5.21.C*

Punctuating Titles -- Italics and Underlining

Titles and names of major works are italicized when typed and underlined when handwritten.


Major Works that are Italicized or Underlined
books
magazines
newspapers
movies (films, motion pictures)
television and radio shows
plays and musicals
music albums
websites
video games

Smaller works are put in quotation marks instead. These works include:

short stories
songs
essays
poems
newspaper articles
magazine articles
book chapters
episodes of television or radio shows

Example:

handwritten sentence with poem in quotation marks and book underlined

Italics and Underlining for Emphasis

Both italics and underlining are also used to add emphasis, or strength, to particular words and phrases in a sentence.

Example:

He didn't drink the lemonade. He drank the iced tea.

Example:

Can you believe Laura ate four pieces of pizza?

Example:

We are the guardians of our own rights. We must remain ever vigilant!

Example:

I'm sorry. If I had known it was you at the door, I would have opened it right away.

Things to Remember

Italics and underlining should be used sparingly in writing. Too much underlining and italics can get very confusing for readers.

While both italics and underlining are acceptable in typed text, italics are more commonly used. Underlining is used in handwritten texts.

Italics are also used in typed text to indicate the exact thoughts of a character in a story.

Example:

Be careful when reading and writing to be clear about whether the italics are punctuating a title, showing a character's exact thoughts, or emphasizing something in the text.

Mechanics

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS): 5.21.C*

use proper mechanics including italics and underlining for titles and emphasis.

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