Means of emphasising a word

Asked by: Mrs. Fatima Hudson

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Still, especially for academic writing, italics or underlining is the preferred way to emphasize words or phrases when necessary. Writers usually choose one or the other method and use it consistently throughout an individual essay. In the final, published version of an article or book, italics are usually used.

How do you emphasize a word in a text message?

Here we have discussed 5 common ways to emphasize text:

What is an example of putting emphasis on a word?

The definition of emphasis is special attention put on something to give it importance. An example of emphasis is bolding the font of a particular word in a document to bring attention to it. An example of emphasis is a woman wearing a low cut shirt in order to bring attention to her cleavage.

What does it mean to emphasize words?

: to give special attention or importance to He emphasized the word «maybe.» More from Merriam-Webster on emphasize.

What punctuation do I use to emphasize a word?

Em dashes are used to indicate a pause or an emphasis. They often take the place of many other punctuation marks, such as colons, commas, or parentheses.

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Asked by: Priscilla Kovacek IV

Score: 5/5
(36 votes)

Emphasize Sentence Examples

Is emphasize on correct?

You can place emphasis on something, or you can emphasize it, but you can’t emphasize on it or stress on it, though you can place stress on it.

What is an example of emphasize?

The definition of emphasis is special attention put on something to give it importance. An example of emphasis is bolding the font of a particular word in a document to bring attention to it. An example of emphasis is a woman wearing a low cut shirt in order to bring attention to her cleavage.

Where do you put emphasis?

Use italics to add emphasis to a specific word or words in a direct quotation that were not originally emphasized by the author. Additionally, type the phrase emphasis added and enclose it in brackets directly after the emphasized words to indicate to the reader that the emphasis is not present in the original text.

What are emphasis used for?

Why Is Emphasis Important? Emphasis is used in art to attract the viewer’s attention to a particular area or object. This is typically the focal point or main subject of the artwork. For instance, in a portrait painting, the artist usually wants you to see the person’s face first.

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Did this article help you?

Emphasis is when a particular stress or importance is given to something. Many exceptions to grammatical rules in English relate to emphasising particular words or ideas, making it a very important and also very broad topic. Structure, word order, vocabulary choice, formatting and punctuation can all be used to add emphasis.

Punctuation and Formatting

The simplest way to add emphasis in writing is to use punctuation, such as the exclamation point (!) for dramatic sentences, or formatting, such as using italics, to draw attention to particular words or phrases.

• The results were in. She had won by one vote!
• We only work on Wednesdays. (emphasising the limited time-frame)
• We only work on Wednesdays. (emphasising the specific day)

Some texts use bold, underlining or CAPITALS instead of italics. This has become particularly flexible online. Whatever style you choose, it is important to be consistent.

Expanding abbreviations or contractions can also add emphasis:

• We don’t repair computers. -> We do not repair computers.

Commas can be used to emphasise a particular word or phrase as an interjection, slowing a sentence down and making a word or phrase stand out. This can also be done with dashes instead of commas.

• We ran, terrified, through the house.
• We ran – terrified – through the house.

Additional information can be added in this way to tell us something when it is most striking.

• The trees, blue and purple all over, did not look healthy. (emphasising an unusual detail)
• She finished the papers, all the papers, by nightfall. (emphasising the extent of the task)

Be careful not to over-complicate the sentence, which can break the flow, or reduce clarity.

Structural Emphasis

Any variation in a text’s regular structure can add emphasis. For example, an occasional contrastingly short sentence can draw attention to a particular piece of information or for dramatic effect:

There will be no football practice on Monday as we are filling holes in the pitch. Practice will resume as usual on Tuesday. Be there.

The above example’s closing comment is surprisingly forceful. A similar effect could be created with a short sentence in the middle of a paragraph, or a short paragraph in between two long paragraphs.

On the other hand, longer sentences can add emphasis in a text with lots of short sentences:

Barry was only six. He did not know much. He could not count past twenty. One thing he did know, though, was that the brand new Intergalactic Space Fleet Ray Gun would be his.

Front Loading

Placing information earlier in a sentence or clause emphasises it. Sentences are often rearranged with adverbials or prepositional phrases that put information such as times, manners, objects, and locations before the subject and action. The phrase is moved forward and separated by a comma:

• We’ll be there by dinner time. → By dinner time, we’ll be there.
• She ate the soup messily. → Messily, she ate the soup.

This can be done with longer phrases or clauses.

• With messy flicks of the spoon and smacking lips, she ate the soup.

Rearranging clauses is often taught with complex sentences, where either the dependent or independent clause can come first. The first clause carries more emphasis:

• The game may be cancelled, depending on the weather.
• Depending on the weather, the game may be cancelled.

Repetition

Repetition of words and phrases adds emphasis in many ways. Throughout a text, repeated describing words (or similar describing words) can set an overall tone or bring to mind a certain image. Repetition of different word types draws attention to their function.

Repeated nouns or pronouns emphasise a particular person or thing (who/what is doing an action):

• Riley stormed into the kitchen. Riley took the cakes and Riley ate them all herself. (emphasising who is to blame)

Repeated verbs emphasise a continuing action, often to indicate a long or repetitive task:

• We ran through the town, we ran through the hills, we ran over the bridge and we ran all the way past the castle. (emphasising the endurance of a long, ongoing action)

Repeated prepositions emphasise objects’ relationships to each other:

• The papers were in the office, in the drawer in your desk. (emphasising awareness of an object’s specific location)

Repeated adverbs or adverbials emphasise how something is done, drawing attention to timing or manner:

• He quickly looked in the mirror, quickly pulled out and quickly hit the other car.

