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When to use Italics
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Yep, capitalize but not italicize...unless you're using the italics emphatically:"You had lunch at McDonalds? Really? You, the vegan evangelist?"
];P
But for a full discussion of when to use italics, try grammar girl website. http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/educ...
Lisa wrote: "Hi. I have been combing the web for info on when to italicize and everything just seems to restate the same information but doesn't address my question. What I am wondering is if I should italici..."These comments track with what I've always heard. Also, some people italicize titles; other use quotes. Names of ships seem to get italicized (HMS Vanguard), but not aircraft (A-10 Thunderbolt).
Here is the aides that I have kept and I go by them. I know it is long...
Do I underline a song title? What about a painting?
Even the most experienced writers have a problem remembering the proper punctuation for certain types of titles. Books are italicized (or underlined) and articles are put in quotation marks. That's about as far as many people can remember.
Following are guidelines for punctuating titles according to Modern Language Association (MLA) standards.
There is a trick to remembering how to treat titles, and it works well enough that you can commit most types of titles to memory.
It's the big and little trick.
Big things and things that can stand on their own, like books, are italicized.
Little things that are dependent or that come as part of a group, like chapters, are put into quotation marks.
For example, a CD or album are major (big) works that can be divided into smaller parts, or songs. The song names (small part) are punctuated with quotation marks. And quotes from a song, even smaller are put in quotation marks.
For example:
• The Sweet Escape, by Gwen Stefani, includes the song "Wind It Up."
Underline any published collection, like a book of poetry. Put the individual entry, like a poem, in quotation marks. However: a long, epic poem that is often published on its own would be treated like a book. The Odyssey is one example.
Punctuating Titles of Works of Art
Creating a work of art is an enormous task, isn't it? For that reason, you can think of art as a big accomplishment. Okay, that might sound corny, but it will help you remember! Individual works of art like paintings and sculptures are underlined or italicized:
• Michelangelo's David
• Mona Lisa
• The Last Supper
• The Pieta
Note: A photograph, which is much smaller than a work of art, is placed in quotation marks!
Titles and Names to Italicize (think big or collection of works)
• A novel
• A ship
• A play
• A film
• A painting
• A sculpture or statue
• A drawing
• A CD or albumn
• A TV Series
• A cartoon series
• An encyclopedia
• A magazine
• A newspaper
• A pamphlet
Titles to Put Into Quotation Marks (think small or part)
• Poem
• Short story or essay
• A skit
• A commercial
• An individual episode in a TV series (like "The Soup Nazi" on Seinfeld)
• A cartoon episode, like "Trouble With Dogs"
• A chapter
• An article
• A newspaper story
• A song
• A scripture
More Tips on Punctuating Titles
Some titles are merely capitalized and not given additional punctuation. These include:
• Religious works, like The Bible or The Koran
• Buildings
• Monuments
NOTES:
In Master Of The Game, the author italicizes thoughts… Like…
I’ll never get married, thought Margaret, until he is dead.
Jamie treated her like a servant. That is alright, thought Margaret. At least my son has a name.
“I need a mirror,” Jamie said. I must look awful, Jamie thought. How long has it been since I had a shave?”
What is common here is that the persons is being talked about in third person, but you want to get into their head to hear what they are thinking, like “head speak ,” like if they are thinking in words.
Head speak can be someone thinking of a conversation they had with someone else, replaying it.
This was working like a charm, thought George. Don’t flatter Gran, she will sense weakness and tear you apart. Eve knew her grandmother better than anyone.
This should help
Do I underline a song title? What about a painting?
Even the most experienced writers have a problem remembering the proper punctuation for certain types of titles. Books are italicized (or underlined) and articles are put in quotation marks. That's about as far as many people can remember.
Following are guidelines for punctuating titles according to Modern Language Association (MLA) standards.
There is a trick to remembering how to treat titles, and it works well enough that you can commit most types of titles to memory.
It's the big and little trick.
Big things and things that can stand on their own, like books, are italicized.
Little things that are dependent or that come as part of a group, like chapters, are put into quotation marks.
For example, a CD or album are major (big) works that can be divided into smaller parts, or songs. The song names (small part) are punctuated with quotation marks. And quotes from a song, even smaller are put in quotation marks.
For example:
• The Sweet Escape, by Gwen Stefani, includes the song "Wind It Up."
Underline any published collection, like a book of poetry. Put the individual entry, like a poem, in quotation marks. However: a long, epic poem that is often published on its own would be treated like a book. The Odyssey is one example.
Punctuating Titles of Works of Art
Creating a work of art is an enormous task, isn't it? For that reason, you can think of art as a big accomplishment. Okay, that might sound corny, but it will help you remember! Individual works of art like paintings and sculptures are underlined or italicized:
• Michelangelo's David
• Mona Lisa
• The Last Supper
• The Pieta
Note: A photograph, which is much smaller than a work of art, is placed in quotation marks!
Titles and Names to Italicize (think big or collection of works)
• A novel
• A ship
• A play
• A film
• A painting
• A sculpture or statue
• A drawing
• A CD or albumn
• A TV Series
• A cartoon series
• An encyclopedia
• A magazine
• A newspaper
• A pamphlet
Titles to Put Into Quotation Marks (think small or part)
• Poem
• Short story or essay
• A skit
• A commercial
• An individual episode in a TV series (like "The Soup Nazi" on Seinfeld)
• A cartoon episode, like "Trouble With Dogs"
• A chapter
• An article
• A newspaper story
• A song
• A scripture
More Tips on Punctuating Titles
Some titles are merely capitalized and not given additional punctuation. These include:
• Religious works, like The Bible or The Koran
• Buildings
• Monuments
NOTES:
In Master Of The Game, the author italicizes thoughts… Like…
I’ll never get married, thought Margaret, until he is dead.
Jamie treated her like a servant. That is alright, thought Margaret. At least my son has a name.
“I need a mirror,” Jamie said. I must look awful, Jamie thought. How long has it been since I had a shave?”
What is common here is that the persons is being talked about in third person, but you want to get into their head to hear what they are thinking, like “head speak ,” like if they are thinking in words.
Head speak can be someone thinking of a conversation they had with someone else, replaying it.
This was working like a charm, thought George. Don’t flatter Gran, she will sense weakness and tear you apart. Eve knew her grandmother better than anyone.
This should help
Owen wrote: "Also, some people italicize titles; other use quotes..."Well...when it comes to book titles there are style conventions to follow. Novels, novella's, novelettes, or collection of works (i.e. longer works) are italicized. Shorter works use quotes.
Basically italicization is supposed to be applied to works that could stand by themselves. Thus, anything that would normally have been published by itself (including plays, long musical pieces, journals and magazines, film/TV/radio shows, etc.) are italicized. Shorter works that would normally be printed inside something else (short stories, poems, magazine articles, etc.) are put in double quotes.
For some reason, long religious works (the Tora, the Bible, the Quran) are not italicized.
Go figure.
All this is based on the printed work, of course. Interesting that electronic publishing now allows the individual publishing of short works, so do the style conventions change? WHO KNOWS!?
i.e. He is going to splurge on his date and take her to McDonald's.