.
VIVIAN: Do what you will, but the paper is due when it is due. (63)
Omissions: Follow the rules for omissions in quotations of prose (83).
Although some of the rules for quoting plays and poetry in MLA differ than those for quoting prose, understanding the guidelines will help you apply them in any scenario.
Donne, John. “The Bait.” The Complete English Poems . Penguin Books, 1971, pp. 43-4.
—. “The Break of Day.” The Complete English Poems . Penguin Books, 1971, pp. 45-6. Edson, Margaret. Wit. Faber and Faber, 1993.
Shakespeare, William. Sonnet 39. The Pelican Shakespeare: The Sonnets . Penguin Books, 1970, p. 59.
Williams, William Carlos: “The Red Wheelbarrow.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/resources/learning/core-poems/detail/45502 .
Yeats, William. “A Prayer for My Daughter.” The Collected Poems . Ed. Richard Finneran. Scribner, 1983, pp. 188-190.
Suggested edits.
Explore the different ways to cite sources in academic and professional writing, including in-text (Parenthetical), numerical, and note citations.
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Published on April 2, 2019 by Courtney Gahan . Revised on March 5, 2024.
In MLA style , source titles appear either in italics or in quotation marks:
All major words in a title are capitalized . The same format is used in the Works Cited list and in the text itself.
Place in quotation marks | Italicize |
---|---|
When you use the Scribbr MLA Citation Generator , the correct formatting and capitalization are automatically applied to titles.
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Capitalization in mla titles, punctuation in mla titles, titles within titles, exceptions to mla title formatting, sources with no title, abbreviating titles, titles in foreign languages, frequently asked questions about mla titles.
In all titles and subtitles, capitalize the first and last words, as well as any other principal words.
Part of speech | Example |
---|---|
in Time | |
and Me | |
for It | |
Girl | |
in Love | |
of You |
Part of speech | Example |
---|---|
(a, an, the) | Road |
(against, as, between, of, to) | Africa |
(and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet) | the Chocolate Factory |
“To” in infinitives | Run |
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Use the same punctuation as appears in the source title. However, if there is a subtitle, separate it from the main title with a colon and a space, even if different (or no) punctuation is used in the source.
The exception is when the title ends in a question mark, exclamation point or dash, in which case you keep the original punctuation:
Sometimes a title contains another title—for example, the title of an article about a novel might contain that novel’s title.
For titles within titles, in general, maintain the same formatting as you would if the title stood on its own.
Type of title | Format | Example |
---|---|---|
Longer works within shorter works | Italicize the inner work’s title | → “ and the Cacophony of the American Dream” |
Shorter works within shorter works | Use single quotation marks for the inner title | “The Red Wedding” → “‘The Red Wedding’ at 5: Why Game of Thrones Most Notorious Scene Shocked Us to the Core” |
Shorter works within longer works | Enclose the inner title in quotation marks, and italicize the entire title | “The Garden Party” → & Other Stories |
Longer works within longer works | Remove the italicization from the inner title | and → Richard II Henry V |
Titles and names that fall into the following categories are not italicized or enclosed in quotation marks:
Words that indicate a particular section of a work are not italicized or placed within quotation marks. They are also not capitalized when mentioned in the text.
Examples of such sections include:
Descriptive terms such as “introduction”, “preface”, “foreword” and “afterword” are capitalized if mentioned in an MLA in-text citation or in the Works Cited list, but not when mentioned in the text itself.
In-text citation: (Brontë, Preface )
In text: In her preface to the work, added in a later edition, Brontë debates the morality of creating characters such as those featured in Wuthering Heights .
If there is a unique title for the introduction, preface, foreword or afterword, include that title in quotation marks instead of the generic section name when referencing the source in the Works Cited list or an in-text citation.
For sources with no title, a brief description of the source acts as the title.
Follow these rules for capitalization:
There are some exceptions to this general format: descriptions including titles of other works, such as comments on articles or reviews of movies; untitled short messages, like tweets; email messages; and untitled poems.
