movie title in an essay mla

• Buy Custom Assignment
• Custom College Papers
• Buy Dissertation
• Buy Research Papers
• Buy Custom Term Papers
• Cheap Custom Term Papers
• Custom Courseworks
• Custom Thesis Papers
• Custom Expository Essays
• Custom Plagiarism Check
• Cheap Custom Essay
• Custom Argumentative Essays
• Custom Case Study
• Custom Annotated Bibliography
• Custom Book Report
• How It Works
• +1 (888) 398 0091
• Essay Samples
• Essay Topics
• Research Topics
• Uncategorized
• Writing Tips

How to Cite a Movie in an Essay: MLA, APA, Harvard, Chicago

November 16, 2023

It is crucial to cite a movie in an essay to give credit to the original creators and sources of information. Just like any other form of media, movies are considered intellectual property, and their use in academic writing requires proper acknowledgment. Citing a movie not only demonstrates academic integrity but also allows readers to access the referenced material for further research. Additionally, citing movies helps to avoid plagiarism and provides a solid foundation for the arguments and claims presented in the essay. By acknowledging the source, it shows that the writer has conducted thorough research and is presenting information from reliable sources. Citing movies also adds credibility and allows readers to verify the information presented. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the correct methods of citing movies to enhance the overall quality and academic value of the essay.

MLA format for citing a movie in an essay

In MLA format, citing a movie in an essay follows a specific set of guidelines. Here’s how to do it:

• Title of the Movie: Start the citation with the title of the movie, in italics or underlined.
• Director’s Name: Include the full name of the director, followed by a comma.
• Performers’ Names: If relevant, you can include the names of performers in the movie, preceded by the abbreviation “perf.” and followed by a comma.
• Distributor: Add the name of the movie’s distributor, followed by a comma.
• Release Year: Include the release year of the movie, followed by a period.

Example citation in MLA format:

Title of the Movie. Directed by Director’s Name, performances by Performers’ Names, Distributor, Release Year.

For instance:

“The Shawshank Redemption.” Directed by Frank Darabont, performances by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, Warner Bros., 1994.

It is important to note that if you are referring to the movie within the body of your essay, you should include the title of the movie in italics or underlined, and the in-text citation should be placed in parentheses after the movie title with just the last name of the director and the page number, if applicable, like this: (Darabont 46). Remember to also include a corresponding entry in your bibliography or works cited page at the end of your essay.

By following these guidelines, you can accurately and properly cite a movie in your essay using MLA format.

APA format for citing a movie

In APA format, citing a movie in an essay involves a specific format that ensures clarity and consistency. Here’s how to cite a movie in APA style:

• Producer(s) and Director(s): Start with the last name and initials of the producer(s) and director(s), separated by a comma and an ampersand (&).
• Year of Release: Include the year in parentheses immediately following the names of the director(s) and producer(s).
• Title of the Movie: Capitalize the first letter of each significant word in the title, as well as any subtitles. Italicize the title.
• Country of Origin: Provide the country where the movie was produced.
• Production Company: Include the name of the production company that released the movie.

Example citation in APA format:

Director Last Name, Initial(s) (Director), & Producer Last Name, Initial(s). (Year). Title of the Movie [Motion picture]. Country of Origin: Production Company.

Darabont, F. (Director), & Niki, M. (Producer). (1994). The Shawshank Redemption [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Bros.

Remember to include an in-text citation after mentioning the movie title within the body of your essay. This entails placing the last name of the director and the year of release in parentheses, like this: (Darabont, 1994). In the reference list or bibliography at the end of your essay, ensure you provide a full citation for the movie.

By following these guidelines, you can accurately and properly cite a movie in your essay using APA format.

How to Reference a Movie in Harvard Style

In Harvard referencing style, citing a movie in an essay follows a specific format to ensure consistency and proper attribution. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to cite a movie using Harvard style:

• Director(s) and Producer(s): Start with the last name(s) and initials of the director(s) and producer(s), separated by a comma.
• Year of Release: Include the year of release in parentheses immediately after the names.
• [Motion picture]: Include this phrase in square brackets.

Example citation in Harvard format:

Director Last Name, Initial(s), & Producer Last Name, Initial(s). (Year of Release). Title of the Movie [Motion picture]. Country of Origin: Production Company.

Darabont, F., & Niki, M. (1994). The Shawshank Redemption [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Bros.

When citing a movie within your essay, include the director’s last name and the year of release in parentheses, like this: (Darabont, 1994). Additionally, make sure to list the full citation in your reference list or bibliography at the end of your essay.

By following these guidelines, you can accurately cite a movie in your essay using Harvard format. Don’t forget to consult the official Harvard referencing style guide for any additional specific requirements.

How to Cite a Movie in Chicago/Turabian Format

In Chicago/Turabian format, citing a movie in an essay requires adherence to specific guidelines to ensure accurate referencing. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to cite a movie using Chicago/Turabian style:

• Director(s) and Producer(s): Start with the director(s)’s full name, followed by a “dir.” For the producer(s), use “prod.” Include their names in the order they appear in the movie’s credits.
• Title of the Movie: Capitalize the first letter of each significant word in the title, as well as any subtitles. Italicize the title or use quotation marks, depending on the format used in the original source.
• Directed by, Produced by, or Director(s) and Producer(s): Indicate the directors and producers’ roles using appropriate abbreviations.

Example citation in Chicago/Turabian format:

Director(s) Last Name, First Name(s), dir. Producer(s) Last Name, First Name(s), prod. Year of Release. Title of the Movie. Directed by, Produced by, or Director(s) and Producer(s). Country of Origin: Production Company.

For example:

Darabont, Frank, dir. Niki, Mark, prod. 1994. The Shawshank Redemption. Directed by Frank Darabont, Produced by Mark Niki. United States: Warner Bros.

When citing the movie within your essay, include the director’s(s)’s last name and the year of release in parentheses, like this: (Darabont 1994). Additionally, make sure to list the full citation in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your essay.

By following these guidelines, you can accurately cite a movie in your essay using Chicago/Turabian format. However, it’s important to consult the official Chicago/Turabian style guide for any additional specific requirements.

Using in-text citations for movie references

When citing a movie in an essay, it is crucial to use in-text citations to provide proper attribution and support your statements or arguments. Here’s how to incorporate in-text citations for movie references in your essay:

• Direct Quotes: When directly quoting a line or dialogue from a movie, enclose the quote in quotation marks and include the last name of the director and the year of release in parentheses. For example: “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse” (Coppola, 1972).
• Paraphrasing: If you’re paraphrasing a scene or summarizing the movie, mention the director’s last name and the year of release in parentheses at the end of the sentence. For example: The gripping prison escape in “The Shawshank Redemption” (Darabont, 1994) captivated audiences worldwide.
• Referring to a Movie: If you’re referring to a specific movie without including a direct quote or paraphrase, mention the movie’s title in italics and the director’s last name and the year of release in parentheses. For example: The visual effects in “Inception” (Nolan, 2010) were groundbreaking.

Remember to keep your in-text citations concise and clear, providing enough information for readers to locate the full citation in your reference list. Properly citing a movie within your essay not only acknowledges the original source but also adds credibility to your work.

Creating a Reference List for Movies in the Bibliography

When citing a movie in an essay, it is essential to include a comprehensive reference list or bibliography to provide complete details for your sources. Here’s a guide on how to create a reference list for movies in the bibliography using the appropriate format:

• Start the reference list on a new page titled “References” or “Bibliography.”
• Arrange the entries in alphabetical order based on the last name of the movie’s director.
• Include the following information for each movie entry:
• Director(s) and Producer(s): Start with the last name(s) and initial(s) of the director(s) and producer(s). Use a comma to separate multiple directors or producers. End with a period.
• Year of Release: Enclose the year of release in parentheses. End with a period.
• Title of the Movie: Capitalize the first letter of each significant word in the title and any subtitles. Italicize the title.
• Format: Specify the format of the movie, such as “Motion picture” or “Film.”
• Country of Origin: Mention the country where the movie was produced. End with a colon.
• Production Company: Include the name of the production company that released the movie. End with a period.

Example reference list entry for a movie:

Darabont, F. & Niki, M. (1994). The Shawshank Redemption. [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Bros.

Ensure that each entry is formatted consistently throughout the bibliography. If there are multiple movies by the same director, list them in chronological order, starting with the earliest release.

By following these guidelines, you can create an accurate and well-organized reference list for movies in the bibliography section of your essay. Remember to consult the appropriate style guide for any specific requirements or variations.

Sociology Research Topics Ideas

Importance of Computer in Nursing Practice Essay

History Research Paper Topics For Students

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy. We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related emails.

Latest Articles

Navigating the complexities of a Document-Based Question (DBQ) essay can be daunting, especially given its unique blend of historical analysis...

An introduction speech stands as your first opportunity to connect with an audience, setting the tone for the message you...

Embarking on the journey to write a rough draft for an essay is not just a task but a pivotal...

I want to feel as happy, as your customers do, so I'd better order now

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• This Or That Game New
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• College University and Postgraduate
• Academic Writing
• MLA Style Manual

How to Cite a Movie Using MLA Style

Last Updated: February 17, 2020

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. This article has been viewed 388,392 times.

You might need to use Modern Language Association (MLA) style guidelines if you're writing a paper for your middle, high school, or college-level class. You may also be a graduate student or researcher who uses MLA citations all the time! If you're writing a paper about movies, or you want to include a movie in a research paper on some other topic, you'll need to cite it properly. Making a correctly formatted Works Cited and adding in-text citations to your essays shows your audience that you're not plagiarizing.

Citation Templates

Making the Works Cited

• For now, your citation should just look like: “ Notting Hill .”
• If the title is a translation, include the original title in brackets. For example, “ The Chorus [Les Choristes] .”

• Your citation should now look something like this: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell.”

• These citations look like this: “Michell, Roger, dir. Notting Hill .”

• The citation should now look like: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell. Perf. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and Richard McCabe.”
• If your paper is about a particular actor, you can begin the citation with their name. This formatting looks like this: “Roberts, Julia, perf. Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell.”

• Almost there! Your citation should now look something like this: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell. Perf. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and Richard McCabe. Universal Pictures, 1999.”

• If you watched the film online, you can skip to step 8.
• For VHS, type out “videocassette” in your citation. It'll look like this: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell. Perf. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and Richard McCabe. Universal Pictures, 1999. Videocassette.”
• If you watched the movie at the theater, you can just type out “Film” for a complete citation! It'll look like this: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell. Perf. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and Richard McCabe. Universal Pictures, 1999. Film.”

• If you watched Notting Hill on Blu-Ray, for example, your citation will look like this: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell. Perf. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and Richard McCabe. 1999. Universal Pictures, 2013. Blu-Ray.”

• This citation will look something like this: “ Notting Hill . Dir. Roger Michell. Perf. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, and Richard McCabe. Universal Pictures, 1999. Netflix . Web. 18 July 2017.”

• Your Works Cited should be on a separate page at the end of the paper, and it should be titled Works Cited. You don't need to put quotation marks around the words Works Cited, or italicize them.
• Make the whole document double-spaced, but don't add extra spaces between citations.

Doing In Text Citations

• For example, “ Notting Hill is a perfect illustration of a typical late 1990s rom-com ( Notting Hill ).”

• “Michell went for a personal touch in his directing for this film (Michell, Notting Hill ).”

• So, for example, “Roberts's classic wide smile made appearances throughout the movie (Roberts, Notting Hill ).”

• Add the timestamp like this: “Roberts lays her heart out on the floor in front of Grant at the end of the film (Roberts, Notting Hill , 02:01:33-02:03:10).”

