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ACER Press author guidelines

Italics

Italics are sloping letters used in contrast to standard ‘roman’ type. Use these for:

  • book and journal titles
  • full titles of acts and legal cases
  • blogs
  • film, television and radio titles
  • plays
  • artworks
  • words and phrases in other languages
  • formulas and mathematical theorems
  • some scientific names (genus, species, infectious organisms).

Italics can also be used sparingly to show that certain text has special meaning (for example, the first instance of a technical term). Excessive use of italics affects readability, so single quote marks may be better for showing emphasis.