2.2 Text factors
General styling guidance
Do not use capital letters to make a point. It is too extreme – it is the textual equivalent of shouting.
Do not use textual emphasis elements to make a point. The three main tools of Bold, Underline and Italics should be used sparingly, and mostly just in the following ways:
Use bold when you need to make one bit of information prominent. Good for headings, dates, times and locations, such as:
The webinar is on Wednesday November 5, at 2pm AEST.
Underline should not be used, other than to indicate a heading or subheading.
Italics are less confrontational, but still should be used sparingly, and to indicate the title of a government act, such as The Australian Education Act 2013.
Do not use a combination of textual elements. This means, do not use bold and underline at the same time, or underline and colour change (especially red), at the same time.
For email, use one size font for the whole thing and avoid over-styling. Wacky fonts and wild colours can distract your reader from the message.
Styling refers to the way we can use visual tools to increase the impact of our written communications such as; font choice, colour, capitalisation, bold text and so on.
Using appropriate styling shows respect for your student, their time and their intellect.
When it comes to style, the goal is still to communicate, not decorate.