As a student, you will be asked to write essays and research papers throughout your academic career. One of the key components of writing in MLA style is formatting titles correctly. Book titles can be especially tricky, as there are different rules depending on whether you are using the title in the body of your essay or in your works cited list. In this post, we’ll take a detailed look at how to write a book title in an essay in MLA style, so you can ensure that your papers are formatted correctly every time.
In-Text Citations
When it comes https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pay-essay-top-5-safe-105019899.html , understanding how to format book titles correctly is crucial. There are two main ways to include book titles in the body of your essay: in a sentence or in parentheses. Let’s examine these options more closely.
Option 1: Title in a Sentence
If you are using the book title in a sentence, you should capitalize the first letter of the title and any proper nouns within the title. You should also put quotation marks around the title. Here’s an example:
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores the decadence and excess of the Roaring Twenties.
Notice that the title is capitalized, but the word “the” is not. Also, the period goes after the closing quotation mark.
Option 2: Title in Parentheses
If you are referencing a book title in parentheses, you should also capitalize the first letter of the title and any proper nouns within the title. However, you should not put quotation marks around the title. Here’s an example:
Fitzgerald explores the decadence and excess of the Roaring Twenties in The Great Gatsby (1925).
Notice that there is no punctuation between the title and the year, and the year is in parentheses.
Works Cited Entries
When including a book in your works cited list, you will need to include the author’s name, the title of the book, and publication information. Let’s take a closer look at each of these elements.
Author’s Name
The author’s name should be listed as Last Name, First Name. If there are multiple authors, you should list them in the order in which they appear on the title page. Here’s an example:
Fitzgerald, F. Scott.
Title of Book
The title of the book should be italicized. If the title is a series, only the first word and any proper nouns should be capitalized. Here’s an example:
The Great Gatsby
Publication Information
The publication information should include the city of publication, the name of the publisher, and the year of publication. Here’s an example:
New York: Scribner, 1925.
Putting It All Together
Now that you know the individual elements that should be included in your works cited entry for a book, let’s put it all together into a single example:
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1925.
Note that the title of the book is italicized, and that the author’s name is listed as Last Name, First Name. Also, the publication information is listed in the order of city, publisher, and year, with each piece of information separated by commas.
Conclusion
Formatting book titles correctly in an essay or research paper is an important part of writing in MLA style. Whether you are using the title in a sentence or in parentheses, it’s important to remember to capitalize the first letter of the title and any proper nouns within the title. When including a book in your works cited list, be sure to include the author’s name, the title of the book, and publication information. By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your papers are formatted correctly and professionally every time.