MLA documentation of citations is the standard for many business and academic writing purposes all around the US and even in other countries. There are other documentation styles, but this one is the most common and the most straightforward to use.
Even if you are writing blog content for your personal website, you will need to use MLA citations both in text and in a bibliography if you are citing sources for your writing. This is important for credibility, and it also links people to the content that you used to come to your conclusions.
If you have never cited anything in MLA, you might not be sure what the rules of its use are. TV shows and other proper names have their own guidelines within this citation style that you must observe.
Do you Italicize TV Show Names in MLA?
If you are writing a paper for school, an academic resource or document, or you are blogging, you will need to use the right MLA citation style for your work. Anything that you have written that will be publicly published needs to use the right citation style.
TV show names have to be italicized when you are using MLA citation style. The names of networks and TV studios will be capitalized. Likewise, you will capitalize the names of actors and producers who you mention who were involved in the work. Only the name of the show will be in italics.
This is the MLA standard for things like books as well, so you can follow this familiar pattern if you already use MLA for other writing types. This can be deceiving when you look at other people’s works that have been published online. Not everyone knows how to use citation styles correctly, which can lead to works being published without the right citation style.
You should be sure that you are using the right citation style, even if others are not doing so. This is one of the key aspects of writing in a serious way and with serious intentions. Academic and professional writing should always use correct citations, or it can be discredited. Your work might also be unavailable for use by other academics if they need to cite it. You want to be sure that anyone can consume the content that you are creating and share the information that you have taken the time to research.
Proper MLA citations are the most common within many industries, but the sciences and things like white papers use APA style formatting for citations. You will need to be sure that you know which citation style is correct for your intended writing type.
MLA Citations Use Italics
When you are writing about a TV show in a serious work or for publication, you will need to use italics for the name of any TV show that you write about. This is industry standard and has to be followed unless you are writing very casually and not for publication. Making sure that you use the right citations is key if you want to be compliant with academic and professional writing expectations.
This article was last updated on August 18, 2023 .
