As an expert in academic writing and formatting, I can provide you with guidance on whether or not you should underline the title of your essay. The rules for titling can vary depending on the style guide you are following, which is crucial to consider when writing academic papers. The most common style guides include APA, MLA, Chicago, and CSE, each with its own set of rules for formatting titles.

Step 1: English Answer

In contemporary academic writing, the treatment of titles within the text often follows specific guidelines outlined by various style manuals. Here's a breakdown based on the information you provided and common practices:


1. Book Titles: Italicization is the current standard for book titles in most style guides, including APA and MLA. If you are using a typewriter and cannot italicize, underlining is an acceptable alternative. This is a practice that dates back to the limitations of typewriters, which did not have the capability to italicize text. However, with modern word processing software, italics are the preferred method.


2. Play Titles: Similar to books, titles of plays are also typically italicized. Underlining is used as an alternative when italics are not available.


3. Poem, Short Story, and Essay Titles: For shorter works such as poems, short stories, and essays, the convention is to use double quotation marks around the title. This is consistent across APA and MLA style guides.

It's important to note that these rules are not universally applied and can change with updates to style guides or with the preferences of individual publications or instructors. Always check the specific guidelines you are required to follow for your essay.

When it comes to the title of your essay, which is the main title of your work, it is generally not underlined or placed in quotation marks or italics. The main title of your essay is typically presented in bold and centered at the top of the first page, following the guidelines of the style manual you are using.

Step 2: Divider

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Book titles are italicized. If you are using a typewriter and can't write in italics, then it is customary to underline the title. Same applies to plays. Titles of poems, short stories, essays, and other short pieces are set off in double quotes.read more >>