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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.
- Abbreviations
Most abbreviations must be defined in an APA Style paper...
- Navigating The Not-So-Hidden Treasures of The APA Style Website
report and gray literature references (e.g., reports by...
- Abbreviations
30 gru 2022 · Italics should not be used for the titles of short works, such as poems, articles, short stories, or song names—all of which use quotation marks instead. The names of geographic locations and religious texts use neither italics nor quotes, but they’re still capitalized.
21 maj 2019 · Some source titles (e.g., the title of a journal article) should be presented in quotation marks in your text. Others are italicized instead (or occasionally written in plain text). The rules for how to format different source titles are largely the same across citation styles, though some details differ.
Italics are used to draw attention to key terms and phrases when providing definitions and to format parts of reference list entries. Quotation marks are used to present linguistic examples and titles of book chapters and articles in the text.
4 gru 2023 · The urge to use italics for quotations and emphasis is strong. But apply them carefully. Different journals and publications have slightly different rules, but the general consensus is that they aren’t always needed. Humanities journals have slightly more flexible rules.
This page addresses how to use quotation marks in cases other than with direct quotations. Additional cases and examples are provided in the Publication Manual; users’ most common questions are addressed here.
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.
