TinyProf's Guide to Formatting Course Titles 🎓

---

1. What We're Solving

We need to determine whether course titles (like "Introduction to Biology" or "Advanced Creative Writing") should be italicized or placed in "quotation marks" — and more importantly, why one convention makes more logical sense than the other.

---

2. The Approach

Rather than just memorizing a rule, we can reason from an existing principle that already governs how we format titles in academic writing. This is a valuable critical thinking skill — when a specific rule doesn't exist, we look for the closest analogous rule and apply its logic!

---

3. Step-by-Step Reasoning

Step 1: Identify the Foundational Rule

Academic writing already has a clear system for formatting titles based on size and hierarchy:

| Type of Work | Format | Examples | |---|---|---| | Large, standalone works | Italics | Books, films, albums, journals | | Smaller works within larger ones | "Quotation Marks" | Chapters, articles, songs |

> Think of it like nesting dolls 🪆 — the bigger container gets italics, the smaller piece inside gets quotes.

---

Step 2: Ask the Key Question

Where does a course title fit in this hierarchy?

A course is quite substantial — it has:

• Its own syllabus
• Multiple readings and assignments
• Weeks or months of content
• An independent identity

That sounds much more like a book than a chapter.

---

Step 3: Apply the Analogy Across Other Media

This logic holds across different formats:

``` Book Title (italics) → "Chapter Title" (quotes) Album Title (italics) → "Song Title" (quotes) Journal Title (italics) → "Article Title" (quotes) Course Title (italics?) → "Individual Lesson Title" (quotes?) ```

Notice the pattern: the container is italicized, and the contents get quotation marks. A course is the container for lessons, units, and assignments.

---

Step 4: Consider Real-World Application

This formatting appears in professional contexts such as:

• Teaching philosophy statements
• Pedagogical essays
• Academic portfolios

In these contexts, writing Introduction to Literature looks more polished and intentional than "Introduction to Literature" — because quotes might suggest informality or even sarcasm.

---

Step 5: Acknowledge the Current Situation

No universal consensus exists yet on this convention. This means:

✅ You can make a reasoned argument for italics ✅ You should acknowledge the ambiguity exists ✅ Whatever you choose — be consistent throughout your document

---

4. The Answer

Course titles should be italicized, based on the established principle that:

> Larger, standalone, substantial works → Italics > Smaller works contained within larger ones → "Quotation Marks"

Since a course is a substantial, independent academic entity (rather than a small piece nested inside something larger), it logically belongs in the italics category — just like a book, film, or album title.

Example: > ✅ I teach Foundations of Academic Writing every fall semester. > 🤔 I teach "Foundations of Academic Writing" every fall semester. (acceptable but less precise)

---

5. Memory Tip 💡

"Big gets italics, small gets quotes!"

Think of it this way:

• 🏠 The house gets italicized (it's the whole structure)
• 🚪 "The front door" gets quotes (it's just one part)

A course is a whole house of learning — so it earns its italics!

---

You're doing great thinking through formatting conventions analytically rather than just memorizing rules. That reasoning skill will serve you in every style guide situation you encounter! 🌟