Source type | Rules | Example |
---|---|---|
Comment/review of a work | Sam. Comment on “The Patriot’s Guide to Election Fraud.” , 26 Mar. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/opinion | |
Tweet or other short untitled message | @realDonaldTrump. “No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!” , 24 Mar. 2019, 1:42 p.m., twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status | |
Labrode, Molly. “Re: National Cleanup Day.” Received by Courtney Gahan, 20 Mar. 2019. | ||
Untitled poem | Shelley, Percy Bysshe. “O! there are spirits of the air.” , edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O’Neill, Oxford UP, 2003, pp. 89–90. |
If you need to mention the name of a work in the text itself, state the full title, but omit the subtitle.
If you need to refer to the work multiple times, you may shorten the title to something familiar or obvious to the reader. For example, Huckleberry Finn for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . If in doubt, prefer the noun phrase.
If the standalone abbreviation may not be clear, you can introduce it in parentheses, following the standard guidelines for abbreviations. For example, The Merchant of Venice ( MV ) . For Shakespeare and the Bible , there are well-established abbreviations you can use.
When you abbreviate a title, make sure you keep the formatting consistent. Even if the abbreviation consists only of letters, as in the MV example, it must be italicized or placed within quotation marks in the same way as it would be when written in full.
Titles should normally be given in full in the Works Cited list, but if any of your sources has a particularly long title (often the case with older works), you can use an ellipsis to shorten it here. This is only necessary with extremely long titles such as the example below.
In the Works Cited list, if you are listing a work with a title in a language other than English, you can add the translated title in square brackets.
If you are using the foreign-language title in the text itself, you can also include the translation in parenthesis. For example, O Alquimista ( The Alchemist ) .
You don’t need to include a translation in your reference list or in the text if you expect your readers to be familiar with the original language. For example, you wouldn’t translate the title of a French novel you were writing about in the context of a French degree.
For works in a language that does not use the Latin alphabet, such as Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, or Russian, be consistent with how you mention the source titles and also quotations from within them.
For example, if you choose to write a Russian title in the Cyrillic form, do that throughout the document. If you choose to use the Romanized form, stick with that. Do not alternate between the two.
Yes. MLA style uses title case, which means that all principal words (nouns, pronouns , verbs, adjectives , adverbs , and some conjunctions ) are capitalized.
This applies to titles of sources as well as the title of, and subheadings in, your paper. Use MLA capitalization style even when the original source title uses different capitalization .
In MLA style , book titles appear in italics, with all major words capitalized. If there is a subtitle, separate it from the main title with a colon and a space (even if no colon appears in the source). For example:
The format is the same in the Works Cited list and in the text itself. However, when you mention the book title in the text, you don’t have to include the subtitle.
The title of a part of a book—such as a chapter, or a short story or poem in a collection—is not italicized, but instead placed in quotation marks.
When a book’s chapters are written by different authors, you should cite the specific chapter you are referring to.
When all the chapters are written by the same author (or group of authors), you should usually cite the entire book, but some styles include exceptions to this.
The title of an article is not italicized in MLA style , but placed in quotation marks. This applies to articles from journals , newspapers , websites , or any other publication. Use italics for the title of the source where the article was published. For example:
Use the same formatting in the Works Cited entry and when referring to the article in the text itself.
The MLA Handbook is currently in its 9th edition , published in 2021.
This quick guide to MLA style explains the latest guidelines for citing sources and formatting papers according to MLA.
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Gahan, C. (2024, March 05). MLA Titles | How to Format & Capitalize Source Titles. Scribbr. Retrieved June 24, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/titles/
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COMMENTS
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (8th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.
1. Make a free-standing blockquote for quotes longer than 4 lines. Start the quote on a new line and type the quote exactly as it appears in the source text, including punctuation. Do not enclose blockquotes in double quotation marks. [6] The entire blockquote is indented .5 inches (1.3 cm) from the left margin.
Indent the quote ½ inch or five spaces from the left margin for the entire quote (not just the first line). Do not use quotation marks. Double space the quote. Put the parenthetical citation after the final punctuation mark in the quote. Comment on the quote after using it. Do not end a paragraph with a block quote.
Revised on March 5, 2024. When you include a long quote in an MLA paper, you have to format it as a block quote. MLA style (8th edition) requires block quote formatting for: An MLA block quote is set on a new line, indented 0.5 inches, with no quotation marks. The MLA in-text citation goes after the period at the end of the block quote.
Basic in-text citation rules. In MLA Style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using parenthetical citations. This method involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase. Usually, the simplest way to do this is to put all of the source information in parentheses ...
