do essay titles have periods

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.

90 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!

Noir 27 March 2024 AT 07:03 PM

Can I include a period at the end of a sentence for a title?

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Writing Strong Titles

by acburton | Apr 25, 2024 | Resources for Students , Writing Resources

You’ve finished your paper, and all that’s left is your title. What do you name the essay you’ve just worked tirelessly on, for days, sometimes even weeks to put together? Should it be long or something shorter? Should you prioritize grasping your readers attention or encapsulating the major themes of your essay? These are all questions that the Writing Center is here to help with!

First Things First: Why Do We Need Titles?

Titles serve as the first point of contact between readers and your written work. They serve to inform readers about what your work will be about and clarify how it is relevant to others’ work or research. All of these things work to engage readers, compelling their curiosity and interest!

What Approaches Can I Take to Create Effective and Engaging Titles?

1. Hook Your Reader

Students often start with this consideration when working to formulate the title of their paper. To ‘hook your reader’, think about what you find most interesting about your own research and something new or enticing that you will be sharing. Convey this to your reader.

2. Keep it Concise, but Make it Informative

An essential aspect that works alongside ‘hooking’ your reader is making sure that your title is concise. While “one-part” titles can prioritize being creative or descriptive (check out our example below!), “two-part” titles, those that may use a colon to present two parallel ideas, can run the risk of being too long to grasp and hold your reader’s attention. A good rule of thumb is to aim to keep your “two-part” titles no longer than two lines. Whichever you choose, either “one part” or “two part”, you’ll want to be sure that your title serves as one method for your reader to predict what your paper will be about. While you don’t want to give everything away, your title shouldn’t be too far off from what your paper will demonstrate.

3. Consider Your Audience

Much like you did when writing the work that you are now striving to title, consider your audience. The words and phrases you choose to incorporate should be reflective of the discipline you are writing for and should not include terminology that, whoever may be reading it, won’t be able to grasp. Contemplate if using more general language would be more effective for your reader (especially if your work may be attractive to readers outside of your discipline) or if more precise or specific language is more appropriate for your goal (e.g., an academic publication or journal).

4. Incorporate Keywords

One of the simplest ways to get started on your title is by incorporating keywords. Think about it; what does your work focus on? What terms are being used often? How are they being used (e.g., in comparison or in contrast to other terms)? Incorporating keywords into your title not only serves to provide you a great place to start, but can also help get your work to a wider audience! Take the time to think about how you might get your work to show up in search engines when curious readers want to know more about a subject.

5. Reflect the Tone of Your Writing

Depending on the genre or discipline, your title should aim to follow the style, tone, or slant of the work it precedes. For example, if you are writing non-scholarly work for the Humanities, you may find that a more lighthearted, fun, or inventive title may work for the topic at hand. In contrast, STEM papers may focus on using specific language, or a tone that lets the reader know that their work is contemplative, veracious, or, in other words, no laughing matter. Take note, again, of your audience and what it is that you want your reader to feel or take away as they navigate your writing.

Below, you’ll see how these considerations work alongside your decision to create those one or two-part titles discussed earlier.

For a Compelling, Thoughtful Title, You Might Try…

A “one-part” title that prioritizes either..

• Example: “ RENT’ s Tango With Your Emotions”
• Example: “An Analysis of Modernism in Larson’s Melodramatic Musical”

STEM papers or reports traditionally have a descriptive title. Creative projects, like short stories, often have creative titles.

A “two-part” title:

• Creative Introductory Clause: Descriptive, Specific Topic
• Example: “RENT’s Tango With Your Emotions: An Analysis of Modernism in Larson’s Melodramatic Musical”

Although seen much more often in STEM writing, scholarly work in the Humanities, Arts, or Social Sciences may have a two-part title.

How Do We Format Essay Titles?

Formal titles follow Title Case Formatting ; this type of formatting includes capitalizing the first word, the last word, and every significant word in between. For example:

• T ransgressive T ekken : P layer E xpression and P articipatory C ulture in the K orean B ackdash

Helpful Hint!

To write stronger titles, avoid starting with a question. While this may draw your reader in, it may also leave them feeling disinterested in reading further to find the answer. Similarly, avoid exaggerating your work through your title. Be honest with your reader on what to expect going forward. Visit us at the Writing Center for help brainstorming a fantastic title or polishing up an existing one!

Full Stops in Titles, Headings and Captions

Full Stops in Titles, Headings and Captions As a general rule, a full stop is not used at the end of a displayed title, heading, subheading or caption in scholarly English prose. This applies whether the displayed text is the title at the top of a document, a heading or subheading within the document, or a heading or caption used for a table, figure, appendix or other ancillary element. However, there are several instances in which full stops are required, as outlined below. • Full stops should be used whenever the relevant guidelines indicate that full stops (also called full points and periods) should close titles, headings and captions, wherever they may appear within a document. It is therefore imperative to consult author instructions and pay careful attention to any details about headings and their formats. • Paragraph run-in headings do tend to close with a full stop or in some cases a colon. Such headings function as structural and logical divisions and appear at the beginning of paragraphs, but within the main text instead of separated from it in a displayed format The single-word paragraph headings within structured abstracts are good examples (Methodology. The methods employed include…). • Strictly speaking, a full stop is not required at the end of a table heading, but guidelines tend to indicate the preference for a stop in table headings more often than in the headings within a main text, so do watch the publisher’s instructions for this. Some table headings are very long, so when a table heading consists of more than one sentence, a full stop should be used after each sentence, including the final one. • As with table headings, figure captions require closure with a full stop more often than the headings in a main text do. In fact, guidelines will sometimes indicate the need for full stops after figure captions when they do not call for full stops after table headings. When figure captions run on to more than one sentence, a full stop should be used after each sentence, including the last one. PhD Thesis Editing Services • The titles and headings for appendices and other ancillary material such as lists and indices generally follow the same principles as the title and headings for the main text do, so full stops are usually not required. Again, however, if a heading contains more than one sentence, full stops should be used. • Consistency is important when designing headings, so if the structure of one table heading necessitates a closing full stop, one should usually be used after all table headings, even short ones, to maintain a consistent format. The same principle applies to any particular type of heading (all figure headings, for instance) throughout a document. • When headings and captions are numbered, full stops are generally used in conjunction with the numbers whether the headings appear within the main text or on tables, figures or other parts of a document. If the heading uses a single number, the full stop is usually placed after the number and followed by a space (3. Methodology). In such cases, no punctuation is also common, and in tables and figures, a colon can be used instead of the full stop. If, on the other hand, the heading features multiple numbers, full stops are used between the numbers, but usually not after the last number (3.1.4 Blending Methods). • Referring to parts of a document can mean using full stops even when they do not appear in the original headings or captions. For instance, if a document includes appendices that contain tables and there is a need to refer to one of those tables, the reference must distinguish that particular table from any table with the same number within the main document, so a little more information will be necessary, often along with a full stop. The second table in Appendix B can be mentioned as Figure B2, but if the appendices are numbered rather than lettered, matters will become confusing unless a full stop is added. Figure 2.2 is clearly the second figure in Appendix 2, whereas Figure 22 is not. • Remember whenever you are formatting titles, headings and captions that any special fonts you use should be extended to the final full stop if one is included.

