Italicizing words, letters, and numbers mentioned as themselves

Example sentence: Tim assured us that the howling probably came from his bloodhound, Hill Billy, but his probably stuck in our minds.

Example sentence: Sarah called her father by his given name, Johnny, but she was unable to pronounce the J.

Example sentence: A big 3 was painted on the door.

NOTE:Quotation marks may be used instead of italics to set off words mentioned as words. Practice varies by discipline, so consult the style manual for your field.

Exercise: Italics