The poem oranges is written by gary soto and is about a young man on a date with his girl on a cold december day. which word or phrase from the sentence needs to be in quotation marks?

This should be: The poem "Oranges" is written by Gary Soto and is about a young man on a date with his girl on a cold December day.
"Oranges" is in quotes because if you state an article or a book that you have read, you either put it in quotes or underline or even sometimes slant it to show that you have pulled it from a certain source. Most commonly, you use quotes. Another example of that is:
When reading "Insurgent", I had a sudden burst of anxiety.
OR
Harry Potter is about a series of books about wizards and magic.
OR
A Little Princess is about a young girl who goes from riches to rags but stays a princess inside. 
Hope this helps!!! (:

-the definition or characteristics of the genre you think the novel fits in