How to format a book title in an essay (italics vs quotation marks, MLA and APA)

Workstream D — writing-tips cluster, bank item #41. Target cluster: "how to format a book title in an essay". Harmony link: self-publishing packages / editing.

Quick answer. In an essay, a book title is written in italics — The Great Gatsby, not "The Great Gatsby". The same rule applies across APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard style: book titles, and any work that stands alone (a novel, a novella, a play, a film, a whole website), take italics, while a part of a larger work (a chapter, a short story, an essay, a poem inside a collection, a web page) takes quotation marks. The only time a book title does not take italics is in a hand-written essay, where you underline it instead.

Key takeaways

• Books = italics. In typed work, every book title is italicised: Pride and Prejudice, Things Fall Apart, Atomic Habits.
• Short works = quotation marks. A chapter, short story, essay, article, poem or song inside a collection is titled "in quotation marks".
• Handwriting = underlining. If you are writing by hand and cannot italicise, underline the title instead. Never do both — italics or underline, not both.
• Capitalise in title case. Capitalise the first and last word and every major word; leave articles and short prepositions lowercase unless they start or end the title.
• Style names differ, the rule does not. APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard all italicise book titles. What differs is the in-text format and the reference-list entry, not the italics.
• Never put a book title in quotation marks in a formal essay. Save quotation marks for a chapter or a short work by that author.

The one rule that covers almost everything

The distinction is not "important work vs minor work" — it is standalone vs contained:

Read the table by asking one question: does the work stand alone, or is it part of something bigger? If it stands alone, italicise. If it sits inside another work, quote it.

How to write a book title in an essay — the mechanics

1. Italicise the title. Use the italic tool in your word processor, or wrap the title in *asterisks* if you are writing in Markdown.
2. Use title case. To Kill a Mockingbird — not To kill a mockingbird. Capitalise major words; keep articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet) and short prepositions lowercase unless they are the first or last word.
3. Keep the subtitle after a colon. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — capitalise the first word after the colon.
4. Reproduce the punctuation in the title itself. If the published title contains a question mark or an exclamation mark, keep it: Who Moved My Cheese? The end punctuation belongs to the title.
5. Do not add or remove words. Write the title exactly as it appears on the cover — never shorten, expand or "correct" it.

Book title in quotation marks — when that is right

The confusion comes from seeing book titles quoted on social media, in a chat message or in a hand-typed caption. That is casual writing, not essay formatting. In a formal essay, academic paper or school assignment, follow the convention above:

• Whole book → italics.
• Chapter or short work inside the book → quotation marks.

So a correct sentence reads: In Beloved, chapter "124" opens with a haunted house. — the novel is italicised; the chapter is quoted.

MLA vs APA vs Chicago — what actually changes

The italics rule is identical everywhere. What changes is how you cite the book on your works-cited or reference page:

If your assignment says "MLA", write the book title in italics and shape the citation the MLA way. The formatting of the title is never the part that differs.

Common mistakes (and the fix)

• "Quoting" the whole book. "Pride and Prejudice" in an essay is wrong; it should be Pride and Prejudice. Quotation marks are for chapters and short works.
• Underlining and italicising. Pick one. In typed work, italicise; in handwriting, underline.
• Lowercasing the important words. the great gatsby is wrong. Use title case.
• Dropping the subtitle. Sapiens is acceptable only in casual mention; the full title is Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.

A quick checklist before you submit

1. Whole book? Italicise it.
2. Chapter, short story or poem inside a book? Put it in quotation marks.
3. Hand-written? Underline instead of italicising — and never both.
4. Title case? First and last word capitalised, major words capitalised.
5. Exact title? No shortened, expanded or "corrected" wording.
6. Cited correctly? Italics are style-independent; the citation shape follows MLA/APA/Chicago/Harvard as your assignment requires.

Formatting the title correctly is the easy part of writing about a book. The harder part — writing a book of your own and getting it into the world — is where we help. Our self-publishing packages cover editing, cover design, layout, ISBN, print and distribution.

Related guides

Keep going: how to write a book, the types of book editing, book editing services and proofreading services. For a dictionary definition, see italic (Cambridge Dictionary).

Disclosure: Harmony Publishing is a self-publishing company and links to its own services where they match a step. The language guidance here is practical, not a rule for every style guide.