Italics.
1. A good rule for italics is to shun them—that is, not to use them freely to denote emphasis. Emphasis can be secured by some other means; for instance, by putting the emphatic word near the beginning of the sentence. Thus: “It was such a very fine thing to spin along over the ice” becomes, “A fine thing it was, to spin along over the ice.”
2. Use italics to show that a word is foreign. Thus: “Sophronia likes to interlard her English with such fine phrases as en passant, fin de siècle, and al fresco.”
3. It is usual to italicize single words if they are specified,—spoken of as words. Thus: “A good many words that pass muster with most people are not really in good use; for example, burglarize.”
The Apostrophe.
1. One use of the apostrophe is to mark the plural of single letters, or figures. Ex.: Distinguish between your 8’s and 3’s; dot your i’s and cross your t’s.
2. The commoner use of the apostrophe is to mark the possessive case. There is however no apostrophe in the word its, which is considered an adjective, not a personal, pronoun.
Asterisks.
A row of asterisks is used to show an omission. Thus, if a writer were quoting, and wished to skip a page or two, he would insert this sign * * * * But if he omitted only a few words, he would rather use “leaders”; thus....