Such uses are flexible and not limited to these ideas.

A Final Warning

There are many other techniques that can be used to add emphasis in writing, but one thing that all these techniques have in common is that they work because they are exceptions to the typical style, which need to be used strategically. Used too often, they lose their effect; used inappropriately, they can look like mistakes.

I hope this short guide helps. It’s also available as a (free) printable worksheet if you sign up to my mailing list. This article is an abridged introduction to different techniques for adding emphasis in writing, taken from my book Advanced Writing Skills for Students of English. The full chapter is about 3,000 words long, so if you’d like more information on such topics please do check out the book.

Here we have discussed 5 common ways to emphasize text:

1. Italicize. Italics are a nice improvement from the days of the typewriter when underlining was the norm.
2. Bold. Using bold text is more dramatic and easily recognizable than italics.
3. Change Size.
4. Use Space.
5. Add Color.

Still, especially for academic writing, italics or underlining is the preferred way to emphasize words or phrases when necessary. Writers usually choose one or the other method and use it consistently throughout an individual essay. In the final, published version of an article or book, italics are usually used.

Can you emphasize a word?

Emphasizing a word can be a way to make your point clearer or highlight key terms or phrases. Whether you’re emphasizing a word in writing or text, the process is fairly simple. In texts, things like bold and italics are usually used as emphasis. You can pause and elongate a word to emphasize it in speech.

How do you emphasize text on Iphone?

Add a full-screen effect

1. Open Messages and tap the Compose button to start a new message. Or go to an existing conversation.
2. Enter your message.
3. Touch and hold the Send button. , then tap Screen.
4. Swipe to the left to see full-screen effects.
5. Tap the Send button .

How do you put emphasis on a word without italics?

Quotation marks for ’emphasis’ are common in unedited writing but rare in formal prose, where italics are the usual approach. Bold and underlines are occasionally used; ditto *asterisks* and _underscores_.

How do you emphasize a point?

Using words and expressions that emphasize a point

1. Call it out.
2. Use Repetition.
3. Talk Softly.
4. Slow down your voice during the point you want to emphasize.
5. Instigate intense eye contact with your audience.
6. Stop moving around the stage and assume the power stance.
7. Sit down.
8. Simplify your.

How do you add emphasis?

To “emphasize a word or words in a quotation, use italics. Immediately after the italicized words, insert ’emphasis added’ within square brackets as follows: [emphasis added]” (APA, 2020, p. 275). For example, “They [the judges] were convinced that the swimmer had missed the two-handed [emphasis added] turn.”

What is given emphasis in the written text?

In writing and speech, the emphasis is the repetition of key words and phrases or the careful arrangement of words to give them special weight and prominence. The most emphatic spot in a sentence is usually the end.

How do you make a word stand out in a sentence?

1. stand out against: His turquoise tie stood out against his black suit.
2. stand out from: Their old orange car stood out from all the rest.
3. stand out in a crowd: Her bright clothes always make her stand out in a crowd.

What is iPhone emphasize?

Thanks to iMessage, you can respond to text messages without even saying word. An iPhone feature called Tapback lets users choose from a selection of reactions — a heart (love), thumbs up (like), thumbs down (dislike), “haha” (laugh), exclamation (emphasized), or question mark (questioning).

What does emphasized mean on iMessage?

You can use the exclamation point to emphasize a text for one of two reasons: to agree with said text, or to remind someone of a question that they have not answered.

What does emphasized mean in text?

(ɛmfəsaɪz ) Word forms: emphasizes, emphasizing, emphasizedregional note: in BRIT, also use emphasise. transitive verb. To emphasize something means to indicate that it is particularly important or true, or to draw special attention to it.

What punctuation is used to emphasize?

Emphasis. The colon can be used to emphasize a phrase or single word at the end of a sentence. An em dash can be used for the same purpose. In the second example below, an em dash is more common than a colon, though the use of a colon is nevertheless correct.

How can you show emphasis when you talk?

7 Ways You Can Emphasize an Important Point During Your Presentation

1. Be Blatant.
2. Repeat Yourself.
3. Whisper.
4. Slow Your Pace.
5. Engage Your Audience with Eye Contact.
6. Assume the Power Stance.
7. Make Your Point the Moral of a Story.

Which technique is used to add emphasis in this sentence?

Punctuation and Formatting
The simplest way to add emphasis in writing is to use punctuation, such as the exclamation point (!) for dramatic sentences, or formatting, such as using italics, to draw attention to particular words or phrases.

Why do we emphasize words?

When emphasis grabs attention for one word, it automatically removes attention from other words, distracting the person from something which you want to slip in without them really noticing them too much.

What are some examples of emphasis?

The definition of emphasis is special attention put on something to give it importance. An example of emphasis is bolding the font of a particular word in a document to bring attention to it. An example of emphasis is a woman wearing a low cut shirt in order to bring attention to her cleavage.

What is word or expression that you are going to use when you want to emphasize a point?

There are words and expressions that emphasize a point. Some of those words and expressions are conjunctions, adverb/conjunctive adverbs, and parenthetical expressions.

How do you omit words in a quote?

If you omit a word or words from a quotation, you should indicate the deleted word or words by using ellipses, which are three periods ( . . . ) preceded and followed by a space.

How do you emphasize a word in APA?

If you want to emphasize words within a quote, you can use formatting. Italicize the word or phrase inside the quote and add “[emphasis added]” (without the quotation marks) in the square brackets to indicate the italics did not appear in the original.

How do you put your own words in a quote?

If you want to insert your own words, or different words, into a quotation, put them in square brackets ( [ ] ). For example: “The computer lab [in the science building] was well designed.”