Titles - italicisation

This page is one of a group on how to present titles. You may also want to see how to use CAPITAL letters in titles.

When considering how to mark the title of a source in academic work (or, in any writing, to give the title of a published work), we divide them into two groups. You can find our grouping here. The two groups are marked as titls in different ways.

• The 'heavyweights' are italicised, in our current conventions. (For an older convention, click here.)
• The 'lightweights' are enclosed within single inverted commas (' ') in AWE.

As the precise memberships of the two groups is largely a matter of judgement and taste, this Guide can only be that - a guide, whose advice you must take or leave. In general, try to adapt your practice to a consistent view of what constitutes a long and what a short piece of work. Over time, it will change; and there will always be borderline cases which will be disputed by pedants.

You may also want to see Titles - capitalisation.

Be aware that different publishers and different academic departments and subjects have different rules for how to mark titles. Follow the appropriate guidelines for your current purposes.