Expert Q&A

• MLA citation requirements for movies and television are a little more flexible than those for other sources, which is why you're allowed to sometimes start with director or performers' names. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.american.edu/library/documents/upload/Film-Video-Citation-Guide.pdf
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/
• ↑ http://libguides.bates.edu/mla

About This Article

Citing a movie using Modern Language Association style is relatively simple once you know how. If you’re discussing the movie in general, write the title in italics and parenthesis at the end of the sentence when you mention it. If you’re discussing a director or actor in the movie, include their surname in the parenthesis before the title. If you’re referencing a specific shot, you should also include a timestamp at the end. In your works cited section, start with the title in italics, then write “Dir.” followed by the director’s full name. Then, include any relevant actors by writing “perf.” followed by their names. After that, write the movie’s distributor, like Universal Pictures, and the release date. Finally, write the format you watched the movie in, like VHS, DVD, or Netflix. If you saw it in the cinema, write “film” instead. For more tips from our Educational co-author, including how to organize your works cited list, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

May 3, 2019

Did this article help you?

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

How to Cite a Movie: MLA, APA, and Chicago Style

• Posted on January 28, 2022

Writing a research paper doesn’t mean limiting your sources to books and articles. You might use a movie, and if you do, you need to know how to cite it properly. Since there are different citation guides , you must follow the directions specific to your paper style.

The most popular formats are MLA style, APA format, and Chicago style. Each style guide has unique, yet very specific guidelines for spacing, punctuation, italics, and more.

Creating a movie citation for a motion picture you’re referencing protects you against plagiarism. When you’re using other people’s ideas or words, you have to credit them in your work. Otherwise, it looks like you’re passing the information off as your own. If you write anything that isn’t an original idea, you need to credit the person who said it first or you are plagiarizing.

Referencing a movie in your paper can take many different forms. You might mention the film in passing. You might compare it to other films or works of literature. You could also dedicate a whole paper to discussing one specific movie and its impact on popular culture.

You can quote lines from films in your paper just as you’d quote a researcher. Put the sentence in quotation marks and include an in-text citation. You’ll find out how to do that when you learn how to cite a movie in MLA, APA, and Chicago Style.

Common Movie Citation Formats

To cite a motion picture, you’ll need some basic information. Having these details on hand will help whether you’re using MLA, APA, or Chicago style for the film citation. All citation guides require information like:

• Title of the movie
• Name of the director
• Production company
• Film distributor
• Year of release

There are certain instances to use each format, so below are citation examples for MLA style, APA style, and Chicago style.

The  Modern Language Association  created MLA style. The handbook has undergone many changes over the years and is now in its ninth edition. It’s updated as technology and research change. The original handbook had information about citing books and papers, yet the modern edition tells you how to cite song lyrics, social media posts, and more.

You’re likely to use MLA style when writing papers for the humanities, such as language arts or cultural studies. Writing a film critique or using movies to comment on society falls under the humanities umbrella, and you are likely to use MLA style for such projects.

MLA Style Movie Citations

Citing a movie in MLA style is very similar to citing other sources. Start with the movie title in italics, then identify the director or directors. You can list a few stars if you mention them in your paper. This level of detail helps readers find the exact citation in your MLA Works Cited page.

Most of the punctuation in a movie citation using MLA format is a comma. This punctuation differs from other MLA citations that use a lot of periods or put information in parenthesis. Here is an example of a movie formatted for an MLA citation:

Movie. Directed by Bob Action, performances by Ima Star, Big Name, and Too Famous, Movie Studios, 2020.

It’s a straightforward process with room to specify what version you’re referencing if there are multiple versions of the film. In that case, you would add the version after the director’s name. For example:

Movie. Directed by Bob Action, extended version, Movie Studios, 2020.

If you watched the movie on a streaming service, you should indicate that information. Just as when you’re citing journal articles found online with a URL or DOI, the streaming service helps the reader find the exact film.

Most streaming services upload the regular version of the movie, but including this detail erases all doubt.  Netflix  and other streaming services change up their inventory periodically, so cover your bases by including the date you watched the movie. Otherwise, a reader might think you’re making up information because the film isn’t currently available through the service.

Maybe the service censored the line you quoted, and people who own the DVD know the real language. They might think you got the information wrong in your paper. When they go to your reference page, they’ll see where you accessed the movie and understand how your experience could differ. Here is an example of a movie formatted for an MLA citation if it was on a streaming service:

Movie. Directed by Bob Action, Movie Studios, 2020. Netflix, 13 May 2021.

You can also cite movies you watched on  YouTube . The format is similar to that of a streaming service, except you include the name of the user who uploaded the film and the specific URL. For example:

Movie. Directed by Bob Action, Movie Studios, 2020. Movie. Directed by Bob Action, performances by Ima Star, Big Name, and Too Famous, Movie Studios, 2020. YouTube, uploaded by Film Appreciation Community, 13 May 2021, http://www.youtube.com/specificvideo .

When you compile your works cited list, you’ll put the movie citation in alphabetical order according to the movie title.

MLA Style In-text Citations

You need to include an in-text citation whenever you mention the film in your paper. If you paraphrase anything from the movie, you need to show the reader what you’re referencing. Text citations are easy to figure out once you have the reference completed for your works cited page.

Use parentheses to signal that you’re citing a source in the body of your paper. After the opening parenthesis, put the movie title in italics. For example:

However, there are other times when you’ll need in-text citations. If you use a direct quote from the movie, close the quotation marks of the passage, and include the text citation before the ending punctuation. This citation will include the title of the movie and the timestamp of when the character speaks the specific line. You still put the movie title in italics inside of the parenthesis. Follow the title with the timestamp and duration of the line using a semicolon to show the time. For example:

(Movie 15:10-35)

If the quote goes beyond one minute, clarify the time range with more details, such as:

(Movie 15:10-16:07)

You can also mention the movie title in your text using general context without needing an in-text citation. For example:

In Movie, the viewer goes on a wild adventure that spans just two hours.

If you mention a specific part of the movie, you’ll need to add an in-text citation with the time stamp. For example:

In Movie, the viewer first visits the graveyard at night (1:03-50).

If the movie title is long, you can shorten it to the first few words, so your in-text citations are concise.

The  American Psychological Association  created the APA style guide. It has detailed parameters for academic and research papers. You use the APA format when working in the social sciences, like psychology, sociology, economics, and related fields.

APA Style Movie Citations

While a movie citation in MLA style is very basic, there is more specific formatting for an APA citation. Instead of starting with the movie title, you list the director starting with the last name, then the first initial. Specify that the person is the director in parentheses. Documentaries would have a producer instead of a director, so you’d use that job title instead.

Next, you put the year the company produced the movie, then the title. In square brackets, specify that it’s a film because TV shows use a similar style, and last is the name of the production company. Here is an example of a movie formatted for an APA citation:

Action, B. (Director). (2020). Movie [Film]. Movie Studios.

You might refer to the special features included on a DVD version of the film, so you’ll add this information to your citation. For example:

Action, B. (Director). (2020). Movie [Film; DVD release]. Movie Studios.

If you watched the film on a streaming service, the citation includes those details as well. For example:

Action, B. (Director). (2020). Movie [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.netflix.com

When you compile your reference list, you’ll put the movie citation in alphabetical order according to the director’s last name.

APA Style In-text Citations

In-text citations for APA format are similar to those of MLA style. As always, you use parentheses to offset the information from the body of your paper and the citation goes inside of the ending punctuation of a sentence.

While MLA uses the movie title, APA calls for the director’s last name and the year of the movie. For example:

(Action, 2020)

If you’re quoting the film or mentioning a specific scene, include the timestamp after the director’s name and year. For example:

(Action, 2020, 0:15:10)

Chicago Style

The University of Chicago created  Chicago Style  for use in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. This format differs from both MLA and APA by having a bibliography instead of works cited or reference pages. Some papers using Chicago Style ask for you to create endnotes as well.

Chicago Style Movie Citations

Chicago Style has two options: author-date or notes-bibliography. Your professor will tell you what to use for a student paper. If you’re writing an article to submit to a journal, the submission guidelines will clarify which format you need to use.

The author-date format is similar to APA citations. You start with the director’s last name, then their first name, then the job title of the director. This detail is to clarify the person’s role in the movie because a documentary would have a producer instead of a director.

Next is the year the production company released the movie, followed by the movie’s title in italics. Check out this citation example to see how similar it is to APA format:

Action, Bob, director. 2020. Movie. Movie Studios.

If you watched the movie online, you would add the streaming service and direct URL to the movie. Here is an example:

Action, Bob, director. 2020. Movie. Netflix. http://www.netflix.com/movieaddress

If you’re using the notes-bibliography style instead of author-date, you need all the same information but the order is different. Here is an example:

Action, Bob, director. Movie. Movie Studios, 2020.

If you watched the movie online through a streaming service, you add that information in slightly different places as well. For example:

Action, Bob, director. Movie. Netflix, 2020. http://www.netflix.com/movieaddress

Chicago Style In-text Citations

The author-date in-text citation format is also similar to APA’s text citation, without a comma. In Chicago Style, an author-date in-text citation example is:

(Action 2020)

If you’re referencing a specific quote or scene, you’d include the timestamp of the duration. Instead of using a dash like in MLA format, you write the word “to.” Here is an example:

(Action 2020 0:15:10 to 0:15:35)

The in-text citations for author-date style are the same whether you watched the movie on DVD or on Netflix. The reader can find that information when they look for the citation in your bibliography.

When you’re using the notes-bibliography style, in-text citations are understandably different. You number the note and include all the information from the bibliography citation for the first note. Later, you can use a shortened note to reference each movie version because you’ve already given the entire information in the first note.

Considerations for Citing Movies

Citing a movie isn’t too different from citing a book across various style guides, but you must pay attention to the details. Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu  changed the TV industry . It’s very simple to access movies and TV series you might not find otherwise.

When you watch movies online, make sure to cite if it came from Netflix or if it’s a YouTube video. While this article focused on movie citations, there are also differences when citing a TV show or podcast.

Easy Ways to Cite a Movie

Once you learn the basic information needed for a citation, it’s relatively simple to follow the specific formats for MLA, APA, or Chicago Style.

Doing large amounts of research can make it hard to focus on your references. Using the  Quetext citation generator  simplifies the process for you. Whether you’re working on an academic paper, a professional article, or checking your students’ work, Quetext helps with the citations while also checking for any sign of plagiarism.

Take out the stress and confusion of punctuation and parentheses, and let Quetext do the work for you.

Sign Up for Quetext Today!

Click below to find a pricing plan that fits your needs.

You May Also Like

Can You Go to Jail for Plagiarism?

• Posted on March 22, 2024 March 22, 2024

Empowering Educators: How AI Detection Enhances Teachers’ Workload

• Posted on March 14, 2024

The Ethical Dimension | Navigating the Challenges of AI Detection in Education

• Posted on March 8, 2024

How to Write a Thesis Statement & Essay Outline

• Posted on February 29, 2024 February 29, 2024

The Crucial Role of Grammar and Spell Check in Student Assignments

• Posted on February 23, 2024 February 23, 2024

Revolutionizing Education: The Role of AI Detection in Academic Integrity

• Posted on February 15, 2024

How Reliable are AI Content Detectors? Which is Most Reliable?

• Posted on February 8, 2024 February 8, 2024

What Is an Article Spinner?

• Posted on February 2, 2024 February 2, 2024

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

• Essay Check
• Chicago Style
• APA Citation Examples
• MLA Citation Examples
• Chicago Style Citation Examples
• Writing Tips
• Plagiarism Guide
• Grammar Rules
• Student Life
• Create Account

MLA Film Citation

- powered by chegg, create citations for free.

Website Book Journal Movie

←Back to MLA Citation Examples

How to cite a film in a bibliography using MLA

The most basic MLA entry for a film citation consists of the movie title, director, production company, and release date. You may also choose to include other contributors, such as the writer(s), performer(s), and producer(s) if they are relevant to your assignment’s discussion. You may also include the film’s original release date if you’re citing a new release or special edition.

