essay writing in italics

Use of Italics

This page addresses when to use italics, when to avoid italics, how to use italics for emphasis, and when to use reverse italics. Additional cases and examples are provided in the Publication Manual ; users’ most common questions are addressed here.

When to use italics

In APA Style papers, use italics for the following cases:

When not to use italics

Do not use italics for the following cases in APA Style papers:

Italics for emphasis

In general, avoid using italics for emphasis. Instead, rewrite your sentence to provide emphasis. For example, place important words or phrases at the beginning or end of a sentence instead of in the middle, or break long sentences into several shorter sentences.

However, do use italics if emphasis might otherwise be lost or the material might be misread, as in the following example.

Whereas creative self-efficacy typically focuses on confidence beliefs prior to engaging in creative endeavors, perceived creative credit focuses on the beliefs developed after engaging in creative tasks (Ng & Yam, 2019, p. 1146).

If you add emphasis to a direct quotation, place the words “[emphasis added]” in square brackets after the words you have italicized.

Research on creativity indicates that “promoting creativity without attending to the subsequent psychological and behavioral changes decreases rather than increases [emphasis added] organizational performance over the long run” (Ng & Yam, 2019, p. 1157).

Reverse italics

When words that would normally be italicized appear within text that is already italicized, those words should be set in standard (nonitalic) type, referred to as reverse italicization . For example, if an italic symbol appears in a table title (which is also italicized), use standard type for the symbol.

Demographic Characteristics of Study Participants ( N = 250)

Italics and reverse italics are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Sections 6.22 and 6.23 and the Concise Guide Sections 4.15 and 4.16

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Home > When To Italicize – The Rules You Need To Know

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When To Italicize – The Rules You Need To Know

Updated: June 19, 2024

Published: June 30, 2020

English has a lot of grammatical rules to keep in mind. From the usage of commas to capitalization, knowing how to write properly is an important skill to hone for those in school and beyond. Whether you are writing research papers or formal letters, you’ll come across instances of italicization. Knowing when to italicize is an important skill to master.

Let’s take a look at how italics came to exist and when to italicize. With this guide, you’ll soon be an italics pro!

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

The history behind italics.

Italics is when a typeface is slanted to the right. Like this!

Italics are used to distinguish words from other parts of the text and draw attention. Like underlining, it can create emphasis; therefore, you wouldn’t want to both underline and italicize the same word. Yet, underlining and italicizing may often be used interchangeably.

Underlining was the precursor to italicizing. Once word processors and printers became more sophisticated to handle italics, it has become a popular alternative to underlining.

When To Italicize

With this being said, using italics isn’t always a choice of personal preference. There are rules and guidelines to follow to know when to italicize. Let’s take a look at some of the rules!

7 Rules For Italics

1. emphasis.

Want a word or phrase to stand out in a block of text? Try writing in italics. Example: I went to grab pizza with friends today. It was so delicious that I ate an entire pie. (Notice how you read the word “so” with more emphasis than the rest of the words in that statement).

2. Titles Of Work

The titles of works should be italicized (or underlined). Examples include:

• Books – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Newspapers – The Los Angeles Times
• Movies – The Dark Knight
• Magazines – People
• Plays – A Streetcar Named Desire
• Works of Art – Frida Kahlo’s The Two Fridas
• TV/radio programs – Friends
• CDs/albums – Drake’s Views

3. Articles

Based on the above, you may be questioning, “Are articles italicized?” Articles are shorter forms of work. As such, they are put into quotation marks rather than italicized. For example, you could write something like: In his article “A Mystery Explained” for The New York Times, the author exposed the details of the crime.

4. Foreign Words

If you’re writing in one language but you want to introduce a word in another language, you may consider italicizing it. For example, “The word for war in Spanish is guerra.”

5. Names Of Trains, Ships, Spaceships

Words that are names of transportation vehicles (with the exception of cars) are italicized. For example, the space shuttle Challenger is in italics.

6. Words As Reproduced Sounds

If you want to write out the way something sounds, then you can leverage italics. To depict, “The bees went bzzz in my ear.” This doesn’t mean that you would write verbs that are sounds in italics. (i.e., “There was a loud thud.”)

7. Words As Words

When you are writing a word to use it as a word for reference, then you can put it in italics. For example, “He defined close in context of the situation as being within 6 feet of each other.”

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Examples for when to use italics.

There are various writing formats that have slightly different rules. When you’re writing a scholarly paper, you may be advised to write in MLA format or APA format.

The MLA format may allow for interchangeability between italics and underlines. In the APA format, these are some examples of when to use and when not to use italics — and they aren’t always in line with the examples above. In APA format, for example, you should not use italics just for emphasis.

So before writing any scholarly paper, it’s useful to double check the rules for italics according to the specific guidelines.

Use Italics

• First introduction to a new term – i.e., “ Communism is defined as, ‘ a form of government…’”
• Titles of book and web pages – i.e., “ Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson”
• English letters used as math symbols – i.e., “Solve for the variable x .”
• Anchors of scale – i.e., “Rate your experience on a scale of 1 ( extremely dissatisfied ) to 10 ( extremely satisfied )”
• First use of words in a different language – i.e., “She was the crème de la crème .”

Do Not Use Italics

• For the title of book series – i.e., “the Dan Brown series”
• Punctuation around italics – i.e., “( extremely dissatisfied )”
• Words from foreign languages that are in the dictionary of the language you are writing – i.e., “per se”

Things To Remember

This list of rules and exceptions can feel overwhelming. And there’s still more to learn and remember on top of the points above! Keep in mind:

• Don’t italicize the titles of songs, chapters in books, or poems. Instead, use quotations. For example, you could write: On the Drake album Views, I really like the song “Fire & Desire.”
• Don’t italicize religious texts – i.e., the Torah or the Koran. Instead, these are capitalized.
• Don’t underline and italicize together like this . (That sure is painful to read!)

Although there is a lot to remember when it comes to what to italicize, the good news is that you can always research whether or not something should be italicized online or refer back to this list!

Italics Or Not? That Is The Question

As a student, it’s important to fine tune your grammar skills now so that when you graduate and enter the workforce, you can produce exemplary work every time!

As mentioned, when writing research papers or any other academic paper, your professor will share what standards they want you to abide by. Whether it’s MLA or APA formats, you can look up the rules for when to italicize before and during the writing process.

Then, when you edit, be sure to check all your usages of underlines, italics, and quotation marks to ensure they are implemented correctly!

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When to Use Italics in Your Writing

6-minute read

• 24th November 2019

Of all the typographic styles, italicisation may look the most dynamic. Perhaps it’s the way the words slant to the right, as if striding confidently to a business meeting. Or perhaps we’re overthinking this. The point is that italics are a useful, versatile part of writing. But when should you use them?

