My notes as I explore various business and financial topics

Friday, February 11, 2011

Italics - Proper Grammer for Business Writing















Those confounded italics. I can never remember how to use them properly--particularly, am I suppose to use them when mentioning titles of books, articles, etc?

Since I often cited books as my source in this blog, I'm composing this as a quick reference. Use italics in the following scenarios:

To set forth titles of separately published works--plays, books, symphonies, pamphlets, magazines, newspapers, and similar
  • Romeo and Juliet (play)
  • Gone with the Wind (novel)
  • Aida (opera)
  • The Dip (ebook/newsletter)
  • The New York Times (newspaper)

To emphasize or contrast
  • consider your present acts, not your past

To set forth names of ships or airplanes
  • Airforce One
  • The Titanic
  • The Spirit of St. Louis

To set forth words in a foreign language
  • she cried out, "C'est defender!" ("it is forbidden")
Note: if the word has become common in usage, then italics are not necessary, e.g.
  • Latin: bona fide, et cetera
  • French: encore, cafe, ensemble
  • German: delicatessen

To indicate a word, letter, or number
  • dot your i's and cross your t's
 Some sources also cite that italicized words should also be bolded.

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