What do Bold & Italics Mean in Written English?

One of the challenges with mastering English is that spoken English is very different from written English.

In spoken English, important words are spoken LOUDER and slower.

In writing, the writer is limited in this area. How does a writer communicate to the reader which words he thinks are the most important?

In formal writing, the writer can choose a word with a stronger meaning.

In informal writing, when the writer wants to emphasize (or focus on) a word, they will sometimes put the word in bold print, or italics.

If you are reading aloud, and you see a word in bold or italics, you should make your voice a little louder, and stretch the vowel sound in the stressed syllable.

See example:   And I am not super fit.

In this example, the writer wanted to emphasis the contrast between her fitness and her husband’s fitness, so she wrote not in bold letters. Read it louder and slower for emphasis.

Writing two similar sentences together, and then adding not (in bold, for emphasis) adds humour to the story:

e.g.,  My husband is super fit. And I am not super fit.

 

Imagine your world with English!