Whether you’re writing an essay, a research paper or a dissertation, the proper format of a movie title is important. It’s also necessary to adhere to style guide conventions when quoting a movie title, which can help to make your work clearer and more professional.
Italicizing a Movie Titel
The formatting and capitalization of a movie title depends on the style guide that you’re using. In most major styles, such as APA, MLA and Chicago, the titles of movies are italicized. This sets the text apart from the rest of your work and indicates which words belong to the movie title.
It’s a Good Idea to Follow the Rules of Capitalization
All major words should be capitalized in the title, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and coordinating conjunctions. Minor words, such as prepositions and articles, should be lower case unless they’re the first word in the title.
It’s also a good idea to put the year of release in parenthesis after the movie title. This will help readers to place the movie in its correct position in time and to distinguish between movies that share a similar name.
Articles Before Movie Titles
Many movie titles have an article before them, which most people don’t say. However, it’s a good idea to pay attention to this before you write your essay or research paper. This will ensure that you’re not using incorrect punctuation and grammar, and it will also make your work easier to read.
If you do have a movie with an article before it, then you’ll want to use a bracket around the phrase “a” or “the.” You can also use a colon, although this isn’t always ideal.
Associated Press Styles Have Different Punctuation for Movie Titles
Associated Press style usually uses quotation marks instead of italics when referring to a movie title. The same goes for most other newswriting style guides.
In some cases, a quote may be necessary in order to highlight an important aspect of the movie. This would be the case with a quote that refers to a specific scene, or if you’re citing a quote that comes from the film’s official trailer.
There are a few other things to keep in mind when putting a movie title in your writing. These include the fact that most movie titles have an article before them, which you should check to ensure that it’s not included in your essay.
It’s a Good Thing to Follow the Rules of Capitalization
All of the major writing styles, including APA, MLA and Chicago, use title case for titles of movies. This means that all of the words in the title are capitalized, even if they’re short.
It’s also a Good Idea to Put the Year of Release in Parenthesis
Most people don’t follow this rule, but it can be helpful in academic writing. It’s especially important for famous films, and it will help readers to place the film in its proper timeframe.
