Skip to Main Content

APA Help (7th Ed)

Title Formats

Article Title

  • Capitalize first word of title, subtitle, proper nouns
  • example: Toughing it out at Harvard: The making of a woman MBA

Book & E-book Title

  • italicize
  • Capitalize first word of title, subtitle, proper nouns
  • exampleStudent cheating and plagiarism in the Internet era: A wake-up call

Dissertation / Theses Title

  • italicize
  • Capitalize first word of title, subtitle, proper nouns
  • exampleOn the fourfold root of the principle of sufficient reason

Report & Technical Paper Title

  • italicize
  • Capitalize first word of title, subtitle, proper nouns
  • exampleHow do we read? Let’s count the ways: Comparing digital, audio, and print-only readers

Periodical (Journal, Magazine, Newspaper) Title

  • italicize
  • Capitalize All Major Words
  • exampleBusiness and Economics Journal

Website & Webpage Title

  • italicize
  • Capitalize first word of title, subtitle, proper nouns
  • exampleFoods that can cause food poisoning

Work of Art Title

  • italicize
  • Capitalize first word of title, subtitle, proper nouns
  • exampleGirl with a pearl earring

Italics rule of thumb:

If there is only one title in the citation, it will be italicized. When there are two, such as a journal publication title and an article title, the publication title is italicized (it has many articles in it).

Tips on alphabetizing in the list of References:
1) If a title begins with numerals, alphabetize the entry in the reference list as though the number were spelled out. Example: 7 would be alphabetized as if it were “Seven.”
2) If a title is the first element in your citation and it begins with an article (A, An, The), skip the article and alphabetize the first significant word of the title. Example: A Toast, would be placed after the name Stewart, B. A. in your reference list, not up where an “A” would be alphabetized.


Content adapted from University of Maryland Global Campus, "APA 7th Edition Citation Examples: Titles".