Having edited other people’s work as much as I’ve written my own, there are a few things I notice that continually cause writers (including myself!) to stumble. One of the more consistent is knowing when to use italics, when to use quotation marks, and when to capitalize. A full discussion on this topic would prove much too cumbersome for one blog post, so I’d like to tackle only a few areas where I see confusion regarding which of these formats to use.
1. When writing words or letters as words: This phrase alone is confusing! Words as words or letters as words means when when a word is being defined or when the word or letter is being used as the term itself, such as: “The word presumptuous means ‘taking liberties.'” Or, the letter q is always followed by a u.” In these instances, the word that is being used as the term itself–here “presumptuous” and “q” and “u,” is italicized. When a word is defined, the definition, such as “taking liberties,” is placed in quotation marks.
There are some exceptions–of course!–such as when letters are used in indicate scholastic grades, in which case they will be capitalized and not italicized; and when letters are used as shapes, as in “a T in the road.” Again, these letters will be capitalized and not italicized.
2. Foreign words and terms: When you use a foreign word that your readers will probably not know, the rule is to italicize it. If, however, your phrase becomes more like a sentence (or more) instead of just a few words, skip the italics and put the sentence(s) in quotation marks instead. If you’re using a foreign word or phrase that is common or familiar, neither italicize or put in quotation marks. How do you know if a foreign word is common? If it appears in the dictionary, then it’s considered common. One other rule with foreign terms is that if the term is not in the dictionary and you use the same term several times, you need only italicize it the first time it’s used.
3. Trademarked or branded names: I’ve seen trademarks and brand names written in quotes and/or italicized in some manuscripts that I’ve edited. Neither is correct. Both are simply written with a capital letter. If you’re unsure if a name is trademarked or what the correct trademark is, you can check the International Trademark Association website to verify. Note, too, that trademarks do not need to have the TM symbol written next to them within a manuscript.
4. Titles of works: Of all the various phrases, words, and terms that could be italicized, put into quotation marks, or capitalized, I think none create more confusion than titles of works. Let’s look at just a few different kinds and how to treat them:
• Books, magazines, and newspapers–These titles are always italicized and written in headline style of capitalization. Book forms include booklets and e-books. With magazines and newspapers, be careful to check what constitutes the actual title. In the Washington Post, the is not part of the title and would not be italicized or capitalized. This rule applies to online forms of the media as well.
• Articles and chapters–A single article that appears in a magazine or newspaper or a chapter from a book is put into quotation marks and set in headline form, but never italicized.
• Plays, movies, and television shows–All of these titles are italicized and set in the headline form of capitalization, but…a single episode in a television show is not italicized but put in quotation marks.
• Musical works–These are very similar to movies and TV, where an album title is italicized, but a single work off of an album is put in quotation marks.
• Websites–Website titles are not italicized or put in quotation marks but are written in headline form.
If you are preparing a manuscript for publication, it’s often helpful if you can ask the publisher for a house style guide so you can be certain how they treat various terms. If this is not possible, a general rule is to follow the Associated Press’s style guide for magazine articles and the Chicago Manual of Style for writing books.
I hope this cleared up some confusion and did not create more! These are little things that you may not think make much of a difference, but paying attention to such details will give your work a more professional appearance.
April 8, 2014 at 5:57 pm
Reblogged this on Footsteps At Heart and commented:
Something useful to keep at hand
October 1, 2013 at 11:51 pm
Wow this really helps!!!!
May 29, 2013 at 6:39 am
Hello,
Would you use italic font for foreign currencies? I’m getting conflicting info. Thanks,
James
May 30, 2013 at 12:00 am
Hi James. Thanks for your comment. You’ve probably seen conflicting info because writers have used both italics and Roman font when it comes to currency. According to Chicago Manual of Style, the currency should be written in Roman font. Italics are used for foreign terms when the terms are unfamiliar, and then, typically only on first usage. I have consulted other style guides as well, and those I did had no rule for writing currency with italics. Hope that clears up the mud a little!
May 30, 2013 at 12:07 am
Thank you for your answer. What you’re telling is what I’ve suspected. However, a few months ago I had a novel published about Korea and their currency is called won. Because it looks like an English word, we decided to go with the italic. So many trees in the forest of writing! Thank you again.
May 30, 2013 at 2:05 am
You made the right decision. I would have done the same thing. There are times when the rules go out the window for the sake of clarity!
May 2, 2013 at 10:38 pm
I really found some brand-new help and advice from this. I take joy in you finding the a lot of
time to put this info up. I once more find myself personally spending way too much time both reading and/or
commenting. Absolutely worth the time, regardless.
February 18, 2013 at 9:36 pm
Absolutely delighted and informed by your lesson on quotes and Italics, discovered via Google > “brand names italicized quotes” > awaywithwordswriting.wordpress: https://awaywithwordswriting.wordpress.com/2010/10/12/italics-quotation-marks-or-capitalization/
Thanks so v. much. Love grammar, proper English (& Sp., Fr.); you are contributing in an important way to The Thing. Muchimas gracias, reneegraywilburn !!
February 18, 2013 at 10:01 pm
Thank you. I’m glad you found it informative.
February 16, 2013 at 12:57 pm
Howdy! I could have sworn I’ve visited your blog before but after browsing through many of the posts I realized it’s
new to me. Regardless, I’m certainly delighted I found it and I’ll be bookmarking it
and checking back regularly!
February 17, 2013 at 11:53 pm
Thank you! Please be patient with me, as I have my hands in a lot of pots right now, and keeping the blogsite current can sometimes be a challenge. But I will update pages as much as possible!
April 29, 2012 at 5:34 am
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April 12, 2011 at 10:04 pm
I see that you mention brand names should not be italicized, but what if the brand is a foreign one, still not?
Thanks.
April 13, 2011 at 12:56 am
I consulted Chicago Manual of Style on this because I hadn’t personally come across the situation before. It does not have a specific mention for foreign brands, however, it does indicate leaving foreign proper nouns in Roman font when they are used within English text. Usually you would italicize foreign words on first usage or in the case of a transliteration. So, in answer to your question, I am not 100% sure, but if were me, I would not italicize.
April 13, 2011 at 2:30 am
Thanks for your response. I am writing about a trip to Spain and I have names of restaurants, parks, squares, hotels, beaches, palaces, shopping centers, etc. I think I don’t need to italicize any, but sometimes there are words that, on the other hand, are just common nouns (Palacio de Oriente).
The same dichotomy I encounter with things like: She was taking Object-Oriented Design Pattern. On one hand, it is just the name of a class; on the other hand, it is a set of technical keywords…
February 22, 2011 at 11:38 pm
Lynette, I have not heard that. By single inverted commas, I’m assuming that’s just single quotation marks? I have not heard anywhere to write dialogue differently than with normal quotation marks. Perhaps you can contact the author and get clarification–then let me know!!
February 22, 2011 at 9:49 pm
I read recently that when writing a novel one should use only single inverted commas for speech but I find this rather odd. Can you tell me if that is so?
Many thanks,
Lynette