Title page
Encyclopedia
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
, thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
or other written work is the page at or near the front which displays its title and author, usually together with information relating to the publication of the book. This is no longer synonymous with frontispiece
Book frontispiece
A frontispiece is a decorative illustration facing a book's title page. The frontispiece is the verso opposite the recto title page. Elaborate engraved frontispieces were in frequent use, especially in Bibles and in scholarly books, and many are masterpieces of engraving...
in modern usage.
Title pages in books
The title page (as distinct from the cover) is one of the most important parts of the "front matter" or "preliminaries" of a book, as the data on it and its verso (together known as the "title leaf") are used to establish the "title proper and usually, though not necessarily, the statement of responsibility and the data relating to publication". This determines the way the book is cited in library catalogs and academic references.Ideally the title page shows the title of the work, the person or body responsible for its intellectual content, the place of publication, the name of the publisher and the year of publication.
Particularly in paperback editions it may contain a shorter title than the cover or lack a descriptive subtitle. Further information about the publication of the book, including its copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
, is frequently printed on the verso of the title page. Also often included there are the ISBN and a printers key
Printers key
The printer’s key, also known as the number line, is a line of text printed on the copyright page of books, used to indicate the print run. Publishers started to use this convention around the middle of the 20th century....
, also known as the number line
Printers key
The printer’s key, also known as the number line, is a line of text printed on the copyright page of books, used to indicate the print run. Publishers started to use this convention around the middle of the 20th century....
, which indicates the printing status.
The first printed books or incunabula did not have title pages. The text would begin on the first page, and the book would have to be identified by the initial words or incipit
Incipit
Incipit is a Latin word meaning "it begins". The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is the first few words of its opening line. In music, it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits...
.
Title pages in papers and theses
The title page of a thesis or essayEssay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
is the work's first page. It lists the title of the work and the name of the author.
In the case of an academic paper, the title page also lists class
Class (education)
A class in education has a variety of related meanings.It can be the group of students which attends a specific course or lesson at a university, school or other educational institution, see Form ....
information (such as the course name and number), identification information (such as the student number
Student number
A student number is the number assigned to a student upon first entering or registering with an educational institution and is used to identify the student in lieu of a name for grades, essays, projects, exams and official documents.-Austria:...
), the date
Calendar date
A date in a calendar is a reference to a particular day represented within a calendar system. The calendar date allows the specific day to be identified. The number of days between two dates may be calculated. For example, "24 " is ten days after "14 " in the Gregorian calendar. The date of a...
, name of the professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, and name of the institution. The title page is not numbered.
Title pages are not required in all citation styles; instead, some styles require that the same information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
is placed at the top of the essay's first page.
The title page for a thesis contains the full title, the author's name and academic credentials, the degree-granting faculty and department name, the name of the university and date of graduation, and the universal copyright symbol
Copyright symbol
The copyright symbol, or copyright sign, designated by © , is the symbol used in copyright notices for works other than sound recordings . The use of the symbol is described in United States copyright law, and, internationally, by the Universal Copyright Convention...
. The thesis title page is usually page i, but is not numbered; the abstract
Abstract (summary)
An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a...
(page ii) is the first numbered page.
External links
- GLASGOW UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT, Book of the Month
- High resolution scans of title pages
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