Treatment of titles | Writing Style Guide (2024)

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Academic titles

See academic and administrative titles on the capitalization page for guidance.

See quote attribution and degree formatting for guidance on current students and alumni.

Events

Proper names of events should be capitalized. In limited cases, events may also be italicized as necessary by University Marketing.

Note: Quotation marks may be used only when capitalization and italicization cannot fulfill the need for technical or aesthetic reasons.

Publications

Titles of books, journals, magazines, plays, newspapers, and freestanding publications

Titles of books, journals, magazines, plays, newspapers, and freestanding publications are italicized when quoted in text or bibliography. Always preserve original spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, and punctuation.

Examples

David McCullough’s best selling biography, John Adams, was recently made into a television mini-series.

She receives most of her news from Time magazine and the New York Times.

Exception

Ampersands can be changed to and with editorial discretion.

Additional book rules

Book series

Titles of book series or editions are capitalized but not italicized.

Parts of a book

When referring to parts of a book—preface, foreword, appendix, chapter, etc.—use lowercase.

Titles of articles, chapters, poems, and shorter works

Titles of articles, chapters, poems, and shorter works are set in roman type and enclosed with quotation marks. If quotation marks are used in the original titles, then single quotation marks must be substituted.

Attribution formatting

For attribution, format as follows:

#11 best town in the nation to go stargazing

– BuzzFeed

See quote attribution and degree formatting for more information on attribution.

Movies, television, and radio

1. Titles of movies, television, and radio shows are italicized. A single episode is enclosed in quotation marks.

2. Formal names of broadcast channels and networks are capitalized:

   • The Discovery Channel offers a variety of programs from health to the environment.
   • She often watches the Oxygen and Comedy Central channels.

Musical works

1. The names of operas and musicals are italicized. Individual songs and arias are set in quotation marks:

   • Handel’s Messiah includes the well-known “Hallelujah” chorus.
   • “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” is performed in the opening scene of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical, Oklahoma!

2. Album/CD recording names are italicized. Individual songs are set in quotation marks.

3. Instrumental music such as symphonies, quartets, rhapsodies, etc., that also include a number or key signature in the title should be capitalized but not italicized. Descriptive titles of the same work can be italicized.
   Note: The number (no.) or opus (op.) of the work should remain lowercase.

   • Beethoven’s Symphony no. 3; or Third Symphony; or Eroica Symphony
   • Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat Major
   • Etude in G Minor, op. 33

Quote attribution and degree formatting

General formatting

Make sure to use an en dash (–) with a space after to introduce all testimonials and quote attribution lines. Quote attribution lines should always be italicized on a separate line below the quote. Always use an en dash (–) with spaces on both sides to differentiate between a degree name and an emphasis name.

Follow these same general guidelines in running text but without an introductory en dash or italics. Limited exceptions may be made in small spaces where short copy is required, including removing emphasis and minor names when necessary.

Current undergraduate student:

“Quote.”

– Firstname Lastname, DegreeName – EmphasisName major with a minor in MinorName

Current graduate student or other:

“Quote.”

– Firstname Lastname, pursuing a master’s, doctorate, graduate certificate, or endorsem*nt in Degree Name – Emphasis Name

Alumni

“Quote.”

– Firstname Lastname, BS DegreeName, ’year

Faculty/staff

“Quote.”

– Firstname Lastname, Title, Department, College

Tribal affiliations

Faculty/staff

“Quote.”

– Firstname Lastname (Tribal Affiliations), Title, Department, College

Alumni

“Quote.”

– Firstname Lastname (Tribal Affiliations), BS DegreeName, ’year

or

“Quote.”

– Firstname Lastname (Tribal Affiliations), ’year
BS DegreeName

Notes and exceptions

• Ensure that you are using a proper curly apostrophe preceding graduation year.
• Always use “Honors” before the degree name for current Honors students:
  • Marie Curie, Honors Chemistry – American Chemical Society – Comprehensive – Certified by the American Chemical Society major
• Follow all normal capitalization style rules and consult the NAU catalog for degree names whenever possible. However, keep in mind that degree names change over time.
• To avoid jargon, use “Undergraduate Certificate” and “Graduate Certificate” instead of GCERT or UCERT.
  • Araceli Hermoso-Palacios, Postbaccalaureate Secondary Education Certification Undergraduate Certificate, ’18
• Attributions split across two lines should not use a comma at the end of the first line.

Websites

1. Treat a reference website as you would an authoritative book or other source material: italicize.

2. Always omit the https://www; it’s unnecessary and clutters your text. Still, be sure to link to https addresses, not http, as they provide additional security for your users.

For more information on how to format a website, see the Addresses page.

Works of art

1. Names of paintings, sculptures, and statues are italicized.

2. Photographs are set in quotation marks.

3. Cartoons and comic strips are italicized.