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Italic Text in LaTeX: Bold, Italics, and Underlining

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Italic Text in LaTeX: Bold, Italics, and Underlining

Text Formatting in LaTeX

LaTeX provides robust text formatting options. Here's how to use italics, bold, and other emphasis effectively.

Italic Text

Basic Italics

Difference Between \textit and \emph

\emph is semantic—it means "emphasize this." In normal text, emphasis is italic. But inside italic text, \emph switches to upright:

Math Mode Italics

In math mode, letters are already italic:

For upright text in math:

Bold Text

Basic Bold

Bold in Math Mode

Underlining

Basic Underline

Note: Underlining is generally discouraged in typesetting. Use italics or bold instead.

Better Underlining with ulem Package

Combining Styles

You can nest formatting commands:

Other Text Styles

Small Caps

Typewriter/Monospace

Sans-Serif

Slanted (different from italic)

Font Sizes

Common Formatting Patterns

Book Titles (italics)

Technical Terms (italics on first use)

Strong Emphasis (bold)

Code and Commands (monospace)

Octree Formatting Features

Octree's AI helps with text formatting:

  • Smart emphasis suggestions

  • Converts markdown formatting to LaTeX

  • Maintains consistent style throughout

  • Previews formatted text instantly

Try it at https://useoctree.com