When do you italicize or underline proper nouns in writing?

You generally don't italicize or underline proper nouns in writing.

Here's the breakdown:

* Proper Nouns: These are names of specific people, places, things, or organizations. Examples:

* People: John Smith, Queen Elizabeth

* Places: London, Mount Everest

* Things: The Eiffel Tower, The Mona Lisa

* Organizations: NASA, Google

* Italicization and Underlining: These are primarily used for emphasis or to distinguish titles of works like books, movies, and articles.

When You Might Use Italics or Underlining:

* Titles:

* *The Lord of the Rings* (book)

* _The Shawshank Redemption_ (movie)

* "The Cat in the Hat" (article)

* Foreign Words:

* *Schadenfreude* (German word meaning "malicious joy")

* _A priori_ (Latin phrase meaning "from what comes before")

* Emphasis: (Use sparingly)

* "I'm not going to the party."

Important Note: In some cases, style guides might recommend italics for proper nouns in specific circumstances. For example, some style guides suggest italicizing titles of ships, trains, and aircraft.

The Bottom Line: Generally, use plain text for proper nouns and reserve italics and underlining for titles, foreign words, and emphasis.