- Pangram Solver
- Anagram Solver
- Rhyming Dictionary
- AI Title Generator
- Poem Title Generator
- Book Title Generator
- YouTube Title Generator
- Essay Title Generator
- Title Rewriter
- Title Capitalization
- Sentence & Paragraph Rewriter
- Essay Writer
- Book Title Wizard
- Random Movie Generator
- Fortune Cookie Generator
- Random European Country Generator
- Random Country Generator
- Empty and Invisible Character Generator – Blank ( ) Texts
- Random State Generator
- Prompts Generator
- Text Repeater (Add Text, Repeat, & Share)
- Speech Generator
- Character Name Generator
- Name Generators
- Pokemon Name Generator
- Character Backstory Generator
- Song Generator
- Poem Generator
- Word Search Puzzles
- Ideation Articles
- Random Topic Generator
- Writing Prompt Generator
- Random Essay Title Generator
- Writing Articles
- Online Word Counter
- Online Grammar Checker
- Headline Analyzer
- Best Book Writing Software and Book Writing Apps
- 150 Best Resources for Writers
- Productivity
- English Language
- Grammar Tips
- Headline Analyzer Tool
![](http://mangareview.fun/777/templates/cheerup/res/banner1.gif)
Title Capitalization Rules
- For WordPress
- Publishing Articles
- Email Marketing
- Book Articles
- How to Get A Book Published
- Best Literary Agencies
- How To Self Publish a Book
Knowing which words to capitalize in a title can be hard. There are several different style guides in English that all have slightly different rules for title capitalization. Understanding what to capitalize in a title is important to make sure that your titles and headlines look correct. In this guide, we’ll explain the differences between the major styles and what words you should and shouldn’t capitalize.
Table of Contents
The Four Major Title Capitalization Style Guides
First, it is important to note that there are four main title capitalization styles:
- Chicago style
Our title capitalization tool also supports Bluebook and AMA style capitalization.
Each of these capitalization styles has slightly different rules for which words are capitalized and each of these styles can be written using title case capitalization or sentence case capitalization. We’ll get to the nuances of each below.
The Easiest Way to Capitalize Your Titles With the Correct Rules
Before we get into the details of each type of title capitalization style, we highly recommend that you check out our free title capitalization tool . All you have to do is select whether you want title case or sentence case, and then select which style guide you want. It automatically capitalizes your title with the right rules according to style guide you selected. Watch the video below to learn more.
Title Case Capitalization vs. Sentence Case Capitalization
There are two main types of title capitalization methods that are common between all the title capitalization styles. Title case capitalization is the most commonly used title capitalization style used in titles. Sentence case capitalization is commonly used for sub-headings when writing long-form content as well as in many journalism headlines.
Title Case Capitalization
In general, the following capitalization rules apply across the four styles in title case:
- Capitalize the first word in the title
- Capitalize the last word in the title
- Capitalize the important words in the title
Important words in that last bullet generally refer to:
- Adjectives (tiny, large, etc.)
- Adverbs (quietly, smoothly, etc.)
- Nouns (tablet, kitchen, book)
- Pronouns (they, she, he)
- Subordinating conjunctions (when fewer than 5 letters)
- Verbs (write, type, create)
Title case is the most common title capitalization for book titles, headlines, articles titles, etc. When multiple letters in a title need to be capitalized, use title case capitalization.
Our title capitalization tool will automatically capitalize your titles according to these rules.
Words Not Capitalized in Title Case
While the above words are generally capitalized in titles regardless of style, there are some words that are generally not capitalized when using title case. These include short words and conjunctions:
- Articles (a, an, the)
- Coordinating Conjunctions (and, but, for)
- Short (fewer than 5 letters)
- Prepositions (at, by, from, etc.)
What Is Sentence Case?
The other major type of title capitalization standard is sentence case . Sentence case simply means you capitalize the first letter of a sentence, proper nouns , and nothing else as opposed to capitalizing almost every first letter in title case. It is the same across all of the four styles.
For more specific title capitalization rules, you can see the following sections which cover each style of title capitalization rules or check out our FAQs for common capitalization questions.
Are Proper Nouns Capitalized?
Yes, proper nouns are capitalized in titles and sentences. A proper noun refers to a definite name for a specific person, place, object, book, movie, or event. In English, proper nouns are always capitalized regardless of whether you are writing a sentence or title.
- N ew Y ork C ity is the best place to live.
- I drove home from W almart.
- He high five Bob for winning the game.
Title Capitalization Rules by Style
Chicago manual of style capitalization rules.
Chicago Style is one of the most used and respected headline capitalization methods used in journalism. The rules are fairly standard for title case:
- Capitalize the first and the last word.
- Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions.
- Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions.
- Lowercase the ‘to’ in an infinitive (I want to play guitar).
APA Style Capitalization Rules
Making sure you have the right capitalization for APA headings is crucial for scholarly articles. The following rules apply to APA headline capitalization and title capitalization:
- Capitalize the first word of the title/heading and of any subtitle/subheading
- Capitalize all major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns) in the title/heading, including the second part of hyphenated major words (e.g., Self-Report not Self-report)
- Capitalize all words of four letters or more.
MLA Style Capitalization Rules
Making sure you have the right capitalization for MLA headings is crucial for scholarly articles. The following rules apply to MLA headings:
- Capitalize the first word of the title/heading and of any subtitle/subheading.
- Capitalize all major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns) in the title/heading, including the second part of hyphenated major words (e.g., Self-Report not Self-report).
- Do not capitalize articles, prepositions (regardless of length), and coordinating conjunctions.
- Do not capitalize to in infinitives.
AP Style Capitalization Rules
AP style capitalization is mainly used by writers for the Associated Press but is also used widely throughout journalism. The capitalization rules are as follow:
- Capitalize words with four or more letters (including conjunctions and prepositions).
- Capitalize the ‘to’ in an infinitive (e.g., I Want To Play Guitar).
NY Times Style Capitalization Rules
NY Times style capitalization is mainly used by writers for the NY Times but is also used widely throughout journalism. The capitalization rules are as follow:
- Capitalize major words, e.g. nouns, pronouns, verbs.
Wikipedia Style Capitalization Rules
Wikipedia editors must follow certain capitalization rules for any posts to Wikipedia. The capitalization rules are as follow:
- Lowercase indefinite and definite articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions.
- Prepositions that contain five letters or more.
- The word “to” in infinitives.
RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR
![What Is a Hero’s Journey? Capitalize My Title's featured image for what is a hero's journey post](https://capitalizemytitle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/FI_HeroJourney-218x150.jpg)
What Is a Hero’s Journey?
![Antagonist vs Villain: What’s the Difference? Capitalize My TItle's antagonist vs villain featured image](https://capitalizemytitle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/FI_AntagonistVSVillain-218x150.jpg)
Antagonist vs Villain: What’s the Difference?
![26 Best Writing Tools of 2024 is the title of an essay capitalized](https://capitalizemytitle.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/In-5-Easy-Steps-Your-Writing-Will-Stand-out1-218x150.jpg)
26 Best Writing Tools of 2024
![11 Best Plagiarism Tools 2024 is the title of an essay capitalized](https://capitalizemytitle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/wordpress-923188_1280-218x150.jpg)
11 Best Plagiarism Tools 2024
![Best Tablets for Writers 2024: A Buying Guide Best Tablets for Writers](https://capitalizemytitle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/internet-search-engine-1433323_1280-218x150.jpg)
Best Tablets for Writers 2024: A Buying Guide
![Grammarly vs. ProWritingAid Review: Which One Is Better? [2024 Review + 20% Discount] grammarly vs prowritingaid](https://capitalizemytitle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/grammarly-vs-prowritingaid-218x150.png)
Grammarly vs. ProWritingAid Review: Which One Is Better? [2024 Review + 20% Discount]
Leave a reply cancel reply.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
- Accessibility
Forgot your password?
Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive mail with link to set new password.
Back to login
Fix These Common Headline Mistakes
FREE EMAIL BONUS
Learn how to spot the 5 most common mistakes and fix them before you publish.
5 Secrets to Writing Great Titles
Proven techniques for attention grabbing headlines & titles
CHEAT SHEET FOR
How to Write Great Headlines
Begin your writing journey with us.
The Editor’s Manual
Free learning resource on English grammar, punctuation, usage, and style.
- Capitalization
Title Case: Capitalization of Titles, Headings, and Headlines
![is the title of an essay capitalized Neha Karve](https://editorsmanual.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/NehaProfilePhoto-90x90.jpg)
Capitalize the first, last, and all major words in a book title, headline, or first-level heading. Major words are all words except articles ( a , an , the ), prepositions ( on , in , of , etc.), coordinating conjunctions ( and , or , but , etc.), and the word to . This capitalization style is called title case .
- Title case: T he C urious I ncident of the D og in the N ight- T ime
- Title case: T he S trange C ase of D r. J ekyll and M r. H yde
Capitalize lower-level headings using sentence case , in which you capitalize only the words you would normally capitalize in a sentence.
