When a question mark, exclamation point, or dash separates a title and a subtitle on the title page, we leave the original mark: When a period separates a title and a subtitle on the title page, we change the period to a colon. In such cases, we follow some additional rules.įor example, when a title is followed by two subtitles, we use two colons:įinis Coronat Opus: A Curious Reciprocity: Shelley’s “When the Lamp Is Shattered” Whose Music? A Sociology of Musical Languageīut sometimes titles are not straightforward. Storytelling and Mythmaking: Images from Film and Literature The handbook provides the following examples: Include other punctuation only if it is part of the title or subtitle.” 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. “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died-.” The Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by R. We follow the same principle if a title ends in a dash:Ī well-known poem about death is Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died-.”Ī well-known poem about death is “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died-,” by Emily Dickinson.ĭickinson, Emily. One of the most popular comic films of the 1980s was When Harry Met Sally. One of the most popular comic films of the 1980s was Rob Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally. The ellipsis is set in italics if the title is italicized, but the additional punctuation is set roman: If the ellipsis is part of the title, we add the period or comma after the ellipsis. Philocophus or, The Deafe and Dumbe Mans Friend was written by John Bulwer. Philocophus or, The Deafe and Dumbe Mans Friend. 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. If a period is needed, we insert the period before the ellipsis and set the punctuation roman:īulwer, John. If a work has an alternative title, we might include it. 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. The center hopes to draw attention to geography with its 1992 theme, Explore New Worlds-Read! Titles That Need to Be Shortened The center hopes its 1992 theme, Explore New Worlds-Read!, will draw attention to geography. “I just saw Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Oklahoma!, and Design for Living,” Roland said. 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 ProseĪt 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: 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. For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook. Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook.
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