Key occasions for using italics include:

• To emphasise something.
• For titles of standalone works, such as books and films.
• For vehicle names, such as ships.
• To show that a word is borrowed from another language.
• For the Latin ‘scientific’ names of plant and animal species.

Let’s take a look at each of these to see how they work in practice.

Italics for Emphasis

Like bold fonts or underlining, italics are often used for emphasis . This means we can use italics to stress or draw attention to a particular word or phrase:

Italicisation is the best way to emphasise something.

Here, italicising best shows that we feel strongly about italics.

Generally, italics are the standard form of emphasis in academic writing. This is because they look more formal than bold formatting . However, always check your style guide if your university or employer has one, since some organisations have different rules about emphasising text.

Italics in Place of Quote Marks

It would be unusual to italicise a full quote rather than placing it in inverted commas. However, some people do use italics to set single words apart in the same way you might with quote marks. For example:

Quote Marks: The word ‘italic’ comes from a Greek word meaning ‘Italy’.

Italics: The word italic comes from a Greek word meaning Italy .

As with emphasis, if you are using a style guide, you may want to check whether it allows this. Otherwise, though, italics can be helpful if using too many quote marks makes your writing look cluttered.

When to Use Italics for Titles

Another common use of italicisation is for titles. Not your own headings – you can italicise these, but that’s a matter of stylistic preference – but the titles of published works, such as books. For instance, if we mentioned a work by Charles Dickens in an essay, we would write it like this:

Queen Victoria read The Old Curiosity Shop in 1841.

By using italics, we set the title text apart from the rest of the sentence.

It’s not just books that you should do this for. Typically, the same applies for any self-contained media product or publication (i.e. something published by itself rather than as part of a collection). This includes the titles of:

• Books and book-length poems
• Academic journals (i.e. the journal title itself, not individual article titles)
• Magazines and newspapers
• Films, radio programmes, and TV shows
• Plays and other stage shows
• Music albums and other published audio recordings
• Paintings, statues, and other works of art

Titles of shorter works, by comparison, are often placed in quotation marks . However, the rules for presenting titles do vary between style guides.

Italicising Vehicle Names

You can use italics for the names of individual vehicles, such as a ship or space rocket. For instance, we would italicise the following vehicle names:

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The sailors boarded the HMS Belfast in silence.

The Titanic sank during her maiden voyage.

Here, we italicise Belfast and Titanic because they’re the proper names of specific ships. We do not italicise the initials preceding names of ships (e.g. HMS, RMS, USS). In addition, you should only italicise the names of individual vehicles. If you’re writing the name of a brand or make of a vehicle (e.g. Ford Escort or Boeing 747), by comparison, you don’t need italics.

Italicising Non-English Words

Make sure to italicise any non-English words you use in English-language writing. This shows the reader that the word was borrowed from another language. For instance, we could say:

In Germany, this feeling is known as Waldeinsamkeit .

The exact rules for when to italicise foreign words may vary depending on the style guide you check. For instance, most style guides make exceptions for words that are now fairly common in English even if they are still loanwords, so you would not usually need to italicise terms like ‘raison d’être’.

If in doubt, though, you can always check a good dictionary (e.g. the OED or Webster’s). Assuming you can find the word in the dictionary, it should be widely used enough in English to write without italics.

Italicising Species Names

Binomial nomenclature (i.e. the Latin names given to plant and animal species) is usually italicised. For example, we could say:

Nobody wants Amorphophallus titanum growing in their garden.

As above, you should also capitalise the first word (i.e. the genus) in scientific plant and animal names, but not the second term (i.e. the species).

Other Uses for Italics

There are occasions when you may want to use italics not covered above. In fact, italics are useful for most situations where you need to make some part of a text distinct. One example comes from creative writing, where some people use italics to indicate an unspoken thought. For instance, we could use italics to show a character’s inner monologue:

Jeff sat silently in the doctor’s office. It wasn’t his usual doctor, so he was already nervous before the needle appeared.

‘Don’t worry,’ said the doctor. ‘It won’t hurt.’

Easy for you to say, Jeff thought. It’s not you at the sharp end of that thing. But he kept this to himself, instead uttering a meek ‘OK’.

However you use italics, though, there are two main rules to follow:

• Try not to use italics for too many different reasons in a single document. For instance, if you are writing something with a lot of titles and foreign words, you may want to find a different way of formatting emphasis.
• If you use italicised text for any part of a document, apply it consistently. So, for instance, if you’re using italics for loanwords in one part of an essay, you’ll want to do the same throughout the document.

And if you need anyone to check your use of italics in a document, our editors are here to help. Just submit your work for proofreading today.

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When to Use Italics

#scribendiinc

Learn how to properly use italics and emphasis

Have you ever found yourself questioning your use of italics in a term paper or essay? Does using italicized print worry you to the extent you just avoid italics altogether? When is the right time to use italics? This article will explain when to use those slanted letters and when it is best to leave them upright.

Seven instances when italics are appropriate in an essay

There are approximately seven instances when it is appropriate to use italics in academic writing . Italics will likely appear in papers ranging from the arts to the sciences and will serve many functions. To simplify things, we have defined when to use italics in Arts and Humanities papers (four instances) and when to use them in the Sciences (three instances).

Italics in the Arts  

There are many instances when humanities students find themselves unsure whether something they have just written deserves emphasis. If your situation doesn't fall under one of the following categories, use standard font.

When including a title that can stand alone, it should be italicized in almost every instance. This could be the title of a book, a story, a newspaper, or even your favorite television show. Here is an example of a properly written title:

Adam and I watched an episode of Family Guy yesterday; the whole thing was a parody of The Da V inci Code !

It is important to remember that if a punctuation mark (an exclamation or question mark) is included in the title, you must italicize it as well.

Titles that should not be italicized are those of religious texts. The Bible is not italicized, nor are the titles of the books within it. Shorter titles, such as short stories from an anthology, journal articles, and episodes of television shows, cannot stand alone and thus should not be italicized.

When italicizing titles in footnotes, citations, and bibliographies, remember to reference the style guide required by your professor.

When you really need to emphasize a word in writing, italics are the best way to do it. Italics can be used to ensure readers recognize the word requires emphasis. The effective use of italics in this manner can add flare to writing and indicate more poignant text:

Susan yelled, "I hate microeconomics!"

In this example, the italics serve to illustrate Susan's loathing of microeconomics. Without the emphasis, this sentence may not have stressed how much she truly despises the subject. A word of warning from the professionals at our essay editing service: Always use discretion when italicizing words for the purpose of emphasis in an academic essay. Professors are often annoyed by the overuse of emphasis.