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Best Tips on How to Title an Essay

How to Make a Good Title for an Essay

The success of an essay heavily depends on its title. This may not come as a surprise given that the essay title is the first aspect to provide the reader with a sneak peek into the text. It piques our interest to read the paper in the first place and gives us a preview of what to expect from the author.

Our research paper writing help prepared a thorough guide on how to title an essay. Here you may find tips and tricks for developing an effective APA or MLA essay title. So, let's dive straight into the article for more exciting details!

Essay Title Format

During your essay writing process, ensure you know the stylistic requirements before beginning an essay. Knowing the format you need to employ is crucial because different style manuals may have varying requirements. Mostly, you could have used an APA or MLA essay title format. Our service, where you can buy essay online , explains these two in more detail below.

Essay Title MLA

If you're required to create an essay title MLA format, check whether your instructor wants you to make a separate cover page. If not, put a heading at the beginning of your work that includes your name, the name of your professor, the course ID, and, lastly, the date.

On the other hand, if you must present a cover page for your essay title MLA, then you need to include the following:

• The name of the college
• The title of your paper
• The subtitle of your paper, if applicable
• Your first and last name
• Your teacher or professor's name
• The class name or course number
• The date the paper is due

The formatting instructions are as follows:

• Double-spaced
• Times New Roman font
• Size 12 font
• Apart from very short terms, each word's initial letter should be capitalized. The initial word, however, must always be uppercase.
• The title page shouldn't include a header with the page numbers.

Essay Title APA

Having discussed the MLA format essay title, let's explore what the APA student title page includes:

• The paper title
• Author names
• Institutional affiliation where the author carried out the study
• Name and number of the course
• Professor name
• Page number

The title of an essay format instructions:

• double-spaced
• 1" margins
• 12-point Times New Roman
• According to APA, your title should be targeted and brief, without unnecessary words or abbreviations

How to Choose a Good Title for an Essay: Important Qualities

Nobody will read a dull headline. Your title should grab your audience's attention and encourage them to read the rest of the work. As it is one of the initial things readers see, having a strong attention grabber is essential when writing an essay from scratch. To fully understand how to come up with a title for essay that is strong and exciting, let's consider a few following factors:

Employ a Catchy Hook - Usually, the title of essay format follows a similar basic structure, especially if they are used for an academic article. The hook serves as a unique component that attracts the reader. It's a captivating statement informing others about the topic of the essay. You can also explore several types of sentences with examples that can help you develop the ideal hook structure.

Consider Topic Keywords - These are essential terms or expressions pertinent to your subject and help your reader understand the focus and body of your article. These focus keywords should serve as a brief, one- to two-word article summary. You can choose some terms from the research topic your instructor gave you, but after your thesis statement is formed, this is where you should hunt for ideas.

Use a Colon - A colon is frequently used in academic titles to separate concepts and sentences. The standard procedure is to place a clever remark or brief quotation before the colon. Although these beginning words offer flavor, they can be overdone. Because of this, some individuals find using the colon to be repugnant. Therefore be careful not to misuse this method.

Ask a Question - To write essay title that is strong, consider asking a question. But, use it with caution because posing a question will make your tone less formal. As long as the question is suitably phrased to meet the subject of your essay, feel free to employ it. Always check to see if the title question still applies to your points in the essay's body. The thesis statement should be appropriately reflected as well.

Find Inspirational Quotes - There is no formula for selecting essay titles from the textual content. You may get playful and choose any quotation, proverb, or catchphrase that applies to your particular publication and works as a title. You may also create a great essay title using well-known expressions or idioms. Doing so will help your readers relate to and feel more comfortable discussing your subject.

Here are other rules for how to create a good title:

• Title every section of writing: In the process of writing, create interesting subheadings to give your paragraphs an identity. Also, they make your text look ordered and clear. 
• The title must bear the theme of the text: choose a title that summarizes the essay. 
• Capitalize all words with certain exceptions: Capitalize the first letter of every word in the title, but do not capitalize pronouns, articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.
• Avoid underlining the title: Since topics come in boldface, underlining it will amount to overemphasis. Some authorities say that if you must underline it, do not bolden it.
• Review the final version of the title: Do not forget to do a quick review of the final version of the title—check for grammar, structure, spelling and so on. Re-read it to determine if the title has given justice to the essay. Confirm if the topic is catchy enough to attract your reader’s attention. 
• When using a colon in your title, follow the rules: Since we are dealing with punctuation rules here, let us talk about the colon – when you have two eye-catching topics, separate them with a colon.

Student’s Guide on How to Come Up with a Title for an Essay

Titling an essay can be easy, but there are a few core principles to be taken into account. The following tips will help you stay on track and avoid any common pitfalls.

Essay Goes First

Never start with a title! If you write it before the rest of the text, it will be based on it, and it should be vice versa. Writing an essay before choosing a heading will give you a clear understanding of what should make sense to the reader. Re-read the finished paper several times to decide on the title. The last thing to create is a title - such strategy will give more time to spend on crafting an essay outline, conducting research, or writing the paper itself.

What are you writing about? What is the style of your paper, and is it an academic essay or a free-form essay like a narrative essay? If the topic of your essay is “Do people who commit heinous crimes deserve the death penalty?” your title should not be humorous; it should be strict and to the point.

If your topic is “Why do people like watching funny cat videos?”, feel free to craft a funny title. Determine the tone of your essay and base your title on it—in consideration with the essay’s topic.

The tone can be:

• Serious - “The implications of global warming”
• Funny - “How cats and dogs love their masters”
• Amiable - “Ways to fight depression”
• Persuasive - “Why positive thinking is a must have skill for every person”
• Informative - “Ten rules for creating a chemical at home”

The main goal of a title is to name its paper. There is no need to tell an entire story in the title, or provide any useless details. Sum up your paper in a few words! Another way to do this is to sum up your thesis statement, as it represents the main idea of your essay. Take your thesis and squeeze it into 3-4 words. Imagine that you are creating a title for your favourite newspaper or a slogan for Coca-Cola.

Don’t use fancy words! Take 2-3 main words (keywords), put them together, and stop wasting your time. Avoid jargon and abbreviations.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is something that can help any student and young writer reap benefits. While working on a title, detect the words related to the central idea of the paper. Type the words into the search field of Google and add the word “quote.” A search engine will show numerous web pages with in-text quotations that could be useful. Select the fragment you like. It is possible to learn how to make a creative title for an essay in this way.

Discover several more tips from experts:

• Never forget the “What,” “Who,” “When,” “How,” “Why,” and “Where” questions (if you start with one of these questions, your title has a chance of getting noticed);
• Come up with an unexpected image not related to the selected topic;
• Sometimes, starting with a lie increases the chances of a title being able to catch an eye;
• Review our catchy essay title examples.

Need Some Help With Your Essay's Title?

Feel free to contact EssayPro and we will provide you with a writing help at a moment’s notice. With the years of essay writing experience, titling becomes second nature, so you no longer need to worry about having a catchy headline on your paper.

Essay Title Examples: Bad vs Good

The strongest essay titles condense lengthy essays into concise statements. When wondering how to make an essay title, think carefully about your stylistic choices and essay format to produce an excellent one. Our dissertation help has provided essay title examples to let you understand the difference between good and bad ones more vividly.