- Sentence case: T he curious incident of the dog in the night-time
- Sentence case: T he strange case of D r. J ekyll and M r. H yde
Style guides like the AP Stylebook , Chicago Manual of Style , APA Publication Manual , and MLA Handbook prescribe additional rules, discussed in this article.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Graphic titled "Title Case Capitalization." The left panel shows a bespectacled woman sitting on a human-sized, blocky letter "H," working on a tablet. The right panel lists rules and examples: Capitalize the first and last words; a word after a colon; all other words except articles (a, an, the), prepositions (in, of, at, on, etc.), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, so, yet, for), and the word "to"; the first element and major words in a hyphenated term. Examples: (1)To the Lighthouse, (2) The Year of the Flood, (3) Of Mice and Men, (4) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, (5) Nineteen Eighty-Four, (6) Something to Answer For.](https://editorsmanual.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/capitalizing-headings-2-media-1024x576.webp)
Title case is also called headline style or up style: you see it used in headings and titles of books, movies, TV shows, articles, and other works. Sentence case, also called sentence style or down style, is used for second-level headings and lower. News headlines have traditionally been capitalized using title case, although these days, sentence case is often used, especially online.
Title case: General rules
Here are the general rules for capitalizing titles and headings:
- Capitalize the first word and last word of a title.
- Capitalize all major words, which are all words except articles ( a , an , the ), prepositions (e.g., on , in , of , at ), and coordinating conjunctions ( and , or , but , and nor ; also for , yet , and so when used as conjunctions).
- Always lowercase the word to .
- Capitalize the first element of a hyphenated term. Capitalize any subsequent elements only if they are major words.
- Capitalize the first word of a subheading that appears after a colon.
- Break a rule if you need to—for example, if a preposition is emphasized in a title, capitalize it.
Major words are all words except articles , prepositions , and coordinating conjunctions .
- L ove in the T ime of C holera
- T hree M en in a B oat
- P ride and P rejudice
- R equiem for a D ream
- C atch M e I f Y ou C an
- The P ortrait of a L ady
- The W ay W e L ive N ow
- The G irl W ho P layed with F ire
- M en without W omen
- The G round beneath H er F eet
- E verything I s I lluminated
The first and last words of a title are always capitalized, no matter what they are.
- A Clockwork Orange
- T he Mill on the Floss
- I n Search of Lost Time
- T hrough a Glass Darkly
- F rom Blood and Ash
- B ut What If There’s No Chimney?
- A nd Then There Were None
- Something to Answer F or
- Something to Believe I n
- All We Dream O f
- Where We Come F rom
It may not always be clear at first glance whether a word should be capitalized. Check what function it serves in the title.
- Capitalize over as an adverb , but lowercase it as a preposition. Adverb: The Soup Boiled O ver Preposition: The Light o ver London
The word to is lowercased, regardless of what function it serves in the sentence (unless it is the first or last word).
- Train t o Busan
- Zero t o One: Notes on Startups, or How t o Build the Future
- A Good Man Is Hard t o Find
In a hyphenated term, the first prefix or word is always capitalized, but the following words are capitalized only if they are major words.
- The M an- E ater of Malgudi Eater is a noun and should be capitalized.
- The Academy’s O ut- o f- U niform Procedure Lowercase of , which is a preposition, but capitalize uniform , a noun.
- The S tep- b y- S tep Guide to Finding Fairies
- The T hirty- N ine Steps
- The A nti- I nflammatory Diet Cookbook
- Originals: How N on- C onformists Move the World
- The F ire- B reathing Dragon
Any subtitle or subheading that follows a colon is always capitalized.
- Computer: A History of the Information Machine
- The Lord of the Rings: T he Return of the King
- The View from the Cheap Seats: S elected Nonfiction
- A Memoir: O f Mermaids and Waterfalls
Break a rule if you must. If a word is emphasized in a title, capitalize it, even if it is not a major word.
- How to Be the Go- T o Person in Your Organization
- A Run- I n with Religion and Other True Stories
Capitalize all the words that make up a phrasal verb , even a word that is a preposition.
- What to Do When You R un I nto Someone You Don’t Like
- How to S et U p Your Spaceship’s AI
- Don’t P ut O ff Being Happy
Be and is in a title
Verbs are major words and should be capitalized, including the be verb in all its forms: be , is , are , was , were .
- There Will B e Blood
- Tender I s the Night
- Where the Wild Things A re
- Then She W as Gone
- Their Eyes W ere Watching God
Also capitalize the have and do verbs in all their forms: have , has , had , do , does , did .
- The Heart H as Its Reasons
- Owls D o Cry
- What Katy Did
- Inequality: What Can Be Done ?
That in a title
The word that is always a major word and should be capitalized.
- Companies T hat Fleece Their Customers
- The House T hat Jack Built
It and me in a title
Capitalize all pronouns , including it , my , me , we , our, you , he , his , she , her , they , them , and who .
- How I t All Began
- Some of M y Favorite Things
- The Best W e Can Do
- The General in H is Labyrinth
- The Woman W ho Did
No and not in a title
Capitalize the words no and not (a determiner and an adverb) whenever these words appear in titles.
- Beasts of N o Nation
- Oranges Are N ot the Only Fruit
AP and APA style
The APA Publication Manual (used in academic editing, especially the social sciences) and the AP Stylebook (preferred in journalism, media, and corporate communication) both specify one major exception to the general rules :
Capitalize all words of four letters or more, even if they are prepositions.
- One Flew O ver the Cuckoo’s Nest
- The Girl Who Played W ith Fire
- Men W ithout Women
- The Ground B eneath Her Feet
- So Far F rom God
- Once U pon a Time in the West
- Much Ado A bout Nothing
- The Light B etween Oceans
- The Cat Who Walks T hrough Walls
- A Woman U nder the Influence
- Three Billboards O utside Ebbing, Missouri
- The World U ntil Yesterday
- The Man i n the Brown Suit
- The Wizard o f Oz
- A Home f or Lunatics
- The Woman o n the Beach
![is the title of an essay capitalized Rules for AP and APA style capitalization: Capitalize the first word; a word after a colon; all words four letters or longer; all other words except articles (a, an, the), prepositions (in, of, at, etc.), and conjunctions (and, but, if, etc.) three letters or shorter; the first element and major words in a hyphenated term; the last word in AP style (but not in APA). Examples: (1) Gone With the Wind, (2) Of Human Bondage, (3) Volume One: The Real and the Unreal, (4) The Son-in-Law, (5) Something to Answer For (in AP style), (6) Something to Answer for (in APA style)](https://editorsmanual.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/capitalizing-headings-ap-apa-media-1024x576.png)
Thus, in APA and AP style, words four letters or longer are always capitalized, regardless of function. Note that the other general rules apply as usual. Capitalize any major words, even if they are three letters or shorter: be , has , had , do , did , me , who , my , etc.
- We Should All B e Feminists
- If I H ad Your Face
- Marley and M e
- The Man W ho Sold H is Ferrari
Another exception is that all conjunctions three letters or shorter are lowercased. Thus, in APA and AP style, lowercase not only the seven coordinating conjunctions ( and , or , but , nor , for , yet , so ) but also subordinating conjunctions up to three letters long (which pretty much boils down to the word if ).
- Pride a nd Prejudice
- I’d Tell You I Love You, b ut Then I’d Have to Kill You
- Catch Me i f You Can
Also, do lowercase articles and any prepositions up to three letters long: a , an , the , for , in , of , to , etc.
- The Bridge o n t he River Kwai
- Stranger i n a Strange Land
- The Catcher i n t he Rye
- A House f or Mr. Biswas
Finally, in AP Style, the first and last words are capitalized as usual, regardless of length.
- A n American Tragedy
- T he Invisible Man
- A s I Lay Dying
- O f Human Bondage
- O n the Waterfront
- F or the Green Planet
- These Times We Live I n
However, in APA style, the last word is capitalized only if it is a major word or longer than three letters.
- Something to Answer f or
- These Times We Live i n In APA style, lowercase prepositions, unless they are four letters or longer.
Chicago style
According to the Chicago Manual of Style , the conjunctions to be lowercased are and , or , nor , but , and for . All others are capitalized. Thus, the words yet and so are capitalized regardless of function. The word if is also always capitalized.
- Sense a nd Sensibility
- The Hobbit, o r There a nd Back Again
- Though We Be Dead, Y et Our Day Will Come
- Even I f We Break
![is the title of an essay capitalized Rules for Chicago style capitalization: Capitalize the first and last words; a word after a colon; all other words except "to" and "as," articles (a, an, the), prepositions (in, of, with, from, etc.), and five coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for); the first part of a hyphenated term, subsequent elements if major words, but lowercase these if first part is a prefix. Examples: (1) Gone with the Wind, (2) Of Human Bondage, (3) Volume One: The Unreal and the Real, (4) The Son-in-Law, (5) Something to Answer For](https://editorsmanual.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/capitalizing-headings-chicago-media-1024x576.png)
In a hyphenated phrase, if the first element is merely a prefix that could not stand by itself (e.g., anti- , pre- , non- ), don’t capitalize the second part.
- The A nti- i nflammatory Diet Cookbook
- The Thirty- N ine Steps The word thirty can stand by itself, so capitalize nine as well.
Remember to capitalize not just the first but also the last word of a title or heading, even if it is not a major word.
- The Things We Believe I n Capitalize the last word, even a preposition.
- Only One Way T hrough
- It’s You I’m Dreaming O f
The MLA Handbook (used in academic writing for the humanities) specifies no exceptions to the general rules .