Sounds reproduced as words

If you've ever tried to write a children's book, you may have come across this italics-worthy situation. If a bear growls and you want to present this auditory occurrence in a more immersive way, Grrrrrr! may find its way into your writing. Make sure the distinction between the name of the sound and the sound itself is clear. Meow is the sound a cat makes, but the word makes no attempt at reproducing the sound. On the other hand, should you write " Meeeeeooooowww went the grey barn cat," make sure the reproduced sound gets italicized.

Names of vehicles

When mentioning any vehicle in your academic writing, whether it's the Titanic or Apollo 13 , remember to italicize its name. The exception to this rule is the brand name of vehicles. So, if you're writing a paper that requires commentary concerning the Rolls-Royce that kills Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby , leave the italics off.

Italics in the Sciences

There are instances in scientific and technical writing where italics are necessary. These instances may cross over into the realm of Arts writing, but most often they will be seen within the context of technical writing. There are three common instances where italics should be used.

Words in a foreign language

When you are writing a lab report or scientific paper and must include a term written in a foreign language, italics are key. This is often seen in legal or medical papers in the form of Latin words. They appear quite often, and should be italicized to show readers they are in another language. Here is an example from a medical document:

"Three pills are to be administered to the patient ante cibum. "

While most people would not write "before meals" in Latin, this term is appropriate in a medical context and thus must be written in Latin, as well as be italicized.

Introducing a term

When a new term is introduced in a scientific essay, it is common practice to write the word in italics upon first use. When readers see a term in italics, they automatically know this is the first time the word has been used and should therefore pay attention to its meaning.

Physical quantities and mathematical constants

When measures of quantity or a mathematical constant are written, they should be placed in italics. A mathematical constant is the letter used to represent a particular static mathematical standard such as:

"When we measured the particle velocity, v , recorded in the experiment…"

The "v" represents the constant in a mathematical equation and thus must be written in italics.

When in doubt, ask for help

Should a time arise when you aren't sure whether to use italics, simply refer to this article to see if your situation falls into any of the categories listed above. If it does, use italics; if it doesn't, it's probably best to use standard font. If you're still unsure, feel free to submit your document to our essay editors for a professional review.

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When to Use Italics: The Complete Guide

by Liz Bureman and Sue Weems | 0 comments

We've covered italicization in song titles and album titles already , but let's look at a complete guide of when to use italics. 

What is italicization?

Italicization is the use of italics , a typeface that mimics cursive and leans or slants to the right.

Why use italics?

Italics are used to distinguish certain text from the rest for emphasis or sometimes contrast. As with all grammar and formatting conventions, italics should be used to make a message clearer to the audience.

When to use italics

In the English language, italics are usually used to set apart titles and names of specific kinds of objects or works.

Use italics for book titles and play titles

Titles of books are italicized, but you probably already knew that. Example: Gone Girl is still probably one of my favorite books that I read in 2014.

Other examples: The Crucible by Arthur Miller Sula by Toni Morrison

Use italics for magazine, newspaper, and periodical titles

All titles of newspapers, magazines, periodicals, and academic journals are italicized. Examples:

Magazine: The Atlantic Newspaper: The New York Times Professional periodicals: Publishers Weekly ; Library Journal Academic Journal: Journal of the American Medical Association , Harvard Business Review

Note: magazines, newspapers, professional periodicals, and academic journals all contain individual articles by different writers. Those article titles are indicated by the use of quotation marks .

Use italics for website titles

Website titles are italicized, and individual posts on websites are put in quotation marks, like articles.

For example: The Write Practice ran a series on writing short stories and the master article is called “ How to Write a Short Story ” by Sarah Gribble.

Other examples: Facebook Wikipedia

Use italics for television show titles

The names of TV shows are italicized, while the titles of each individual episode of a show are put in quotations.

Example: While all of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is amazing, my favorite episode is probably “Kimmy Goes to School!”

The Wire Game of Thrones

Use italics for movie titles

Movie titles are always italicized.

Examples: I saw Top Gun: Maverick last month for nostalgia's sake.

Everything Everywhere All at Once , starring Michelle Yeoh

Use italics for album titles

Album titles are always italicized. For example, while I will openly admit to loving Journey’s power ballad “Faithfully,” I think pretty much every song on their Greatest Hits album should be sung at karaoke nights across the country.

Other examples: Renaissance by Beyonce Harry's House by Harry Styles

Note: individual song titles are noted by quotation marks.

Use italics for works of art

All artwork titles use italics, from paintings to sculpture. Examples:

Sugar Shack by Ernie Barnes Black Iris by Georgia O'Keefe David by Michelangelo

Use italics for radio or podcast program titles

Radio and podcast programs take italics, while their individual episodes take quotation marks. Examples:

This American Life Fresh Air, National Public Radio On Being with Krista Tippett

Use italics for named vessels: ships, spacecraft, aircraft

Any named craft used for transportation will take italics.

Examples: USS America, Challenger, Pequod

Use italics for technical terms (sometimes)

In some academic texts, technical or new terms are often marked by italics the first time they are used in the paper. Check your assigned style guide (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc) to see how to indicate new terms.

Use italics for foreign words (sometimes)

Some style manuals (notably APA and Chicago) suggest using italics the first time an unfamiliar non-English word is used in a paper. This practice can vary depending on the publisher and the audience, so pay attention to any requirements.

It's okay to need to look up the rules for italicization. That's why we've published this handy guide!

How do you feel about your italicization skills? Do you always remember what titles to italicize and which to leave alone? Let us know in the comments section .

Put your italicization skills to the test. For fifteen minutes, write about one of the following:

• A serial killer who calls himself “The Reviewer” who murders his favorite actors, writers, and musicians.
• A detective hunting a serial killer who calls himself “The Reviewer.”

When you’re finished, share your work in the Pro Practice Workshop.   Not a member yet? Join us !

Liz Bureman

Liz Bureman has a more-than-healthy interest in proper grammatical structure, accurate spelling, and the underappreciated semicolon. When she's not diagramming sentences and reading blogs about how terribly written the Twilight series is, she edits for the Write Practice, causes trouble in Denver, and plays guitar very slowly and poorly. You can follow her on Twitter (@epbure), where she tweets more about music of the mid-90s than writing.

Sue Weems is a writer, teacher, and traveler with an advanced degree in (mostly fictional) revenge. When she’s not rationalizing her love for parentheses (and dramatic asides), she follows a sailor around the globe with their four children, two dogs, and an impossibly tall stack of books to read. You can read more of her writing tips on her website .

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The general rule is to use italics on book titles, album titles and publication names for a web document or when you are using a word processing tool. If it is something handwritten you should underline it instead of using italics.

Longer works are italicized while shorter works like song titles or an article from a magazine are put in quotes and are not italicized.

