ACT English: Know When to Use Italics or Underlining for Titles and Emphasis

Italics or underlining is used for: Titles of long works (books, movies, plays, journals): "The Great Gatsby" or The Great Gatsby. Foreign words: "The café served croissants." Emphasis on particular words: "This is absolutely crucial." Ship names: "The USS Enterprise." Do not italicize or underline: Titles of short works (articles, poems, short stories)—use quotation marks instead: "The Road Not Taken." Titles of sacred texts: Bible, Quran (not italicized). Common abbreviations: Mr., Dr. (not italicized). Knowing these distinctions ensures you format titles and special words correctly on ACT English.

Example: "I read 'The Raven' [short poem, quotation marks] in my American Literature class, which used 'The Norton Anthology of American Literature' [title of collection, italics or underlining depending on length and formality]." Notice different formatting for short vs. long works.

Trap 1: Italicizing short works that should use quotation marks. A short story, poem, or article should be in quotation marks, not italics. Only long works (books, plays, films, journals) use italics. Trap 2: Inconsistent formatting of the same title. If you italicize "The Great Gatsby" once, italicize it every time. Inconsistency looks careless and suggests you don't understand formatting conventions. Ask: Is this a long work (italics) or short work (quotation marks)? Is it a common abbreviation or foreign word needing italics? Decide once and apply consistently throughout.

When you see a title or special word, pause and ask: What type is this? What formatting rule applies? This 5-second check prevents formatting errors.

Example 1: "I love the poem The Road Not Taken." Correct? No. "The Road Not Taken" is a short poem; it should be in quotation marks: 'The Road Not Taken.' Example 2: "She read The New York Times every morning." Correct? The New York Times is a journal/newspaper; it should be italicized: She read The New York Times every morning. Example 3: "The author used the French word café in her novel Madame Bovary." Correct? "café" (foreign word) needs italics: She used the word café; "Madame Bovary" (long work) needs italics. Example 4: "I watched Avatar last night." Correct? Avatar is a film; it should be italicized: I watched Avatar. Example 5: "The ship sailed on the USS Titanic." Correct? Ship names need italics: The USS Titanic. Notice the difference in formatting based on what's being titled or emphasized.

Do this drill daily for one week and formatting conventions will become automatic. By test day, you'll apply italics and quotation marks correctly without hesitation.

Formatting questions appear regularly on ACT English and test whether you understand publishing conventions. Once you master the distinction between italics for long works and quotation marks for short works, you'll format titles correctly and never lose points to formatting confusion.

This week, memorize the key formatting rules and practice applying them. By test day, you'll format titles and special words with confidence and consistency.