Are Journal Titles Italicized?
In MLA-style conventions, a scholarly journal’s title is the periodical/container title and is italicized, while an individual journal article title is placed in quotation marks. Other required style manuals may differ.
In MLA-style writing, italicize the journal title and put an individual article title in quotation marks.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
This is a style convention, not a universal grammar rule. Follow the citation system or publisher style required for the document.
Further guidance
Example
MLA-style invented example: “Urban Shade and Heat” appears in *Journal of City Climate*. The article is quoted; the journal title is italicized.
Practical Application
In MLA-style citations and prose, italicize the title of the scholarly journal and place the title of an individual article in quotation marks.
Reader Check
Identify whether the words name the periodical itself or one article published inside it. The journal and article sit at different title levels.
Recommendation
Italicize the journal title in MLA-style prose; use quotation marks for the title of an article published in that journal.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Should the initial article in periodical titles be retained in both prose and works-cited-list entries? (opens in a new tab)Modern Language Association · MLA guidance demonstrating periodical publication titles, including newspaper titles, styled as periodical titles in prose and works-cited entries.
- Quotation Marks with Titles — Purdue OWL (opens in a new tab)Purdue OWL · Purdue OWL guidance listing songs, short poems, book chapters, and other shorter works as titles normally enclosed in quotation marks.