How do I write a source list entry when the title ends with a question mark?

How do I cite a source with punctuation in the title? 


Answer

One of four items required in a source list entry is the title. Titles sometimes include punctuation or end with punctuation. Here are example titles which include or end with punctuation: 

  • Who Moved My Cheese? 
  • Librarians: Go and Be Disorganized!

Keep the punctuation when building the source list entry. If the punctuation is at the end of the title, do not add a period. Here are example source list entries for titles which end with punctuation. 

  1. Spencer Johnson. 1998. Who Moved My Cheese? ISBN 0-399-14446-3
  2. Megan Wiseman. December 2012. Librarians: Go and Be Disorganized! https://research-ebsco-com.libdatab.strayer.edu/linkprocessor/plink?id=59a62c93-4333-3fe8-8bd4-e0955a29a332

SWS does not require additional periods after punctuation. Other citation, formatting, and style guides may require extra punctuation for publishing or technical reasons. 

  • Last Updated Aug 22, 2024
  • Views 19
  • Answered By Mary Snyder (she/her)

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