Contrasting fonts within a typeface can be used to set particular words, phrases and titles apart in running text; distinguish headings from running text; and create clear hierarchies of information.

Bold

Use of bold is best restricted to headings and captions. Bold may also be used to mark the headwords listed in a dictionary. Use italics rather than bold to emphasise words in the text.

Word processing tip. To apply bold or italics in a word processing program (e.g. Microsoft Word), it is a good idea to use a character style, rather than clicking on icons or using keyboard shortcuts.

Underlining

Underlined text commonly denotes URLs and hyperlinks, and is best restricted to this function. Do not use underlining to emphasise words in text. Instead, if emphasis is required, use italics.

Italics

Italic font is used in many contexts to distinguish names and other expressions from the running text. Italics may go with maximal or minimal capitalisation. Italics are used in:

The researchers’ recent article in the Australian Medical Journal explained how …

Jones AB & Smith L (2016). Historical use of different fonts. Journal of Typography 13:27–39.

Low T (1989). Wild food plants of Australia, HarperCollins, Sydney.

Albert Facey, in A fortunate life, described his experiences during the Gallipoli campaign.

  • titles of plays, poems, musical compositions, films, television and radio programs, and works of art (see also Presenting titles and References)
A midsummer night’s dream     The rime of the ancient mariner     Dvorak’s New World Symphony     Bridget Jones’s diary     Four corners on the ABC     Background briefing     Monet’s Woman with a parasol
  • names of specific ships, aircraft and other vehicles (but not the names of types of vehicles)
HMS Endeavour     Air Force One   but   Boeing 777
  • Acts of Parliament and Ordinances (see also Legislation)
Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994     Norfolk Island Customs Ordinance 2016
  • scientific names of genera, species and subspecies of animals, plants and microorganisms (see also Names of organisms)
Mus musculus     Eucalyptus gracilis

  • less common foreign words and phrases

    pro bono publico [for the public good]

    plat du jour [dish of the day]

    but not foreign phrases that have an established place in English; those listed in Australian dictionaries are printed in roman, but with their foreign accents (if any)

ad hoc     al dente     et al     fait accompli     per se     wanderlust     résumé
  • words, or elements of words, that are being cited
When the suffix -ing is added to the word trace, the e is dropped.

a + b = c – d

n = 8

P < 0.01

  • words that deserve particular emphasis in the text, or are being introduced and defined for the first time (another option is to use single quotation marks instead of italics)

It will be extremely difficult to finish the report today.

One of the categories used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is very remote.

If the italics are added by the writer to emphasise a point in cited material, this should be indicated in brackets:

The politician said that she would not back down, even if the other side offered a compromise (emphasis added).

Punctuation marks that occur next to words in italics or bold should also be in italics or bold if the punctuation mark belongs to those words. If the punctuation relates to the surrounding text, it should be set without italics or bold:

He loved the science fiction novel Do androids dream of electric sheep?

Be careful: it is easy to make a mistake.

Shakespeare’s first play was probably The taming of the shrew; his last was The two noble kinsmen.

What is the meaning of the word cacophany?   

The same principle applies to quote marks and parentheses that occur before and after italic or bolded text:

In a loud voice, he greeted us as ‘Comrades’, to our great embarrassment.

My favourite TV serial (Downton Abbey) is now being made into a movie.

The mouse (Mus musculus) is often used as a model species in the laboratory.

If a word or phrase that would normally be in italics (e.g. a Latin species name) occurs as part of text that is set in italics, the font styles are reversed:

A useful reference book is Classification of Grevillea species.

… the report Status of red-legged banana prawn (Penaeus indicus) in the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf

Font contrasts such as italics and bold are not always available in online text entry systems. In this situation, the best way of drawing attention to particular words and phrases is to use paired single quotation marks. Full capitalisation without bold can be used for headings:

The term ‘editorial style’ refers to guidelines …

EDITORIAL STYLE   [heading]