Film Title . Directed by First Name Last Name, Production Company, Release Date.

BibMe: The Movie . Directed by John Smith, Columbia Pictures, 2009.

Foreign Language Film with Translated Title:

Begin the film citation entry with the film’s title in italics, followed by a period. If the film is dubbed in English, begin by including the English title, followed by the translated title in square brackets.

BibMe: The Movie [BibMe: La Película ]. Directed by John Smith, Columbia Pictures, 2009.

Cite the director’s name after the movie title by writing “Directed by” with the director’s first and last name in normal order.

Film with Other Contributors:

If relevant, you may also choose to include the names of other key contributors in the author element, including writer(s), performer(s), and/or producer(s). Group different types of personnel together and separate each personnel group by a period. Write these personnel names in normal order – do not reverse the first and last names. Write these additional contributions according to the role of the person or group. For instance, “produced by,” “screenplay by,” or “performance by.” If you can’t describe the role using a phrase with “by,” include the role using a noun or noun phrase. Use commas to separate the name of the person (in normal order) from their role (Larry David, general editor).

BibMe: The Movie . Directed by John Smith, performances by Mike Jones and Jim Jones. Columbia Pictures, 2009.

If you would like to emphasize the contributions of a specific person because you focus on their role or contribution, include their role and name with contributors, not with authors. If you include the author, in the case of film, the director and their name, you style the entry as shown above. However, if you omit the director role and name, you start the film citation as above with the film title, followed by a period, and instead of a director, include the role and name of another contributor. For example, “Performances by Sharon Stone and Meryl Streep. List the film’s distribution company, followed by a comma, the year released, and a period.

BibMe: The Movie . Performances by Sharon Stone and Meryl Streep, Columbia Pictures, 2009.

Film with Alternate Original Release Date:

If the film’s original year of release differs from the year of release for the copy of the film you viewed, include the original year of release after film title, and place the year of release for the copy of the film you viewed after the film’s distribution company at the end of the entry. Usually, when citing a film with an original release date and a new release date, there has been a special update. You may also include details in the version element, such as “Director’s cut” or “Digitally enhanced edition.” Include those details after the original release date.

BibMe: The Movie . 2007. Director’s cut, Columbia, 2009.

Film Viewed on an App or Website:

If you viewed the film on an app or a website, include specific location details if it will help readers locate the specific copy you viewed. Capitalize and italicize the app or site name.

BibMe: The Slide Program . Columbia Pictures, 2009. Netflix app.

BibMe: The Slide Program . Columbia Pictures, 2009. Netflix , www.netflix.com.

If you viewed the film in person in a theater, cite the film without any additional format or location details.

Film Viewed on Physical Media:

If you viewed the film on physical media, such as a DVD, follow the release date with a comma and a disc number, followed by a period. End the entry with “DVD.”

BibMe: The Movie . 2007. Director’s cut, Columbia, 2009, disc 1. DVD.

If there is no disc number, simply include “DVD.”

BibMe: The Movie . 2007. Director’s cut, Columbia, 2009. DVD.

←Back to MLA Citation Guide

“You can’t edit a blank page” — Nora Roberts

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

The Plagiarism Checker Online For Your Academic Work

Start Plagiarism Check

Editing & Proofreading for Your Research Paper

Get it proofread now

Online Printing & Binding with Free Express Delivery

Configure binding now

• Academic essay overview
• The writing process
• Structuring academic essays
• Types of academic essays
• Academic writing overview
• Sentence structure
• Academic writing process
• Improving your academic writing
• Titles and headings
• APA style overview
• APA citation & referencing
• APA structure & sections
• Citation & referencing
• Structure and sections
• APA examples overview
• Commonly used citations
• Other examples
• British English vs. American English
• Chicago style overview
• Chicago citation & referencing
• Chicago structure & sections
• Chicago style examples
• Citing sources overview
• Citation format
• Citation examples
• College essay overview
• Application
• How to write a college essay
• Types of college essays
• Commonly confused words
• Definitions
• Dissertation overview
• Dissertation structure & sections
• Dissertation writing process
• Graduate school overview
• Application & admission
• Study abroad
• Master degree
• Harvard referencing overview
• Language rules overview
• Grammatical rules & structures
• Parts of speech
• Punctuation
• Methodology overview
• Analyzing data
• Experiments
• Observations
• Inductive vs. Deductive
• Qualitative vs. Quantitative
• Types of validity
• Types of reliability
• Sampling methods
• Theories & Concepts
• Types of research studies
• Types of variables
• MLA style overview
• MLA examples
• MLA citation & referencing
• MLA structure & sections
• Plagiarism overview
• Plagiarism checker
• Types of plagiarism
• Printing production overview
• Research bias overview
• Types of research bias
• Example sections
• Types of research papers
• Research process overview
• Problem statement
• Research proposal
• Research topic
• Statistics overview
• Levels of measurment
• Frequency distribution
• Measures of central tendency
• Measures of variability
• Hypothesis testing
• Parameters & test statistics
• Types of distributions
• Correlation
• Effect size
• Hypothesis testing assumptions
• Types of ANOVAs
• Types of chi-square
• Statistical data
• Statistical models
• Spelling mistakes
• Tips overview
• Academic writing tips
• Dissertation tips
• Sources tips
• Working with sources overview
• Evaluating sources
• Finding sources
• Including sources
• Types of sources

Your Step to Success

Plagiarism Check within 10min

Printing & Binding with 3D Live Preview

How To Cite A Movie In MLA – Format, Styles & Examples

How do you like this article cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Following the MLA style guide in essays provides a structure to integrate citations from various sources, including films or movies. MLA was created to be adaptable to handle many platforms and versions. With the container system, you can highlight the most critical details in your citations, ensuring they are always accurate. Thus, whether referencing a basic text or the latest blockbuster movie, MLA’s comprehensive and flexible approach underpins effective academic writing .

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 How to Cite a Movie in MLA – In a Nutshell
• 2 Definition: MLA movie citation
• 3 MLA movie citation: Format
• 4 MLA movie citation: Online
• 5 MLA movie citation: In-Text

How to Cite a Movie in MLA – In a Nutshell

• In-text citations should refer to their Works Cited entry.
• If a film is listed by its title, reference it in your text or cite it in parentheses.
• The director must be discussed or cited if a film is included under the director’s name.
• In-text citations do not require the complete title.

Definition: MLA movie citation

To cite a film in MLA format , add the title, director, any other contributors, production or distribution firm, and release year. If a film has many versions, you must specify which one you’re referring to.

England. Directed by Terrence William, performances by Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev, director’s cut, Universal Pictures, 1985.

To reference a movie from Netflix (or other online streaming services), including the website or app’s name (e.g., “Netflix app”). If you watched the film on an unauthorized site or video-sharing platforms such as YouTube, include the website name, uploader, upload date, and URL.

The Vampire Diaries. Directed by J. Miller Tobin, Image Ten, 1968. YouTube, uploaded by 20th Century Studios, 26 Sept. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZy6P72Uu3Y.

In the MLA in-text citation , provide the title (or a truncated version of the title) and the time.

( England 29:45–32:37)

( Night 18:25–40)

MLA movie citation: Format

You construct an MLA Works Cited entry by entering the pertinent information. Typically, an MLA movie citation begins with the author’s name, but because numerous people develop films, you should begin the citation with the movie’s title. The director appears as a contributor following the title.

Other contributors

As with television programs, you may also include other contributors if necessary. If your paper discusses specific performances, you can cite the performers; if you examine the film’s graphics, you could include the cinematographer. Identify and separate the roles of each contributor with commas.

Legacies. Directed by Julie Plec, performance by Danielle Rose Russell, music by Michael Luca, BGI / Film4, 2013.

Suppose your film discussion concentrates primarily on one contributor (such as the director or a performer). In that case, you may insert that person’s name at the beginning of the citation in place of the author. In this instance, ensure that the identical name appears in the in-text citation.

Danielle, Russell, performer. Legacies . Directed by Julie Plec, BGI / Film4, 2013.

If there are multiple film versions, you must specify the one used for the reader to locate the appropriate source. If the version was released after the original, you must also provide the release year after the title. This isn’t mandatory, although providing historical context for the source is typically helpful.

Maze Runner. 1982. Directed by Ridley Wesley, final cut, Columbia Pictures., 2008.

Films are frequently produced and distributed by multiple firms, making it challenging to identify the publisher. Determine the organization primarily responsible for the production or distribution of the film. If there are multiple production companies or distributors involved, use a forward slash to separate them.

Twilight . Directed by Barry Johnson, A24 / Plan B Entertainment, 2016.

MLA movie citation: Online

Suppose you stream a video on an official distribution site like Hulu, Amazon Prime, or Netflix. In that case, if necessary, you may include pertinent information about the platform in the Works Cited section.

E.O. the Extra-Ordinary. Directed by Mike Ahern, Universal Studios, 1982. Netflix app.

Suppose the movie was republished on a site unaffiliated with the film’s makers (like YouTube, where anybody can post a copy of a film). In that case, this information should generally be included in the citation. Add the website’s name, the uploader’s name, the release date, and the URL after describing the film in detail.

Note: This format is only applicable to YouTube-uploaded full-length films. Follow the standard for citing a YouTube video when referencing a clip or other YouTube content.

Vincenzo . Directed by Kim Hee-won, performance by Song Joong-ki, Global Film, 1923. YouTube , uploaded by Paramount Pictures Studio, 9 June 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC6jFoYm3xs.

MLA movie citation: In-Text

The in-text citation should match the first phrase of the entry in the Works Cited section. This is typically the title italicized when citing a movie. If the title is more than a few words, only the first word should be used.

Add the time frame of the section you are citing or referencing to instead of the page number.

( Twilight 01:01:23–05:31)

The time frame must be included in the parenthetical citation if the title is already given in the sentence.

The opening shot of Vincenzo introduces the town of Seoul with a school in the foreground (2:18–25).

When referring to the entire film, it can only cite the title without a time frame.

Danielle’s performance in Legacies gives an eerie sense of displacement.

Using the same name in the in-text citation as the contributor’s name in the Works Cited entry will help the reader easily identify it in the alphabetized list.

(Danielle 25:53–27:13)

MLA movie citation style?

Movie Title. Contributor(s), Production Company, Year of Release. Streaming Service, URL.

MLA movie citation from a website?

Creator or writer. “The Video’s Title.” Name of Website Where You Found the Film, the name of the individual or organization that submitted the film [if different from the author/creator], publish date on the website, and the URL. Date of Access [optional, but suggested]

Do you italicize movie titles in MLA?

In MLA movie citation format, source titles are italicized or enclosed in quotation marks. Italicize the title of a self-sufficient unit. If the title is part of more extensive work, it should be enclosed with quotation marks.

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential, while others help us to improve this website and your experience.

• External Media

Individual Privacy Preferences

Cookie Details Privacy Policy Imprint

Here you will find an overview of all cookies used. You can give your consent to whole categories or display further information and select certain cookies.

Accept all Save

Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.

Content from video platforms and social media platforms is blocked by default. If External Media cookies are accepted, access to those contents no longer requires manual consent.

Privacy Policy Imprint

How to Write a Movie Title in an Essay or Article

When you're writing a paper or article in school or at work, you may be in a situation where you need to write a movie title in your writing. But how should you format them? Should you use italics? Or quotation marks? Or maybe both? Or neither…

The first thing to note is that the rules will be different depending on whether you’re writing an article or an essay. In this guide, we'll explain how to write one in an essay or article so that your writing looks professional and polished. Refer to the relevant section, depending on the piece you are creating. 

The main things to know are:

• If you are writing a movie title in an article, the format you use is up to you (or the company you work for). Pick a format and stick to it.
• If you are writing a movie title in an essay, then you should follow your university's or employer's referencing style guidelines. 