Bad Essay Title Examples

As we discussed how to create an essay title and the specific elements that go into it, you should have a clear idea of how important it is to craft a strong title. In contrast, first, look at weak essay title ideas that can break your paper. This should serve as an example of why your heading should not be like this:

Ex 1: ' How Television Has Changed Our World ' - too vast and not informative

Ex 2: 'The Ara Pacis Augustae' - unclear for those who don't know Latin

Ex 3: 'The Most Poisonous Frog' - does not provide any insight

Ex 4: 'A Brief History of Subcultures and How They Manifest Themselves in a Constantly Changing Socio-Economic Environment' - too long and complicated

Ex 5: 'The Little Mermaid 29 Years Later: Selling a Harmful Sexist Message Through a Naughty Image' - inappropriate language

Good Essay Title Examples

Now that you know what a bad essay title looks like, let's explore good essay title examples as their substitutes. Examine the following essay title format styles that will give you a clear understanding.

Ex 1: ' The Electronic Babysitter: A Social History of Uses of the Television' - gives an exact description of what the essay will be about

Ex 2: ' The Modern Historical Significance of the Ara Pacis Augustae to the City of Rome' - here, the reader can understand what they will be reading about

Ex 3: ' A Deadly Beauty: The Evolution of Skin Coloration and Toxicity of the Poisonous Dart Frog' - clear, informative, and on-point.

Ex 4: 'Reconsidering Counterculture in Contemporary Society' - informative enough and brief

Ex 5: 'The Projection of Gender Stereotypes in The Little Mermaid' - employs appropriate language

Catchy Essay Title Ideas

You now understand that long, complicated headlines do not accurately convey the paper's main idea. Take ample time to consider the word choice before tilting your work. How do you create good essay titles? Think creatively and with common sense. But meanwhile, for your convenience, we compiled title ideas for essays you may use as inspiration.

Persuasive Essay Titles

• Why Receiving College Education is Important: Examining Long-term Benefits
• Face-to-Face Courses Cannot Be Replaced by Online Learning
• An MBA Does Not Ensure Corporate Success.
• Every Company Should Adopt a Green Strategy.
• Energy Drinks Represent a Lucrative Market Segment.
• Aircraft, Excess Weight Charges, Need to be Prohibited.
• Patients' Life Shouldn't be Put to Death by Nurses.
• Google Glasses May Increase the Number of Auto Accidents.
• All of the Conventional Malls Will Soon be Replaced By Online Shopping
• How Do Team-building Exercises Contribute to the Development of Inventions?
• Illegal immigrants are entitled to remain in the US.

Academic Essay Titles

• Several English Dialects: The Link Between Various Cultures
• Instagram: A social media innovation
• Is it possible to reverse drug-induced brain damage, and if so, how?
• What the Future Holds for Humans in the Light of Artificial Intelligence
• The Story of Two Nations after Decades of Conflict: North and South Korea
• Video Games and Their Learning Context in Schools
• Free Wi-Fi: Strategies for Enhancing the City's Economy

Strong Research Paper Titles

• Digital World Cybersecurity
• E-business to Provide New Paths for Booksellers
• Outsourcing for Large Businesses
• Preparing for College Costs for High School Students
• What News Reporters Should Do in the Digital Age and How to Do It: Examples
• The Transformative Power of Music: How Heavy Metal Impacted My Life

Best Essay Titles for College Students

• The Possible Benefits and Risks of Artificial Intelligence for Humans
• The Potential for Time Travel in Virtual Reality
• What Role Has Mathematics Played in Human History?
• How to Succeed in the Real Estate Industry
• E-Commerce: An Empire of Virtual Businesses Worth Millions of Dollars
• How to Achieve Financial Independence in the Digital Age Without Opening a Real Business

More Creative Titles for Essays

• When getting rewarded for their grades, would kids do better left alone?
• How Does Fake News Impact the Mainstream press?
• Homelessness in Contemporary Society: A Dilemma
• What News Reporters' Best Job Is in the Digital Age and How to Uphold It
• Elon Musk: Brilliant Mind or Insane Person?
• Positives and Negatives of Employing a Smoker
• Do We Employ the Appropriate Student Success Metrics?

Professional Academic Help

Now that you know how to make a good title for an essay, you should also understand that you should approach the task as a process. While composing your essay title, you must condense your whole thesis and point of discussion into a single, concise, yet powerful sentence. If you have time before your deadline, give it some thought and don't hurry.

Don't forget that you can always rely on our professional academic assistance, whether you need a reflection paper , ideas for a strong essay title, or any other academic papers. Consider the following words - write my essay for me - magic keywords for delegating your most complex tasks to our skilled writers!

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How To Title An Essay?

How to title an essay in mla format, what are some good titles for an essay, related articles.

Formatting Titles

by Purdue Global Academic Success Center and Writing Center · Published October 2, 2020 · Updated November 5, 2020

Let’s face it: For whatever reason, formatting titles can be confusing, especially if you think about all the titles that need proper formatting–the title placed on the title page of a paper, the title of a journal article mentioned in the body of a paper, the title of a newspaper or a website on the list of references. There are titles of books and titles of chapters in those books; titles of blogs and titles of blog entries. Some titles are italicized and some are put in quotation marks. Titles on the list of references require formatting–some titles use title case, some sentence case; some titles are italicized and some are not. And then there are those situations where titles are used in in-text citations–some titles are truncated and italicized; some are put in quotation marks–you get the idea. 

First off, I am not going to address how to format titles when citing in the paper or listing on the list of references—those are formatting guidelines for another time. I am going to focus on titles on the title page, the first page of the paper, and within a paper. Here is what you need to keep straight:

Titles require special capitalization called title case. Title case requires one to

• capitalize the first letter of the first and last words of a title;
• capitalize the first letter of all verbs;
• capitalize all words of four or more letters;
• capitalize the first letter of all other words except a, an, the, short conjunctions such as “for, and, but,” and prepositions of fewer than four letters (words like “up, in, off”);
• capitalize the first letter of a word following a colon or dash;
• capitalize the first letter of a subtitle. 

When a title appears on the title page of an APA Style 7th edition student paper, that title should be centered, bolded, and in title case—no need to use all caps, no need to italicize or underline, and no need to use quotation marks or place a period at the end. 

Simply type out the title using title case and bold it–that’s it.

On the first page of the essay, center and repeat the title, bold it, and use title case. Again, do not use any special formatting. Do not use a bigger font size or style. Do not underline or italicize and so forth. Just use title case, bold, and center the title on the first page of the essay.

Easy enough, right?

Titles that appear within an essay require special formatting in addition to title case. If the title is for an article—content that is part of a greater whole—then the title should have quotation marks around it. If the title is for a book, journal, newspaper, or some other whole work, then the title is italicized.

Let’s say you have an article titled “The New Coffee Culture” that appears in the journal Studies in Popular Culture . Let’s also say that for whatever reason, you name both titles in the body of your paper. The article “The New Coffee Culture” appears in the journal Studies in Popular Culture , so the article is content that appears in a greater whole, right? 

Both titles would be in title case. The article “The New Coffee Culture” would have quotation marks around it, and the title of the journal, Studies in Popular Culture , would be italicized. 

I hope this blogcast clarifies exactly what you need to do when formatting titles in typical usage situations in APA style. 

Until next week–

Kurtis Clements

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Should i use a period after titles like "mrs", "dr", and "capt".

