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Jayprakash Singh Posted 5 years ago
Grammar

Confusion regarding when to underline a name of a literary work

I am bewildered; I am a student of English Literature. More often than not, when I write answers for MA exams, I get confused whether to use double quotations or underline while writing a name of a literary work. Please elaborate on this! On top of that, is it mandatory that I have to underline? Can I not simply use double quotations. For example, my professor told me that for a poem published in the book form like The Wasteland, I have to underline; if I simply double quote, it would be an unpardonable mistake. Please, clear my confusion!



P.S. I write with pen, not on computers!

  

Top answer

You need to become familiar with the concept of a "style guide" which covers this type of question. You punctuate your writing according to the style guide of the school or journal where it will be published. The common ones are the Chicago Style Guide, the MLA Style Guide and the AP Style Guide.

  • You need to become familiar with the concept of a "style guide" which covers this type of question.
  • You punctuate your writing according to the style guide of the school or journal where it will be published.
  • The common ones are the Chicago Style Guide, the MLA Style Guide and the AP Style Guide.
  • com/writing-style-guide/ Many universities have Online Writing Labs (OWL) as part of their website where they explain the style guides used at their school.
  • html For your particular question, see this page: Punctuating titles can cause trouble for some writers, but the rule is actually quite simple: If the punctuation is part of the title, include it in the italics or quotation marks.
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1 Answers
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You need to become familiar with the concept of a "style guide" which covers this type of question. You punctuate your writing according to the style guide of the school or journal where it will be published. The common ones are the Chicago Style Guide, the MLA Style Guide and the AP Style Guide. You can read about them here:

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