Read on for suggestions of different formats for articles, and more in-depth guidance around different university referencing styles.

How to Write a Movie Title in an Article 

Let's begin by exploring why you need a specific format, and examining some key principles and rules around writing a movie title in an article.

Why You Need a Specific Format 

So picture this. You’re writing an article and want to refer to a particular movie - perhaps to illustrate a point, or maybe you’re critiquing it. But you’re unsure how to format it. You don’t want to be marked down for formatting it incorrectly, so you consider leaving it out to avoid the trouble. Not on our watch!

But hold on a sec! Why should you even worry about this? Why do movie titles need to be formatted correctly anyway? Well, it’s simple really. If you don’t differentiate the title from the rest of the text, your readers might not understand you’re referring to a movie title. Imagine, for instance, that you wrote:

I finally got around to watching three billboards outside ebbing missouri.

Can we agree this sentence doesn’t make any sense? With this punctuation (i.e. none) your reader may well believe that you headed out into the night and found a couple of billboards to look at for some time. 

So do you see why it’s important to have some kind of format for writing movie titles? 

Key Principles and Rules

Now here’s the tricky bit: with articles, there’s no hard and fast rule on how to format a movie title in your writing. There are many different options and any of them would be acceptable to use in an article you’re going to publish online or physically. 

So what to do?

Our first advice is to check in with your editor/head of copywriting / your point of reference at the company you work at. They will most likely have a specific format they like to use and will be able to share that with you.

That’s if you are writing for a company.

If you’re self-publishing, say, for example, on your website or Medium.com, then you’re the boss, friend. The conventions you use are completely up to you. 

But here are a few key principles and rules:

• Common conventions are to use italics or quotations marks
• Choose one format and stick with it - not only throughout the article but in everything you write
• Keep an eye out for the correct spelling of the movie. For example, don’t forget the comma in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. 
• Title case is a great way to further demarcate the movie title from the rest of the text to make it abundantly clear that it’s a movie title.

How to Write a Movie Title in an Essay 

Now let's turn our attention towards writing a movie title in an essay.

New scenario. You’re writing an essay for your college or university course. Perhaps you’re using the movie as an example, or maybe you’re critiquing it.

But you don’t want to be marked down for getting it wrong, so you consider avoiding mentioning it altogether. But that would be a shame! Let us help you. 

Here are some general rules to get you started:

• Follow the rules of your school’s academic writing style (APA, MLA, AP, or Chicago.)
• Use title case
• Use italics or quotation marks (depending on the writing style)

Academic Referencing Styles

There are different academic referencing/writing styles in the English language, and these vary depending on the education establishment. Different styles have different rules that govern the way that you might write, punctuate and cite within your essay.

The four most common styles are Associated Press (AP), Chicago, American Psychological Association (APA), and Modern Language Association (MLA).

Of course, there are many more than just four in existence, but these are the prevalent ones. 

But why are there so many different writing styles, we hear you ask? Quite simply, this is to cater to different fields. For instance, the scientific sector places a lot of importance on using recent research, hence the APA style places the date before anything. Humanities tend to use the MLA style which places the author's name first. 

Write a Movie Title in APA, MLA, and Chicago styles

Luckily, the APA, MLA, and Chicago styles all use the same format for movie titles, so it’ll be easy to remember.

These styles all require that you place the movie title in italics. Here are some examples:

• Saving Private Ryan
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 

Do not use any quotation marks! This is not necessary and will be considered incorrect.

You’ll also notice that the title is written in the title case. This means you capitalize certain words in the title. More on that in the next section.

Write a Movie Title in AP style

The AP style is the exception here since it does not use italics to format movie titles. Instead, you’re required to use quotation marks. Let’s use the same examples as above, to make the difference clear:

• “Kill Bill”
• “Saving Private Ryan”
• “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”

Again, here, remember to use title case. 

Write a Movie Title in Title Case

Using title case means that you capitalize certain words in the title. But depending on the writing style you’re using, there are different rules on which words need capitalizing and which ones don't. Mostly, they disagree on whether or not to capitalize minor words.

Read on to find out the rules for each style, to ensure you’re writing it correctly. 

Note that if you’re writing an article, this will again depend on the rules that the company you work for is using, or if you’re writing for your own business, then you can make your own rules. Remember to pick a structure and stick to it. Consistency is key!

• Capitalize the major words.
• Lowercase the articles the, a, and an.
• Capitalize the ‘to’ in an infinitive (e.g., I Want To Eat Cake)
• Capitalize the first and last words (overrides other rules)
• Capitalize all words of four letters or more (overrides other rules)
• Lowercase the second word after a hyphenated prefix

Chicago Style

• Lowercase articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions
• Lowercase the second part of Latin species names.
• Lowercase articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions.
• Do NOT capitalize ‘to’ in infinitives (e.g., I Want to Eat Cake).

As you can see, all four styles share some common rules but are different in certain small details. 

Incorrect ways to write a movie title

Here are some examples of incorrect ways to write a movie title:

• Saving private ryan
• Eternal SUNSHINE of a Spotless Mind
• “Shawshank Redemption”
• One Flew Over the cuckoo’s Nest

Can you figure out what is wrong with each of these examples? We’ll give you a clue! It has to do with incorrect usage of title cases, block capitals and quotation marks.

A note on reference lists

We just wanted to include a little note here to remind you that when citing a movie in your essay, you should include it in your reference list, or bibliography, depending on the academic writing style you are using. 

Again, the structure of your reference list will vary depending on whether you’re writing in APA, AP, MLA or Chicago, and you can find guidance on this in an official manual for the style (or online).

Other Points of Interest

There are some other things you might be interested in knowing that are related to the topic of how to write a movie title in an essay or article, so we’re detailing those below.

How to write a quote from a movie

So you’ve successfully referenced a movie using the rules outlined above. Now you’d like to quote a line from the movie. Which conventions should you use for this? 

For this, you would use quotation marks. For instance, if you want to quote this famous line from the movie Star Wars , you would write: “May the force be with you.”

Remember that if you’re writing an essay, you might need to also include the reference in your in-text citation. Let us show you a full example of what this would look like:

History was made when General Dodonna said “May the force be with you.” in the iconic movie Star Wars (Lucas, 1977).

How to write the name of an episode of a TV show 

If you wanted to cite a TV series, you would follow the same rules as those for citing a movie - as outlined above. But what if you also wanted to include the name of the episode you’re referring to? 

Similarly to inserting a direct quote from a movie, in this case, we recommend using quotation marks. For example:

Friends , “The One Where Everybody Finds Out.”

If writing an essay, please refer to your academic writing style’s guide to learn about conventions around formatting and using title case.

Where does the word ‘movie’ come from?

Dating back as far as the early 1900s, the word ‘movie’ stems from the term ‘moving picture’.

Before they could be projected onto a screen for wider viewing, the first movies could only be seen by one person at a time, using an Electrotachyscope, Kinetoscope, or Mutoscope.

And there we have it! We hope that this article has helped you better understand the conventions around writing a movie title in your essay or article, so you can feel confident about handing in your essay or turning in your article to your line manager.

To summarize, when you’re writing an article, the rules are pretty much up to you if writing for your own business, or your manager if writing for another company. Check-in with them to find out which conventions are already in place.

If writing an essay, then you should always use the structure set out in the academic writing style’s manual. Find out first of all which style you are expected to use. 

Now that that's done, it's time to get writing! 

Learn More:

• 'Dos and Don'ts': How to Write Them With Proper Grammar
• How to Write a List Correctly: Colons, Commas, and Semicolons
• ‘Right’ vs ‘Write’ vs ‘Rite’ vs ‘Wright’: What’s the Difference?
• How to Write Height Correctly - Writing Feet and Inches
• How to Write a Postcard (Tips and Examples)
• How to Write Comedy: Tips and Examples to Make People Laugh
• How to Write an Inequality: From Number Lines or Word Problems
• How to Write a Monologue: Tips and Examples
• How to Write a Letter to the President (With Example)
• How to Write Like Ernest Hemingway
• How to Write a Follow-Up Email After an Interview
• How to Write a Formal Email
• How to Write a 2-Week Notice Email
• How to Write an Out-of-Office (OOO) Email
• How to Write a Professional ‘Thank You’ Email

We encourage you to share this article on Twitter and Facebook . Just click those two links - you'll see why.

It's important to share the news to spread the truth. Most people won't.

Add new comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Post Comment

• About Our Blog
• Essay Writing Service

How to Format Movie Titles in Academic Writings

• by Lesley V.
• October 26, 2023

How to write a movie title in an essay?

Students, especially those in Arts, often refer to films or movie series in their papers. The formatting rules here are easy to remember. But:

They vary a bit, depending on the citation style you use.

In this post, I’ve gathered the guidelines for citing movie titles in five primary formats. Examples included, for you to compare and remember everything better.

How to Write Movie Titles in Essays

Are movie titles italicized?

It’s the most frequent question students ask when looking for this information online. Indeed, most citation formats prescribe italicizing. Other general rules include:

• Uppercase for subtitles
• Extra short movie names (like “It” ) may also go in quotations
• When using quotation marks (AP style), put punctuation inside them

Below are the details on how to format movie titles in essays and reference lists correctly.

Writing Film Titles in Different Citation Styles

For APA style (1):

• Uppercase all four-letter words and above
• Uppercase the first and the last word of a movie title, even if they are short articles (a, the) or pronouns (in, at, etc.)
• Italicize the entire name

For MLA format (2):

• Uppercase movie titles and subtitles
• Use capital letters for both parts of hyphenated words
• No uppercase for articles (a, the) and short conjunctions within the movie name
• Italicize the entire movie title

For Chicago style:

• Uppercase all main words
• Lowercase short conjunctions (below four letters) within the movie title
• Uppercase prepositions, regardless of their length

For AP citation style:

• Lowercase articles (a, the) and prepositions/conjunctions that are shorter than four letters
• Uppercase articles and prepositions/conjunctions in the beginning/end of the title
• No italics; put movie names in quotation marks

For Harvard style:

• Uppercase all primary words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.)
• Lowercase articles and prepositions/conjunctions (below four letters) within the movie title

How to Capitalize Movies in Papers

When writing a film name in a sentence, capitalize every word except for:

• Articles (a, an, the) within the movie title
• Short (below four letters) prepositions and conjunctions within the title

If a movie name begins with the above, use uppercase. Also, write long prepositions/conjunctions (moreover, although, etc.) with a capital letter. For example:

Italics vs. Quotations vs. Underlines

Most citation styles, except AP, prescribe italicization for movies and film series titles. When writing in AP, use quotation marks.

Quotes are also possible to use if you mention super short movie names like “It” or “M.” You italicize them in APA, MLA, or Chicago.

Underlines are for handwritten essays. When written by hand, you can’t italicize, huh? Use underlining instead to highlight a movie title somehow.

How to Format Punctuation in Movie Titles

If punctuation is a part of a film name, place it inside quotation marks or italicize it.

For example:

Writing Movie Titles in Reference Lists

Do you italicize movie titles.

Here they go, the rules on formatting movie titles in essays. Now that you know how to write a movie title in an essay properly, the only detail remains:

Check the formatting guidelines before writing. What citation style does an educator or editor ask you to follow? If none assigned, choose one and stick to it for consistency.

References:

• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/index.html  
• https://lib.westfield.ma.edu/c.php?g=354010&p=2388441

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Punctuation with Titles

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

In a previous Ask the MLA post, we explained how to incorporate titles ending in question marks or exclamation points into works-cited-list entries . But how do you incorporate such titles into your prose? How do you handle titles ending in other punctuation marks? And what should you do about other matters of punctuation related to titles?

Titles Ending in Question Marks or Exclamation Points in Your Prose

At the MLA, we never insert a period after a title ending in a question mark or exclamation point, but we insert a comma if doing so makes a sentence easier to read—for example, when such a title is one item in a series or when the title is contained in a nonrestrictive clause:

“I just saw Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , Oklahoma! , and Design for Living ,” Roland said.

