No, you don’t underline an essay title in modern writing; keep the title plain, and underline only in handwriting when you’re standing in for italics.
If you’ve ever stared at your title line and thought, “Do I underline this or not?”, you’re not alone. School rules changed over time, and a lot of older advice came from typewriter days.
Do You Underline The Title Of An Essay? In Handwriting Vs Typing
When an essay is typed, the title of your essay is not underlined. You usually place it on its own line near the top, centered, in regular font.
When an essay is handwritten, underlining still shows up, but not for your essay title. It’s mainly a stand-in for italics when you mention the title of a book, a movie, or another long work inside your sentences.
Yep, the real split is simple: the essay’s own title stays plain, while titles of other works follow the style rule for that work type.
If your teacher gave a house rule that overrides style manuals, follow that rule. Graders can be picky, and you want points for your ideas, not for a format squabble.
| Writing Situation | What To Do | Reason It Looks Right |
|---|---|---|
| Typed essay title at the top of the page | Use plain text; don’t underline, quote, or italicize | Your title is a label for your paper, not a cited work |
| Handwritten essay title at the top of the page | Use plain text; write it neatly and centered | Underlining your own title reads like you’re citing it |
| Typed mention of a book title in your essay | Italicize the book title | Books are long works; italics mark them cleanly |
| Handwritten mention of a book title | Underline the book title | Underlining is the handwritten stand-in for italics |
| Typed mention of an article, poem, or chapter title | Put the title in quotation marks | Short works usually take quotation marks |
| Handwritten mention of an article, poem, or chapter title | Use quotation marks, not underlining | Quotes still work in handwriting and stay consistent |
| Typed mention of a website name (whole site) | Italicize the site name when treated like a work | Whole sites act like containers, similar to a magazine |
| Typed mention of a single web page or post title | Use quotation marks for the page or post title | A page is a smaller piece inside a larger site |
| Typed title in a Works Cited / References list | Follow your style guide: italics for containers, quotes for parts | Reference lists have their own formatting rules |
Underlining The Title Of An Essay In MLA, APA, And Chicago
Most classrooms lean on MLA, APA, or Chicago. The good news: on the underlining question, they’re in the same lane for modern typed writing.
They don’t ask you to underline your essay title. They use italics for long works and quotation marks for shorter works when you mention them in your text.
If you want a straight reference, the MLA Style Center page on formatting titles lays out when to use italics and quotation marks.
APA’s own guidance on using italics in APA Style also explains how italics work for titles.
Why Underlining Shows Up In Old Advice
Underlining was a practical hack when italics weren’t easy to type. Typewriters couldn’t tilt letters, so writers underlined to signal, “Treat this as italics.”
Once word processors made italics one click away, underlining stopped being the default signal. That’s why modern teachers often say, “Underline only if you’re handwriting.”
What Underlining Can Still Mean Today
Underlining still has a job, but it’s narrow. If you’re writing by hand and your style guide wants italics for a work title, underlining is an accepted substitute.
Outside of that, underlining can look like emphasis instead of title formatting. In essays, random underlines can make the page feel messy.
What Counts As A Title Inside Your Essay
This is where many people get tripped up. Your essay title is one thing. The titles you mention inside the essay are another.
Once you know what kind of thing a title names, you can pick italics, quotation marks, or plain text with confidence.
Use Italics For Longer Works
Use italics for titles that feel like full, self-contained works. Think of items that you could hold, stream, subscribe to, or buy as a whole.
Common long-work titles include books, movies, TV series, albums, newspapers, journals, and full websites when you treat the site as the container.
- To Kill a Mockingbird (book)
- Parasite (film)
- The New York Times (newspaper)
- National Geographic (magazine)
If you are handwriting, underline those same long-work titles instead of using italics. The meaning stays the same; only the markup changes.
Use Quotation Marks For Shorter Works
Quotation marks usually go on titles that live inside a larger container. That includes articles inside a magazine, chapters inside a book, and episodes inside a TV series.
It also includes many stand-alone poems and short stories, since they’re often published as parts of a collection.
- “The Tell-Tale Heart” (short story)
- “Ozymandias” (poem)
- “The One Where Everybody Finds Out” (TV episode)
- “Methods” (a chapter title)
Leave Some Names In Plain Text
Not every label is a “title of a work.” Names of companies, apps, and general platforms are usually plain text, even when you cite content found there.
