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Guidelines for writing Poems, Stories and Tales

Some doubts on the use of Italicized words

What is the effect of italicized words?

Most commonly, italics are used for emphasis or contrast — that is, to draw attention to some particular part of a text.

How do you know if something should be italicized?

Titles of full works like books or newspapers should be italicized. Titles of short works like poems, articles, short stories, or chapters should be put in quotation marks. Titles of books that form a larger body of work may be put in quotation marks if the name of the book series is italicized.

What does it mean when a word is in italics?

emphasize

Italics are most often used to emphasize certain words, to indicate that they are in a foreign language, or to set off the title of a literary or artistic work.

What terms should be italicized?

In broad terms, unfamiliar foreign words or phrases should be italicized in English writing. This is common when referring to technical terms used by non-English writers.

How do you use italics for emphasis?

Italics can emphasize a single word or phrase. For example: “Are you going to eat that?” or “I never said I wanted to go. I said I would consider it.” It’s best to use italics for emphasis sparingly so that they retain their impact.

Do quotes need to be italicized?

For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook. No. In MLA style, italics in a quotation are assumed to be in the original unless otherwise indicated. See the MLA Handbook for more details on quoting sources exactly (75) and on italics added for emphasis (86).

Should names be italicized?

This is one writing question that’s easy to overthink once you begin editing, but a name usually only needs to be capitalized; it typically doesn’t require italics or quotation marks. (There are exceptions, of course.)

What part of speech is the italicized word?

(noun)

ITALICS (noun) definition and synonyms | Macmillan Dictionary.

Why do authors use italics?

They can emphasize a word or phrase or denote a character’s thoughts. They should always be used for titles of things like books and albums and words from a foreign language. A great tool, italics can help authors ignite their ink, so their story stands out and lingers with readers.

Are italics considered punctuation?

English Punctuation: Italics, Capitalization, and Other Odds and Ends. Series index: English Punctuation Overview. These miscellaneous aspects of writing aren’t technically considered punctuation, but most websites include them with punctuation marks (probably because they don’t know where else to put them).

Do you have to italicize foreign words every time?

If you’re using a style guide, it will tell you whether to italicize foreign or unfamiliar words. For example, APA and Chicago styles specify that you only use italics the first time you use an unfamiliar non-English word or phrase. If you use the same word again, you should write it without italics.



What should be italicized in an essay?

Italicize titles of larger works like books, periodicals, databases, and Web sites. Use quotation marks for titles published in larger works like articles, essays, chapters, poems, Web pages, songs, and speeches.

What should be italicized MLA?

What about MLA format?

  • Titles of books, plays, or works published singularly (not anthologized) should be italicised unless it is a handwritten document, in which case underlining is acceptable. ( …
  • Titles of poems, short stories, or works published in an anthology will have quotation marks around them. (

Should titles be italicized?

Titles should be italicized or enclosed in quotation marks. Titles that are independent and self-contained (e.g., books) and titles of containers (e.g., anthologies) should be italicized. Titles that are contained in larger works (e.g., short stories) should be in quotations.

Should article titles be italicized?

The title of an article is not italicized in MLA style, but placed in quotation marks. This applies to articles from journals, newspapers, websites, or any other publication. Use italics for the title of the source where the article was published.

Do you italicize short stories?

Titles of individual short stories and poems go in quotation marks. The titles of short story and poetry collections should be italicized.



Do you italicize books?

Titles of books, plays, films, periodicals, databases, and websites are italicized. Place titles in quotation marks if the source is part of a larger work. Articles, essays, chapters, poems, webpages, songs, and speeches are placed in quotation marks. Sometimes titles will contain other titles.