RPT Standards of Learning (SOL) Practice Test

Emphasis and readability rely on visual weight. Bold text increases the stroke thickness, making those characters darker and more prominent against the regular type. That stronger contrast draws the reader’s eye to the highlighted words or phrases, signaling that they’re important or worth remembering. Italicized text uses slant and a lighter feel, which can still emphasize but isn’t as visually forceful or as universally used for highlighting key terms. A bulleted list changes the structure to a list format, not a method for stressing specific words. Captions provide descriptive text for images or figures, not emphasis within the main content. So bold is the best choice for making important words and phrases stand out.