Editor’s note: The following article is reprinted from a Writer’s Relief Proofers’ Newsflash. Writer’s Relief, Inc. is one of the companies that uses freelance documentation specialists (proofreaders in this case). Writer’s Relief is a highly recommended author’s submission service, targeting writers’ work to appropriate markets. Established in 1994, Writer’s Relief also offers proofreading services to writers.
Sign up at http://www.WritersRelief.com/Proofers.asp to receive their FREE Proofers’ Newsflash (today, via e-mail), which contains valuable tips on proofreading, grammar, and formatting. You’ll also receive test materials so you can apply to be added to their list of freelance proofreaders. There is no need to apply. You can receive these valuable proofer tips either way.
Formatting titles gives some writers a headache. There is so much to remember (and so many exceptions) in the English language . . . titles aren’t really that difficult. When you’re trying to remember if you’re supposed to use underlining or italics or quotation marks, here are a few simple rules. Remember that people used to type their work or write it longhand. When titles needed to be italicized, those italics were represented by underlining. With the age of computers, we can choose to do one or the other.
- Underlining and italics serve the same purpose. Never do both. Do NOT use quotation marks, underline, or italics together.
- For any work that stands on its own, you should use italics or underline. (Stories or chapters from within a book are considered PARTS of the book.)
- A work that is part of a larger work goes in quotation marks.
- No quotation marks around titles of your own composition.
» Books: Italics or Underline
» CDs: Italics or Underline
» Articles (Newspaper or Magazine): Quotation Marks
» Chapter Titles (not chapter numbers): Quotation Marks
» Magazines, Newspapers, Journals: Italics or Underline
» Names of Ships, Trains, Airplanes, Spacecraft: Italics
» Poems: Quotation Marks
» Poems (Long): Underlined or Italics
» Plays: Italics
» Short Stories: Quotation Marks
» Song Titles: Quotation Marks
» Special Phrases (“let them eat cake”), Words, or Sentences: Quotation Marks
» Television Shows and Movies: Italics
» Television and Radio Episode Titles: Quotation Marks
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Connect With Us Online
Our award-winning Phoenix chapter provides industry support, education, community service, and networking opportunities for chapter members, students and local businesses.
Learn more