- T hese T imes W e L ive I n
- A H eartbreaking W ork of S taggering G enius
- T he M oon I s a H arsh M istress
![is the title of an essay capitalized MLA-style capitalization rules: Capitalize the first and last words; a word after a colon; all other words except the word "to," articles (a, an, the), prepositions (in, of, between, from, etc.), and coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, so, yet, for); the first element and major words in a hyphenated term. Examples: (1) Gone with the Wind, (2) Of Human Bondage, (3) Volume One: The Unreal and the Real, (4) The Son-in-Law, (5) Something to Answer For](https://editorsmanual.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/capitalizing-headings-mla-media-1024x576.png)
Differences in AP, APA, Chicago, MLA rules
As you can see, style manuals differ in their guidelines on what qualifies as a “major” word worthy of capitalization in title case. Here’s a quick summary of the key differences between the popular styles.
In both AP and APA styles, capitalize prepositions four letters or longer. In Chicago and MLA , lowercase all prepositions, regardless of length.
- APA, AP: The Girl F rom Mars Chicago, MLA: The Girl f rom Mars
- APA, AP, Chicago, MLA: The Woman i n Red
Lowercase not just coordinating but also subordinating conjunctions shorter than four letters in AP and APA styles; capitalize all subordinating conjunctions in Chicago and MLA.
- APA, AP: Isolate i f You Are Sick Chicago, MLA: Isolate I f You Are Sick
Capitalize the words yet and so in Chicago style. In the other styles, lowercase them when they are used as conjunctions, but capitalize when they are adverbs.
- Chicago: Broke Y et Happy APA, AP, MLA: Broke y et Happy
- Chicago, APA, AP, MLA: Am I Normal Y et?
Capitalize the last word of the title in AP, Chicago, and MLA styles even if it is not a major word; in APA, capitalize the last word only if it is a major word. (But remember that the APA Publication Manual considers all words four letters or longer major words.)
- Chicago, MLA, AP: Something to Answer F or APA: Something to Answer f or
- Chicago, MLA, APA, AP: The Places We Come F rom
In all four styles, capitalize the first word (whatever it may be), and lowercase articles.
- APA, AP, Chicago, MLA: T he Girl Who Found a Dragon Egg
Sentence case
In sentence case, a title is written as a sentence would be: the first word and all proper nouns are capitalized. This capitalization style is generally used for headings that are second level or lower. These days, it is also increasingly being used for online news headlines.
- C lear light of day
- W e need to talk about K evin
- T he quiet A merican
The first word of a subtitle or subheading that follows a colon is also capitalized.
- Traveling with ghosts: A memoir
- Understanding comics: T he invisible art
If a title begins with a numeral, lowercase the next word.
- 27 b ooks to read before you die
- P ractice guidelines for the pickling of pineapples: 2019 u pdate
Professional and social titles that precede a name are capitalized as well.
- The island of D octor Moreau
- The strange life of P resident Farley
- The story of F ather Femy and his music
For more on which words to capitalize in a sentence, see this article on the rules of capitalization .
Share this article
In title case, all major words are capitalized.
In sentence case, only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
The word it , which is a pronoun, is capitalized in title case.
The words we (a pronoun) and be (a verb) are capitalized in title case.
The word a , which is an article, is lowercased unless it is the first word of the title.
The words let (a verb) and me (a pronoun) are capitalized in title case.
The first word of a subtitle following a colon is capitalized in both title case and sentence case.
- Affiliate Program
![is the title of an essay capitalized Wordvice](https://pstatic.wordvice.com/wv-us/image/biglogo2.png)
- UNITED STATES
- 台灣 (TAIWAN)
- TÜRKIYE (TURKEY)
- Academic Editing Services
- - Research Paper
- - Journal Manuscript
- - Dissertation
- - College & University Assignments
- Admissions Editing Services
- - Application Essay
- - Personal Statement
- - Recommendation Letter
- - Cover Letter
- - CV/Resume
- Business Editing Services
- - Business Documents
- - Report & Brochure
- - Website & Blog
- Writer Editing Services
- - Script & Screenplay
- Our Editors
- Client Reviews
- Editing & Proofreading Prices
- Wordvice Points
- Partner Discount
- Plagiarism Checker
- APA Citation Generator
- MLA Citation Generator
- Chicago Citation Generator
- Vancouver Citation Generator
- - APA Style
- - MLA Style
- - Chicago Style
- - Vancouver Style
- Writing & Editing Guide
- Academic Resources
- Admissions Resources
What to Capitalize in a Title: APA Title Capitalization Rules
Which words do you capitalize in a title?
Have you ever been confused about which words to capitalize in the title of your manuscript ? You have probably seen titles where only the first word is capitalized (so-called “sentence case”), titles where all words seem to be capitalized (“title case”), and also titles that look like combinations of the two. And you might have wondered where there is any general rule to all this.
The answer is that, no, there is not really one general capitalization rule, but there are several style-dependent capitalization guidelines you can rely on, and the journal you plan to submit to will tell you (in their author instructions ) which one they want you to apply to your manuscript before submission. Just like you format your manuscript and reference list following APA or MLA formatting rules, you apply the respective style guide to capitalize your title, headings, and subheadings . In this article, we will first explain the general rules on what types of words to capitalize (e.g., nouns, articles, and conjunctions) and then look at the APA and MLA style guides in particular and their specific variations of those rules.
![is the title of an essay capitalized is can capitalized in a title, keyboard closeup](https://ee-blog-cdn.wordvice.com/us/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/09000944/pexels-enzo-abramo-1298626-1024x686.jpg)
Research Paper Title Capitalization Rules
According to most style guides, all proper nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in titles of books and articles are to be capitalized. Some elements of titles are, however, never capitalized, such as articles (except articles at the beginning of a title), and some, such as conjunctions, can or cannot be capitalized, depending on the specific style guide variation. In the following, we will outline the general rules for all the different words in your title so that you can orient yourself easily to the different style guides and adapt your title quickly when necessary.
Capitalizing Nouns and Pronouns in Titles
Nouns (including formal names of people, organizations, and places) and pronouns are easy to format, as all style guides agree that they should always be capitalized using title case capitalization.
Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets |
For whom the bell Tolls | For Whom the Bell Tolls |
Capitalizing Articles in Titles
The rules for articles are also simple, as all major style guides agree that articles should be lowercase in titles—unless they represent the first and/or last word in the title:
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets |
the Lord of the Rings | The Lord of the Rings |
In the latter example, the first “the” is capitalized because it is the first word of the title, while the second “the” is lowercase as articles usually are. Note that the same rule regarding article capitalization applies to subtitles as well.
The Development of the European Union: a History of Integration | The Development of the European Union: A History of Integration |
Capitalizing Conjunctions in Titles
Conjunctions are a slightly more complicated case, as style guides differ on whether to capitalize them or on which conjunctions to capitalize. According to some guides, conjunctions of three letters or fewer are to be written in lowercase while longer ones should be capitalized. Other style guides, however, state to write all conjunctions in lowercase, or make exceptions for specific conjunctions such as “yet”, “so”, and “as”. It is therefore always necessary to look up the specific rules of the target journal before submitting a manuscript—and have a look at our sections on APA and MLA style below. The following examples are, however, fairly universal:
The Lord Of the Rings | The Lord of the Rings |
Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets | Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets |
Capitalizing Prepositions in Titles
Capitalization rules for prepositions are equally ambiguous and depend on the specific style guide you follow. Prepositions of four letters or more are often capitalized, while according to some style guides, all prepositions are written in lowercase, no matter their length. Sometimes, for example, when following the Chicago Manual of Style , capitalization depends on how a preposition is used in a title and whether it does indeed function as a preposition. According to this rule, prepositions are capitalized when they are used “adverbially or adjectivally” in prepositional phrases (as in “How to Back Up a Computer”), but not when used otherwise.
Capitalizing Adjectives and Adverbs in Titles
Rules for capitalizing adjectives and adverbs , like nouns, are unproblematic, as they are capitalized across style guides.
Stephen King wrote The long Walk in 1979. | Stephen King wrote The Long Walk in 1979. |
The Art of Thinking clearly, by Swiss writer Rolf Dobelli, describes the most common thinking errors, ranging from cognitive biases to social distortions. | The Art of Thinking Clearly, by Swiss writer Rolf Dobelli, describes the most common thinking errors, ranging from cognitive biases to social distortions. |
Capitalizing Verbs in Titles
Verbs are another easy case and are also always capitalized, according to all style guides.
The World as I see It is a book by Albert Einstein. | The World as I See It is a book by Albert Einstein. |
Title Case Rules by Style Guide
Apa title case rules .
APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used for scholarly articles in the behavioral and social sciences. The APA guidelines on when to capitalize a title include the following rules:
– the first word of the title or heading (or any subtitle/subheading) – all nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns—note that this includes the second part of hyphenated words (e.g., Self-Reliance not Self-reliance) – all other words of four letters or more | |
– the second word after a hyphenated prefix in compound modifiers (e.g., Mid-morning, Anti-inflammatory, etc.). |
MLA Title Case Rules
The Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook , used primarily to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities, promotes the following rules for when to capitalize a title or header:
– the first word of the title or heading (and of any subtitle/subheading) – all nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns (here as well, including the second part of hyphenated major words | |
– articles and prepositions (regardless of length) – coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) – the second word after a hyphenated prefix in compound modifiers – the “to” in infinitives (e.g., “How to Achieve Global Prosperity”) |
Additional Rules for Title Capitalization
As we have stressed several times throughout this article, it is crucial to always check the specific rules of the target journal and/or the rules of the style guide the target journal wants you to follow—note that these can sometimes conflict with each other, in which case the journal rules override the style guide. Apart from the two common style guides we explained here, APA and MLA , there are several others that have their own rules, such as the Chicago Manual of Style , the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style , or the Associated Press Stylebook , an American English grammar style and usage guide originally developed for AP writers but now used widely across journalistic fields. There is even a specific set of rules for the capitalization of titles of Wikipedia articles !
