Bold, italic and other text styles
Wrap the text in \textbf{...} for bold, \emph{...} or \textit{...} for italic and \texttt{...} for a typewriter font. Underline with \underline{...} and strike through with \sout{...} from the ulem package.
Bold, italic and typewriter
Each style is a command that takes the text in braces. Styles can be nested.
The common text styles
This is \textbf{bold}, this is \emph{emphasised},
this is \textit{italic} and this is \texttt{typewriter}.
You can combine them: \textbf{\emph{bold italic}}.
\emph is the command to use for emphasis in running text. Inside italic text it switches back to upright, so the emphasis still stands out.
\emph inside italic text turns upright
\textit{The word \emph{not} is emphasised inside italic text.}| Command | Result | In Scissor LaTeX |
|---|---|---|
\textbf{...}, {\bfseries ...} | bold | Works |
\emph{...}, \textit{...}, {\itshape ...} | italic | Works |
\textsl{...} | slanted | Shown upright: the text is kept, the slant is not |
\texttt{...}, {\ttfamily ...} | typewriter | Works |
\textsc{...} | small capitals | In the default Latin Modern font, normal letters. With helvet and in the conference layouts (except LNCS, which uses Latin Modern), real small capitals |
\underline{...} | underlined | Works |
\sout{...}, \xout{...} (ulem) | struck through | Works |
\uline{...} (ulem) | underlined | Works |
\uwave{...} (ulem) | wavy underline | Text kept, no wave |
\textsuperscript{...}, \textsubscript{...} | raised, lowered | Works |
\textsf{...}, {\sffamily ...} | sans serif | Text kept, shown in the serif font |
\textrm{...}, \textup{...}, \textmd{...}, \textnormal{...} | normal text | Works (they change nothing here) |
The old two-letter forms {\bf ...}, {\it ...} and {\tt ...} also work, but the commands above are clearer.
Underline and strike-through
\underline works without a package. For struck-through text, load ulem and use \sout. Load it as \usepackage[normalem]{ulem}, so that \emph stays italic in a TeX installation too (without that option, ulem makes \emph underline there).
Underline and strike-through
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[normalem]{ulem}
\begin{document}
Please \underline{sign here}. The price was
\sout{\$44} \$38. Footnote\textsuperscript{a} and H\textsubscript{2}O.
\end{document}Font sizes
\tiny, \scriptsize, \footnotesize, \small, \large, \Large, \LARGE, \huge and \Huge change the size of the text that follows, to the end of the group or environment, as in LaTeX. For a size of your own, write \fontsize{30}{36}\selectfont: Scissor LaTeX uses the nearest of the common sizes from 5 to 144 pt, and the line spacing follows the size.
Size switches and \fontsize
Normal text, {\small small text}, {\large large text}
and {\Huge huge text}.
{\fontsize{30}{36}\selectfont A 30 pt line for a poster.}
To make the whole document larger or smaller, use the class option: \documentclass[12pt]{article}. Headings, the title and footnotes already have their own sizes. The conference and journal layouts keep their own sizes and ignore the switches.
Sans serif text
Single words in sans serif (\textsf) are shown in the serif font. A whole document in sans serif works, though: write \renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault} in the preamble, or start the body with \sffamily. The text is then set in Latin Modern Sans.
A whole document in sans serif
\documentclass{article}
\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault}
\begin{document}
\section{Notice}
The library closes at 6 pm on Fridays.
\end{document}Special characters
Ten characters have a meaning of their own in LaTeX. Seven of them are printed by putting a backslash in front; the other three need a command.
| Character | Write | Character | Write |
|---|---|---|---|
| # | \# | { | \{ |
| $ | \$ | } | \} |
| % | \% | ~ | \textasciitilde |
| & | \& | ^ | \textasciicircum |
| _ | \_ | \ | \textbackslash |
Special characters
50\% of \$44 is \$22. Use \_ in file names like
\texttt{my\_file.tex}. A path: C:\textbackslash{}Users.
Braces \{ and \}, a tilde \textasciitilde{} and a caret \textasciicircum{}.
Accents and letters from other languages
You can type accented letters directly, such as é, ü or ñ: the editor reads the source as UTF-8. The classic accent commands work too.
Accent commands and special letters
Caf\'e, na\"ive, \^ile, \`a la carte, Fran\c{c}ois,
\v{C}esk\'y, Erd\H{o}s, \ss, \ae, \o, \aa, \L\'od\'z.
Typed directly: café, naïve, Łódź, Straße.
Dashes, quotes and dots
| Write | Result | Used for |
|---|---|---|
- | - | hyphen: well-known |
-- | – | en dash: pages 4--44 |
--- | — | em dash: a break---like this |
`` and '' | “ and ” | double quotes |
` and ' | ‘ and ’ | single quotes |
\dots or \ldots | … | an ellipsis |
Dashes, quotes and an ellipsis
Pages 4--44 of the report---the long version---say
``it works'' and `mostly'. To be continued\dots
What differs from a TeX installation
All of these commands also work in a TeX installation, so a document that looks right here is safe to take elsewhere.
The full manual of the ulem package, with every underline and strike-through command, is at ctan.org/pkg/ulem.
Questions and answers
How do I make text bold in LaTeX?
Write \textbf{your text}. In the editor you can also select the text and press Ctrl+B (Cmd+B on a Mac).
What is the difference between \emph and \textit?
\textit always gives italic. \emph gives emphasis: italic in normal text, and upright inside italic text.
How do I change the font size in LaTeX?
For the whole document, use the class option, for example \documentclass[12pt]{article}. For part of the text, use a size switch such as {\large ...} or \fontsize{14}{17}\selectfont.
Every example on this page is typeset by Scissor LaTeX when the site is built. Last updated 2026-11-07.