The most common reason for nesting punctuation is shown in section 1.3.7 of the MLA Handbook (p. 87): when you need to present a quotation within a quotation, use double quotation marks around the quotation incorporated into your text and single quotation marks around the quotation within that quotation: In "Memories of West Street and Lepke ...
Citing a quote in APA Style. To cite a direct quote in APA, you must include the author's last name, the year, and a page number, all separated by commas. If the quote appears on a single page, use "p."; if it spans a page range, use "pp.". An APA in-text citation can be parenthetical or narrative.
Special Issues: Omissions in Passages . According to the MLA Handbook, if you must omit a word, phrase, or sentence from a quoted passage, mark the omission with ellipsis points (. . . . ), or three spaced periods (80-81). If you omit an entire sentence, use ellipses points, and retain rules for end punctuation (always place a period at the end of a declarative sentence).
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.
MLA format is a widely used citation style for academic papers. Learn how to format your title page, header, and Works Cited page with our free template and examples. Watch our 3-minute video to see how easy it is to apply MLA rules to your document.
If your quotation extends to more than four lines as you're typing your essay, it should be put into a 'block' format. Rules for Block Quotations. There are 4 rules that apply to long quotations that are different from regular quotations: The line before your block quotation, when you're introducing the quote, ends with a colon.
Use single quotation marks to enclose a quotation within a quotation. Miller states, "Religions are examples of 'noble lies' aimed at uplifting human stature" (18). Adding Material within Quotations: Use square brackets to enclose material that you add to or change within a quotation to allow it to fit grammatically into a sentence.
In MLA, in-text citations are inserted in the body of your research paper to briefly document the source of your information. ... If your quotation extends to more than four lines as you're typing your essay, it is a long quotation. ... If the title in the Works Cited list is in quotation marks, put quotation marks around the words from the ...
Indent the long quotation 0.5 inches from the rest of the text, so it looks like a block of text. Do not put quotation marks around the quotation. Place the period at the end of the quotation before your in-text citation instead of after, as with regular quotations. Example of a Long Quotation.
With individualized attention and ongoing support, we help you write a new story for the future where you play the starring role. When you quote another writer's words, it's best to introduce or contextualize the quote. Don't forget to include author's last name and page number (MLA) or author, date, and page number (APA) in your citation.
In most styles, including APA and MLA, the parenthetical citation comes after the period at the end of a block quote. Step 3: Comment on the quote. A paragraph should never end with a block quote. Directly after the quote, you need to comment on it in your own words. Depending on the purpose of the block quote, your comment might involve:
Brief in-text citations point the reader to more complete information in the works cited list at the end of the paper. In-text citations include the last name of the author followed by a page number enclosed in parentheses. "Here's a direct quote" (Smith 8). If the author's name is not given, then use the first word or words of the title.
These citations within the essay are called in-text citations. You must cite all quoted, paraphrased, or summarized words, ideas, and facts from sources. Without in-text citations, you are in danger of plagiarism, even if you have listed your sources at the end of the essay. In-text citations point the reader to the sources' information in ...
2. Type short quotations of three lines or less in the text of your essay. Insert a slash with a space on each side to separate the lines of the poem. Type the lines verbatim as they appear in the poem--do not paraphrase. [2] Capitalize the first letter of each new line of poetry.
1. Place the citation in-text. MLA format requires you to put citations for a verse play in the text of your essay. Use parentheses around the citation and place it at the end of the quotation. [4] 2. Note the act number and the scene number. All verse plays will have acts and scenes that are ordered numerically.
Revised on March 5, 2024. An MLA in-text citation provides the author's last name and a page number in parentheses. If a source has two authors, name both. If a source has more than two authors, name only the first author, followed by " et al. ". If the part you're citing spans multiple pages, include the full page range.
Set the quotation off from your text. Begin each part of the dialogue with the appropriate character's name. Indent each name half an inch from the left margin and write it in all capital letters. Follow the name with a period and then start the quotation. Indent all other lines in the character's speech an additional amount.
In APA Style, you include the author's name, the publication date, and the page number the quote was taken from. Example: Quote with APA Style in-text citation Being scared in a dream "denotes temporary and fleeting worries" (Miller, 1988, p. 250). When you summarize a source in your text, you condense a portion of the work to its main ideas.
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. Place in quotation marks. Italicize.