Most people are unfamiliar with proper procedures when it comes to naming a professional journal title in an article or essay. Unless someone avidly studies "Gregg's Reference Manual" or the "Chicago Manual of Style" for fun, or studied English in college, they probably are not aware of some of the simplest rules when it comes to citing a professional journal or other periodical in-text. Here are
. a few things the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Modern Language Association (MLA) have to say about in-text citations. These two style guides are the go-to resources for the majority of English and grammar courses in the United States.
APA guidelines
When referencing a professional journal or other source that is longer than article-length, APA guidelines dictate it is appropriate and acceptable either to underline or italicize the title of the publication. If a source is an article, it is required to put the name of the article in quotation marks. Additionally, while capitalizing the source name, it is important to remember to capitalize nouns, pronouns, and words that contain four or more letters.
MLA guidelines
MLA guidelines require writers to italicize journals and other sources, unless they are referencing the Bible. Bible references are also acceptable if the version (King James, New International Version, etc.) is underlined or italicized. The book of the Bible that is referenced requires nothing more than the following of normal capitalization rules.
When confronted with the question of whether or not to underline the title of a professional journal, it is safe to assume that italics are always acceptable. Only APA guidelines allow for the use of either underlines or italics, while the MLA only accepts italics. The most important consideration is the style guide used by the institution that is publishing the article, essay or report. More reference links: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/ http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/
