How to Quote a Song Title

Quoting a song title can be more tricky than it seems at first glance. Several nuances can confuse inexperienced students, and slight differences exist between leading academic formats. Writing song titles in essays aren’t complex math or advanced physics, so we will cover the subject entirely in our short guide. However, you risk making severe mistakes without a proper and complete understanding of the topic. 

The Golden Rule of Quoting Song Titles 

There is an ultimate golden rule for citing song titles. The story’s moral is that quotations should always be around the title of a musical composition. This concludes our brief discussion on correctly referencing musical compositions in academic papers.  

Example: “Blank Space” is Taylor Swift’s song released in 2014. 

The example above demonstrates the properly formatted song title according to all popular academic formats. However, there is more! If you need to address an album, the common practice is to use italics. But what do you do if the song and album have identical names? Well, in that case, you should use italics when addressing the album and quotation marks when addressing the song. 

Example: “Blank Space” is Taylor Swift’s song released in her album 1984. 

General Guidelines for Quoting Song Titles

Titles of songs should generally adhere to the following standards of format:

????️ The names of songs should be surrounded by quotation marks: Typographically, proper use of apostrophes (curly quotes) and quotation marks can elevate the appearance of your professionally typeset text.

???? Put every album and CD title in italics: It is common for most academic formats to use italics when addressing the album name. 

❗ Do not use underlining: For some reason, underlining some titles is a common mistake among college students, but no academic format recommends doing that. 

FAQ

How do I title a song in an essay?

You should put the song title in quotation marks to cite it properly while writing your college paper. If you want to address the album’s name, you should use italics. 

Are song titles italicized in MLA?

No, they are not. The common practice in MLA is to put song titles in quotation marks and italicize only names of albums. 

Is a song title in quotes?

Yes, it is recommended to put the song title in quotes by all popular academic formats. We suggest consulting with your advisor if you are unsure about your academic format. 

How to write song titles in APA?

Regarding grammar and style, songs’ titles should be written in quotation marks in APA, whereas album titles should be italicized. This style requirement is shared by APA, MLA, and other popular academic formats.