Learn when to use italics and quotation marks to write clearly
What to Know
This article explains the proper formatting of song titles in written documents and includes examples.
How to Format Song Titles in Written Documents
For matters of style when punctuating and formatting titles of any kind, turn first to the style guide prescribed by your employer, client, or teacher.
In the absence of a style guide, use the following guidelines:
In desktop publishing and word processing software, create character styles to quickly format song titles and other types of titles used throughout a document.
Atomic Imagery / Getty Images
Example References to Song Titles and Albums
Here are two examples of text that includes song titles and album titles:
When the song/album is the same: In the second example, although How Do You Like Me Now?
is the song title, it is also the album title and in that context is treated as the album title, using italics.
It would be just as correct to write: My favorite song on theHow Do You Like Me Now?album is How Do You Like Me Now?
Punctuation in titles: When a song title ends in a question mark, exclamation point, or other punctuation, that punctuation goes inside the quotation marks because it’s part of the song title.
The beginning portion of the Adkins song title in parentheses is contained in the quotation marks the same as the other part of the song title.
