Italics and Underlining

Overview

Italics (slanted letters) and underlining (a line beneath words) are used to show emphasis or to mark certain titles. In handwritten work, underlining is often used in place of italics, but in typed work, italics are preferred.

Titles of long works

Use italics (or underlining in handwritten work) for titles of long works like books, movies, newspapers, magazines, and TV shows.

• Example: My favorite movie is Black Panther.

Titles of shorter works

Do not italicize or underline shorter works like poems, short stories, songs, or articles. These usually go in quotation marks instead.

• Example: We studied “The Raven” in literature class.

Foreign words

Italicize foreign words or phrases that are not commonly used in English.

• Example: The phrase carpe diem means “seize the day.”

Emphasis

Italics can be used to emphasize a particular word or phrase in a sentence.

• Example: I said I wanted pizza, not pasta.

Scientific names

In science writing, italicize the names of species using Latin. The first word (genus) is capitalized, and the second (species) is lowercase.

• Example: The scientific name for humans is Homo sapiens.

Words as words

When discussing a word itself rather than its meaning, italicize or underline it.

• Example: The word effect is often confused with affect.

Art and creative works

Italicize titles of paintings, sculptures, plays, and other creative works.

• Example: We looked at The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh.

Avoiding overuse

Don’t overuse italics or underlining. Save them for titles, emphasis, or special situations. Too much makes writing hard to read.

• Example: Wrong: I really really really wanted ice cream.

• Correct: I really wanted ice cream.

Summary

Italics (or underlining in handwritten work) are mainly used for titles of long works, foreign words, emphasis, scientific names, and words as words. Quotation marks are used instead for shorter works. Use italics sparingly so your writing stays clear and professional.