Writing Tip

Don't Underline Text

Difficulty Level: Basic

Recommendation: Don't underline text. Use italics.

Underlining was never intended to show up in the final product. Underlining is a notation device to notify the typographer to italicize a word, but in modernity, you are the typographer in Microsoft Word. So when you get the urge to emphasize or set off a word or phrase, use italics or bold instead. However, using both bold and italics together is reserved for heads, so doing so in the running text is overkill. Typically, you want to emphasize in italics. Note that bold words and phrases could be reserved in running text for special indication, such as “this term is included in the glossary” or “list of abbreviations.”

Exceptions

Links are generally indicated by both blue color and underlining, but even here there is a school of thought that underlining is passé. Also, when quoting material that is underlined, you may feel the need to preserve the original. However, generally, the quoted words should be verbatim, but you own the mechanics (how the letters are treated). So converting the original underlined text to italic text is perfectly acceptable.

Summary: Why Not Underline?

• It’s ugly.
• It looks cheap.
• Style guides recommend using italics instead of the “underscore.”
• It interferes with the descenders of letters and punctuation, specifically g, j, p, q, y, the comma, the semicolon, the @ symbol, and the pipe (|). See the image below for clarification.