The center hopes its 1992 theme, Explore New Worlds—Read!, will draw attention to geography.

But when possible, we prefer to reword:

The center hopes to draw attention to geography with its 1992 theme, Explore New Worlds—Read!

Titles That Need to Be Shortened 

When we need to shorten a really long title in a works-cited-list entry, we add an ellipsis after the first part of the title up to at least the first noun. If a work has an alternative title, we might include it. If a period is needed, we insert the period before the ellipsis and set the punctuation roman:

Bulwer, John.  Philocophus; or, The Deafe and Dumbe Mans Friend. . . .      Humphrey Mosely, 1648.

If a comma is needed, as it would be when the long title is the title of a container, we insert it after the ellipsis. We set the ellipsis and the comma roman:

Smith, Ann. Introduction.  Philocophus; or, The Deafe and Dumbe Mans Friend . . .  , Humphrey Mosely, 1648, pp. x-xxi.

In prose, we omit the ellipsis:

Philocophus; or, The Deafe and Dumbe Mans Friend  was written by John Bulwer.

Titles Ending in an Ellipsis or Dash

If the ellipsis is part of the title, we add the period or comma after the ellipsis. The ellipsis is set in italics if the title is italicized, but the additional punctuation is set roman:

One of the most popular comic films of the 1980s was Rob Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally . . . . One of the most popular comic films of the 1980s was When Harry Met Sally . . . , directed by Rob Reiner. Work Cited Reiner, Rob, director. When Harry Met Sally . . . . MGM, 1989.

We follow the same principle if a title ends in a dash:

A well-known poem about death is Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—.” A well-known poem about death is “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—,” by Emily Dickinson. Work Cited Dickinson, Emily. “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—.” The Poems of Emily Dickinson , edited by R. W. Franklin, Harvard UP, 1999.

Titles and Subtitles

Section 1.2.1 of the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook says, “Use a colon and a space to separate a title from a subtitle, unless the title ends in a question mark or an exclamation point. Include other punctuation only if it is part of the title or subtitle.”

The handbook provides the following examples:

Storytelling and Mythmaking: Images from Film and Literature

Whose Music? A Sociology of Musical Language

But sometimes titles are not straightforward. In such cases, we follow some additional rules.

For example, when a title is followed by two subtitles, we use two colons:

Finis Coronat Opus: A Curious Reciprocity: Shelley’s “When the Lamp Is Shattered”

When a period separates a title and a subtitle on the title page, we change the period to a colon. When a question mark, exclamation point, or dash separates a title and a subtitle on the title page, we leave the original mark:

On the title page: The East End. The Story of a Neighborhood

In your prose: The East End: The Story of a Neighborhood

Both on the title page and in your prose: What Do I Know? An Account of an Investigation

But if a title contains a title ending in a question mark or exclamation point, we add a colon:

Moby-Dick and Absalom, Absalom! : Two American Masterpieces

Here the exclamation point is part of the title Absalom, Absalom! , so a colon is needed to separate the title Moby-Dick and Absalom, Absalom! from the subtitle.

Double Titles

For an alternative or double title in English beginning with or , we follow the first example given in section 8.165 of The Chicago Manual of Style and punctuate as follows:

England’s Monitor; or, The History of the Separation (452)

But no semicolon is needed for a title in English that ends with a question mark or exclamation point:

“Getting Calliope through Graduate School? Can Chomsky Help? or, The Role of Linguistics in Graduate Education in Foreign Languages”

For double titles of foreign language publications, we follow the source.

Dates in Titles

Unless a date is part of a title’s syntax, we follow section 8.163 of Chicago and set it off with a comma:

Melodrama Unveiled: American Theater and Culture, 1800–1850 (451)

Serial Comma in Titles

Contrary to section 8.163 of Chicago , for English-language titles of books published in the United States, we add the serial comma before the conjunction preceding the final item in a series if the comma is missing. Otherwise, we follow the source. The following book was published by Verso in London, so the serial comma is not added:

Buelens, Geert. Everything to Nothing: The Poetry of the Great War, Revolution and the Transformation of Europe. Verso, 2015.

Works Cited

The Chicago Manual of Style . 16th ed., U of Chicago P, 2016.

MLA Handbook . 8th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016.

89 Comments

Omar 22 october 2017 at 07:10 am.

Dear Jennifer, I have a question regarding the use of semi-colons in the subtitle of report headlines. Specifically, I'd like to know whether or not the first word after the semi-colon should be capitalized. I know that the first word after the subtitle typically begins with a capital letter as per Chicago and AP rules, but the AP is silent on what to do when the subtitle is itself separated by a semi-colon. Is the below headline acceptable?

Hurricanes 2017: Galeforce winds batter UK; Flood warnings issued nationwide

Your e-mail address will not be published

Jennifer A. Rappaport 23 October 2017 AT 12:10 PM

Great question. MLA style, following Chicago , capitalizes the first letter of the first and last words of a title and the first letter of any other words in the title unless they are articles or prepositions, so in your example, we would capitalize not only "Flood" but also all the other words in the title: "Hurricanes 2017: Galeforce Winds Batter UK; Flood Warnings Issued Nationwide." (Note that "galeforce" is not in Webster's so if we were crafting this title we would style it "Gale-Force Winds," but if it were a published title, we would follow copy.)

Amy W 05 January 2018 AT 09:01 AM

What would you do if the title with a question mark was in quotes, rather than italicized? Would the comma go inside or outside the quotation mark? "...?," Or "...?",

Jennifer A. Rappaport 08 January 2018 AT 09:01 AM

The comma would be placed inside the quotation marks.

Colleen 24 April 2018 AT 02:04 PM

Where would the commas go if I listed multiple titles that had quotation marks? Ex. I read "Riding the Rails," "The Long Road to Oregon," and "Coming out West." Is that correct with the commas and period inside the quotation marks?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 24 April 2018 AT 08:04 PM

Yes, correct. Please see our related post for examples: style.mla.org/punctuation-and-quotation-marks/

Amy Nelson 26 January 2018 AT 05:01 PM

When the title of the work being cited in the WC list includes the title of another text (for example, the cited work is titled A Critical Edition of John Lydgate's _Life of Our Lady_, with the last four words in the title -- here set apart with underscores -- being the title of a long poem and thus italicized), should the secondary / interior title be italicized along with the main title, or should it be formatted in standard typeface in contrast with the main title's italics?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 31 January 2018 AT 09:01 AM

Thanks for your question. The answer is on p. 71 of the handbook (1.2.4 "Titles within Titles").

Patricia Bostian 20 February 2018 AT 12:02 PM

Can't find an answer for citing a title within a title when it comes at the end. This is for a citation: "An Overview of 'A Rose for Emily'." OR "An Overview of 'A Rose for Emily.'"

Jennifer A. Rappaport 21 February 2018 AT 12:02 PM

Great question. The period goes inside the single quotation mark.

Karen 12 March 2018 AT 12:03 AM

I have an issue with a document on line that I want to call attention to. This document has several sections or parts and each section or part has a name/header/sort of title. I need to mention the name/header/title of each section in this document. Should I put the names/headers/titles of each section in quotations or italics? How should I punctuate this? Also, to do certain things with this document, you have to navigate through it, for example: click "Save and finish later" or click "Next". Should these "Click" buttons be in quotation marks or italics as well? Thank you for your help.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 13 March 2018 AT 02:03 PM

Thanks for your question. We'll submit it to Ask the MLA.

Renee 15 March 2018 AT 10:03 PM

When citing an article title that contains periods, should the periods be omitted? For example: In the article "That's No Woman. That's My Wife.," the author states...

That's No Woman. That's My Wife. is the title, but the punctuation doesn't look correct. Thank you!

Jennifer A. Rappaport 16 March 2018 AT 07:03 AM

Good question. We'll submit it to Ask the MLA.

Frank 27 July 2018 AT 07:07 PM

Jennifer, thanks for this wonderful and useful piece. One issue I'm still confused about is how to handle the mid-sentence appearance of titles containing a single comma. (Some examples: Lust, Caution ; White Hunter, Black Heart ; New York, New York .

To consider the last example, I know that I would write a non-title version of the phrase as follows:

• I took a trip to New York, New York, and had a wonderful time.

But is this the correct way to place the title in the middle of a sentence?

• We watched the Scorsese film New York, New York and really enjoyed it.

Is no comma required at the end of the title to "close out" the comma in the middle?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 30 July 2018 AT 06:07 AM

Thanks for your question. Whereas a comma is needed before and after the state in formulations such as "New York, New York," when the city and state are used as the title of a work, no comma is needed following the name of the state, unless the grammar of the rest of the sentence requires it (After watching the movie New York, New York , we went out to dinner).

Alethia 14 August 2018 AT 03:08 PM

Is it common to place an additional comma between the year and time in a subtitle? i.e. meeting announcement August 21, 2018, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (EST)

Jennifer A. Rappaport 15 August 2018 AT 07:08 AM

Yes, a comma should generally separate a date from a time.

Cynthia Crosbie 30 August 2018 AT 12:08 AM

How would you punctuate this sermon title: “Building Wisely,” Part 1 Should Part 1 be written as part of the title? italicized? in parentheses? Should Part 1 be left off and only Part 2 and Part 3 written?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 03 September 2018 AT 06:09 PM

Thanks for your question. In MLA style, "part 1" would be included in the "Number" slot on the MLA format template:

https://style.mla.org/works-cited-a-quick-guide/

ML Corwin 08 November 2018 AT 04:11 PM

The author of this book has put colons after the chapter numbers followed by the chapter title. Three chapters are each about one of three "Power Blockers." How to punctuate those? Which of two styles is preferable? Use a second colon or not?

Chapter 6: Power Blocker #3 Misplaced Blame

Chapter 6: Power Blocker #3: Misplaced Blame

Jennifer A. Rappaport 09 November 2018 AT 09:11 AM

There's no hard-and-fast rule about how to style chapter numbers before titles, but in a table of contents, I would recommend the following in the example you've sent:

Chapter 6. Power Blocker #3: Misplaced Blame

Andrew Johnston 29 November 2018 AT 02:11 PM

My question concerns the title of an academic publication.

In my situation, the title concludes with a question and the subtitle gives further clarification.

How can I distinguish the title from the subtitle?

For example:

Competition Law within the European Union is Functioning Just Fine, but do fines cut it?: An exploration of the efficacy of corporate fines in achieving the goals of EU Competition Law, and the potential benefits of reform.

Competition Law within the European Union is Functioning Just Fine, but do fines cut it? An exploration of the efficacy of corporate fines in achieving the goals of EU Competition Law, and the potential benefits of reform.

I look forward to having this one resolved.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 30 November 2018 AT 08:11 AM

Thanks for your question. The question mark separates the title from the subtitle.

Competition Law within the European Union Is Functioning Just Fine, but Do Fines Cut It? An Exploration of the Efficacy of Corporate Fines in Achieving the Goals of EU Competition Law, and the Potential Benefits of Reform.

Sue 05 December 2018 AT 05:12 AM

Hi there, We are trying to figure out how to punctuate a role title. For example,

You are invited to be an Organization Lead at xyz company.

Should 'Organization Lead' have quotation marks like "Organization Lead" or single quotations or none at all?

And if a course title, do I add 'xx' or "xx" as well in a phrase? For example, Access "Digital Marketing" today.

Thank you for your help!

Jennifer A. Rappaport 05 December 2018 AT 07:12 AM

Thanks for your question. In MLA style, quotation marks are not used around professional titles or titles of courses. We also lowercase professional titles: organization lead.

Stevie D 11 December 2018 AT 04:12 PM

When using a short story title within a paper's title, and before a subtitle, where does the colon belong?