Here are some italics examples:

Costco Plans to Sell Books Only From September to December

Karlie Kloss to Relaunch Life Magazine at Bedford Media

NBF Expands National Book Awards Eligibility Criteria

Striking Writers and Actors March Together on Hollywood Streets

Vice Media Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

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• When to Use Italics - Grammar and Writing Guide

Why do we need to use italics?

The art of using italics, do we italicize titles, do we italicize names of aircraft and ships, do we use italics to emphasize the text, do we italicize foreign words, italicize or not italicize.

Are you done with essay writing and want to ensure its proper formatting? Have no clue when you are supposed to italicize the text and where the quotation marks are necessary? If it is the case, then this guide will be of great service to you and will help you understand when to use italics and when they are not needed in the text. Follow easy rules and deliver flawless assignments instead of guessing and getting lower grades for brilliantly written papers.

Italics are typically used to emphasize titles of stand-alone works or to distinguish certain words from others within your writing. Of course, different academic formatting styles have different rules for using italics. So you need to understand that APA text formatting will not be identical to the formatting of the very same text in MLA. As a writer, you need to follow the general guidelines and stay consistent within your work.

Academic paper formatting can be a challenging task. We know it too well. Unfortunately, the cases when brilliant content brings a C or even a D to a student due to formatting mistakes are not so rare. So even if you manage to write a meaningful and comprehensive, it is highly recommended to have an extra eye on your piece to perfect its formatting. And our academic experts are ready for the challenge. They do know all the specs of academic formatting and will detect/ fix any formatting mistakes within a couple of minutes. Let’s perfect your writing together!

There are no hard grammar rules for using italics; they are a matter of a style. Technically, you can use any formatting you wish, but adhering to a particular citation format helps you to ensure that readers understand what you intended to “say.” To prevent confusion, we have developed the formatting and punctuation guidelines for different types of works so that you could ensure the clarity of your writing.

By the way, if you are working on a scientific paper, this detailed writing guide will become your source of inspiration and will make the process easier.

Yes and no. It all depends on a title type and the work it addresses. For example, books are considered complete bodies of work; therefore, book titles should be italicized. Keep in mind that italics are only used when the book title is surrounded by other text in your paper. Thus, by using italics, you make the title stand apart from the other text so that the reader could easily notice it.

At this point, it is important to differentiate between the titles of poems, short stories, newspaper articles, and episodes (for television shows). Use quotation marks for titles of these shorter pieces, with no italics being applied to the text.

There are some other types of titles that you should italicize instead of underlining in your writing:

• Titles of journals and magazines - Georgia Review, New York Times, U.S. News and World Report, Crazyhorse ;
• Title of plays - Long Day's Journey Into Night, Waiting for Godot, Death of a Salesman, Long Day's Journey Into Night ;
• Titles of long musical pieces - Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana ; Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard's Castle ; Schubert’s String Quintet ; Mozart’s Requiem ; Beethoven’s Symphony No.. .;
• Titles of movies - Slingblade, Shine, The Invisible Man ;
• Titles of radio programs and TV shows - Dateline, Seinfeld, Fresh Air, Car Talk ;
• Titles of artworks - Mona Lisa, The Starry Night, The Kiss, The Last Supper ;
• Titles of long poems - Longfellow's Evangeline, Milton's Paradise Lost, Whitman's Leaves of Grass .

As an exception from the rule, we do not italicize the titles of long sacred works, such as the Koran and the Bible. Titles of sacred book chapters (Genesis, Revelation, 1 Corinthians) are not italicized either. The same rules apply to formatting of a bibliography page of your academic paper.

When writing names of vessels, aircraft, and ships in the text of your work, make sure they are italicized. Thus, every time you need to write Titanic or Apollo 11 , use italics for these and make sure they stand out from the text around.

Another use case of italics is to emphasize a single word or phrase in your writing. For example, “I don’t really care what she thinks!” Thus, by making use of this typographical technique, you make sure the one places the right accents when reading your essay.

Just like the commas , italics play a strategically important role when it comes to referring to words as nouns or objects. Thus, by utilizing some phrases, you can logically offset them from the rest of the sentence so that a reader could focus on meaningful content. For example, “The word worried has a different connotation than the word stressed .”

Foreign words that haven’t been adopted by English should be italicized. So every time you use a French word in your paper, apply italics to it. For example: “She doesn’t know how to respond when someone says bonjour .” Commonly used foreign words, like alma mater , don’t necessarily need italics in a sentence. However, it won’t be a mistake if you emphasize them in the text.

It is sometimes difficult to understand what formatting should be applied to different parts of your paper. And it sucks! The wrong use of italics can lead to misunderstanding or poor-message delivery to your reader. No matter if you are working on an academic essay or a journal publication, it is critically important to ensure that all the necessary accents are in the right places and no italics use cases are missed out. We can become your strictest editors and do all the fixes for you.

Question whether to use italics or not? The exact rules for using italics depend on the specific style guide you’re using. If you’re not adhering to a specific style guide, the above guidelines are a safe bet. The most important rule is to be consistent within your work not to confuse the reader.

Using Italics To Add Emphasis To Your Writing

If you’re thinking of using italics to emphasize words, keep in mind that the type of writing you do—and what style guide you follow—will determine how you use italics.

Italics are typically used to show emphasis (For example: “I don’t care what he thinks. I do what I want!”) or to indicate titles of stand-alone works ( Black Panther , Lost in Translation ).

Different style guides have different rules about what to italicize. But here are some good general guidelines—the most important thing is to stay consistent within your work.

How do I 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. In academic writing, using italics for emphasis is not recommended. But if you’re writing that Great American Novel or funny emails to your friends, go right ahead!

When you’re referring to words as nouns or objects, you should also use italics to help offset it from the rest of the sentence. For example: “The word anxious has a different connotation than the word worried .” (If you’re a dictionary, ahem, this is an important distinction.)

What about italics for titles of works?

Italics are important when writing titles of works. In most cases, you should italicize the titles of complete works, like books: The Great Gatsby , Beloved , and The Catcher in the Rye . You would also italicize the names of feature-length films, like  Rocky , Schindler’s List , and Frozen . Music albums, TV shows, and names of newspapers and magazines should also be italicized because they’re singular works.

On the other hand, shorter works (like short stories, poems, individual songs, short films, and individual TV episodes) usually use quotation marks. This shows that they’re parts of larger works. If you can’t remember whether to use italics or quotation marks , try asking yourself if you’d be able to buy the title at the store by itself. If not, then it should probably get quotation marks. For example, you could say: The first essay in David Sedaris’s bestselling book Me Talk Pretty One Day is called “Go Carolina.”

