Rules for Capitalization and Punctuation of Titles

Wow, I can't believe I had not updated this blog. I guess since I do not work in a school where kids have internet access I found it to be unnecessary. Well, so much for that. I am going to try and blog the things that I need to show often and refer to at any given time. I'm going to start with the rules of capitalization and punctuation of titles.

Rules for Capitalization and Punctuation of Titles

Titles should be capitalized. The first letter of the first word and all important words should be capitalized. That goes for any kind of title — a book, an article, a poem, a song, a film, etc. By “important words” I mean everything other than articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and, but, or, etc.), and short prepositions (in, on, to, with, etc.)

Next, titles of long works are underlined. However, if it’s handwritten only. When you use a keyboard, the titles of long works are in italics. Underlining is the same as using italics. So don't forget. If by chance you do not remember this, underline. As long as you are consistent and do not flip- flop, it's okay.

The last rule you should remember is: Underline big things; add quotation marks for small things. 

That means you italicize or underline book titles. For example, underline or italicize The Giver or To Kill a Mockingbird; magazines, like Seventeen or People; plays like Romeo and Juliet and Our Town; newspapers: The Post and The Daily News; long poems as the Song of Hiawatha or Song of Myself. Movies also follow this rule. For example, Beauty and the Beast and Batman vs. Superman. So do TV shows like The Middle and Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.

If it’s a short work or a section of a longer work, put the title in quotation marks. Quotation marks are used when you do chapter titles like "The Civil War"; magazine articles- "How To Braid Hair"; newspaper article- "Two Found Dead"; songs- "My Name Is"; short stories- "The Lottery", and poems .

If you find any mistakes, please alert me by leaving a comment. It will be appreciated!