"A Rose for Emily:" Northern Progress Meets Southern Tradition or "A Rose for Emily": Northern Progress Meets Southern Tradition

Thanks for your help!

Jennifer A. Rappaport 11 December 2018 AT 07:12 PM

The colon goes after the title in quotation marks:

“A Rose for Emily”: Northern Progress Meets Southern Tradition

Shari 14 January 2019 AT 10:01 PM

Thank you so much for your help Jennifer, but what if the title is an analysis of a book. For example, about animals in Harry Potter?

Can I write:

Anthropomorphisation and Animal representation: A post humanistic analysis of Harry Potter.

Is this the right format for MLA?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 15 January 2019 AT 06:01 AM

Thanks for your question. The correct styling in MLA format would be

Anthropomorphization and Animal Representation: A Posthumanistic Analysis of the Harry Potter Books (since Harry Potter is the name of a series of books, not the name of a particular book).

Christine Dushack 22 January 2019 AT 12:01 PM

For the following, does the period go inside the quotation marks or outside? It is a title of a paper.

For questions 3-10, refer to "The Beetle Juice". Or For questions 3-10, refer to "The Beetle Juice."

Jennifer A. Rappaport 22 January 2019 AT 12:01 PM

Thanks for your question. See our answer here:

https://style.mla.org/punctuation-and-quotation-marks/

Mark 02 February 2019 AT 10:02 AM

While I understand how to punctuate a question, I'm a bit confuse as to the proper rule regarding titles that do not indicate it's a question but rather an answer.

For example, there are plenty of "how to" posts that do not have any punctation in the title.

How to prepare for a snowstorm

How do I prepare for a snowstorm?

I would think the proper way is ...

How to prepare for a snowstorm. (with a period)

But I'm finding several major newspapers and magazines do not punctuate these titles with a period. It seems to me it creates a conflict with citing sources using proper punctuations. Can you clarify how MLA handles this?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 03 February 2019 AT 08:02 AM

Thanks for your question. We would style the title as follows:

How to Prepare for a Snowstorm

Calla Andrews 26 March 2019 AT 02:03 PM

Does one need a period after a title ending with a question mark when the title is the end of the sentence? For example: We were analyzing the short story "Who's Afraid of the Storm?" I think that's enough punctuation, but should there be a period after the quotes? With a non-question mark title, the period for the end of the sentence would go inside the quotes.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 26 March 2019 AT 04:03 PM

A question mark is indeed enough punctuation in your example. There should be no period after the closing quotation mark.

Carly Bondár 02 April 2019 AT 01:04 PM

Hi there. I have a question about listing book titles that have commas in their titles. For example, I want to list four book titles in a single sentence, but two of the books have commas in the titles. How do I write out the list so as to be clear about which commas are part of the titles and which are separating items in a list? Do I use semicolons? It doesn't look right. As of now the only thing distinguishing the commas in the titles from the commas used as list separators is that the former are italicized and the latter are not. I just worry this isn't clear enough when the font is small.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 03 April 2019 AT 07:04 AM

Great question, Carly. You have it exactly right: the commas between the titles are not italicized, so those commas separate one title from another.

Eitan 03 July 2019 AT 07:07 PM

In my academic field, I often see titles that include some made-up system name, a colon, and a short description of the system. Something like: "Gizmo: a great new way to do things". Is there a name or term for the first word in this title, the system name? It's clearly not the subtitle or the title, but is there anything else I can call it?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 15 July 2019 AT 12:07 PM

In this case, "Gizmo" is the title, and "A Great New Way to Do Things" is the subtitle.

Jesse P 14 July 2019 AT 07:07 PM

Hi, I'm wondering what to do when a question inside quotation marks is the first half of a title (i.e. followed by a subtitle). I see that it says here, “Use a colon and a space to separate a title from a subtitle, unless the title ends in a question mark or an exclamation point. Include other punctuation only if it is part of the title or subtitle.” However, does that still hold true when the title is in quotation marks? In that case might the colon be added back (since technically the quotation mark would make for a barrier between the question mark and the colon so they wouldn't be directly in a row)? Or still no? For example: "A Man for All Seasons?" Reflections on John Wayne OR "A Man for All Seasons?": Reflections on John Wayne

Jennifer A. Rappaport 15 July 2019 AT 01:07 PM

We retain the colon:

"A Man for All Seasons?": Reflections on John Wayne

David Charles Burt 29 July 2019 AT 03:07 PM

I need advice on how to use commas in a title of a piece I've written for an American publication. The title is: From Brass Pins Pistols and Swords to Warships.

How are the commas to be placed in this title ? David Burt, England.

Izabel 02 December 2019 AT 11:12 PM

Hi! I'm an artist (a painter) and sometimes I have two names, or titles, for my paintings. How to write it correctly? Usually I just place it in quotation, for example: "The painting one", or "The painting two". I'm originally from Russia, and we have these punctuation rules (with comma before 'or' with double titles), but I doubt it is correct in English. Please, help.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 03 December 2019 AT 07:12 AM

Thanks for your question. We also have rules in English for punctuating double titles. See the section "Double Titles" above.

Zaine Pittman 10 December 2019 AT 04:12 PM

Hello, I have a question. What if there is a book with a title that has the article "The" in it. When you write it on a document or something, would you put the article after the full title, and separate the article and end of the title with a comma? for example, "Maze of Bones, The"?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 11 December 2019 AT 07:12 AM

Thanks for your question. In prose and works-cited-lists, the article should remain at the start of the title, but in an index, it would likely be listed as Maze of Bones, The.

Kara Wood 09 January 2020 AT 07:01 PM

I have a list of newspaper article titles that are being analyzed by some high school students; naturally, one of the article titles ends with a question mark. What is MLA's rule on this?

Here's the opening to his précis:

In his 2019 articles “Sea Level Rise Could Claim Mar-a-Lago — and Trump’s empire,” “U.S. Women’s Soccer Players Shouldn’t be Paid as Much as Men. They Should Get More.,” and “What Can a Black Person do to Keep from Getting Killed by Police in this Country?” American columnist Eugene Robinson unabashedly addresses various controversial topics, ranging from the everyday lunch conversation starter, climate change, to the heated, yet popular political campaign platforms of gender and racial discrimination in order to . . .

Jennifer A. Rappaport 15 January 2020 AT 07:01 AM

Thanks for your question. We would insert a comma between the question mark and the closing quotation mark because it makes the sentence easier to read.

Reb 03 March 2020 AT 04:03 PM

If a book title within an article title is not italicized should this be corrected in the citation?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 04 March 2020 AT 06:03 AM

Thanks for your question. See section 1.2.4 of the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook .

christina 03 March 2020 AT 07:03 PM

Is it correct if I were to have my title with a colon and a question mark? If so, do I add a space between?

Thanks for your question. A colon and a question mark should not generally appear next to each other in a title. So, for instance, if a title ends in a question mark and the title is followed by a subtitle, do not add a colon between the title and the subtitle. See the example above: Whose Music? A Sociology of Musical Language .

Reb 04 March 2020 AT 11:03 AM

Thanks but 1.2.4 does not address my question. Yes, a book title within a journal article title should be italicized. But if the book title is NOT italicized in the actual journal article, do I make that correction in my works cited page?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 05 March 2020 AT 07:03 AM

Thanks for the clarification. If the book title is not italicized in the journal article, do not italicize it. Copy the article title as it appears in the source.

Reb 05 March 2020 AT 05:03 PM

Jeff dailey 17 april 2020 at 08:04 am.

I want to title a play with a long title and need your thoughts on both my chosen punctuation and capitalization and thank you. Here is my title: An Angel with Flowers, Broadway Bound in Twenty-Seventeen, B.C. [Before COVID-19]

Jennifer A. Rappaport 20 April 2020 AT 06:04 AM

Thanks for your question. You might consider An Angel with Flowers: Broadway-Bound in 2017 BC (before COVID-19)

Julie 27 April 2020 AT 11:04 AM

Should university course titles be punctuated if they are mentioned in a letter?

For example: "I look Introduction to Film last spring, and it helped me understand movies."

Thank you for such a helpful forum!

Jennifer A. Rappaport 28 April 2020 AT 07:04 AM

Thanks for your question. In MLA style, course titles are set roman without quotation marks, so your example is correct.

Ricardo Bravo 29 June 2020 AT 10:06 AM

Hi There, Names of restaurants, theaters should be in italic as well? Best and thanks!

Jennifer A. Rappaport 29 June 2020 AT 03:06 PM

Thanks for your question. Names of restaurants and theaters should be styled roman without quotation marks.

Mark 22 August 2020 AT 10:08 AM

Good Day Jennifer, is it a grammer law that you Must put a question mark at the end of your title if the title is a question...I"m just trying to find out the Pros and Con"s and the benefits of using the question mark in this type title.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 29 August 2020 AT 08:08 AM

Thanks for your comment. It's probably a good idea to include a question mark if you are creating a title that is a question.

Valerie Exar 06 October 2020 AT 09:10 AM

Hello, For the title of a paper I'm writing:

A Comparison of Water Supply in Houston, TX and Baltimore, MD

Do I put a comma after TX, as I would insert within the body of the paper? (Same question would apply if I spelled out the state names)

Jennifer A. Rappaport 07 October 2020 AT 07:10 AM

Thanks for your question. Yes, there should be a comma after "TX" or after "Texas."

Madeline Patrick 14 October 2020 AT 03:10 PM

Hello, Jennifer A. Rappaport. As a high school junior enrolled in a college class, I want to, well, I want to show off to my classmates. I mustn't have errors! After some reading online, I have received mixed answers on whether or not I can put a period at the end of a précis title for emphasis. Could you help me?

With many thank yous, Madeline A. Patrick

Jennifer A. Rappaport 15 October 2020 AT 08:10 AM

Thanks for your question. A title should not end in a period.

Samantha Hanna 10 December 2020 AT 11:12 AM

What would you put after by in the title?

By: someone? A

By; someone? B

By, someone? C

Jennifer A. Rappaport 10 December 2020 AT 11:12 AM

Thanks for your question. Are you referring to the byline rather than the title? If so, there should be no punctuation between "by" and the author's name.

Patrick Love 23 February 2021 AT 12:02 PM

Thank you for your post. I have a question concerning how to punctuate a short story title, but I am trying to add an apostrophe "s" to the title. I am trying to make this sentence: "The Necklace's" ending is an example of situational irony because ...

So I am wondering if it is correct to add the apostrophe "s" inside of the quotation marks or should it be added outside of the quotation marks?

Thank you for your time, Patrick

C. Barney Latimer 09 March 2021 AT 10:03 AM

The apostrophe and "s" go after the title’s closing quotation mark (“The Necklace”’s). However, an easier and more readable solution would be to reword the sentence to avoid this awkward use of the possessive: The ending of “The Necklace” is an example of situational irony because. . . .

Judy Lee 06 May 2021 AT 09:05 AM

I think a period is needed at the end of the following sentence: The peddler went up, took out a scroll, and showed him the verse “Who is the man who desires life […]?” (Psalms 34:13). What say you? Thanks.

Chris Davis 19 May 2021 AT 02:05 PM

How do you punctuate a title and subtitle that are BOTH questions?

A Water-Proof Phone?: Is There a Market for Water Resistant Smartphones? OR A Water-Proof Phone? Is There a Market for Water Resistant Smartphones?

C. Barney Latimer 25 May 2021 AT 04:05 PM

When the main title of a work ends in a question mark or exclamation point, no colon precedes the subtitle, even if the subtitle also ends in a question mark or exclamation point. The correct format for your example is therefore “A Waterproof Phone? Is There a Market for Water-Resistant Smartphones?” Note that no period follows the question mark at the end of the subtitle when the title appears at the end of the sentence. However, if a title ending in a question mark appears in the middle of a sentence, a comma may be used if it makes the sentence easier to read, as in this example: “After reading ‘A Waterproof Phone? Is There a Market for Water-Resistant Smartphones?,’ I accidentally dropped my smartphone in the bath.”