In British English, the abbreviations Mr, Mrs , Miss , Ms and Dr are not followed by a period . In these cases, the abbreviation ends with the same letter as the full word, e.g. Mister / Mr both end in "r". Abbreviations where the final letter is not the same as the word it's abbreviating, e.g. Captain / Capt. and Professor / Prof. should be followed by a period. The following sentence is correct in British English: Let's give a warm welcome to Mr Sherlock Holmes and Capt. John Watson.

In US English, ALL of the abbreviations should be followed by a period, e.g. Let's give a warm welcome to Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Capt. John Watson.

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How to Write Essay Titles and Headers

The deadline for your latest writing assignment is mere minutes away. You’re rushing to get the final details together and suddenly realize you’ve forgotten a title. You quickly throw something random on top of the page and submit it to your teacher.

You’re not satisfied with your title, but you vow to do better next time. And you will!

You’ve learned from your mistake: essay titles are not a last-minute detail. They’re an integral part of any piece of written work and should be planned out earlier on in the writing process.

Titles lead to your reader’s first impression of your essay, and the headings help organize your thoughts and make the essay easier to read. Let’s take a look at how you can turn your titles from an afterthought into a well-thought-out writing element.

How Do You Write a Great Title?

People DO judge a book by its cover, and they will judge your essay by its title. So writing a strong title is an important part of starting your writing off on the right foot.

Your essay title has two main functions:

• Inform your reader
• Spark your reader’s interest

Additionally, keep in mind these three pointers:

Be clear and concise

Vague titles do not inform the reader. Provide a specific description of what your focus will be. Your audience wants to know precisely what they will be reading.

Bad Example: Oceans

Good Example: Disappearing Ocean Life in the Pacific Rim

Offer an exciting tidbit or interesting fact

If your title is boring, readers will not want to keep reading. Offer them something that will get attention.

Bad Example: How Consumers are Wrongly Spending Money

Good Example: The Seven Million Dollar Mistake

Everyone may be writing a college admissions essay, but don’t title yours: My College Admissions Essay . No matter what the prompt, make your title something that stands out from the stack.

Bad Example: My Research Project

Good Example: Relocating the Human Race to Mars

How Do You Create a Great Header?

Essay headers are often overlooked by writers, but they can really help your readers as they journey through your essay. While the title may get the reader hooked, the headers keep them moving smoothly through your paper. They enhance readability and help explain what is most relevant in the essay.

Each essay header should answer these two questions:

• What will I learn?
• What is the focus?

When readers approach a new section of your essay, they will have a better reading experience if they have a small preview of what’s to come.

Writing a useful header should be relatively easy. Read through your paragraphs and see what the main idea of is. From here, make a list of sub-topics that are discussed in each section. The best way to do this is to pull from the main points you listed out in your outline (which you, of course, remembered to do!).

Remember the following details about writing a header:

Be simple, but informative

You don’t want to give away all of your ideas here, but you need to give some guiding information.

Bad Example: Eating Too Many Fatty Foods Can Increase Your Cholesterol Levels

Good Example: How Your Diet Affects Your Health

Be consistent throughout your essay.

Choose a pattern and stick with it throughout the entirety of the assignment. If you start off by having a heading for each paragraph, keep it that way until the end. Also, make sure the format remains the same. If your first heading is in the form of a question, all of the rest should be as well.

Bad Example: Beaches, What is Up With Littering?, I Want to Clean Up the Planet

Good Example: Neglected Beaches, Effects of Litter, Motivated Activists

Just like when you are writing a title, there are generic headings you can lean on to get it done quick and easy. But don’t use these. Your conclusion shouldn’t have the header, "Conclusion." Come up with something unique for each part of your essay to keep your reader from feeling fatigued as they read on.

Bad Example: Conclusion

Good Example: Will the Pandas Survive?

Be organized and helpful

Your essay should be scannable. This means that if someone needs information fast, they can find it without having to read every word of your piece.

Although titles and headers are often neglected, they are very important to your pieces of writing. They grab your reader’s attention from the start and keep them focused throughout the rest of your essay. Taking the time to craft great titles and headers can advance your writing to the next level.

Don’t overlook the title and section headers when putting together your next writing assignment. Follow these pointers for keeping your writing organized and effective.

101 Standout Argumentative Essay Topic Ideas

Need a topic for your upcoming argumentative essay? We've got 100 helpful prompts to help you get kickstarted on your next writing assignment.

Writing a Standout College Admissions Essay

Your personal statement is arguably the most important part of your college application. Follow these guidelines for an exceptional admissions essay.

Periods: When to Use Periods in Writing (Examples)

When it comes to punctuation, periods are one of the most commonly used marks, so it comes in handy knowing how to use them. This article will teach you everything you need to know to use periods competently.

• A period is a tiny dot used at the end of some sentences, abbreviations, and in some computing and mathematical contexts.

This guide is part of our free online Grammar Book .

What Are Periods?

So let's start with the basics: what exactly are periods in writing? That's an easy one: they're a form of punctuation .

The other main ones are:

• question marks
• exclamation marks
• quotation marks
• apostrophes

That's quite a lot, isn't it? I bet it's more than you thought. But the only other two that can be used to end a sentence are the question mark and the exclamation mark . And of all these, the most used punctuation in English is the period . It's also known as the full stop in the U.K. and other British English-speaking countries.

Periods are placed at the end of a sentence to mark a pause . It's a much longer pause than you'd observe with a comma or other forms of punctuation.

Place your periods directly after the last word at the end of your sentences without a space in between. Do leave a space between the period and the first word of the following sentence (some even leave two spaces - it's a stylistic choice).

Do you want to know how and when to use periods? Great, because that's what you'll learn in this article. I will start by telling you when not to use periods because it's a much shorter list!

When Not to Use Periods

With periods being the most commonly used form of punctuation, it's much easier for me to tell you when not to use them. There are three significant instances in which you shouldn't use periods.

Questions - also known as interrogative sentences - are a way to elicit information from someone.

• They should always end with a question mark and never with a period .

Here are a few examples:

Good morning , how are you? How did he get here? Should we grab Italian or Mexican?

Watch out for indirect questions, though - they will end with a period and not a question mark, but that's because an indirect question is actually a declarative sentence. More on that later.

Exclamations

Exclamations - also known as exclamatory sentences - allow you to express emotion within your sentence. Usually, this will be a pretty intense emotion like surprise, anger, or disgust rather than sadness or disappointment.

• These sentences are another example of when you won't use a period. Instead, you'll use an exclamation mark.

You got here so fast! Quick, run!  That's gross, Stefan!

You use an exclamation mark because this punctuation communicates emotion, whereas a full stop is relatively neutral. Look at the two following sentences, which are identical, but one has a period, and one has an exclamation mark. They communicate a completely different message, and how they would sound when you read them aloud is entirely different.

Oh, you're here. Oh, you're here!

Depending on the context, the first sentence could indicate disappointment, sarcasm, or even complete neutrality. The second, however, shows excitement or surprise.

Citing Content That Ends With a Question or Exclamation Mark

If you're citing a title or quote that ends with a question or exclamation mark, you won't use a period at the end of the sentence, even if it is a declarative sentence. That's because we never use two punctuation marks in succession. Think about it - that would look a little silly.

Here is an example to show you what I mean:

As soon as he saw me he yelled out, "Danny, I'm over here!"