One capitalization rule that might not necessarily be mentioned in such style guides but is relevant for some academic/scientific fields is that when the Latin name of a species is mentioned, the second portion of the name must be written in lowercase, even when the rest of the title follows title case rules.
Another capitalization rule you might need when describing research experiments is that both elements of spelled-out numbers or simple fractions should be capitalized in title case:
The Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-five Years of Evaluation | The Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-Five Years of Evaluation |
Lastly, no matter your personal preference, make sure you always write the titles of books and articles exactly as they are written on the original document/in the original version, even if they do not seem to follow common capitalization rules.
Correct Capitalization in Your Title with Professional Editing
If you are even more unsure now how to capitalize your title or find the author instructions of your target journal confusing (which can happen, since those sets of rules have often grown organically over a long period of time and, as a result, can lack consistency), then you might want to make use of professional English proofreading services , including paper editing services —your professional academic editor will figure such details out for you and make sure your manuscript is in the correct format before submission.
If you need more input on how to write and perfect the other parts of your manuscript, then head over to the Wordvice academic resources website where we have many more resources for you.
Wordvice Citation Tools
APA Citation Generator MLA Citation Generator Chicago Citation Generator Vancouver Citation Generator
TRY OUR FREE APP
Write your book in Reedsy Studio. Try the beloved writing app for free today.
Craft your masterpiece in Reedsy Studio
Plan, write, edit, and format your book in our free app made for authors.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Reedsy Community](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/assets/studio-ui-bd3ea00992b2303a6ac00820a99d8acfbeed6b049784aa940c288c7d46fc204c.webp)
Blog • Perfecting your Craft
Last updated on Jun 27, 2024
Title Capitalization Rules: Learn Which Words To Capitalize
About the author.
Reedsy's editorial team is a diverse group of industry experts devoted to helping authors write and publish beautiful books.
Like many aspects of the English language, title capitalization rules can seem confusing and unintuitive. While the words that are (and are not) capitalized in a title aren’t always consistent, it’s really not as complicated as you might think.
Whether you’re figuring out what to call your novel , writing a headline for a blog post or article, or referring to a movie, song, or other published work, you’ll need to follow standard title capitalization rules. To help you along, let’s break down the basic rules and explain some exceptions.
These are the three title capitalization rules you’ll need to remember:
- Capitalize the first and last words of a title
- Capitalize verbs, pronouns, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs
- Don’t capitalize articles, coordinating conjunctions, or prepositions
1. Capitalize the first and last words of a title
The simplest rule you can follow with complete certainty is this: the first and last words of a title are always capitalized. It doesn’t matter what length the title is or what grammatical role the word plays. From the humble article “the” to longer nouns like “tyrannosaurus,” you’re 100% safe capitalizing the first and last word.
Example: Andy Williams’s 1966 hit single, “ Music to Watch Girls By ”
All style guides agree on this rule, and it’s because it just makes sense. By capitalizing the first and last words, you create a visual mark that shows the reader where the title begins and ends. Even if it’s used within a longer sentence, it can’t be confused with the text surrounding it.
💡 Note: When words are capitalized to form a title, their format is called “title case” or “headline case.” This is in contrast to “sentence case,” which is what you’ll see in this very paragraph.
![is the title of an essay capitalized FREE RESOURCE](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/content_upgrade/35/large_1486cd7d974f0b041528c8fdb17cca10.webp)
FREE RESOURCE
Book Title Checklist
Create a title that stands out — and sells.
Capitalize the first word of subtitles, too
The rule for subtitles is very simple: the subtitle’s first word is also always capitalized, with no exceptions. Subtitles, written after a colon, are especially common in factual and academic works .
Example: Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar’s classic work of feminist literary criticism, “The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination .”
If this title was written in sentence case, the first word after the colon would not normally be capitalized. And if we were following rule number 3 (spoiler alert), the word “the” would be in lowercase.
If you’re worried about your institution’s style guide of choice, you can sigh with relief. Capitalizing the first word of a subtitle is one of those rules where APA, MLA, Chicago, and AP style guides are in beautiful, unanimous agreement.
This is not the only rule they agree on — the next one is also universal.
2. Capitalize verbs, pronouns, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs
Many common parts of speech are always capitalized in a title. Let’s take a quick look at them, one by one.
The ‘action words’ of language, verbs are capitalized in every style guide. This also applies to phrasal verbs, where a verb and a preposition are used together, like “Get Up,” “Stand Up,” “Let Go,” and “Carry Out.”
A commonly asked question is whether the word “is” needs to be capitalized. “Is” and its cousins (“I am,” “you are,” etc.) are all conjugated forms of the verb “to be,” so the answer is yes. The same applies to the verb “do” and its variations “did” and “does.”
![is the title of an essay capitalized Two identical covers for "This Is How You Lose the Time War" contrasted side by side... except the one on the left hasn't capitalized "Is." Boooo!](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/attachments/large_title-capitalization-mistake-1b45f0.png)
Here are a few examples of book titles that include verbs:
- This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
- Where'd You Go , Bernadette by Maria Semple
- Don’t Cry for Me by Daniel Black
- I'll Tell You in Person by Chloe Caldwell
- Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare
- History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
All style guides agree on capitalizing pronouns in titles. If you’re a native speaker, it’s possible you assume the term simply refers to “he,” “she,” “they,” and “his,” “hers,” and “theirs.” These are pronouns indeed, but there are many more types.
I | Me | Mine | Myself |
You | You | Yours | Yourself |
She/he/it | Her/him/it | Hers/his/not used | Herself/himself/itself |
We | Us | Ours | Ourselves |
You | You | Yours | Yourselves |
They | Them | Theirs | Themselves |
We won’t dwell (no one likes a grammar lesson), but to learn more about further types of pronouns, like relative, indefinite, demonstrative, or interrogative pronouns, you can check out Thesaurus.com’s entry on pronoun types . Fun fact: words like “someone,” “whenever,” “whose,” and “whom” are pronouns, too . Hopefully, this knowledge will come in handy when you next capitalize a tricky title.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Still from Shakira's video clip for 'Whenever, Wherever,' showing her smiling mid-dance](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/attachments/large_shakira-whenever-wherever-adverbs-91131f.jpg)
Here are a few examples of book titles with pronouns:
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
- Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
- For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
- Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good by Jan Karon
If you do happen to like grammar lessons, however, check out this article about the Oxford comma to learn more about when and how to use it like a pro.
Nouns and adjectives
You already know these ones, so we won’t patronize you. They’re also straightforward when it comes to capitalization: nouns and adjectives are capitalized in all style guides. Wonderful, right?
Let’s look at a few title examples that feature nouns:
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- How the García Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
- If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
- Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty
And some book titles that capitalize adjectives:
- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
- A Cavern of Black Ice by J. V. Jones
- Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
You may know adverbs as words that end in -ly . They describe the way or manner in which something is done or happens. Just don’t forget that adverbs of manner aren’t the only type of adverb.
If your title includes any of the words below, you’re dealing with adverbs of frequency, time, place, or degree:
You don’t need to remember what category each adverb falls under — you just need to be able to recognize them as an adverb, since all adverbs are capitalized across all style guides.
Here are a few titles that feature adverbs, whether they end in -ly or not:
- “Isla and the Happily Ever After ” by Stephanie Perkins
- “A Fairly Honourable Defeat” by Iris Murdoch
- “ Tomorrow , and Tomorrow , and Tomorrow ” by Gabrielle Zevin
- “A Story Lately Told: Coming of Age in Ireland, London, and New York” by Anjelica Huston
So far, we’ve looked at the two major rules where all style guides agree: capitalizing the first and final words of a title, as well as any “principal” or important words, like nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs. The next rule is where it gets a little bit more complicated.
Free course: How to self-edit like a pro
Rid your manuscript of the most common writing mistakes with this 10-day online course. Get started now.
3. Don’t capitalize articles, coordinating conjunctions, or prepositions
Unless you’re working with a style guide that says otherwise (or if they’re the first or final word in a title), the following types of words are not capitalized:
- Articles — the tiny words that come before nouns to indicate whether it’s a general concept or a particular, specific thing, e.g., “ the garden” vs. “ a garden”
- Prepositions — words that precede nouns to show direction or place, or to establish a relationship between two things, e.g., “ opposite the library,” “ next to the cat”
- Coordinating conjunctions — words that link two parts of a sentence that can stand on their own, e.g., “I was tired. Alice went to bed” vs. “I was tired and Alice went to bed.”
Here are the words that fall under these categories:
a, an, the | for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so | above, across, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, by, down, from, in, into, near, of, off, on, to, toward, under, upon, with, within, etc. |
📚 For more examples and information on prepositions, head to this page by the University of Ottawa.