W. 16 October 2021 AT 01:10 PM

If the title of a work appears at the end of a sentence, where does the period go? before or after the quotations marks for the work? B) Aesop uses allegory and satire to expose humanity’s ego in his fable, “The Fox and the Grapes”. or B) Aesop uses allegory and satire to expose humanity’s ego in his fable, “The Fox and the Grapes.”

Wyatt F. 18 November 2021 AT 09:11 AM

How would you punctuate a title that exclaims itself?

Ammy 23 November 2021 AT 09:11 AM

How the author can enter the number/part of the paper in the title of their essay/monograph/article for publication in a journal. The MLA Template shows the sequence of writing the numbering when quoting/referring someone's work; but it does not answer the question of how the author should compose their title correctly when the work is divided into parts. For example:

1// Short Title: A Long Subheading Containing Ten Words—Paper 1 of (a/the?) Historical Jesus Review Series

2// Short Title: A Long Subheading Containing Ten Words Part 2 of Historical Jesus Review Series /as second line/

3// Short Title: A Long Subheading Containing Ten Words. Part 3 of Historical Jesus Review Series

4//Short Title: A Very Long Subheading Containing Fourteen Words. I Short Title: A Very Long Subheading Containing Fourteen Words. II

How it is advisable to design the numbering itself: Article 1, Essay 2, Part 3, IV, or just Paper 5?

The question is fundamental and will help many people who divide their articles into parts. Thank you for your comprehensive responsiveness.

Christin Bonin 17 January 2022 AT 08:01 AM

I am about to publish my dissertation. The Title is: The Broadway Belt The Musical Diva and her Belt Voice from Technical, Ethnic, and Feminist Perspectives Now my big question: Oxford Comma after Ethnic/before and ... or not?

Aliaa Bondok 09 February 2022 AT 08:02 PM

Hello! Unfortunately, I could not find an answer to my question in the MLA guide, so here is it: How do I punctuate a certain quote take from a novel when I include this quote in a title, heading, or sub-heading? Should I capitalize the words of the quote or just copy them as they are in the novel? Example: the original quote reads: “a future of poverty and despondency” I want to include it in a subheading a) Escaping “a future of poverty and despondency” b) Escaping "a Future of Poverty and Despondency" Which version is correct, (a) or (b)?

Thanks in advance!

Pallavi 20 April 2022 AT 12:04 PM

Is this title correct ?

Prone to dominance and criminality ? : The scientist figure in selected films

Russ 21 April 2022 AT 01:04 PM

My book title contains a colon, but I am told that the title, when placed on the book cover, binding and title page, should be written without the colon. I am confused!

Jadyn 03 October 2022 AT 06:10 PM

If the title is inside quotation marks at the end of a sentence (Example: This is discussed in the book "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success") Does the period go inside or outside the quotation?

Laura Kiernan 24 October 2022 AT 04:10 PM

Thanks for your question. In MLA style, titles of books are italicized, so, in the example you supplied, you wouldn't surround Mindset: The New Psychology of Success in quotation marks. For guidance on punctuation around titles, see section 2.105 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Nour 30 October 2022 AT 05:10 PM

Hi i have a question regarding article titles is it : Study Suggests Video Games Can Help Mental Health. or Study Suggests Video Games Can Help Mental Health with ponctuation or without ponctuation ??

Kristina 03 October 2023 AT 01:10 PM

Hi there, I'm working on a subtitle for my children's book. Title: A children's picture book about monsters (or perhaps not-so-scary monsters) I would use caps, but I'm not exactly certain which words wouldn't be capitalized other than or? I'm wondering if you can use parenthesis in a book subtitle? Originally I was thinking about using the line: A children's picture book about scary monsters (or ARE they)? Again, I'm not sure about the parenthesis or ending a book subtitle with a question mark. I've seen one so far and they placed the question mark inside the parenthesis and didn't have any punctuation after the parenthesis. Just wanted to get your advice. Thanks so much!

Uma Maheswari 08 November 2023 AT 09:11 PM

I want to frame a question in MLA style. Which one is correct regarding the question mark at the end? What is the significance of the title of the poem "An African Elegy"? What is the significance of the title of the poem "An African Elegy?" Note: The title of the poem does not have a question mark. It is mine. Thank you

Laura Kiernan 09 November 2023 AT 04:11 PM

Thank you for your question about MLA style. For guidance, see section 6.53 of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Emma 17 February 2024 AT 09:02 AM

In my list of works cited, titles of self-contained sources need to be italized, now my question is, does the period right after it have to be italized as well or just the title? Thank you!

Join the Conversation

We invite you to comment on this post and exchange ideas with other site visitors. Comments are moderated and subject to terms of service.

If you have a question for the MLA's editors, submit it to Ask the MLA!

• Dissertation
• PowerPoint Presentation
• Book Report/Review
• Research Proposal
• Math Problems
• Proofreading
• Movie Review
• Cover Letter Writing
• Personal Statement
• Nursing Paper
• Argumentative Essay
• Research Paper

How to Write Movie Titles in Essays?

Table of Contents

Writing a movie title in essay projects may be necessary when handling different academic assignments. Thus, knowing how to write movie captions in the correct format is vital for composing successful papers. While mastering this art is necessary, many students face challenges doing it. 

This subject raises many questions regarding various components. For instance, italicizing, quoting, underlining, and punctuating are some of the challenges some students face. 

Fortunately, relevant guidance exists to address all these challenges and improve your writing skills. This post addresses these difficulties in all the major academic writing styles like APA , Chicago, and MLA. Keep reading to learn more and master this area of academic writing. 

How to Put a Movie Title in an Essay

Writing a movie title in essay has different components that have evolved through the ages. The rise of computer technology has drastically changed how learners handle this subject. It has changed some elements, like underlining movie titles. For instance, before personal computers became common, students used typewriters to write academic papers. This technology required them to underline movie titles. Also, underlining movie headlines was necessary because some scholars hand-wrote their assignments. The reason is that italicizing a title was difficult in a hand-written essay. 

Rules to Follow When Writing a Movie Title in Essay

Here are the main rules to follow to write movie titles correctly in your academic papers. 

Title Sources 

As a rule of thumb, you should list the full title as it appears in the source you are citing. However, few exceptions exist for this rule, particularly when punctuating subtitles and standardizing capitalization. 

• You must capitalize every principal word, like an adjective, noun, and verb. However, don’t capitalize articles, prepositions, or conjunctions in the title’s middle. However, capitalize them if they are long, such as additionally and furthermore, or if they are a title’s first word. 
• Always separate subtitles with colons and spaces.

Italicization 

Italicization is another vital component to pay attention to when including a movie title in essay .

You must italicize titles from self-contained and independent sources. Remember to italicize every book, play, film, periodical, database, and website title.

Quotation Marks 

Put a title in quotation marks if its source is a part of a larger work.

Titles with Other Titles  

Titles containing other titles occur commonly in academic writing. Also, if the title usually appears in double quotation marks, enclose the caption in single quotes. For instance, 

“Madness in David’s ‘Make Common Sense Common Again.'”

Capitalization 

Capitalization is another core component when drafting movie captions in essays. You should apply all the established capitalization rules when writing these titles. These laws require you to do the following: 

• Begin all movie captions start with capital letters. 
• Always capitalize all proper nouns.

However, you must pay special attention to some exceptions when applying these rules to place a movie title . The final rules will depend on the writing style you use. Please note that different academic formats disagree on minor matters that may complicate matters. So, use these rules, knowing they don’t apply universally across various educational writing styles. 

Movie Title in Writing

You will format your essays using APA, MLA, or Chicago styles. While these disagree on different issues, they agree on a few core components. For instance, these styles need you to capitalize all movie titles. They also require you to capitalize adverbs, nouns, verbs, and pronouns. These formatting styles also agree on capitalizing prepositions, articles, and conjunctions only if they are the first word in titles. 

APA requires capitalizing all words with more than three letters. It also capitalizes a caption’s first word and proper nouns. Here is an excellent example: When the bells ring .

When formatting your essay using AP style, place your movie titles in quotes. You still have to abide by all the rules of writing titles within quotes. For example:

• “The Passion of the Christ” shuttered records within its first year of release.
• “We are happy to work on any movie as popular as ‘The Lord of the Ring,'” John exclaimed. 

While you should always italicize all TV shows and movie titles, several exceptions occur; for instance, treat every heading of a specific scene or episode and a short film as a shorter work. Therefore, place such captions in quotations. 

Here are two main questions students ask about placing a movie title in essay s, plus their answers. 

How do you write a movie title in an essay?

Capitalize all the major words in the headline, such as pronouns, verbs, proper nouns, and adverbs. However, don’t capitalize short prepositions articles like a, an , and the . The only exception occurs when these words open movie headlines or are four letters long and more, for instance, beneath or about. However, the three main formatting styles disagree on this last rule. So, consult your essay’s style guide before applying this rule. 

How to draft a movie title in an essay MLA?

The MLA format for writing a movie title requires formatting all headlines uniformly in the entire essay. It has two major principles you must pay attention to.

• Capitalize all the first letters of the main words except minor ones, such as conjunctions, articles, and prepositions. The only exception here applies when they exist at a headline’s beginning.  
• Italicize every title in the essay’s body.

How to Write a Biography Essay

How to Write a Short Essay?

Anorexia essay: how to work with a scary topic and do it right.

How To Write A Movie Title In An Essay

Are you planning on referencing a movie in an essay you are writing? You'll have to find out how to write the movie title down correctly, or you may lose points. It might seem like a no-brainer at first glance, but you'd be surprised about the variety of approaches different style guides take to writing movie titles.

With this guide, you'll be able to get writing a movie title in an essay right.

How To Write a Movie Title In An Essay

How should you write a movie title in an essay — whether that essay is a movie analysis, or one not related to cinematography or creative writing at all, like one about history, psychology, or sociology? That depends, in short, on the context in which you're writing your essay.

If you are hoping to reference a movie title in a high school essay, you may not have to use a particular style guide — a manual that instructs you on the correct way to incorporate particular elements into your essay. In this case, your best bet is to use title case and to italicize the movie title.

Title case capitalizes all major words in a title or headline, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adverbs. Minor words such as short prepositions and articles (the, a, an) remain in lower case. The first and last words of the title should always be capitalized, regardless of what they are. To make it easier for you, we'll recommend that you also capitalize prepositions with more than four letters, such as "about" and "underneath", though some style guides do not do this. Since you are using italics, there is absolutely no need to use quotation marks as well.

Have you got no clue what we're talking about? Let's see this in action. (Warning: Some of the links definitely contain spoilers if you haven't watched any of these movies yet!)

• The BBC refers to "Spider-Man: Far From Home" , without any italics.
• Wikipedia follows the structure recommended above, as in, for instance, " War of the Worlds ".
• Popular movie review platform Screen Rant follows the structure described above as well, in the body of their texts. " One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest " is one example. To allow you to see as many example as possible, we're linking to a post of theirs about the 15 movies with the longest titles .

If you are required to use a style guide, such as AP, APA, or MLA — common if you are writing a college essay — you will have less freedom. On the other hand, each writing style will also tell you exactly what to do, so you won't be in the dark.

Do you not have the entire style manual lying around on your desk? No problem. We'll make it easy for you.

Rules on Writing a Movie Title On An Essay

Whether you have been asked to use a particular style manual while citing and referencing movie titles in an essay, or you are committed to maintaining a consistent style yourself, style guides can be a little confusing. Here is a closer look at some of the most popular writing styles and their rules for writing movie titles.

You won't just be writing the movie title in the body of your essay, of course, but also cite it in the references. Each style guide has specific guidelines on how to do this, as well.

