Master thesis - rules for italicizing I am writing my master thesis in English and I understand that usually italics are used to put emphasis on a word, because it is an important or a newly introduced technical term. But I still ask myself if I have to use italics for these two cases:


Variables' names. For instance, let's suppose that I have a complex equation and the variable n appears inside this equation. If I am describing the equation in a text paragraph, and I am talking about n (e.g. "if the value of n is large enough, then..."), in this case, should n be italicized?
For programmers: should class names and data types be italicized? E.g. "a variable of type UInt32 is used".
I'd say the typeface should match the one used in the equation or listing, so that the entity always appears the same no matter where it is located.

If you're using Latex, variables from equations should be put in math mode, i.e. $n$. Class names and data types should be inline code, e.g. \lstinline if you're using the package listings.