How do you write the title of a book in an essay?


The titles of works of literature occurring within the titles of chapters or articles should be italicized or placed within quotation marks, whichever is appropriate (see examples i, ii, and iii). If quotation marks are used within the chapter title, they should be double (see example iv), since single quotation marks have been used to enclose the title itself.


In your first parenthetical citation, you want to make clear which Bible you're using (and underline or italicize the title), as each version varies in its translation, followed by book (do not italicize or underline), chapter, and verse. For example:

If you cite more than one work by an author, include a shortened title for the particular work from which you are quoting to distinguish it from the others. Put short titles of books in italics and short titles of articles in quotation marks.

How to put book title in essay:

Page numbers are always required, but additional citation information can help literary scholars, who may have a different edition of a classic work, like Marx and Engels's The Communist Manifesto. In such cases, give the page number of your edition (making sure the edition is listed in your Works Cited page, of course) followed by a semicolon, and then the appropriate abbreviations for volume (vol.), book (bk.), part (pt.), chapter (ch.), section (sec.), or paragraph (par.). For example:

Citations of online-only editions of authors’ works should follow the rules for print books as far as possible: give as much of the information above as is available and applicable. Unless the edition is hosted at the site of a print publisher such as a university press, it may not be possible to give a publisher. In this case it is not necessary to use [n. pub.] since websites are not considered publishers for referencing purposes. However, if the edition does not specify the date(s) of its production, give [n.d.]. Where an online edition has no DOI, give a URL and access date, as for a website. For instance:

To start writing a quote, write an introduction to the book. You could also use descriptive words and commas. If you’re quoting a poem, make sure that the first letter is in lower case. A long quotation is, however, is longer than four lines. The long quotation is typically preceded by a colon. A period at the end will be followed by the text reference.

Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites) and provide a page number if it is available.


Below, let’s explore how to put a book title in an essay in CMOS:

Guidelines for referring to the works of others in your text using MLA style are covered throughout the and in chapter 7 of the . Both books provide extensive examples, so it's a good idea to consult them if you want to become even more familiar with MLA guidelines or if you have a particular reference question.

How to write the title of a book in an essay when you use AMA style:

For books consulted online, include a URL or the name of the database. For other types of e-books, name the format. If no fixed page numbers are available, cite a section title or a chapter or other number in the notes or, if possible, track down a version with fixed page numbers.

How to format a book title in an essay in your reference list:

(2) Title: The title should be given as it appears on the title page (although very long titles may be suitably abbreviated) and italicized. A colon should normally be used to separate title and subtitle, even where the punctuation on the title page is different or (as often happens) non-existent. For books in English capitalize the initial letter of the first word after the colon and of all principal words throughout the title and subtitle; for titles in other languages, follow the capitalization rules for the language in question (see ). Titles of other works occurring within the title should be enclosed in quotation marks and should not be set in roman type (see example viii). For books (usually older works) with alternative titles, punctuation before and after ‘or’ should be as follows:

Titles of full works like books or newspapers should be italicized.

However, the MHRA has for many years also published work in fields that conventionally use author–date referencing and offers a free choice to its book authors. We therefore present the two forms of reference on an equal footing in this chapter. Because footnote and endnote references contain complete information on the cited source, that section is much longer. The simplicity of in-text references requires little in the way of explanation. Nonetheless, since bibliographies in both systems are substantially based on the information included in a footnote or endnote, those using author–date referencing will find it useful to consult the main body of this chapter when compiling their bibliographies. See for more on the author–date system.

The titles of books, periodicals, and newspapers are italicized.

The rules of capitalization vary from format to style, however they generally are the same for writing an essay. In Chicago and MLA styles, capitalize the first word of the title of the book, and every other word , with the exception of articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions. In APA style, capitalize the first word as well as all words that have four or more letters. The title should contain the word “Book” however, it should not include the rest.