Here are a few book titles that do not capitalize articles, coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (unless they are the first or last words of the title):
- In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
- The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
- Again, but Better by Christine Riccio
- Subordinating conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions, on the other hand, are capitalized. These words introduce a new part to the sentence dependent on the main sentence, or clause. Subordinating conjunctions include: if, since, as, when, although, while, after, before, until, because.
Because titles are not typically multi-clause sentences, it’s harder to intuit which group a conjunction belongs to. The simplest way to know when to capitalize conjunctions is to just remember which are coordinating and which subordinating.
Subordinating conjunctions do get capitalized, as in these title examples:
- Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca
- As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson
- What If ?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
- Live Right and Find Happiness ( Although Beer Is Much Faster): Life Lessons and Other Ravings by Dave Barry
4. When in doubt, refer to your style guide
If you're writing for a specific institution, keep their style guide bookmarked. For your convenience, here's what the four most commonly used style guides in North America require when it comes to capitalizing titles correctly:
Chicago Manual of Style
Capitalize:
- The first and last words of a title
- Verbs, pronouns, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs
Don’t capitalize:
- Articles, prepositions of any length, and coordinating conjunctions
- “To,” if used in an infinitive (e.g., “Failure to Launch” )
Modern Languages Association (MLA) Handbook
American psychological association (apa) publication manual.
- Words that consist of more than four letters, even conjunctions and prepositions
- Words shorter than four letters
The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook
- “To,” if used in an infinitive (e.g., “Failure To Launch” )
- Articles and prepositions shorter than four letters
- Coordinating conjunctions
You’ll notice that the first two, Chicago and MLA, are the same — whereas AP and APA share an enthusiasm for capitalizing words longer than four letters.
Now compare these book titles:
See the difference?
- Chicago and MLA don’t capitalize “along” because it’s a preposition.
- AP and APA do capitalize it because it’s longer than four letters long.
- “For” is a coordinating conjunction (so lowercase for Chicago and MLA) and not long enough to be capitalized in AP and APA.
- All four style guides capitalize the first and last words of the title, as well as the first word of the subtitle.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Annotated example of the title discussed above](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/attachments/large_title-capitalization-rules-example-f4992d.jpg)
🎯 Want to test yourself? Head over to our book title generator and give it a whirl. Write down what titles you’re given and then ask yourself how they’d be formatted for each style guide.
Those are all the rules, so you can go ahead and capitalize your title. Beyond your title, if you’ve got a whole manuscript in need of polishing, consider hiring a copy editor to take care of the finer details.
![is the title of an essay capitalized is the title of an essay capitalized](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/assets/marketplace-ui-e1bff2d400672a664db3d61d2f517c02f3f9389d447a6c060c58bbb9204d8a31.webp)
Perfect your book with a professional edit
The best developmental editors, copy editors, and proofreaders are on Reedsy. Sign up for free and meet them.
Learn how Reedsy can help you craft a beautiful book.
If you want to expand your knowledge of niche linguistic matters even further, head over to the world of punctuation with our post on using hyphens and dashes correctly. Just don’t forget your linguist geek hat.
Continue reading
Recommended posts from the Reedsy Blog
![is the title of an essay capitalized](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/featured_image/779/medium_500-adjectives-473cf0.webp)
450+ Powerful Adjectives to Describe a Person (With Examples)
Want a handy list to help you bring your characters to life? Discover words that describe physical attributes, dispositions, and emotions.
![is the title of an essay capitalized](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/featured_image/777/medium_how-to-plot-a-novel-863dae.webp)
How to Plot a Novel Like a NYT Bestselling Author
Need to plot your novel? Follow these 7 steps from New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt.
![is the title of an essay capitalized](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/featured_image/774/medium_How-to-Write-an-Autobiography-532b4e.webp)
How to Write an Autobiography: The Story of Your Life
Want to write your autobiography but aren’t sure where to start? This step-by-step guide will take you from opening lines to publishing it for everyone to read.
![is the title of an essay capitalized](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/featured_image/769/medium_climax-of-a-story-cf7b1b.webp)
What is the Climax of a Story? Examples & Tips
The climax is perhaps a story's most crucial moment, but many writers struggle to stick the landing. Let's see what makes for a great story climax.
![is the title of an essay capitalized](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/featured_image/768/medium_what-is-tone-in-literature-fdae55.webp)
What is Tone in Literature? Definition & Examples
We show you, with supporting examples, how tone in literature influences readers' emotions and perceptions of a text.
![is the title of an essay capitalized](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/directories/admin/featured_image/767/medium_writing-cozy-mysteries-efccb4.webp)
Writing Cozy Mysteries: 7 Essential Tips & Tropes
We show you how to write a compelling cozy mystery with advice from published authors and supporting examples from literature.
Join a community of over 1 million authors
Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book.
Which famous author do you write like?
Take our 1 minute quiz to find out.
![is the title of an essay capitalized](https://blog-cdn.reedsy.com/assets/marketplace-ui-e1bff2d400672a664db3d61d2f517c02f3f9389d447a6c060c58bbb9204d8a31.webp)
1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.
Enter your email or get started with a social account:
Why does the MLA capitalize certain words in titles?
Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .
MLA style’s rules for capitalization are intended to help authors remain consistent while also respecting the ways in which titles have traditionally been styled in different languages.
The history of capitalization in titles is complicated, though titles of printed works from earlier eras written in English generally conform to a currently recognizable style. For instance, the title of the 1605 edition of Hamlet appears on its title page as THE Tragicall Historie of HAMLET, Prince of Denmarke . The spelling and capitalization differ slightly from those of a modern edition, but the title reflects some distinctions that survive into the present day. “Of” is lowercase, while adjectives, nouns, and the first word of the title are all uppercase.
In MLA style, titles of English-language works are capitalized headline-style, and titles of works in languages other than English are capitalized sentence-style. This distinction is somewhat arbitrary but accords with other usage guides. The Chicago Manual of Style follows the same principles and explains that headline style mandates capitalizing all words except prepositions and the common coordinating conjunctions, whereas sentence style mandates capitalizing the title as one would a normal sentence (8.158–59). The MLA Handbook also explains what to capitalize in titles and when to do so (1.2.1, 1.2.5). Partly, these distinctions are a matter of convention and are intended to respect the ways in which various languages have evolved. In titles capitalized sentence style, for instance, words are capitalized if they are capitalized in the foreign language. For example, in German all nouns are capitalized, but not all nouns are capitalized in French, so this difference is reflected in which words are capitalized in German and French titles.
Using headline style for English titles and sentence style for titles in languages other than English helps maintain consistency and provides a simple and concise guideline for styling titles.
Works Cited
The Chicago Manual of Style . 17th ed., U of Chicago P, 2017.
MLA Handbook . 8th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke . London, 1605. Early English Books Online , gateway.proquest.com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2003&res_id=xri:eebo&rft_id=xri:eebo:image:12949.
Have a language expert improve your writing
Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.
- Knowledge Base
- Academic writing
- What Is Title Case? | Explanation & Worksheet
What Is Title Case? | Explanation & Worksheet
Published on September 3, 2023 by Kassiani Nikolopoulou .
Title case is a capitalization style or convention used for writing the titles of published works.
A capitalization style defines which words or letters should be written in uppercase and which ones should be written in lowercase. In title case, the first letter of each word in the title should be capitalized except for certain small words like “a,” “the,” and “of.”
Title case is used for capitalizing the words in a title, subtitle, or heading. It’s commonly used in newspaper headlines, as well as the titles of books, movies, and video games. Due to this, title case is also known as “headline style.”
Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text
Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes
![is the title of an essay capitalized upload-your-document-ai-proofreader](https://www.scribbr.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/grammar-check.webp)
Table of contents
What to capitalize in title case, title case vs. sentence case, title case converter, worksheet: title case, frequently asked questions about title case.
With title case, you always capitalize the first word and (usually) the last word of a title. How you render the rest of the words depends on whether they are considered major or minor words.
The following parts of speech are considered minor words and are typically not capitalized :
- Prepositions with fewer than four letters (“in,” “for,” “of”)
- Articles (“the”, “ a or an ”)
- Coordinating conjunctions (“and,” “but,” “or”)
All other words are considered major words and are capitalized :
- Nouns (“pen,” “flower,” “ocean”)
- Pronouns (“I,” “her,” “these”)
- Verbs (“forget,” “build,” “do”)
- Adverbs (“now,” “slowly,” “here”)
- Adjectives (“adorable,” “fresh,” “sarcastic”)
Lord of the Flies is one of the most disturbing books I’ve ever read.
In Enter the Dragon , Bruce Lee plays a Shaolin monk recruited by British intelligence.
However, minor words are capitalized when they are the first word of the title.
- A Clockwork Orange was directed by Stanley Kubrick.
- T he Count of Monte Cristo tells the story of a young man who is wrongfully imprisoned.
- T o Kill a Mockingbird has been banned in some schools.
It is important to keep in mind that different style guides, like APA Style , MLA , or Chicago Style , have slightly different rules regarding capitalization. More specifically, they differ in how they render:
Prepositions
Coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions.
- The last word in a title
Some style guides like MLA use lowercase for all prepositions, regardless of their length. Others, like APA and AP, only use lowercase for prepositions up to three letters.