As always, there are some exceptions. Complete religious works aren’t italicized or underlined. For example, the Bible, the Qur’an, and the Torah are all capitalized, but not otherwise signified. In addition, specific books within the religious works (like the Book of Genesis) don’t receive italics, underlining, or quotation marks.

When a punctuation mark is part of the work’s title, you should italicize it. One example is Judy Blume’s book Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret . If a punctuation mark after the title isn’t part of the title, it shouldn’t be italicized. For example: “Have you ever read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy ?” Here, the question mark isn’t italicized because it’s not part of the book’s title. (And we hope the answer is yes!)

How do I italicize ships and aircraft?

The proper names of ships, vessels, and aircraft should be italicized. For example, the Titanic , Apollo 11 , and the U.S.S. Hornet are all italicized. Notice that “U.S.S.” isn’t italicized, because it isn’t part of the proper name.

Are foreign words italicized?

Foreign words that haven’t fully been adopted by English tend to be italicized. For example: “Lee waved goodbye to his halmeoni from the bus window.” Foreign words that are commonly used in English, like bon voyage or alma mater , don’t automatically need italics in a sentence. For example, “She wished him bon voyage when she dropped him off at the airport.”

What about sounds?

Onomatopoeic words (or words that sound like sounds) are usually italicized, as well. For example, “The book landed on the floor with a hearty thwack! ” In this case, if an exclamation point is used, it should also be italicized.

The exact rules for using italics depend on the specific style guide you’re using. If you’re not following a style guide, these guidelines are a safe bet. Remember, the most important rule is to be consistent.

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Learn how and when to use Italics to draw attention to a particular part of a text

A slanting font style called italics is used when writers wish to emphasize, or give special significance to, a word or words. When writers prepare a document on a word processor, italic type is used to distinguish titles, words used as  words , and foreign words from  hyperlinks , which are usually underlined.

In digital documents, italicized words appear in place of words that would be underlined in handwritten or typed papers. As with any alteration to the appearance of text, italics should be used properly and sparingly. One should not use quotation marks or other punctuation marks to distinguish words when italics are appropriate.

What should italics be used for?

• word(s) meant to receive more attention than the surrounding words
• word(s) being given special significance
• movies, radio and television broadcasts
• DVDs, CDs, video games, audio and videocassettes, record albums
• non-English words appearing in English sentences
• scientific names in Latin
• individual letters standing alone
• numbers used as terms
• aircraft, spacecraft, watercraft names
• ship and train names
• books, journals, newspapers, magazines
• plays, book-length poems, pamphlets, comic strips
• words being defined
• words used to refer to themselves
• opera, dance performance, long musical composition names
• painting, drawing, sculpture names
• Internet site names
• online database names

Avoid misuse of italics

• Do not use italics to enclose titles and names of short works, such as chapters, articles, manuscripts, essays, short stories and poems, songs, speeches, and Web pages; use quotation marks instead.
• Do not use italics for foreign words that have been anglicized.
• Do not use italics for the names of major religious works or their subsections.
• Do not overuse italics—if used too often or used inappropriately, italic type will lose its effect.

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Writing academically: Italics

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“Quote” Author, Book

Italics are used in the following circumstances in academic work:

Titles of things that can stand alone , such as books, journals, films, long poems, TV and radio programmes, famous speeches and artwork. Long, generic religious texts such as the Bible or the Koran (and any books within them) are not italicised unless you are referring to a specific published edition (such as in an in-text citation or reference).

In his influential 1852 discourses The Idea of University , John Henry Newton wrote that... Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech are examples of...

Titles of short poems or short stories are put in quotation marks. The larger collection they belong to is italicised:

"The Song of Myself" appears in Walt Whitman's poetry collection Leaves of Grass .

Names of vehicles and ships

Scientific and technical terms

Foreign words or phrases

Foreign words or phrases should be italicised (e.g.  ad valorem ) unless they are in  common use  in the English language (déjà vu, et al.).

Although emphasis should be used with restraint in academic writing, you add it by using italicised text*:

In academic literature, you will also see italics used to emphasize newly coined words/phrases or existing words/phrases that are being used in specific and new ways.

However, other times you will see these emphasized using inverted commas. In your own writing you can use either, but whichever you choose, use it consistently *.

*If your writing may end up being digitised and published online, accessibility guidelines suggest italics should not be used for emphasis - use bold instead if this is the case.

Words as words

In much the same way as general emphasis, if you are drawing attention to a specific word you can put it in italics:

Although this can also be achieved with inverted commas:

Again, consistent use is required**.

Italicising text that is already in italics

This occasionally happens, for example a book title may contain a word that is already in italics. When this happens the italicisation is reversed. This is also true within your reference list:

Original book title: The Story of Homo sapiens (from Ape to Modern Man).

Your text: The Story of Homo sapiens (from Ape to Modern Man) .

** Some departments may have more specific guidance so please check with them.

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Italics and Quotes for Titles: A Guide

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We’ve all been there. We’re writing along, solidly in the groove, when the Formatting Wall appears around a seemingly safe corner. Abruptly halting, you wonder: How the heck am I supposed to format this title?

Titles come in many shapes and sizes, but they all have rules for formatting that you master with just a little work. Italics, quotes, even plain text: they all apply in certain situations. How do you know which is which?

Use italics to set apart the title of a standalone work or a “container work”—that is, a work that has other, smaller works within it. Examples of titles that should be italicized include:

• Academic journals
• Music albums
• Large musical compositions such as symphonies and operas
• Anthologies of poems
• Art exhibitions

For example:

My brother insists that Fists of Fury is the best movie ever made.

Have you read the latest issue of Scottish Archaeology Journal ? It’s riveting!

I know it’s not a popular opinion, but I think La Boheme, by Giacomo Puccini, is an overrated opera.

I can’t believe the TV show Supernatural is in its fourteenth season.

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Use quotation marks to set apart the title of a subsidiary work or a work that is part of a bigger piece (one where the title of that bigger piece would be italicized). Examples of when to use quotes include:

• Book chapters
• Articles (published in a journal)
• Short stories
• Song titles
• TV episodes
• Works of art (including paintings, drawings, sculptures, and performance art)

Why do I have to read Hemingway’s “ A Clean, Well-Lighted Place ” in every English class?

I can’t get the tune to “Amazing Grace” out of my head.

Every time I think of William Carlos Williams, I get irritated. “ This Is Just to Say ” is a beautiful poem, but it reminds me of my terrible roommate.

And so you can easily demonstrate which is the work “inside” the other work with proper punctuation:

My favorite episode of Doctor Who is “Blink,” without a doubt.

I love everything by the Beatles, but I think “I Should Have Known Better” from A Hard Day’s Night is an underrated classic.

