CSS/HTML: What is the correct way to make text italic?

Making text italic in HTML and CSS is quite straightforward, but you might wonder which method is best and why. Here’s a simple explanation to help you understand how to properly italicize text.

How to Make Text Italic in HTML:

• Use the tag: This is a traditional HTML tag specifically for italicizing text.
  
• Use the tag: This tag not only italicizes text but also gives semantic meaning, indicating emphasis.
  

 Example:

This text is italic.  
This text is emphasized and italic.

How to Make Text Italic in CSS:

Use the font-style property with the value italic. This is useful when you want to apply italics via stylesheets or inline styles.

 Example:

p {
  font-style: italic;
}

 Or inline:

  This text is italic.

What’s the difference between and ?

• is mainly presentational and tells the browser to display text in italic.
  
• adds semantic emphasis, which can be important for accessibility tools like screen readers. It also typically renders as italic by default.
  

Best Practice:

• Use when you want to emphasize the meaning of text, not just style it.
  
• Use CSS font-style: italic; for styling in a consistent and maintainable way across your website.
  

Summary:

• HTML tags like and apply italics directly in the markup.
  
• CSS offers more flexibility and control with font-style: italic.
  
• For semantic purposes, prefer over .