Papal encyclicals

[JJM]

Does anyone know do you underline or "quote" Papal encyclicals?

 

[GK]

The issue of underlining, quoting, or italicizing titles is not standard, but depends on which formal writing style you are using. If this is for a paper, news article, or some other formal audience, you first need to know which style you are supposed to be using (MLA, APA, Chicago, AP, Turabian...). If this is for informal writing, you have much more latitude and can basically do whatever you want. If you are writing for the web, I recommend not underlining, as that has become a symbol for a text hyperlink. Instead, use quotes or italics. When I am writing for the web and quoting an encyclical, I type the Latin title in all caps and provide a link to the encyclical online. The important thing is to find some way to use style to set the text apart.

 

[JJM]

It's for a paper. In genreal my teacher would say that things like books, Magazines, albums are captialized while things like articles, poems, songs get quotes which group do you think Papal encyclicals fall in?

 

[GK]

Gotcha. What to do with it still depends on style. The question is where the encyclical fits. As the encyclicals are published on their own, I would probably treat them more like a book than an article. If it's for a paper due tomorrow, I'd capitalize the reference (based on the style options you gave), but then I would ask the teacher for her thoughts, especially as she is the one grading the paper.

 

[ShannonMcCatholic]

Titles of books are actually supposed to be italicized- it became standard to underline when using a typewriter, because one was often unable to italicize words.

 

[GK]

And, slowly, the standard is moving back to italicizing because it's easy again and because underlining has taken on a new meaning, online.

 

[anawim]

The issue of underlining, quoting, or italicizing titles is not standard, but depends on which formal writing style you are using. If this is for a paper, news article, or some other formal audience, you first need to know which style you are supposed to be using (MLA, APA, Chicago, AP, Turabian...). If this is for informal writing, you have much more latitude and can basically do whatever you want. If you are writing for the web, I recommend not underlining, as that has become a symbol for a text hyperlink. Instead, use quotes or italics. When I am writing for the web and quoting an encyclical, I type the Latin title in all caps and provide a link to the encyclical online. The important thing is to find some way to use style to set the text apart.

Where were you when I was in English class, and had to follow rules?

 

[GK]

That's because, in English class, you were working under a formal system. Of course, depending on the teacher/professor, that system might be one of the well-established systems or it might be something of his/her own creation.

The real importance in writing is learning to communicate well. We have rules of grammar and style for the same reason we have speed limits and stop signs. We all get along better if we collectively agree to certain standards of behavior. The difference between writing and driving is, once you have mastered the basics, you can get away with creative deviations from writing by the rules without getting a ticket. But, before you can break the rules (like I just did by starting a sentence with a conjunction), you need to know the rules you are breaking. You also need to know the audience for whom you are writing. How I write on my blog is very different from how I write for my graduate classes. An article I write for a magazine with an informal, personal feel will be very different from how I write for a trade journal.