Modern Construction Envelopes is a very useful reference in general, but chapter 12, “Fabric Roofs,” is groundbreaking.

The highlight of the recent exhibition, Pin-Ups: Toulouse-Lautrec and the Art of Celebrity, had to be Steinlen’s “ Cabaret du Chat Noir .” It was fascinating to see in person what I’ve seen on a wall in every undergraduate dorm across the country.

There are, of course, exceptions. A few types of publications and creative works stand a little apart from the general categories of “standalone/wrapper work” and “subsidiary work.”

For example, dissertations are typically standalone documents, but their titles go in quotation marks.

The best dissertation ever written is “The False Optic: Poisoned Fictional Objects in Renaissance Revenge Tragedies.”

I’m always moved to tears by Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor , “From the New World .”

How to Remember

A relatively easy way to remember these rules involves whether a work is “big” or “little.” If it’s a grand, sweeping thing that might contain other bits within it, like a book or journal, then use italics. If it’s a smaller thing that might itself be contained within something else, like a newspaper article or work of art in an exhibition, then it goes in quotes.

Oh, and don’t forget to capitalize those titles correctly , in addition to formatting them right.

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• Writing Tips

Titles in Essays (Italics or Quote Marks?)

• 4-minute read
• 26th February 2018

Formatting your own essay title is easy (just bung a Heading style on it). Unfortunately, the rules about formatting the titles of existing published works (e.g. a textbook or an article from a journal) are more complicated. Usually, though, it comes down to one question: italics or quote marks?

But most students will need to name a book, journal or website in an essay at some point, so it’s important to know how this works. To help you out, we’ve prepared this guide on when to use italics and when to use quote marks for titles.

When to Use Italics

Titles of longer works are usually italicised. A ‘longer work’ in this case is something presented as a standalone publication. Charles Dickens’ famous novel, for example, would be written as Great Expectations if it were named in an essay.

Other examples of longer works that should be italicised include:

• Books and book-length poems (e.g. ‘An analysis of The Wasteland shows…’)
• Journals, newspapers and magazines (e.g. ‘According to The Guardian …’)
• Websites and blogs (e.g. ‘The project was funded via Unbound …’)
• Films (e.g. ‘ Jaws broke several box-office records…’)
• TV series (e.g. ‘Many fans of The X-Files claim…’)
• Plays and other stage shows (e.g. ‘This production of Swan Lake is…’)
• Paintings and works of art (e.g. ‘The Mona Lisa is currently housed…’)
• Music albums (e.g. ‘The album Sticky Fingers was released in…’)

The key factor is that all of these are standalone products, not part of a greater whole. The main exceptions to this rule are holy texts, such as the Bible, which are not typically italicised.

Italics are also used for the names of particular vehicles in some cases, especially ships and spacecraft. For example, we might write about the space shuttle Enterprise or the HMS Beagle (note that the ‘HMS’ is not italicised, since this is an abbreviation).

When to Use Quote Marks

Quote marks , meanwhile, are usually saved for shorter works. These are often part of a larger publication, such as an article in a newspaper or a chapter in an edited book. For example, if we were to name a book and a chapter in one place we’d write:

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Hugh Wilder’s ‘Interpretive Cognitive Ethology’ was first published in Readings in Animal Cognition , edited by Marc Bekoff and Dale Jamieson.

As indicated by the italics, the book here is called Readings in Animal Cognition . ‘Interpretive Cognitive Ethology’, meanwhile, is an essay from the book, so we use quote marks for this title.

Cases where quotation marks are used for titles include:

• Chapters from books
• Articles in newspapers, magazines and journals
• Particular pages or articles from a website
• Individual poems and short stories
• Episodes from a TV show

It is also common to use quote marks for unpublished writing regardless of length. For example, if you were referring to an unfinished manuscript or a PhD dissertation, you would put the title in quote marks; but if these same documents were published, you would use italics.

Look Out for Exceptions!

The guidelines above will apply in most cases, but there are exceptions. The APA style guide, for example, recommends italicising book titles in the main text of an essay, but not in the reference list. As such, it is wise to check your style guide to see if it has specific advice on formatting titles.

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Italics and Quotation Marks

Q. If direct internal dialogue is set in italics, should the comma before the dialogue tag be set in italics or roman? CMOS 6.2 is very fuzzy on this. For example: “I lied, he thought, but maybe she will forgive me.” Imagine that the dialogue itself is set in italics. Should the first comma be italicized?

A. Good question! The comma after “lied” would be required both with the speaker tag (“I lied, he thought”) and without (“I lied, but maybe . . .”), so it could be said to belong to both the dialogue and the narrative. But adding quotation marks (as if the dialogue were speech) will suggest an answer:

“I lied,” he thought, “but maybe she will forgive me.”

I lied, he thought, but maybe she will forgive me.

The comma and period that are inside the closing quotation marks in the first version are in italics in the second version, whereas the comma after thought stays in roman. The difference is minuscule (without the bold for italics, would anyone notice?), and our solution is arbitrary. But it’s easy enough to understand and apply, so maybe we’ll make it a rule someday.

Q. Are reverse italics [i.e., roman text in an otherwise italic context] used when a legal case includes names of newspapers that would normally be italicized on their own? Thank you!

A. The name of a newspaper or other periodical would be italicized in the name of a court case—just like the name of any other entity. The Bluebook , a widely used citation guide that we recommend for citing court cases and the like (see CMOS 14.269 ), includes a relevant example: Seattle Times v. Univ. of Wash. (see section B10.1.1 in the 21st ed. of The Bluebook [2020]).

That Bluebook example is intended to illustrate two principles: (1) an initial The in the name of a party to a cited case can be omitted (a rule that applies to both names in the Seattle Times case), and (2) abbreviations can be used for certain terms, including state names and words like “University.”

And though that example isn’t supposed to show the use of italics for case names (which in Bluebook usage depends on context), it does suggest that a newspaper name within the name of a court case doesn’t merit any special typographic treatment. That’s probably because the name “Seattle Times” is, in this context, that of a publishing company rather than a publication (publications don’t argue cases, but their publishers do).

Q. Hello, I’m wondering how to style the name of a television program that has been assimilated into the cultural lexicon so that references to it are not truly references to the show. In particular, an author said, “When I landed at the airport, it was as if I had entered the Twilight Zone.” (He makes many references to this.) I feel it should be capitalized but not italicized, but I can’t find anything to say one way or another. Can you help? Thanks!

A. In your example, you’re right—the reference isn’t to the television show; rather, it’s to the fictional realm made famous by the show. So we agree with your treatment. Had your example been worded instead as follows, italics (and a capital T for The ) would have been correct: “When I landed at the airport, it was as if I had arrived on the set of The Twilight Zone .”

