English Language Arts
Grade 7
15 min
Formatting and capitalizing titles: review
Formatting and capitalizing titles: review
Tutorial Preview
1
Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Distinguish between titles requiring italics and those requiring quotation marks.
Apply capitalization rules for major and minor words in titles.
Correctly format titles of various literary and artistic works (e.g., books, chapters, songs, articles).
Identify and correct errors in title capitalization and formatting.
Explain the rationale behind specific title formatting conventions.
Accurately cite titles in written responses and analyses.
Ever wondered why some book titles are slanted and some song titles are in quotation marks? 🤔 Let's unlock the secrets of proper title formatting!
In this lesson, you'll learn the essential rules for capitalizing and formatting titles of books, articles, songs, and more. Mastering these rules will make your...
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Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
ItalicsA typeface that slants to the right, used to indicate titles of major, stand-alone works.The title of a novel like *The Giver* is italicized.
Quotation MarksPunctuation marks (' ' or " ") used to enclose titles of shorter works that are part of a larger whole.The title of a chapter like "The Ceremony of Twelve" is put in quotation marks.
Major WordsWords in a title that are typically capitalized: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions.In 'The Boy Who Lived', 'Boy', 'Who', and 'Lived' are major words.
Minor WordsWords in a title that are typically *not* capitalized (unless they are the first or last word): articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (...
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Key Rules & Conventions
Italics vs. Quotation Marks Rule
Use italics for titles of major, stand-alone works. Use quotation marks for titles of shorter works that are part of a larger whole.
This rule helps readers quickly identify the type and scope of the work being referenced. Major works include books, movies, TV series, albums, plays, magazines, and newspapers. Shorter works include chapters, articles, poems, short stories, episodes, and songs.
Title Capitalization Rule
Capitalize the first word, the last word, and all major words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions) in a title. Do not capitalize minor words (articles, coordinating conjunctions, and short prepositions) unless they are the first or last word of the title.
This rule ensures consistency and...
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Challenging
The 'container' concept is key to formatting. Which statement best explains the logic of this concept when applied to a TV series and one of its episodes?
A.The TV series is the larger, ongoing work (the container), so its title is italicized, while the single episode is a smaller part, so its title is in quotation marks.
B.The episode is more important, so it gets italics, and the series title is put in quotation marks because it's just a name.
C.Both the TV series and the episode are major works, so both of their titles should be italicized for consistency.
D.Because TV shows are on a screen, their titles are always in quotation marks, and episodes are not formatted at all.
Challenging
Which sentence correctly synthesizes all formatting and capitalization rules for citing multiple works?
A.For my report on heroes, I read the chapter "The Boy Who Lived" in *Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone* and listened to the song *'Hero'* from the album "Music Box."
B.For my report on heroes, I read the chapter *The Boy Who Lived* in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and listened to the song "Hero" from the album *Music Box*.
C.For my report on heroes, I read the chapter "The Boy Who Lived" in *Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone* and listened to the song "Hero" from the album *Music Box*.
D.For my report on heroes, I read the chapter "The Boy Who Lived" in *Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone* and listened to the song "Hero" from the album *Music box*.
Challenging
A classmate argues that in the title *The Cat in the Hat*, the word 'in' should be capitalized because it's important. Which rule from the tutorial provides the best reason to keep 'in' lowercase?
A.The Subtitle Formatting Rule, because 'in the Hat' is a subtitle.
B.The rule that all verbs must be capitalized, and 'in' is a verb.
C.The Common Pitfall rule about capitalizing the last word.
D.The Title Capitalization Rule, which identifies short prepositions like 'in' as minor words that are not capitalized in the middle of a title.
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