The quoted sentence 'Danny, I'm over here!' is exclamatory, but the sentence it is contained in is a declarative one. It's just somebody reporting what somebody else has said. So technically, the sentence should end with a period. But since the quoted sentence is at the end of the main sentence and ends with an exclamation mark, to use a period would mean to use two punctuation marks in succession. So instead, we use the exclamation mark and leave the period.

Here's another example, this time using a movie title and a question mark:

The group voted and we all watched Dude, Where's My Car?

Even though the sentence above isn't a question, the fact the movie title ends with a question mark and is at the end of the sentence means the sentence ends with a question mark despite being a declarative sentence.

If you want to avoid ambiguity, you can always move the citation so it's not at the end of the sentence. Here's one way you could do that with the previous example:

The group voted and we all watched Dude, Where's My Car? on the big screen. 

When to Use Periods

Alright! Now we've covered when not to use periods, let's talk about when you  should use periods. In this section, you'll see that periods are pretty versatile: they can be used to end a sentence, which is how most people know them, but that's not all they can do.

Types of Sentence

We'll start with the two types of sentences you can and should use periods with.

Declarative

Declarative sentences are also known as assertive sentences, and their purpose is to state a general truth or an opinion, give information or make requests in a non-forceful way . The lack of an exclamation mark gives it a calm energy and shows you are simply making a statement. Use a period to end these types of sentences .

Here are some examples:

It's nice to meet you, my name's Carly. I'll be there in one hour . Sorry to hear that you lost your job.

Don't forget: indirect questions are a type of declarative sentence, too . They're just a way of telling someone about a question someone else asked. Here's an example of an actual question (interrogative sentence) and an indirect question (declarative sentence).

What is the square root of four? The teacher asked us what the square root of four was. 

Notice how the former ends with a question mark and the latter ends with a period.

Imperative sentences allow you to give commands. They can sometimes end with an exclamation mark, but often a period will suffice .

Please, take a seat. Sally, be a darling and pass me the salt. Don't go in there.

Abbreviations

As I mentioned earlier, periods are not only used as a way to end sentences; they also have a few other functions. And one of those is to help us form abbreviations. What's an abbreviation, you ask?

• They're a shortened version of a word or phrase . And sometimes, they require a period after a letter or word.

Here are some common abbreviations:

• U.S.A. - United States of America
• R.S.V.P. - Répondez, s'il vous plaît (French for "please reply”)
• E.T.A. - estimated time of arrival
• min. - minute
• Mrs . - missus
• approx. - approximately

Usually, the period comes after the letters if each letter stands for a word, and it comes after the word if the abbreviation only shortens a single word.

Note that depending on your preferred style guide and the country you live in, you might not need to use periods with all abbreviations. I'm sure you see 'USA' without periods just as often as you've seen 'U.S.A.' with periods. So it's really up to you to decide... or refer to your chosen style guide.

Another form of abbreviation is initials. If you only know the first letter of someone's first name (and sometimes middle name), or you only want to disclose the first letter of your own name, then you can do that and follow each letter with a period. Here are some examples of famous people who do that:

• George R. R. Martin
• J. K. Rowling
• Samuel L. Jackson
• J. F. Kennedy
• Hunter S. Thompson

If a sentence ends with an abbreviation period, you shouldn't add another period, even if it's a declarative or imperative sentence. You can, however, add a different punctuation mark.

I'm going to need your R.S.V.P.. ❌ I'm going to need your R.S.V.P.  ✅ I'm going to need your R.S.V.P., but it can wait until tomorrow. ✅

Ellipsis, while not exactly a period, comprises three periods, so I thought it deserved mention here, especially since it can sometimes replace a period.

The role of an ellipsis is to either add suspense, show a thought trailing off, or show that words have been removed from a quote. If an ellipsis is at the end of the sentence, you don't need to add another full stop afterward, even if it's a declarative or imperative sentence.

I was sure I'd locked the door... You look surprised to see me... Now where did I put my...

Periods are also used in other contexts outside of grammar. For example, to get to this article, you had to head to a website address that contained a period. Although in this context, it would be called a 'dot.'

Www.writingtips.org Www [dot] writing tips [dot] org

You'll also find this period in file names to separate the file name from the file extension.

whentouseperiods.pdf

And I'm sure you'll find it used in many more ways within the computing and programming world.

Another place you'll often see a period is in mathematics. For instance, to separate the decimals from the whole number:

While some use a comma for this, a period is also perfectly acceptable. It's also sometimes used as an alternative for the multiplication sign, although you'll find it placed in the vertical middle of the line:

How to Use Periods

We've covered most of what you need to know regarding when and when not to use periods. There are just a couple of special cases I want to go over with you.

Quotation Marks and Periods

Quotation marks are used when you quote what somebody else has said, cite works, or draw attention to a word.

I mentioned in the first section that you should place your periods at the very end of the sentence, after the final word. But there's one case where there'll be one thing separating the last word from the period, and that's when using single or double quotation marks . Look at the following example:

He responded, " It takes two to tango ."

In this example of reported direct speech , the narrator is telling us what somebody else said by quoting it directly, so it requires quotation marks. Notice that the sentence's closing period comes before the closing quotation marks. This is definitely stylistic and is less commonly seen in the U.K., for example, where they tend to place the period after the quotation marks.

Here are some more examples:

The book described her as 'tall' and 'intimidating.' I love his poem "The Raven."

Parentheses and Periods

Parentheses - also known as brackets - are a way to add nonessential information to a sentence while keeping it separate and making it clear the info's nonessential.

Though they're convenient, you should know a few things about using periods with them.

Don't use a period when the part in brackets isn't a complete sentence.

When I arrived at the station (much earlier than planned), I headed to the ticket office.

When the part in brackets is a complete sentence, use a period.

I arrived at the station. (I got there much earlier than planned.) I headed to the ticket office.

Notice how the period is placed inside the brackets because the sentence is complete.

Concluding Thoughts

That concludes this article on periods. I hope you found it helpful and feel you have a good command over when and how to use a period.

Let's summarize what we've learned:

• Periods end a sentence and mark a pause before the following sentence.
• They should be placed at the end of a sentence, with no space after the final word.
• It is one of three punctuation marks that can end a sentence.
• Declarative and imperative sentences use a period.
• You can also use periods with abbreviations and initials and make ellipsis.
• Periods are also used in computing and mathematics.
• Place your period before the closing quotation mark.
• Periods are placed inside parentheses when it's a complete sentence and outside if it isn't.

If you enjoyed this article, head over to our Grammar Book, a free online database where you'll find many more articles like this one.

Learn More:

• Homophones: What Is a Homophone? (Meaning and Examples)
• Parallelism: What Is Parallelism? Definition and Examples
• Imperative Sentences: What Are Imperative Sentences? Definition and Examples
• Language Register in English Writing: Definition, Meaning, and Examples
• Articles: What Are Articles? Definition and Types (Examples)
• What is a Plural Noun? Definition and Examples
• Conjunctions: What Are Conjunctions? Definition and Type (Examples)
• Determiners: What Are Determiners? Definition and Examples
• Indirect Objects: What Are Indirect Objects? Definition and Examples
• Regular vs Irregular Verbs: Definitions, Differences, Examples
• Mood in Verbs: What Is Verb Mood? Definition and Types (Examples)
• Auxiliary Verbs: What Are Auxiliary Verbs? Definitions and Examples
• Modal Verbs: What Are Modal Verbs? Definition and Examples
• Interrogative Sentences: What Are Interrogative Sentences? Definition and Examples
• Conditional Sentences: What Are Conditional Sentences? Definition and Examples

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Brief Overview of Punctuation

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

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When speaking, we can pause or change the tone of our voices to indicate emphasis. When writing, we use punctuation to indicate these places of emphases. This handout should help to clarify when and how to use various marks of punctuation.