Q. Would you italicize “x” in a phrase like “x number of dollars”? It seems like a variable, but I wasn’t sure if this casual use merited italics.

A. When an ordinary expression is borrowed from a specialized discipline like math, any basic convention that would be recognized by nonspecialists can often be retained, even in casual usage. For example, Chicago style is to italicize the n in “ n th degree” (see CMOS 9.6 ); by extension, we would write “ x number of dollars” (with the letter x in italics). As you suggest, these letters act like variables, which in math are usually italicized.

Another approach that’s common in published works is to use a capital X (normally without italics): “X number of dollars.” A capital X can stand in for anything that’s unknown or mysterious in some way—as in “X factor” or “X marks the spot”—and it’s arguably easier to read than a lowercase x . But either choice should work well as long as you’re consistent.

Q. Should sounds made by animals or objects be italicized when they aren’t part of dialogue (e.g., “quack,” “choo choo,” etc.)?

A. Though not required, such italics might have their place. Italics are common in fiction for unspoken discourse (as for a narrator’s thoughts). Such italics signal to readers that the words come from somewhere other than the narrative or dialogue. Consider also the convention used by many video captioners of italicizing words spoken off-screen. Meow. (Sorry, our editorial assistant must be hungry again.) If you do end up deciding that italics would work for you, try not to overuse them.

Q. Should the common name of a species from a non-English language be treated as a foreign word and italicized, or should it be left in roman type? I’m thinking of the bird known as a po‘ouli in Hawaii, which is elsewhere called the black-faced honeycreeper. Should po‘ouli be italicized?

A. Though it’s not listed in Merriam-Webster (as of July 5, 2022), the name po‘ouli seems to be relatively well established in recent English-language publications that discuss that bird ( sadly reported extinct in 2021 ); in fact, a Google search for “black-faced honeycreeper” brings up “po‘ouli” first, suggesting it’s more common now than the common English name. So you shouldn’t need italics to refer to a po‘ouli except when using the name as a word (as in the first sentence above and the last sentence in your question).

But if you were to refer to, for example, a Deutscher Schäferhund —the German name for a German shepherd—italics would help signal that the German name would not normally be used in an English-language context (except, for example, to let readers know what that name is).

In sum, sometimes it’s necessary to go beyond the dictionary as a rough gauge of a term’s familiarity in English contexts. For the glottal stop (or ‘okina ) in po‘ouli , see CMOS 11.70 (under “Hawaiian”). For advice on capitalizing dog breeds, see this Q&A .

Q. Robots are being named and even developing personalities, not just in fiction, but in the real world. Should their names be italicized—i.e., “I told Benjamin to wait at the coffee shop,” where Benjamin is a robot with artificial intelligence?

A. Italics for robot names could be fun in fiction; however, that doesn’t seem to be the convention either in fiction or in real life. (An exception is generally made for named spacecraft and the like, including the robotic Mars rover Perseverance ; see CMOS 8.116 .) Before you decide what to do, consider asking some robots to weigh in.

Q. Should the apostrophe in an italicized word in possessive plural form be italicized? Example: If I italicize the possessive form of the word pirates , would the apostrophe also be italicized?

A. That depends. If you’re referring to the plural possessive form of the word pirates as a word, then italicize the whole thing, including the apostrophe: pirates’ . But if you’re using italics for emphasis, leave the apostrophe in regular text. For example, “It was the pirates ’ ship, not mine, that sank.”

The difference, however, between ’ and ’ will go unnoticed by most readers—even those of us who scrutinize such things for a living—so let’s switch to the singular to confirm our choices. To refer to the possessive pirate’s as a word, you’d put the whole thing in italics (as it is styled in this sentence). But for emphasis—that is, to single out the pirate ’s ship as opposed to some other ship—italics are best reserved for pirate alone (as styled in this sentence, between the dashes). Even in the singular, this is an extremely fine distinction that will go unnoticed by many. But it recognizes that the possessive ending can be considered independently of the word to which it attaches, as “belonging to” would be in “the ship belonging to the pirate .” That final period, in case you’re wondering, isn’t in italics.

For italics for emphasis, see CMOS 7.50 ; for words used as words, see CMOS 7.63 .

Q. Hello CMOS ! A book I am copyediting contains a text message inside quotation marks (as in, My friend then texted me: “Have you read XYZ?”). The text message in question contains a book title. Would you set the book title in italics, or leave it in roman, as it presumably was in the original text message? Thanks for your help!

A. For the text message to be fully believable, it needs to feel like a text message. So leave the italics out. If you’re afraid of ambiguity, use the narrative to supply the missing context (“She was referring to the book by So-and-So”). But in ordinary fictional dialogue, apply the italics to help your readers; it’s understood that people don’t speak in edited text, so you don’t have to worry about authenticity. For some additional considerations, see “Formatting Text Messages in Fiction” at CMOS Shop Talk .

Q. Should the names of houses be italicized as you would the name of a boat? What about if someone names their car?

A. A house, no. A car, maybe. For example, you wouldn’t use italics to refer to the White House or Graceland or Big Pink (the names of houses located respectively in Washington, DC; Memphis, TN; and West Saugerties, NY). But that last name, unlike the first two, is not all that well known, so quotation marks might be helpful for the first mention:

Several of the album’s songs were composed at “Big Pink,” the house in West Saugerties. . . . Before returning to Big Pink . . .

In general, however, the rule is simple: the names of houses, like other place-names, are capitalized but not italicized.

On the other hand, if you name your Subaru or Ford something other than Forester or F-150 (see CMOS 8.117 ), you could pretend it’s a boat and use italics à la Enterprise , a name shared by various military vessels and a series of fictional Star Trek spaceships (see CMOS 8.116 ). But those are official. Your pet name for your car is unlikely to merit such treatment except jokingly:

Cecil , my prized Celica, is in the shop.

Sorry to hear about Cecil . May he feel better soon.

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When should I use italics in scientific writing?

I noticed that proper nouns, such as names of theorems or techniques are often set in italics in scientific writing but not always. Are there rules about it, for example each proper noun should be set in italic the first time it occurs?

A contrived example

There are many different methods for adding two numbers:

Very Simple Addition (VSA) works by calculating a+b .

Unnecessary Complicated Addition (UCA) works by calculating -(-a-b) .

VSA is the method used by everyone but the British who use UCA because of tradition along with their foot-inch based measurement system.

