Literature Titles

[Eva Marina]

I'm not really sure where this should go, but it seems to fit here well enough.
I just took a standardized test (the test on the state frameworks for "what you should know before graduating" that actually determines whether we graduate or not) today in school (well, really only the first part so I won't mention any specifics) and I chose to do my long composition (essay) on a play we read in class this year. Now, we're not supposed to study for these tests, but I did anyway. But I forgot to look over my notes which had how titles of novels are set up and how the titles of short stories are set up. I put quotes around the title of the play but when I looked back at my notes, I found that the title was supposed to be underlined.
I guess what I am really trying to ask is:
Is it common to see the titles of novels and plays underlined or italized, in comparison to other set ups? Common as in common sense, or just general knowledge, that titles should be underlined?

[Virgil]

I'm not really sure where this should go, but it seems to fit here well enough.
I just took a standardized test (the test on the state frameworks for "what you should know before graduating" that actually determines whether we graduate or not) today in school (well, really only the first part so I won't mention any specifics) and I chose to do my long composition (essay) on a play we read in class this year. Now, we're not supposed to study for these tests, but I did anyway. But I forgot to look over my notes which had how titles of novels are set up and how the titles of short stories are set up. I put quotes around the title of the play but when I looked back at my notes, I found that the title was supposed to be underlined.
I guess what I am really trying to ask is:
Is it common to see the titles of novels and plays underlined or italized, in comparison to other set ups? Common as in common sense, or just general knowledge, that titles should be underlined?
Eva
In the United States we have standardized the the methodology according to the MLA (Modern Language Association) rules. Here's a web site that outlines it: http://www.liu.edu/cwis/CWP/library/workshop/citmla.htm

[Eva Marina]

Thanks, Virgil. That looks like a really helpful website. ;)

[Zippy]

Don't know about the US, but here in the UK it varies from course to course. The Literature course I took last year specified that titles of works should be in italics (or underlined if writing longhand), however, other courses I've taken have asked for the titles in inverted commas. It's really quite frustrating!

As long as the content of your piece is good, I can't see anyone deducting points for formatting the text in a different way.

Good luck.

Zippy.

[SleepyWitch]

if i remember correctly, i was taught that even the MLA has two different kinds of set ups depending on whether you type stuff on the computer or on a typewriter or write by hand...

i think in the computer version all titles of independent publications (i.e. stuff that is a book in itself and not part of a newspaper, journal or a book edidted by someone else than the author) are in italics. on the typewriter and in handwriting they are underlined.
titles of newspaper/journal articles, articles on the internet and articles in books are in quotation marks....
er, right,... but in effect, every professor has their own preferred set up....

[Eva Marina]

Thanks, everyone! :D