IEEE Style: Italics in Bibliography Not Showing in Word Document (Works in New Document)

simonsgl
Hi everyone,

I'm encountering a strange issue with the IEEE citation style in Zotero when working with Microsoft Word.
Problem:

When I insert the bibliography into my main Word document, the book or article titles that should appear in italics (as defined in the IEEE CSL style) are shown without italics — everything is rendered in plain text.

However, when I create a new, blank Word document and insert the same citation using Zotero and the same IEEE style, it works perfectly — the italics appear as expected.
What I’ve tried so far:

Reinstalled Zotero and the Word plugin

Deleted and reinserted the bibliography

Changed the citation style back and forth

Used the Zotero Style Editor to confirm that is present (it is!)

Checked Word format styles (e.g., "Bibliography") and reset them

Deleted all local formatting in Word via "Clear All Formatting"

Even used “Paste as plain text” into a new document — still no italics in the original document

Additional Notes:

This only affects one specific Word file. If I open a fresh document, the bibliography renders correctly with italics.

I suspect that something in this specific Word file (maybe an overwritten style template?) is overriding the formatting.

Question:

What else can I try to force Zotero to apply the correct formatting in my existing Word file? Is there a way to completely reset the Zotero field formatting in Word or force it to reapply the CSL style formatting?

Any help is greatly appreciated — this is for a thesis, so I’d really like to avoid copying everything into a new document if possible.

Thanks!
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