There are seven coordinating conjunctions in English. They can be remembered using the mnemonic device FANBOYS : f or, a nd, n or, b ut, o r, y et, s o.
Most major style guides use lowercase for all seven coordinating conjunctions. One exception is Chicago style, which uses lowercase for all except “yet” and “so.”
In APA, “as” and “if” are written in lowercase, while in Chicago “as” is written in lowercase and “if” is capitalized. AMA and MLA capitalize both.
AMA/MLA : Grab On to Me Tightly A s I f I Knew the Way
In some styles, the last word is always capitalized, regardless of whether it is a major or minor word. Other style guides have no such rule and the last word is in lowercase.
Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting
Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:
- Academic style
- Vague sentences
- Style consistency
See an example
![is the title of an essay capitalized is the title of an essay capitalized](https://www.scribbr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/dissertation-proofreading-service.png)
Title case and sentence case are two common capitalization styles that differ in how they capitalize words.
- In title case , the initial letter of every major word is in uppercase, while minor words are in lowercase. Title case is most frequently used for headings and titles of books, movies, and other works of art.
- In sentence case only the first word of a sentence is capitalized, along with any proper nouns (names of people, places, etc.).The rest of the words in the sentence are in lowercase, regardless of their grammatical role. This style is mostly used in standard writing, but it is also commonly used in headlines, headings, and subheadings.
While sentence case is consistent across styles, some style guides differ in their rules for using title case.
If you are in doubt about whether your headline is capitalized correctly, there are a few free online tools you can use to help you check your work, including:
Titlecaseconverter.com
This converter allows you to choose one or multiple style guides for your output text (including AP, APA, and Chicago). It can also highlight and explain changes. Once you have entered your text, you simply click the “convert” button.
Convertcase.net
To use this online converter, you can either type or copy-paste your text on the left, and it will be automatically transformed into title case on the right. You can download the output as a .txt file or select “copy to clipboard.”
Titlecase.com
This is a simple converter that transforms your text into title case as well as AP-style title case. Similar to the others, it allows you to type or copy-paste your text, and once you press “convert” the output appears below.
With the worksheet below, you can test your understanding of how title case works. Fill in one of the two options in each sentence.
- Practice questions
- Answers and explanations
- One of Boticelli’s most famous works is____________[the Birth Of Venus/The Birth of Venus]
- I borrowed _________[Of Mice and Men/of Mice and Men] a while ago, but never managed to finish the first chapter.
- I love your___________ [Lord of the Rings notebook/Lord of the Rings Notebook].
- “The” is capitalized because it is the first word of the title.
- “Birth” is capitalized because it is a major word (noun).
- “Of” is not capitalized because it is a preposition.
- “Venus” is capitalized because it is major word (proper noun)
- “Of” is capitalized because it is the first word of the title despite being a preposition.
- “Mice” is capitalized because it is a noun.
- “And” is not capitalized because it is a coordinating conjunction.
- “Men” is capitalized because it is the last word of the title.
- Here, “Lord of the Rings” is the title and also a compound adjective (like “error-free,” “kind-hearted,” etc.) modifying the noun (“notebook”). For this reason, we need to stop applying title case when we are finished writing the title (“Lord of the Rings”).
Capitalization is the practice of using uppercase or capital letters in writing to indicate the beginning of a sentence or to emphasize certain words or types of words within a sentence.
For example, capitalizing place names, family names, and days of the week are all standard in English. Different capitalization styles, like title case and sentence case , apply different rules when it comes to which letters to capitalize.
Which words you capitalize depends on the capitalization style you use. Title case and sentence case are two common capitalization styles that follow different rules:
- In title case , the initial letter of every major word (such as a verb ) is capitalized, while minor words (such as coordinating conjunctions ) are typically in lowercase. Title case is most frequently used for headings and the titles of published works.
- In sentence case , only the first word of a sentence is capitalized, along with any proper nouns (names of specific people, places, etc.).
However, these rules may vary. Follow the advice outlined in your style guide.
Cite this Scribbr article
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Nikolopoulou, K. (2023, September 03). What Is Title Case? | Explanation & Worksheet. Scribbr. Retrieved July 27, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/title-case/
Is this article helpful?
![is the title of an essay capitalized Kassiani Nikolopoulou](https://www.scribbr.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/kassianin.png)
Kassiani Nikolopoulou
Other students also liked, capitalization rules in english | quick guide & examples, what is sentence case | explanation & examples, ending a sentence with a preposition | examples & tips, "i thought ai proofreading was useless but..".
I've been using Scribbr for years now and I know it's a service that won't disappoint. It does a good job spotting mistakes”
Daily Writing Tips
Rules for capitalization in titles.
![is the title of an essay capitalized background image 348](https://www.dailywritingtips.com/wp-content/uploads/backgrounds/348.jpg)
I used to think there were only two ways to use capitalization in a title: (1) Capitalize only the first word in the title (except for proper nouns), which I learned working for a local newspaper; and (2) Capitalize the principal and longer words and lowercase the minor, shorter words, which I learned was wrong.
I also came to learn that the rules for capitalization in titles—like the rules for other areas of English grammar—are not set in stone; style guides and grammarians disagree on which words to capitalize in a title.
In fact, there are really only two rules that are consistent across the board:
- Capitalize the first word of the title
- Capitalize all proper nouns
Sentence case, or down style, is one method, preferred by many print and online publications and recommended by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . The only two rules are the two rules mentioned above: Capitalize the first word and all proper nouns. Everything else is in lowercase. For example:
Why it’s never too late to learn grammar (all words lowercased except “Why”—first word in title)
Another method is to capitalize all words in a title. This one is considered simple because there’s no struggle trying to remember which words to capitalize and which ones to lowercase; they’re all capitalized. However, one could argue it’s the lazy man’s method or that it’s not very aesthetic. For example:
Why It’s Never Too Late To Learn Grammar (all words capitalized)
Title case, or up style, is another method. Whether or not you capitalize a word in a title depends on its part of speech. According to most style guides that use title case, the basic rules are as follows:
- Capitalize the first and last word in a title, regardless of part of speech
- Capitalize all nouns (baby, country, picture), pronouns (you, she, it), verbs (walk, think, dream), adjectives (sweet, large, perfect), adverbs (immediately, quietly), and subordinating conjunctions (as, because, although)
- Lowercase “to” as part of an infinitive
- Lowercase all articles (a, the), prepositions (to, at, in, with), and coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or)
For example:
Why It’s Never Too Late to Learn Grammar (all words capitalized except “to,” a preposition)
That last rule for title case is upheld by some style guides, but not all. The Chicago Manual of Style follows that rule (except in cases in which an article, preposition, or coordinating conjunction is the first or last word in a title). However, The Associated Press would have you capitalize prepositions and conjunctions if they are four or more letters long. For others, the magic number is five rather than four. So, according to some guides, you have to worry not only about the part of speech, but also about the length of the words.
There is another common—but incorrect—“method” of using capitalization in titles. I used to follow it myself (see my first paragraph). Many writers mistakenly believe that in a title, you should capitalize the principal and longer words and lowercase the minor, shorter words.
For example, writers often lowercase all two- or three-letter words in a title because they’re short, and many articles, prepositions, and conjunctions—most of which should be lowercased—are short, as well. However, short words can be nouns, pronouns, and verbs, etc., which should be capitalized. Part of speech is more important than length when it comes to determining capitalization in titles. For example:
Why it’s Never too Late to Learn Grammar (wrong)
“It’s” is a contraction of “it,” a pronoun, and “is,” a verb, both of which should be capitalized; “too” is an adverb, which should also be capitalized.
Regardless of which convention you’d prefer to follow (except for the last example), you need to be consistent. Pick one (or follow the style guide of your employer, school, or clients) and stick with it.
Stop making those embarrassing mistakes! Subscribe to Daily Writing Tips today!
You will improve your English in only 5 minutes per day, guaranteed!
Each newsletter contains a writing tip, word of the day, and exercise!
You'll also get three bonus ebooks completely free!
![img is the title of an essay capitalized](https://www.dailywritingtips.com/wp-content/uploads/img.png)
21 thoughts on “Rules for Capitalization in Titles”
Great advice! It can be tricky to know which words to capitalize. When it doubt, look it up!
I love this post! I’ve been bouncing all over the map on this one and appreciate the clear presentation. I normally make an attempt at the 3rd method (Title case) but wasn’t familiar with the rules. For such a seemingly small item for a blog post, it was stressing me out!
I don’t really see any hard and fast rules being delivered in this post, which is fine. I have no problem finding my comfort zone and sticking to it. My personal preference apparently has a name (Title Case).
However, I must comment on the statement that “Sentence case, or down style, is one method, preferred by many print and online publications and recommended by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.”
If they espouse Sentence Case, why are the words “Manual,” “Psychological” and “Association” capitalized?! (OK, maybe “Psychological” and “Association” are considered proper nouns in the sense that they are the part of the title of this particular association. But “manual”?)
Thanks for these tips. I wonder if the title-case method is older than the sentence-case method, since that’s the way we were taught about 100 years ago, right along with two spaces after a period.
Maybe it’s time to update my thinking on that. One thing’s for sure, it would save me time trying to figure out what to capitalize and what not to.
Great tips.. I might have to focus on which style I would stick to.
