Using Italics Sparingly for Emphasis
Using Italics Sparingly for Emphasis records the relevant Microsoft Style Guide convention while keeping it explicitly house-style scoped rather than presenting it as a universal grammar rule.
Use italics sparingly when emphasis is genuinely needed; do not turn italics into a routine decoration for ordinary prose.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
This is Microsoft house style and is separate from cases where italics have a defined function, such as introducing a new term.
Further guidance
Content
Use italics sparingly when emphasis is genuinely needed; do not turn italics into a routine decoration for ordinary prose.
Purpose
Preserve hierarchy and readability by reserving typographic emphasis for places where it adds real meaning.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Capitalization — Microsoft Style Guide (opens in a new tab)Microsoft · Microsoft technical-style guidance for sentence-style headings, acronym expansion capitalization and capitalization after colons