In APA, you do this by:

• Citing he director of the movie — last name, first initial.
• Place the release year in brackets.
• Follow this with the title.
• Reference the medium used to watch it, for instance DVD.
• Specify the location of the distributor, and the name of the distributor (for instance, California: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures).

In MLA, you:

• List the director like this: Last name, First name.
• Write the movie title.
• Specify the name of the distributor.
• Mention the release year.

In Harvard style, you would:

• List the director by last name and first initial.
• Follow with the location and name of the distributor.

Why Is Proper Formatting Important?

Style guides are conventions established to ensure consistency, which adds clarity to your essay. In practical terms, however, taking care to format the movie titles you may reference in any essays is important because not doing so will cause you to lose points, which will result in a lower grade.

You only have to familiarize yourself with the rules set out by a particular style manual once, and after that you will likely remember what they are. There is no good reason not to make sure that you get this right, and every reason to make the effort.

Is a movie title underlined in an essay?

That is actually a very interesting question. Nowadays, nearly everyone writing an essay will do so on a PC or laptop computer, using word-processing software. This trend has led the practice of underlining movie titles to go all but extinct, since it's just as easy to italicize a movie title as to underline it.

Underlining the things we now italicize used to be more common, because people wrote things by hand or used typewriters. Especially when handwriting something in cursive, italics simply aren't possible. That's why underlining movie titles, book titles, and even scientific names used to be more common. Underlining movie titles remains the correct alternative to italicizing them if you are writing an essay by hand.

Do you also include the year of release with the movie title?

Yes, you should mention the release year as you cite a movie in your references. There is no need to do so in the body of your text, unless multiple movies exist by the same title. With remakes, this has become more common in recent times.

Do you quote a movie title in an essay?

Place quotation marks around a movie title in an essay only if you are using AP style.

Related posts:

• Someone Walked Over My Grave - Meaning and Origin
• Go Pound Sand - Meaning, Usage and Origin
• How to Write a Letter to an Inmate
• How to Write an Effective Claim (with Examples)
• The Year of Our Lord - Meaning, Origin and Usage
• How to Write a Clear Theme Statement (with Examples)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Generate accurate MLA citations for free

• Knowledge Base
• Creating an MLA title page

MLA Title Page | When You Need One & How to Format It

Published on July 12, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on March 5, 2024.

In MLA style , a title page is usually not required for your paper. Instead, MLA recommends including a header on your first page listing your name, your instructor’s name, the course name and number, and the submission date, followed by the title of your paper.

However, you should include a separate title page instead in these cases:

• Your instructor requires it
• The paper is a group project (i.e. you need to list multiple authors)

The formats for a separate title page and a first-page header are shown below. You can also use our templates in Word or Google Docs.

Word template Google Docs template

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

Mla title page format, creating an mla header, frequently asked questions about mla format.

To create an MLA format title page, list the following on separate lines, left-aligned at the top of the page:

• Your co-authors’ names, each on its own line, if it’s a group project
• Your instructor’s name
• The course name and number
• The submission date

Then leave a few blank lines and list the title of the paper, centered and in title case, halfway down the page. All text should be double-spaced and in the same font as the rest of the paper.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

Most MLA papers will instead list this information in a header , which appears on the same page as your opening paragraphs instead of on a separate page before them. In the header, left-aligned, list

Then on the next line, write the title of your paper, centered and in title case. On the line after that, start your first paragraph. The header and title should be double-spaced, like the rest of the paper.

Usually, no title page is needed in an MLA paper . A header is generally included at the top of the first page instead. The exceptions are when:

• Your instructor requires one, or
• Your paper is a group project

In those cases, you should use a title page instead of a header, listing the same information but on a separate page.

If you’re working on a group project and therefore need to list multiple authors for your paper , MLA recommends against including a normal header . Instead, create a separate title page .

On the title page, list each author on a separate line, followed by the other usual information from the header: Instructor, course name and number, and submission date. Then write the title halfway down the page, centered, and start the text of the paper itself on the next page.

MLA recommends using 12-point Times New Roman , since it’s easy to read and installed on every computer. Other standard fonts such as Arial or Georgia are also acceptable. If in doubt, check with your supervisor which font you should be using.

MLA Style  is the second most used citation style (after APA ). It is mainly used by students and researchers in humanities fields such as literature, languages, and philosophy.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2024, March 05). MLA Title Page | When You Need One & How to Format It. Scribbr. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/mla-title-page/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, mla format for academic papers and essays, mla titles: formatting and capitalization rules, what is your plagiarism score.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA Formatting Quotations

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (8 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

When you directly quote the works of others in your paper, you will format quotations differently depending on their length. Below are some basic guidelines for incorporating quotations into your paper. Please note that all pages in MLA should be double-spaced .

Short quotations

To indicate short quotations (four typed lines or fewer of prose or three lines of verse) in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks. Provide the author and specific page number (in the case of verse, provide line numbers) in the in-text citation, and include a complete reference on the Works Cited page. Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation.

Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted passage, but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text.

For example, when quoting short passages of prose, use the following examples:

When using short (fewer than three lines of verse) quotations from poetry, mark breaks in verse with a slash, ( / ), at the end of each line of verse (a space should precede and follow the slash). If a stanza break occurs during the quotation, use a double slash ( // ).

Long quotations

For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse, place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented 1/2   inch  from the left margin while maintaining double-spacing. Your parenthetical citation should come  after the closing punctuation mark . When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)

For example, when citing more than four lines of prose, use the following examples :

Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration: They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)

When citing long sections of poetry (four lines of verse or more), keep formatting as close to the original as possible.

In his poem "My Papa's Waltz," Theodore Roethke explores his childhood with his father:

The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We Romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself. (qtd. in Shrodes, Finestone, Shugrue 202)

When citing two or more paragraphs, use block quotation format, even if the passage from the paragraphs is less than four lines. If you cite more than one paragraph, the first line of the second paragraph should be indented an extra 1/4 inch to denote a new paragraph:

In "American Origins of the Writing-across-the-Curriculum Movement," David Russell argues,

Writing has been an issue in American secondary and higher education since papers and examinations came into wide use in the 1870s, eventually driving out formal recitation and oral examination. . . .

From its birth in the late nineteenth century, progressive education has wrestled with the conflict within industrial society between pressure to increase specialization of knowledge and of professional work (upholding disciplinary standards) and pressure to integrate more fully an ever-widening number of citizens into intellectually meaningful activity within mass society (promoting social equity). . . . (3)

Adding or omitting words in quotations

If you add a word or words in a quotation, you should put brackets around the words to indicate that they are not part of the original text:

If you omit a word or words from a quotation, you should indicate the deleted word or words by using ellipses, which are three periods ( . . . ) preceded and followed by a space. For example:

Please note that brackets are not needed around ellipses unless they would add clarity.

When omitting words from poetry quotations, use a standard three-period ellipses; however, when omitting one or more full lines of poetry, space several periods to about the length of a complete line in the poem:

Are Movie Titles Italicized? (APA, AP, MLA, and Chicago)

Many people are unsure of the correct format to follow when it comes to how to quote a movie title in a piece of academic writing. Therefore, this page explains the different ways to correctly cite a movie title in an essay or formal paper and provides examples of citations in context.

Are Movie Titles Italicized?

When including a movie title in an essay or paper that follows APA, MLA, or Chicago, the title should always be in italics because it is a stand-alone piece of work. However, when citing a movie in AP Style, the title should be in quotation marks rather than italics.

When including a movie title as an in-text reference or on the reference list, you should always use italics if you are following APA, MLA, or Chicago styles.

In AP Style, italics are not used for anything; instead, you should place any movie, play, or book titles in quotation marks rather than italics.

Here are some examples of some citations for movies in the four styles:

APA/ Chicago styles

• The movie Fight Club (Fincher, 99) is a critique of the materialistic world in which we currently live.
• The Godfather (Coppola, 74) is the film that put Francis Ford Coppola on the map as a director.
• The closing scenes of the Godfather are praised for the artistic merit of the content. ( Godfather , 2:20:00 – 2:23:45)
• The movie “Fight Club” is regarded as one of Edward Norton`s finest performances.
• Fincher, D, (Director). (1999). Fight Club {Film}, Propaganda Films. “Netflix” App. https://www.netflix.com/mx-en/title/26004747
• Fight Club. Directed by David Fincher, Propaganda Films, 1999. https://www.netflix.com/mx-en/title/26004747
• Fincher, David, Director. 1999. Fight Club . Propaganda Films. 139 minutes. https://www.netflix.com/mx-en/title/26004747

Are Movie Titles Quoted?

In APA, MLA, and Chicago styles, it is not necessary to use quotation marks for movie titles, and they should instead be placed in italics. However, for AP Style, where italics are rare, it is necessary to use quotation marks around the title of the movie.

Are Movie Titles Italicized in APA Style?

When citing a movie or film in APA Style, you should use italics for in-text citations and on the reference list because a movie is a stand-alone work.

Here are some examples of how to include a movie in an APA Style document:

As an in-text citation, you just need to include the director, year, and, if relevant, the part of the movie you are referencing.

For example:

• Forrest Gump highlighted many important events in US history, such as the Vietnam war and the civil rights movement (Zemeckis, 94).

On the reference page, the listing should look like this:

• Zemeckis, R, (Director). (1994). Forrest Gump {Film}. Paramount Pictures.

Also, if you watched the film on a streaming site, you need to add that too:

• Zemeckis, R, (Director). (1994). Forrest Gump {Film}. Paramount Pictures. https://www.netflix.com/mx/title/60000724

Are Movie Titles Italicized in AP Style?

In AP Style, it is not common to use italics for anything, including movie titles. Instead of italics, movie titles should be placed inside quotation marks when citing a movie name in-text. Furthermore, AP Style documents do not usually contain a reference list, so you do not need to list the reference at the end of the paper.

Here are some examples of how a movie title looks in AP Style:

• “Apocolypse Now” is the highest-grossing movie about the Vietnam war.
• Keanu Reeves returns in the 2021 film based on the classic film trilogy “The Matrix.”

Are Movie Titles Italicized in Chicago Style?

When writing an essay in Chicago Style, it is necessary to use italics when quoting films for both in-text citations and on the reference list because films are an example of a stand-alone piece of work, similar to a book, play, or song.

Here are some examples of how to include a movie in Chicago Style formatting:

• The movie Parasite was the first film for which a foreigner won the Oscar for best director (Bong, 19).
• Bong, Joon-ho, director. Parasite . 2019, Curzon Artificial Eye. 2 hrs, 11 mins. Blu-ray Disc, 1080p HD.

(If you watched the film on a streaming site, then you should list that instead of the DVD information).

Are Movie Titles Italicized in MLA Style?

When citing a movie in an MLA piece of writing, you should always use italics for the movie title for both in-text citations and on the reference list.

For an in-text citation, it is common to just use the name of the movie with the time frame of the point you are referring to, if applicable ; if not, you can simply use the movie title with no time reference.

Here are some examples of how movie references in MLA Style would look:

• The movie Parasite is Joon-ho Bong`s most successful film to date (Parasite )
• The closing scenes of Parasite left viewers in shock at the brutality portrayed by the characters ( Parasite, 2:00:00 – 2:10:00).

This is how the listing should appear on the reference list:

• Parasite . Directed by Joon-ho Bong, CJ Entertainment, 2019. https://www.netflix.com/mx-en/title/81221938

Final Thoughts

When citing a movie in an essay or piece of formal writing that follows APA, MLA, or Chicago styles, you should always use italics for the title. However, for AP Style, you should use quotation marks rather than italics for the titles of movies.

Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here .

• Are Video Game Titles Italicized? (APA, AP, and Chicago)
• Are Magazine Titles Italicized? (APA, AP, and Chicago)
• Are Podcast Titles Italicized? (APA, AP, MLA, and Chicago)
• Are TV Shows Italicized? (APA, AP, MLA, and Chicago)