89. Italicizing items which name themselves

Underline or italicize numbers, symbols, letters, and words which name themselves (or which are used as the figure or word). Incorrect: "Give me a C!" the cheerleader shouted. (The letter is used as a letter, it names itself.) Correct: "Give me a C!" the cheerleader shouted. Incorrect: His 2's look like 7's. (The numbers are being referred to as figures; they are not numbering anything.) Correct: His 2's look like 7's. Incorrect: How do you spell shepherd? (The sentence is not about shepherds but about the word shepherd.) Correct: How do you spell shepherd?