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Vdb Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
capitalization
Hi! I just wanted to ask that, in formal writing, is capitalizing only a single word in the sentence considered to be rude?? I know that when we capitalize the whole sentence, it's taken as a shouting voice and is hence considered rude. But, what if we only capitalize one word only? Would that still be rude in formal writing?
Top answer
Do you mean in order to emphasise a word? I would not do that in formal writing. Use italics for emphasis.
- Do you mean in order to emphasise a word?
- I would not do that in formal writing.
- Use italics for emphasis.
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8 Answers
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Do you mean in order to emphasise a word? I would not do that in formal writing. Use italics for emphasis.
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Oh, so capitalization is just considered rude in writing then, even if it's done for emphasis? Got it. Thank you!!! 
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Broadly speaking, in formal writing it is incorrect to write a sentence with a word all in capitals. It may or may not be rude, depending on the context, but it will not be formal.
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In my opinion, capitalising one word is OK. When I am using my mobile phone, I cannot use italics.
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Okay, I think I got it. In informal writing, capitalizing one word is more or less OK, but in formal writing, it's not. Thanks a lot for the help, all of you!
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CliveBut do you write formally on your phone?CliveYes, but for emphasis I capitalise the word.
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When italics are not available, some people use underscores, like this (reflecting a formatting code for italics). Of course, this depends on the underscore character being available, and I'm not sure how universally understood it is. Other people, including me, use asterisks, like this (I think that strictly this is a formatting code meaning bold, but it seems more obvious that it i
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