In prose, should a transliterated song title appear in italics or quotation marks?

In prose, style a transliterated title the same way you would style the title in English. In the following example, the transliterated title A fidler… Read More

Should a film be cited by its title or the director’s name?

Films are collaborative works, so how you cite them depends on the focus of your discussion. If you are focusing on the director’s choices, begin… Read More

If a tweet contains an emoji, should I include the emoji when I use the text of the tweet as a title?

Emojis do not need to be included in the titles of tweets. If the emoji is important to the meaning of the tweet, you should… Read More

Should the abbreviation etc. be capitalized in a title?

Whether the abbreviation etc., meaning “and so forth,” should be capitalized in a title depends on its location in the title. In our publications, we… Read More

How do you alphabetize a works-cited-list entry that begins with a title starting with an article?

As the MLA Handbook notes, titles should be alphabetized in works-cited lists “letter by letter, ignoring any initial A, An, or The or the equivalent in other languages” (115). Read More

How should I style the name of an artwork with an ascribed title?

Many works of art, especially older ones, were not given formal titles by their creators or were given one that is no longer known and… Read More

How should I style the name of an earthwork, such as the Great Serpent Mound?

Names of earthworks, like names of buildings, should not be italicized: We took a trip to see the Great Serpent Mound. Read More

If I am including a publication listed by a title written in nonroman characters in my works-cited list, should I provide in my parenthetical citations the title in the original script or the transliterated title?

Use whichever method will be most useful to your reader. If you are citing a report, for example, and there is only one report listed… Read More

How do I cite in my prose an untitled poem known by its number in a collection?

If you are citing an untitled poem known only by its number, a generic description of the poem can be substituted for the title in… Read More

Where do I place the colon that separates the title from a subtitle if the title ends with a quotation mark?

If the title ends with a quotation mark, insert the colon between the quotation mark and the subtitle. In the first example below, the title… Read More