When you write professionally or for school use, you need to know how to cite the TV shows that you might be referencing. There are various kinds of citation styles that you might be asked to use when working on these kinds of projects. The citations that are used in these instances ensure that the writer who created the show gets credit for having done so and that others can find the show and view it on their own if they wish.
The most common citation style that is used for professional writing is the MLA citation style. You will use this kind of citation for most professional writing and also in school settings. Under the rules of this citation style, TV series names are always italicized. You will use quotes to indicate the unique episodes within the series if you are referencing them instead of the show itself.
Why Do You Need to Use These Rules?
The reason that citation rules exist is to eliminate confusion about the names of creations like TV shows, books, and other professional writing. The point of citations is that they call out referenced materials so that others can find out more about your sources. You will also be more clearly defining what the reference is when you use the right formatting for your citations.
If you are just chatting generally with a friend via text or are not writing for formal purposes, you will not need to observe the rules about italics being used for TV show names. However, if there is any chance that the writing that you are doing will be viewed by other people, then you need to use proper citations.
These kinds of rules are very universal, and they are expected for most kinds of printed writing. You can ask your professor or your boss which citation style they are expecting you to use if you think that MLA might not be the favored method. Being clear that you have cited another person’s creations in your writing gives proper credit to other writers and producers and is important for the sake of clarity about your sources.
While you may not need to provide cited sources at the end of your work of writing, you will also often need to cite the source fully at the end of your paper or other document. This is something that many people do in school, but it can be necessary in other kinds of professional contexts as well.
Citations Are Essential in Many Kinds of Writing
If you have never written formally before, you will need to check out the rules for MLA citations. This is the most common means of offering citations to readers of your written work. You will always use italics to indicate the name of a TV show and quotes to indicate the episode names within the season of TV for this show. Knowing the rules about this kind of citation style can be very helpful if you need to write for any purpose other than casual note-taking.
This article was last updated on August 28, 2023 .