Interesting article on the complexities of capitalization! Thanks. As a writer and editor, I’ve discovered that one almost never gets to “pick” the style one likes best — the goal is to determine the house style required and stick with that religiously.
With APA, a mix of capitalization styles is called for. For reference lists in citing an article in a journal, the article title itself is done in sentence-case while the name of the journal is in title-case. Same for magazines and newspapers. Oddly enough, book titles are to be given in sentence-case, except for proper nouns, of course. So in a reference list, the title of the APA manual would be the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association! For titles in the body of a paper, one uses title-case, but without capitalizing conjunctions, articles, or prepositions shorter than four letters. So in the text itself, the APA manual would be Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Logical? No. But to play in their ballpark, one must follow their rules. Does the MLA (Modern Language Association) style match with APA for capitalization? Of course not. That would be too easy. Try teaching an English composition course which is supposed to prepare students to enter both the social sciences and the humanites — keeping APA and MLA straight is really quite the challenge these days and capitalization is just a piece of it. And then the history faculty complain that they get students who don’t know how to footnote properly. Sigh.
“Learn” is a verb in my dictionary, so that would make the “to” in “to learn” part of the infinitive.
Great explanation. I was wondering about this for a long time.
Fortunately, most nonacademic writers don’t need to concern themselves with the conflicting dictates of various manuals for specific disciplines like the APA and the MLA. But it’s still confusing to a layperson. Here’s a breakdown by media type of what you’re likely to see:
Newspapers vary in their capitalization style for headlines, from using initial caps for every word to using sentence case. Magazines do so also, but they are not necessarily consistent from one article to the next, because they may design a given article headline to resonate with the feature’s theme (military-style stencil lettering for an profile about a soldier) or tone (a whimsical font for a story about the circus).
Book-cover designers often play with font and case, too but the style on the title page (and in references to other books in a book’s text) will generally be title case. Trade books — those for lay consumers, as opposed to scholars — that include bibliographies and references usually use title case in those resources, too.
Title case is what you’ll usually see on professionally edited Web sites as well, and it’s the default style for writing most people are likely to undertake.
Carla, did you mean “Many” in “May writers mistakenly believe…”? Good post. Thank you.
Thanks for your comments, everybody. Ken – I absolutely meant “Many”….thanks for pointing that out! Even proofreaders need their work proofread…
I agree with TechWriter. “To” is not a preposition when used with a verb. It becomes part of the verb as an infinitive.
Many Thanks for This Wonderful Essay
I would disagree only with one thing. You use the word ‘worry’ in the phrase “…you have to worry not only about the part of speech…” when ‘be aware of’ would perhaps be less pejorative or off-putting.
I think this topic is one of those things that just have to be done right, and which once learned bring professionalism to us amateurs – joyful for both the writer and the reader. Following this particular rule fully embellished fulfills many of the purposes of a title: grab and focus attention in an aesthetic way.
I had learned much of the rule, but not all. Now I can pay attention to who uses the rule effectively and who lets things slip. Your example of the American Psychological Association Publication Manual was interesting. Since they are known for their tendency to make milquetoast of ‘complications’, even at the cost of losing the effect and purpose of the chore, I believed your version of their rule. But on their site I found them quite internally inconsistent. There are examples of every title type.
Again, thank you for the essay.
PS – Cindy, the two space rule depended on the culture and when you learned to type. Typesetting machines and word-processors have never needed two spaces, and possibly not even proportionate Selectronic typewriters.
Here’s why it is Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association:
Publication Manual: Proper noun
American Psychological Association: Proper noun
You see, it is not just a Publication, nor is it just a Manual, it is a Publication Manual and that is its proper name, just as American Psychological Association is a proper name.
Also, I believe it may bolster their self-esteem.
P.S. Being ultra-radical I still put two spaces after a period and a colon! This website persists in correcting it, however, and my defiant space statements go unheard.
@Garrison: Rumor has it that the two-space habit originated with the [manual] typewriters that didn’t do any kind of automatic spacing adjustments, and so putting two spaces allowed for easier and faster reading, skimming and searching of documents (which, in those primitive days, were called papers). This two-space habit persisted into the use of WordPerfect (or should I say, WordImPerfect). The first medical transcription company I worked for had a particular account, a very large local hospital here, and all our work was done COMPLETELY in capital letters. Imagine reading pages and pages of documentation in all caps. The double space between sentences allowed a little rest for the weary eyes. I continue to use two spaces between sentences (and after colons), since I think it still makes skimming and searching documents easier. Whether or not my computer software makes any adjustments (and I don’t see that it does), I don’t know or care; by now, the two-space habit is ingrained, and it would take me a long time to get rid of it; not worth the effort. However, if the web site wants to eliminate my double spaces, it is free to do so. I won’t lose time–or sleep–over it! (and I’m thrilled to be considered ultra-radical about SOMEthing LOL)
@thebluebird11,
Yes, once we did type manually with no power required. Except of course the power to jam those sticky keys down hard enough to make an impression through the ribbon. Back then I used to find the ends of sentences by turning the paper over and holding it up to the light to see where the “stars” were. LOL. I think the old Underwood may still be in the closet at my parent’s house.
After that was a nice little Smith-Corona electric typewriter that tended to put too many spaces between things. It was a fine improvement, but still had a ribbon. By the way, why was there a red half on the bottom of the ribbon? I don’t think I ever used red to type anything.
In the mid-80’s I got a Smith-Corona that had a small screen and memory download on to a floppy disk that allowed you to edit and save documents. The only advantage to this system was that the saved document was re-typed by the machine, making it appear like an original paper. It was also fairly small and portable and I could plug it in at the library, unlike the cumbersome and virtually useless IBM PC Jr. I invested in just a year before.
I still use two spaces after commas because that was how I learned to type way back in the third grade. When I wrote my dissertation in the early 80’s that was still the APA norm. In fact, that was still the norm up until the early 90’s when I was reading student’s dissertations. As recently as 2008 I was writing court reports using two spaces and I never heard any complaints. It has only been in the last year that I discovered the one-space-rule and MLA due to proofreading my son’s papers. When it comes to things written, I am hopelessly out of date.
But, I keep up the good fight. Right on, far out, and power to the people! LOL.
I was once instructed to lower case state-of-being verbs. Is that part of any accepted convention?
Thank you for providing this valuable content on when to capitalize words in a title. Lately, I have been writing a lot of articles and I want to make sure my grammar is as correct as possible.
I really appreciate your help.
Stacie Walker
Thank you. I confess that capitalization is one of my many grammar weak spots. I think I will sign up for your newsletter:-)
I have worked as a professional writer for a several years. I constantly have to fight with people about the capitalization of the word “is” in a title. Since it is a verb, I have always capitalized “is” in titles; however, I constantly see others putting it in lowercase. I sometimes wonder if there is a rule I am unaware of. I have checked with case-checking websites, and these always say to capitalize “is” as well. Lately, I have become mired in self-doubt. I find myself wanting to lowercase “is” because I hate having others look at me with pity for what they think is my ignorance of proper style. I know this is my own insecurity, and I just wanted to vent. This post seems to support my position. However, if anyone knows why “is” should be in lowercase, please let me know so I won’t continue down this misguided editorial path.
Capitalise the first word of the title and capitalise all proper nouns. No more, no less.
Leave the arguments over this method actually being correct aside for a moment, it’s more aesthetically pleasing.
And, for the love of all things holy, no double spaces. Please!
Double spaces after a comma? That’s madness.
Leave a Comment
![is the title of an essay capitalized Grammar Monster Logo](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/grammarMonsterEye.webp)
Capitalization in Titles
Capital letters and lowercase letters in titles (title case).
![is the title of an essay capitalized correct tick](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/tick.webp)
- Articles (i.e., "an," "a," "the").
- Conjunctions (e.g., "and," "or," "but").
- Prepositions (e.g., "in," "with," "of").
More about Title Case
![is the title of an essay capitalized capital letters in titles](https://www.grammar-monster.com/pics/capital_letters_in_titles.webp)
More Examples of Title Case
Clear guidelines to make your life easier.
![is the title of an essay capitalized wrong cross](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/cross.webp)
This page was written by Craig Shrives .
You might also like...
Help us improve....
![is the title of an essay capitalized is the title of an essay capitalized](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/somethingWrong.webp)
Was something wrong with this page?
![is the title of an essay capitalized is the title of an essay capitalized](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/findQuicker.webp)
Use #gm to find us quicker .
![is the title of an essay capitalized is the title of an essay capitalized](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/shareMe.webp)
Create a QR code for this, or any, page.
![is the title of an essay capitalized X Twitter logo](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/Xlogo.webp)
mailing list
![is the title of an essay capitalized FB logo](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/chatLogo.webp)
grammar forum
teachers' zone
Confirmatory test.
This test is printable and sendable
![is the title of an essay capitalized is the title of an essay capitalized](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/expandPage.webp)
expand to full page
![is the title of an essay capitalized is the title of an essay capitalized](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/slideshow.webp)
show as slides
![is the title of an essay capitalized is the title of an essay capitalized](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/word_download.webp)
download as .doc
![is the title of an essay capitalized is the title of an essay capitalized](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/print_test.webp)
print as handout
![is the title of an essay capitalized is the title of an essay capitalized](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/sendTest.webp)
send as homework
![is the title of an essay capitalized is the title of an essay capitalized](https://www.grammar-monster.com/images/lessonQR.webp)
display QR code
What to Capitalize in a Title
#scribendiinc
Written by Scribendi
Confused about what to capitalize in a title?