Use a comma to join two independent clauses and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, for, nor, so).

Use a comma after an introductory phrase, prepositional phrase, or dependent clause.

Use a comma to separate elements in a series. Although there is no set rule that requires a comma before the last item in a series, it seems to be a general academic convention to include it. The examples below demonstrate this trend.

Use a comma to separate nonessential elements from a sentence. More specifically, when a sentence includes information that is not crucial to the message or intent of the sentence, enclose it in or separate it by commas.

Use a comma between coordinate adjectives (adjectives that are equal and reversible).

Use a comma after a transitional element (however, therefore, nonetheless, also, otherwise, finally, instead, thus, of course, above all, for example, in other words, as a result, on the other hand, in conclusion, in addition)

Use a comma with quoted words.

Use a comma in a date.

Use a comma in a number.

Use a comma in a personal title.

Use a comma to separate a city name from the state.

Avoid comma splices (two independent clauses joined only by a comma). Instead, separate the clauses with a period, with a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction, or with a semicolon.

Use a semicolon to join two independent clauses when the second clause restates the first or when the two clauses are of equal emphasis.

Use a semicolon to join two independent clauses when the second clause begins with a conjunctive adverb (however, therefore, moreover, furthermore, thus, meanwhile, nonetheless, otherwise) or a transition (in fact, for example, that is, for instance, in addition, in other words, on the other hand, even so).

Use a semicolon to join elements of a series when individual items of the series already include commas.

For more information on semicolons, please see the "90-Second Semicolon" vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel .

Use a colon to join two independent clauses when you wish to emphasize the second clause.

Use a colon after an independent clause when it is followed by a list, a quotation, an appositive, or other ideas directly related to the independent clause.

Use a colon at the end of a business letter greeting.

Use a colon to separate the hour and minute(s) in a time notation.

Use a colon to separate the chapter and verse in a Biblical reference.

Parenthesis

Parentheses are used to emphasize content. They place more emphasis on the enclosed content than commas. Use parentheses to set off nonessential material, such as dates, clarifying information, or sources, from a sentence.

Dashes are used to set off or emphasize the content enclosed within dashes or the content that follows a dash. Dashes place more emphasis on this content than parentheses.

Use a dash to set off an appositive phrase that already includes commas. An appositive is a word that adds explanatory or clarifying information to the noun that precedes it.

Quotation Marks

Use quotation marks to enclose direct quotations. Note that commas and periods are placed inside the closing quotation mark, and colons and semicolons are placed outside. The placement of question and exclamation marks depends on the situation.

Use quotation marks to indicate the novel, ironic, or reserved use of a word.

Use quotation marks around the titles of short poems, song titles, short stories, magazine or newspaper articles, essays, speeches, chapter titles, short films, and episodes of television or radio shows.

Do not use quotation marks in indirect or block quotations.

Underlining and italics are often used interchangeably. Before word-processing programs were widely available, writers would underline certain words to indicate to publishers to italicize whatever was underlined. Although the general trend has been moving toward italicizing instead of underlining, you should remain consistent with your choice throughout your paper. To be safe, you could check with your teacher to find out which he/she prefers. Italicize the titles of magazines, books, newspapers, academic journals, films, television shows, long poems, plays of three or more acts, operas, musical albums, works of art, websites, and individual trains, planes, or ships.

Italicize foreign words.

Italicize a word or phrase to add emphasis.

Italicize a word when referring to that word.

Full Stops (Periods) in Titles

Here’s a quick tip for composing the titles of your posts.

Avoid putting full stops (periods) at the end of your titles.

Most bloggers naturally avoid using them in titles (without giving much thought to it). However from time to time I see them.

Why shouldn’t you use full stops at the end of titles? Isn’t it just a stylistic thing?

No – the reason goes beyond how it looks and is more about the signal that it sends to your reader. Full stops, like their name suggests, are something that halts the eye of your reader.

This isn’t something you want at this point in your post. Titles are all about leading your reader into your post and so anyway that you can help this flow is a bonus.

It might seem like something that’s too small to worry about (and in comparison with other things you could do to improve your blog it’s not a biggie) but it is a pretty established copy writing principle that is universally practised (next time you pick up a newspaper see how many periods in titles you can find).

I wonder if there are any rules/recommendations on breaking a title in two parts using, e.g., a colon or dash (obviously, a period is not a good idea).

I’d like to know Darren’s opinion on this as well. I insert lots of subtitles in my clients’ articles to break them up with the goal that if no one read anything else on the page, they’d get the important message just by reading the titles and subtitles. To do that, my subtitles are always complete sentences. Occasionally, a subtitle might require two short sentences for impact. The first one requires a period to finish the thought before the next, but then what do you do on the last one? In these situations I always add a period as a completion to the thought before. Darren, what would you do?

Details definitely matter. Thanks for the tip, Darren!

Huum, not something i’ve even noticed before, but now that you mention it, I suppose it is a good point, i’ve not seen any full stops in Newspaper titles.

I’d never use a period in a title – just seems common sense I think?? But I’ve never thought about it before.

I wonder what other ‘common sense’ things I do and don’t do without thinking?

Well, this seems to me… somewhat… uh… silly.

I don’t think *any* reader in the whole wide world would stop reading because a period at the end, or the middle, of a post title.

S/he could find the post uninteresting, irrelevant, or misguided. But getting a “message” to stop reading because of a period? Come on, I don’t buy it.

I like your blog, Darren, but I think you definitely don’t have a point here. Maybe you’re being a little overpsychological (am I getting that word right? I speak Spanish, not English).

I want to be constructive, and I suppose my message is this: don’t waste time considering these things when you blog. A period in the title simply doesn’t matter. Invest your time thinking about the content you offer to your readers.

Not that I am a very good model at that, either. :)

Darren, when I saw this post come through on the feed, I initially thought it wouldn’t be all that interesting. I read it anyway, and it has empowered me to comment on two other common errors that occur not only in blog posts around the internet, but in emails and other areas also.

1. The use of affect vs. effect. To put it simply, ‘affect’ is a verb and ‘effect’ is a noun. You can affect things (or change them), or you have an effect (change) on them.

2. The use of anyway vs. any way. ‘Anyway’ means regardless or nonetheless. ‘Any way’ means a number of different ways or methods. For example, “If there is any way I can help you, please let me know.”

Anyway (regardless), I hope my humble comments will have a positive effect (change) on your readers!

Sebastian, as a retired English professor I completely agree with Darren here. Not using a period at the end of a title is a basic grammatical rule. They should not be used in titles, headings or subheadings as they break the flow of an article. Most people do not know why they don’t use periods in titles but most subconsciously know that it is wrong when they see it.

