If you’ve never written a book title before, you may be wondering how to make it work in an essay. To make the process go as smoothly as possible, you can highlight the book name on your paper by left-clicking it, then dragging the cursor to the front of the title. Make sure the name remains highlighted, but if it disappears, click somewhere else on the page to remove the highlight bar.
Italics
If you’re writing an essay, you may want to use italics when writing the title of a book. Book titles are typically spelled in italics, with the exception of holy texts. Books and magazines are generally italicized, while newspapers and magazines may use double quotation marks instead. As with other pieces of writing, though, style guides vary. Depending on the length of the piece, you may wish to include the title in quotation marks or in italics.
Underlining
Underlining a book title in an essay can be a bit tricky. The same thing applies to italicizing it. This style was commonly used before the introduction of the Word text editor. While underlining was a practical solution, some people are still adjusting to the change. The good news is that italicizing is now more common. There are a number of ways to do this.
Capitalization
If you’re writing an essay and you’ve come across a book title that you’d like to quote, you should capitalize the first word. In addition to capitalizing the first word, you should also capitalize any proper nouns. Here are some examples:
Alliteration
The first line in the book titles in Chicken Soup for the Soul is a good example of alliteration. The words “chicken” and “soup” sound the same, which signals that the book is a story to be read and absorbed. “Soup” is a synonym for “soul” and carries the same meaning. Alliteration is a literary device that creates a pleasing cadence in prose. Many famous phrases in literature use alliteration as well. In short, the aim of using it is to evoke an emotional response in the reader.
Punctuation
There are many rules when it comes to punctuating a book title in an essay. While capitalizing book titles is not the best practice, coordinating conjunctions and phrasal verb particles should be capitalized. Book titles should also be written without quotation marks in Microsoft Word. While the rules of punctuation vary by style, some basic guidelines are the same regardless of genre. Below are some examples to help you write a book title.
Placement
When citing a book, it is appropriate to include the title of the book in italics. This will emphasize the importance of the book’s title to the reader. Unless a book title includes the author’s name, the title of a work should be italicized. Punctuation marks must follow the title. When a book title includes a period, it should be placed inside quotation marks.