• technical-writing
• scientific-publishing

• Can you give an example? –  jschabs Commented Apr 17, 2014 at 18:57
• Do you mean in a journal? In textbooks, this is often done to indicate keywords or glossary entries. –  dmm Commented Apr 18, 2014 at 4:38
• Generally, the right approach is to ask which Formatting and Style Guide your scientific body uses, and then follow that guide. It provides the answer in minuscule details, much finer than you'd ever find here (and probably much finer than you'd have to your liking...) –  SF. Commented May 19, 2014 at 9:31

3 Answers 3

The Style Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2009, pp. 104-106) is very clear on the use of italics. Note especially the bold section (bold emphasis mine):

Use italics for titles of books, periodicals, films exception: italic words in the title (reverse italicization) genera, species, and varietes introduction of a new technical term (after a term has been used once, do not italicize it) a letter, word, or phrase cited as a linguistic example ("words such as big and little ") words that could be misread ("the small group", meaning a designation, not group size) letters used as statistical symbols or algebraic variables some test scores and scales periodical volume numbers in reference lists anchors of scale ("health ratings ranged from 1 ( poor ) to 5 ( excellent )") Do not use italics for foreign phrases and abbreviations common in English chemical terms trigonometric terms nonstatistial subscripts to statistical symbols or mathematical expressions Greek letters mere emphasis. (Italics are acceptable if emphasis might otherwise be lost; in general, however, use syntax to provide emphasis.) Incorrect: it is important to bear in mind that this process is not proposed as a stage theory of developments. letters used as abbreviations

I've been writing both in APA and MLA style, and I have never needed to emphasize words. Scientific discourse is encouraged to be neutral and self-constrained, and there are other, semantic, means to direct the reader's attention.

• 1 Correction: Scientific names for organisms (in the form: Genus species, or G. species) are italicized, regardless of their linguistic roots. Common names for organisms are not italicized. –  dmm Commented May 20, 2014 at 17:31
• what is the correct usage of the emboldened bullet? –  Ooker Commented Feb 1, 2015 at 10:05

Italics are a common way to emphasize words. As such, it's best to use italics sparingly. A text where every proper noun is italicized gets very annoying to read; it'd be like listening to a commercial. If you're writing for a specific publication, check their style guide.

Italics are used to emphasize words in general writing, but in technical writing you may have to use them for other forms of distinctive treatment. For that reason, I do not use italics (or bold) for emphasis. Generally, I use bold to highlight terms that I think the reader won't know. I only use italics when my style guide calls for them. I generally ignore Chicago, MLA, and so forth for rules regarding distinctive treatment, unless my own style guide doesn't say anything. Even then, I discuss the style rules I use with the other people on my team before I put them into force.

Remember that concise, clear, and consistent documentation is our goal. Correct style is subservient to that goal. Other technical writers may question your choice, but readers won't be conscious of it.

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How to Write Your Research Paper in APA Format

The American Psychological Association (APA) is an official style format that is used by researchers and authors for academic and scientific writing. It is basically a standardized style guide used in psychology, education, and social science. It provides a framework for structuring research papers, presenting findings in a clear and concise manner and for accurately cite sources. The other commonly used style guides are the MLA and the Chicago style formats.  

How to write your research paper in APA format    

In the APA style, you need to adhere to specific formats and guidelines throughout the research paper. Some of these are explained below:  

The APA format allows different types of fonts. Some of the recommended ones include 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, 11-point Calibri and 11-point Arial. The chosen font should be consistently used throughout the document. Figure images have to be in sans serif font with size between 8 and 14 points. Footnotes should be smaller than the text font and the line spacing will also be different.  

APA style provides for five levels of headings, each having its own format. Level 1 is the main heading, level 2 corresponds to the sub-heading of level 1, level 3 corresponds to the sub-heading of level 2 and so on. The headings should be double spaced and should not be numbered or lettered.  

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Line spacing:

Generally, the APA format recommends double spacing throughout the text with few exceptions.  

A one inch margin is to be provided on each side of the paper. For dissertations and thesis, experts’ advice considering specific instructions provided by your institution.  

Paragraph alignment and indentation:

Text should be aligned to the left margin leaving the right margin uneven or “ragged”. The first line of each paragraph in the text should be indented 0.5 inches from the left margin.  

Under the APA format , there are also certain guidelines to be followed while preparing different sections of the research paper. These include –   

• Title page: All manuscripts must have a title page. The title should be concise, and must accurately reflect the contents of the paper. The author’s name and institutional affiliation should be centred, and positioned just below the title.  
• Abstract: A key part of academic manuscripts, an abstract must provide a brief summary of the research paper, including the purpose, methodology, results, and conclusions. It should be written within 250 words and should be the second page of your paper. The heading needs to be given as “Abstract” which is centred and bold. The text of the abstract should be written in a single paragraph, double spaced and must not be indented. Three to five keywords can be given one line below the abstract. These should not be italicized or bold but must be written in lower case. They should be separated by commas and there should not be any ending punctuation at the end of the keywords.  
• Introduction: The introduction is an essential part of scientific manuscripts and should be presented in an interesting and engaging manner. It should be able to convey clearly a critical overview of existing empirical knowledge and highlight knowledge gaps in the topic of study. Additionally, the aim of the research, a well formulated hypothesis, and a description of what you intend to address in the study must be clearly mentioned.  
• Methods: This is another critical part of an academic paper that requires researchers to describe the methods and procedures that were used during the study or experiment. Providing a detailed description contributes to ensuring the reproducibility and replicability of the study. The methods section should explain the research design that was adopted, details of the participants of the study, the equipment or materials used and the variables of the study.  
• Results: Here, researchers have to provide a brief summary of the results of their study. It is important that data is presented in a tabular format or in the form of graphs and figures to make it more interesting and to be easily understood by the reader. It is important to keep in mind that a clear narrative must accompany the statistics provided.  
• Discussion: Researchers must use the discussion section to provide their interpretation of the results of their research and explain its significance. Subsequently, it is in this section that they must present whether or not their results support their hypothesis.  
• References: Each and every source mentioned in a research paper must be referenced and accurately cited in this section.  

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References and citations in APA format  

In the APA format, the author-date citation system is followed. Here, a brief in-text citation is provided in the text of your paper of a research paper. It can even appear in tables, figures, footnotes or appendix. Only the author and date of publication is provided here. The readers can refer to the corresponding entry in the reference list where the full citation is provided.   

While writing in-text citations, it is important to ensure that spelling of author names and publication dates are same in the in-text and reference list. The reference provides an alphabetical listing. Following are some examples of citations in APA format for different sources.  

• Books : The author surname with first and middle initials is written first. Only the title of the book is italicized. For eg: Author Surname, A.B. (Publication Year). Title of the book . Publisher.  
• Journal article: Author surname, A.B. (Publication Year). Article Title: Subtitle. Journal title, Volume (issue), page range. URL or DOI.  
• Newspaper or magazine article : Surname. (Date of Publication). Title of the article. Title of the Newspaper or Magazine . URL.  

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