For more on full stops in headlines check out the research which shows people have better comprehension of what they are reading when there is no full stop in the heading. It is research into advertising but in my own research I’ve found that it is true in other types of writing.

It might be a small thing but the small things all add up.

Looking at your blog Sebastian, I think you could benefit from taking notice of some of the ‘small things’ that Darren advises (your blog doesn’t even load at the moment so perhaps start with that).

It’s true! It doesn’t load. Well. Thanks for the irony.

Maybe you should wait until it loads before suggesting me that I could benefit from Darren’s advice. I mean, if you can’t see it, how do you know I could benefit?

Regarding to the period in the title: I respect your background as an English professor. I am a journalist working in a national newspaper. Trust me, it doesn’t matter.

Update: It loads right now.

I was saying you could do with some of Darrens advice in running a professional blog because your blog wasn’t up.

As a journalist I’d be interested to know how many of your articles have full stops in your titles? Does your newspaper use them in their titles (I can’t see any)? Do you use them in the titles of your blog (I can’t see any)? Why is that?

Obviously it does matter because for some reason you don’t use periods in titles. Perhaps it is something you’ve done subconsciously or perhaps it’s something you were taught as being good grammar.

It’s a basic grammatical rule Sebastian. It might be small but look at the study I linked to above and you’ll see the impact that something as small as a full stop has. 13% less people comprehended the ads with full stops in their headings – some even expressed that the reason for it was that ‘The full stop tends to pull up some readers with a jerk, and indicates to them there is no need to read on.’

It may not matter to you but how do you know it doesn’t matter to or impact your reader. In my mind if it matters to even 1% of the readers of my articles then it matters.

Have you done any research on this or are you just one of those people who makes sweeping statements about things you suspect might be true?

Well, well.

For one thing, the fact that my blog wasn’t up for maybe half an hour is something I can’t control and something I can live with.

Secondly, I *never* said I used full stops in post titles, nor that the newspaper I work for used them in article titles. To say that it obviously matters is a fallacy. What foot you stepped on this morning when you woke up? Why? Obviously it’s important, you chose that one for a reason. See the fallacy?

It could be fun to extrapolate a study on ad comprehension to the newsroom or a blog, but you maybe can understand that reading an ad is not the same as reading news or reading a blog. Most people don’t read news articles anyway, period or no period. In the case of blogs, I would say that you have to be stupid to find a period in the post title and infer that there’s no need to read the actual post.

I see how you and I are different. In my opinion, if this matters to the stupidest 1% of my readers, I won’t waste two seconds thinking about it. Why would I want to preserve a reader who finds a period in the title and thinks the post itself is of no value? Go away, gentle reader, go away.

And here we are, arguing about silly little things. I will stop doing this right now. You can go on spending time in full stops instead on focusing on interesting things to post.

I never said that people wouldn’t read an article with a period in it. I said that studies seem to indicate that a certain percentage of readers seem to be halted in their reading by them.

From an early age we are taught to pause/stop when we see a full stop. If you look at eye tracking studies you’ll find that it is the end of sentences (full stops) that people often stop reading midway through articles. To ‘pause’ the reader’s eye in the heading does have an impact.

I’m still interested as to why you don’t use full stops in your titles if it doesn’t matter? You never answered my question.

You write ‘Most people don’t read news articles anyway, period or no period.’ That’s the first time I’ve ever heard a newspaper journalist admit this – perhaps it is time to find a new occupation.

You’re right though – we are different. I write articles with the hope of bringing my readers along with me. I write in a way that does everything I can to communicate my message to as many people as possible whether they are ‘stupid’ or not. If you wish to write off your ‘stupid’ readers then go for it.

But of course you won’t, because you, like the rest of us don’t use full stops in your titles. You seem to say one thing but do another – so who is stupid?

If it’s the first time you read a journalist admit that most people don’t read news stories then maybe you should read more studies about newspaper reading, not only about ad reading. Only a small fraction of the people who read the title go on to read the rest of the story. This is so in any country, in any newspaper, for any particular story. If I had to resign because of this then every print journalist in the world would have to do the same.

Now to the part when you say that I seem to say one thing and do another. Yes, the keyword here is “seem”. I don’t do that. I don’t advocate the use of full sentences as titles. I just say that nothing should refrain you from using periods in post headings if they help you convey an intended meaning or impression.

You picture me as irrational, maybe as a troll. You just don’t understand. A period in the title is no obstacle for comprehension. And if it is, I won’t waste time trying to embed an interesting concept in the mind of *that* reader. I just don’t care. It “pauses” the reader’s eye. So? Maybe I *want* him/her to pause and consider the sentence for a moment. Maybe. I. Want. To. Convey. An. Impression.

I won’t go into a frantic attempt to keep a reader that doesn’t have the sense to swallow a title with a period in it. I, like you, want my readers to come along with me. But –*any* reader? Including a reader whose limited comprehension forces me to consider if I should put a full stop in a title? Including a reader for whom I have to bring my reasoning level down, at the expense of the other 99%? Come on. I suspect this is just the price you are paying to keep a 100% of your readers all the time with you.

Surely you have noticed that I am spending time in this, although I stated I would not. Take it as an additional opportunity to understand what I’m saying.

As for the “Now who’s stupid?”, I of course never said that *you* are, so I hope you understand if I feel somewhat hurt by that last line. Don’t expect me to answer to you again.

I agree with Sebastian. This “tip” is retarded. Nobody is going to decide to read or not read an article based on whether the title has a period at the end or not. That’s just ridiculous. As Sebastian says, content is much more important than something like that, which frankly is of no importance at all, no matter how many obscure studies of “flow” and “subconscious tendencies” you brag about reading. I mean, your argument corroborates the use of run-on-sentences, which everyone knows are annoying, and just because they don’t have any periods it doesn’t mean that people will just keep reading forever because even though you haven’t interrupted the “flow” it doesn’t mean you actually have anything to say and… yeah.

I think you’re forgetting that the web is, to a degree, art. There are no rules and formulas for “how to make everyone love my site.” If there were, there wouldn’t be so many $#!+ty blogs out there. Above all, do whatever you like. It’s your space.

Also, what’s with the personal attacks, Ray? How is it fair for you to attack Sebastian’s site without presenting your own to show how things are done?

I read a study about how criticizing other people is a sign of insecurity.

You wrote a couple of posts back:

“I would say that you have to be stupid to find a period in the post title and infer that there’s no need to read the actual post.”

Forgive me if I’m wrong but you seemed to be inferring my own stupidity here even though you failed to grasp my arguement in this very sentence as it was something I never said. As you’d brought ‘stupidity’ into the arguement I thought it appropriate to ask if I and stupid readers might not be the only people that were stupid in this equation. Sorry that this hurt so much.

If you’re ‘hurt’ by a stranger taking issue with something you say an inferring stupidity then I suggest that the blogosphere is not a place for you.

I don’t understand why you can’t hang around for a little robust discussion on an issue like this. Of course if you’d rather go back to your blogging where you write titles with no full stops or your news articles with no full stops that you only write for smart people (but that no one reads anyway) then go for it.

Jenn – I didn’t attack his site. I just pointed out that while he was willing to tell everyone that something Darren had written about ‘didn’t matter’ that his own blog didn’t seem to be working and that perhaps he could take some advice on running a professional blog.