Brands like Google, YouTube, and Wikipedia are names, not work titles. A specific YouTube video title is a work title, so it may get quotation marks, depending on your style.
If you’re still asking yourself, “do you underline the title of an essay?”, the safe default is no for typed work.
How To Format Your Essay Title On The Page
Even when you stop worrying about underlining, the page setup can still feel fuzzy. The goal is a clean title line that matches the rest of the page.
Most class essays use a standard layout: your heading information at the top, then the title, then the first paragraph.
Keep The Title Centered And Plain
Center the essay title on its own line. Use the same font and size as the body text, unless your assignment sheet tells you to do something else.
A plain title also keeps your first page clean, so your reader focuses on your claim, not your formatting choices.
Skip underlining, bold, and quotation marks. Those signals are reserved for titles you mention inside the essay, not the label of your paper.
Use Title Capitalization That Matches Your Class Style
Many teachers want “title case,” where you capitalize most main words. Some teachers want sentence style, especially in scientific writing.
If your class hasn’t named a style, match your teacher’s examples. That keeps you consistent with the expectations you’ll be graded on.
When Underlining Is The Right Move
Underlining feels old-school, but it can still be the right move in one common situation: handwritten work.
If you can’t italicize because you’re writing by hand, underline any title that would be italicized in typed form.
Handwritten Essays And Blue Book Exams
In a blue book exam, your own essay title stays plain. But if you write, “In Macbeth…”, you can’t italicize. Underline Macbeth instead.
That simple swap keeps your meaning clear for the reader. It also matches what most teachers expect during timed writing.
Common Title Mistakes That Trip People Up
Title formatting errors can make a strong essay look sloppy. The good news is that most mistakes are easy to fix once you know what to check.
Here are the patterns that show up again and again.
Underlining Your Own Essay Title
This is the classic one: a student underlines the title at the top because it feels formal. On a modern typed essay, it reads dated.
It can also blur the line between your paper’s title and the titles of sources you mention.
Mixing Italics And Quotes Randomly
If you italicize a short story title in one paragraph and put it in quotes later, the reader notices. Consistency matters more than fancy formatting.
Pick the correct mark for the work type and stick with it through the full paper.
Italicizing A Website Page Title Like A Whole Website
Writers often italicize a single page title when they meant to italicize the website name. A page is a part; a site is the container.
If you cite a post, the post title often goes in quotation marks, while the site name often goes in italics.
Forgetting That Reference Lists Have Their Own Rules
In the body of an essay, you might write a short title in quotes. In your Works Cited or References page, you follow the list format for that style.
That means the same title can look different in text than it does in your citation list, and that’s normal.
Style Crosswalk For Titles In Essays
If you’re switching between classes, you may see small style shifts. This table gives you a fast way to stay on track without second-guessing every line.
| Item You’re Writing | Typed Format | Handwritten Format |
|---|---|---|
| Your essay title | Plain text, centered | Plain text, centered |
| Book, film, TV series, album, newspaper, journal | Italics | Underline |
| Article, chapter, poem, short story, song, TV episode | Quotation marks | Quotation marks |
| Website name used as a container | Italics | Underline |
| Single web page or blog post title | Quotation marks | Quotation marks |
| Legal cases (when treated as case names) | Italics in many styles | Underline |
| Names of apps, companies, and platforms | Plain text | Plain text |
| Names of courses or class names | Plain text | Plain text |
A Clean Way To Decide When You’re Unsure
When you’re stuck, don’t guess. Run a quick decision check that fits most school essays.
- Ask: is this the title of my paper? If yes, keep it plain.
- If not, ask: is it a whole work or a small piece inside a larger work?
- Whole work in typed text: italics. Whole work in handwriting: underline.
- Small piece: quotation marks in both typed and handwritten work.
- Double-check your course style sheet if your class uses one.
That’s the full logic. It’s simple once you stop treating underlining as the default.
Final Format Check Before You Submit
Before you hit print or click upload, scan your first page. Your title should look calm and consistent with the rest of the paper.
If you see underlining on your essay title, remove it for typed work. If you’re handwriting, leave your essay title plain and reserve underlining for long-work titles inside your sentences.
If you want to repeat the rule in one line: do you underline the title of an essay? No—typed titles stay plain, and underlining is only a handwriting substitute for italics.