With regards to my own site – I don’t have one. I am a retired English Prof and do write for a number of online and offline periodicals but do not have a blog or site of my own. I follow blogs and comment on some from time to time when they are on topics that interest me.

“I read a study about how criticizing other people is a sign of insecurity.”

Interesting (some might say this is verges on an indirect ‘attack’ itself). I suspect there’s some truth about that and I’m willing to accept that I, like all of us, have my own insecurities. I would dispute that anything I’ve said has been ‘attacking’. I think we’re having a good discussion and that if I’ve ‘attacked’ then it is no more than what Sebastian has also.

I’m arguing strongly for a case and would want to defend Darren’s original post which Sebastian wrote off as ‘silly’. To this point I’ve not seen him write anything to back this up and when I point out that he actually does what he thinks is ‘silly’ he decides he doesn’t want to talk about it any more.

Gang – thanks for the discussion on this one. I’m surprised something like this caused such a debate.

A few points:

I’d love for this discussion to stay constructive. There’s no need for telling each other that they’re stupid (or inferring it). There’s probably no need to call anyone or anything retarded either. Lets keep to the topic and get away from accusations or emotive language.

On the topic – like I say in the post – this isn’t the biggest thing to worry about on a blog but it is a fairly established principle of copywriting.

I do take Jenn’s point on that the web is a place of experimentation and expression. I personally wouldn’t stop reading a post that had a full stop in it’s title and I doubt most people would. However from what I’ve read it does impact the flow of an article and is a fairly well established practice to avoid full stops in titles.

In fact some would say that it’s such an obvious practice that it’s hardly worth a post on it – but it is something I’ve seen a number of bloggers doing in the last week or so and as a result I thought I’d post something on it to see if it generated some discussion.

Ultimately – it’s up to the blogger to decide how they run their blog and I’m not one to impose rules on anyone. If they want a full stop in a title then go for it.

My own approach is similar to Rays in that I’d like to write in a way that is accessible as possible and that brings along as many readers as possible. If something as simple as a full stop in a heading or title is going to be a hiccup in the flow of an article for some readers then I think that that is a good enough reason not to use them (plus in my opinion they just look odd).

Anyway – I hope we can continue this discussion in a constructive way and perhaps learn from each other as we go.

getting back on topic…

What about multiple periods (such as my title above)? Is that not by design intended to lead a reader on?

All reminds me of the book about the panda – “Eats, shoots and leaves”

qimwnneisu…

fvehljs qphrronnic wfcluvcbtk lvqfgnbi …

How about questions marks? I’ve been posing a lot of questions in my titles, lately. I know stylistically, question marks in headlines are OK… a question in the headliine implies an answer in the article, and impells the reader to continue.

I’ll have to go back and be sure I’ve not used a period anywhere, though. Thanks for the reminder, D!

[…] In the process of looking up punctuation for headlines (no periods at the end, please!), I learned that you’re not supposed to use underline for web publications because it makes it look like a clickable link. […]

Folks, I’ve just come into this discussion. Four points to ponder. 1 Little things DO matter. One small flea in the bed … or one mosquito in the bedroom …

2 Anyone who has played sport competitively knows that a 1% improvement in a tennis serve, or a golf score can make a huge difference. A race horse which is 1% slower than the winner doesn’t take home the trophy! So slowing down or putting off 1% of headline readers IS important. One percent of a million people is 10,000.

3 As a professional writer for over 40 years I can vouch for the effectiveness of knowing the rules before you break them or (worse) disregarding them without knowing they exist. For instance, the three dots are not three fullstops. That is ELLIPSIS and it has its own uses, conventions and functions.

4 Here’s my positive contribution for today Never end a page (printed or electronic) on a fullstop. Always break the sentence and have the other portion of it on the next page. This tactic can be quite effective in heightening the reader’s interest in knowing the rest of the message. For instance, the best and most useful advice I ever got about writing was from a writer who earns $5000 every time he writes a sales letter. His advice was so simple. He told me in confidence “When writing a sales letter, always be sure to put your most profitable item (the one which can make you rich) where right-handed people can

I see you’re outlining your brilliant tactic in your response, 354Riverlaw. Please finish! We’re waiting on baited breath!

I don’t use a period in my titles because my titles aren’t full sentences. My titles are nothing more than a flag that tells the reader what the topic of the post is. That’s all the information it is intended to convey. The articles start off with a photo and a running narrative with more photos follows. There is no need for a full sentence in the title.

If your breath is baited, maybe you need a mint. ;)

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US vs. U.S.: When To Use Periods And When To Leave Them Out

by Writer's Relief Staff | Grammar and Usage , Other Helpful Information , Proofreading , Punctuation , Uncategorized | 22 comments

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Updated June 2023

Do you feel confident when you write US vs. U.S.? Or have you just been winging it? Do you always use one form over the other because you think one is right and one is wrong? Read on for an explanation of when to use periods and when to leave them out. (Hint: Both forms are correct in different circumstances!)

Gregg Reference Manual states: “The name United States is usually abbreviated when it is part of the name of a government agency. When used as an adjective, the name is often abbreviated, though not in formal usage. When used as a noun, the name is spelled out.”

In other words, in general prose, one should use U.S. when abbreviating. Of all the holidays we celebrate in the U.S., we especially look forward to Independence Day for the fireworks!

However, there are some exceptions:

U.S. Department of Agriculture or USDA

U.S. Air Force or USAF

NOTE: When a company uses a geographic abbreviation in its corporate name or in the name of a product, respect the company’s style.

U.S.A., but USA Today

U.S., but U S WEST Communications

We hope this helps you feel more confident in the accuracy of your writing, but if you still feel fuzzy about the rules, whether it’s US vs. U.S. or other elements of style, Writer’s Relief can help! Expert proofreading is just one of the many helpful parts of our service!

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22 Comments

any thoughts on R.S.V.P. vs. RSVP?

Hi Michelle,

Both R.S.V.P. and RSVP are technically correct. However, it has recently become more commonplace to use RSVP without the periods.

USA. Or U.S.A.

U.S. but it’s fine either way. I believe they recently changed it to RSVP, yet I may be wrong.

What about P.O.W. and POW? Or is it PoW? I have seen it many different ways.

We’ve seen it spelled POW, P.O.W., and PoW. It can be spelled any of the three ways.

Is it US’s biggest or US’ biggest?

It is US’s biggest.

Yeah, so is it “I’m from the USA.” or is it “I’m from the U.S.A.”?

We’ve seen it spelled both ways. Either way is fine.

What about U.S.. or U.S. at the end of a sentence?

It would be U.S. at the end of a sentence.

How about at the end of a subtitle just prior to a colon, for example

History of Inheritance in the US: blah blah or History of Inheritance in the U.S.: blah blah

Without periods looks better. Is it acceptable? (Especially in an article that otherwise uses periods as at americanrtl.org/contstitution.)

In that case, you can drop the period before the colon, so it would be U.S:

Hope this helps!

What about admin. does it need a period?

No, it does not.

When I use U.S. in a sentence and put it at the end, do I put an extra period like U.S.. or just leave it at U.S.

Just leave it at U.S.

If I abbreviate United States with periods, is there a spacing preference between U.S. and U. S.?

As you can see in the article, there is no space in U.S.

Is it “US-based company” or “U.S.-based company” or “USA-based company” or “U.S.A.-based company”?? Please help

U.S.-based company.

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