Do you ever encounter titles in which every word is capitalized? It's understandable why some authors and publications do this. The advice that is commonly given in terms of capitalization in titles is very vague, and rules vary based on the style guide being used.
A common rule that is thrown around is to capitalize all major words in a title. But what constitutes a major word? All of the words in a title are major, right? Well, not quite.
Although capitalizing your title correctly can be difficult, there are several concrete rules that you can rely on when it comes to capitalization in titles. Title case is used for titles, headings, subheadings, and headlines. Here, we'll be describing the rules for writing in title case, as outlined in The Chicago Manual of Style , which is a very common style guide. However, we'll also offer some resources at the end of this article that discuss some of the variations in title case, based on the rules of other style guides.
Download our capitalization rules guide
If you're curious to learn more, download our guide to capitalization rules. Using helpful examples, it explains all kinds of capitalization rules from book titles to job titles and more.
What to capitalize in a title
1. always capitalize the first word as well as all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs..
Let's go back to that rule about major words that we referred to earlier. Though the word major may seem a little bit vague, this essentially refers to all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. In addition, all major style guides indicate that the first word of the title should be capitalized regardless of the word's role as a part of speech. So, yes, even if the first word of the title is not a noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, or adverb, it must be capitalized.
As long as you know your parts of speech , you should have no problem identifying the words that require capitalization. Here are some examples:
![The Grapes of Wrath Title Capitalization The Grapes of Wrath Title Capitalization](https://www.scribendi.com/images/cms/2016_Blog_Images/The_Grapes_of_Wrath.jpg)
In this example, both Grapes and Wrath are nouns, so they should be capitalized. The is capitalized because it is the first word in the title.
![The Old Man and the Sea Title Capitalization The Old Man and the Sea Title Capitalization](https://www.scribendi.com/images/cms/2016_Blog_Images/The_Old_Man_and_the_Sea.jpg)
2. Articles, conjunctions, and prepositions should not be capitalized.
Though it is sometimes said that small words in a title do not require capitalization, let's be a bit more specific. After all, many nouns and verbs are small (e.g., dog , go ), but these words must still be capitalized. The small words we are referring to in this case essentially include articles, conjunctions, and prepositions, which should not be capitalized (again, unless they are the first word of a title). There are only three articles in the English language ( a, an , and the ), so pinpointing these words in a title should be a cinch. Conjunctions like and, nor, but, for, and or should also be written in lowercase.
![The Sound and the Fury Title Capitalization The Sound and the Fury Title Capitalization](https://www.scribendi.com/images/cms/2016_Blog_Images/The_Sound_and_the_Fury.jpg)
Let's break down this example from William Faulkner. Sound and Fury are nouns and must be capitalized. Though the is used twice in this title, only the first appearance of this article needs to be capitalized, because it is at the beginning of the title. Finally, and is a conjunction and should be written in lowercase.
Prepositions are a different story, as they can be tricky to identify. Prepositions link nouns or other phrases (the objects of the prepositions) to the rest of the sentence. Simple prepositions indicate temporal, spatial, or logical relationships between the object of the preposition and the rest of the sentence; these include above, below, after, around, outside, toward, through, into , etc. Participial prepositions are not linked to nouns and include terms like concerning, considering, regarding, and during. Neither simple prepositions nor participial prepositions should be capitalized in a title. Though some prepositions can be quite lengthy, they should still be written in lowercase. (There are some exceptions to this rule, but we'll get to that a bit later.)
![Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Title Capitalization Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Title Capitalization](https://www.scribendi.com/images/cms/2016_Blog_Images/Bury_My_Heart_at_Wounded_Knee.jpg)
In this example, at is a preposition that adds spatial information to the sentence and should be written in lowercase. Bury (verb), My (possessive pronoun), Heart (noun), and Wounded Knee (proper noun) are all capitalized.
Okay, things get more complicated here. When prepositions function as adverbs, they should be capitalized. ( Near and beneath can act as either prepositions or adverbs.) When does a preposition function as an adverb, you ask? A good way to determine this is to identify the part of speech of the term following the word that you are unsure about. If the word that follows is a noun, then the term you are unsure about is probably functioning as a preposition. If a noun does not follow the term, then the word is an adverb and should be capitalized.
3. Capitalize the first element in a hyphenated compound.
If a title contains a hyphenated compound, then the first element must always be capitalized. The other elements of the compound are generally capitalized, unless they are parts of speech that are not capitalized (articles, conjunctions, or prepositions) .
![Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Title Capitalization Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Title Capitalization](https://www.scribendi.com/images/cms/2016_Blog_Images/Harry_Potter_and_the_Half-Blood_Prince.jpg)
In this example, Half-Blood is a hyphenated compound. Blood is capitalized because it is a noun.
If you come across a title that contains a hyphenated compound with a prefix that cannot stand as a word on its own, the second element of the compound should be written in lowercase (unless it is a proper noun or proper adjective). Examples of this include such words as "Co-owner" and "Re-elect."
4. Capitalize both elements of spelled-out numbers or simple fractions.
When a spelled-out number or simple fraction is used in a title, both components require capitalization.
![Capitalizing Numbers in a Title Capitalizing Numbers in a Title](https://www.scribendi.com/images/cms/2016_Blog_Images/Twenty-One_Students.jpg)
You're getting to be an expert with title case capitalization, so instead of rehashing what we have already learned, let's move on, shall we?
5. If the scientific name of a species is mentioned, the second portion of the name must be written in lowercase.
This is one of those picky rules that is easy to overlook. This rule will most often apply to the titles of academic works in the medical or scientific fields. If you are working with a title that contains the scientific name of a species, then the second portion of the name must be lowercased.
![Scientific Name Capitalization Scientific Name Capitalization](https://www.scribendi.com/images/cms/2016_Blog_Images/Alkaloids_from_Callus_Tissue.jpg)
6. Pay attention to the specific requirements of the style guide.
The rules outlined above are the usual conventions when it comes to title case capitalization rules, but make sure that you check the specific style guide that you are using. In addition to formatting, many style guides have established their own rules for the proper use of title case. And though many of these style guides follow the basic rules outlined in this article, there are some variations that you definitely must consider.
For example, remember the previous point about prepositions always being written in lowercase? Well, let's compare two style guides to clarify some of the differences that exist.
According to The Chicago Manual of Style (8.157), a long preposition, such as between , should be written in lowercase. However, some style guides allow words that are longer than five letters to be capitalized (such as the style guide of the Associated Press).
Here are some useful links that provide more information on the rules for title case capitalization according to various style guides:
- Modern Language Association (MLA)
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- Associated Press
Though properly capitalizing a title of your own might be difficult, we hope that this guide has eliminated some of the confusion regarding what to capitalize in a title. The majority of the rules are pretty straightforward, but others (such as the capitalization of prepositions) vary among style guides. Make sure you know which style guide you want to use and that you stick to it.
Image source: choreograph/envato.elements.com
![](http://mangareview.fun/777/templates/cheerup/res/banner1.gif)
Make Your Writing Shine with Professional Proofreading
Try our academic proofreading service , or get a free sample, about the author.
![Scribendi Editing and Proofreading Scribendi Editing and Proofreading](https://www.scribendi.com/images/cms/Author_Bios/Scribendi-Logo-Solid-Final-HD.jpg)
Scribendi's in-house editors work with writers from all over the globe to perfect their writing. They know that no piece of writing is complete without a professional edit, and they love to see a good piece of writing transformed into a great one. Scribendi's in-house editors are unrivaled in both experience and education, having collectively edited millions of words and obtained nearly 20 degrees. They love consuming caffeinated beverages, reading books of various genres, and relaxing in quiet, dimly lit spaces.
Have You Read?
"The Complete Beginner's Guide to Academic Writing"
Related Posts
![is the title of an essay capitalized Hyphenation: Are You Confused?](https://www.scribendi.com/images/cms/thumbnails/Hyphenation_848x370.jpg)
Hyphenation: Are You Confused?
![is the title of an essay capitalized The Rules of Capitalization](https://www.scribendi.com/images/cms/thumbnails/The-Rules-of-Capitalization_720x370.jpg)
The Rules of Capitalization
![is the title of an essay capitalized The Student's Guide to Grammar and Punctuation](https://www.scribendi.com/images/cms/thumbnails/The%20Student's%20Guide%20to%20Grammar%20and%20Punctuation%20-%20Title%20Card1_720x370.jpg)
The Student's Guide to Grammar and Punctuation
Upload your file(s) so we can calculate your word count, or enter your word count manually.
We will also recommend a service based on the file(s) you upload.
File | Word Count | Include in Price? |
---|
English is not my first language. I need English editing and proofreading so that I sound like a native speaker.
I need to have my journal article, dissertation, or term paper edited and proofread, or I need help with an admissions essay or proposal.
I have a novel, manuscript, play, or ebook. I need editing, copy editing, proofreading, a critique of my work, or a query package.
I need editing and proofreading for my white papers, reports, manuals, press releases, marketing materials, and other business documents.
I need to have my essay, project, assignment, or term paper edited and proofread.
I want to sound professional and to get hired. I have a resume, letter, email, or personal document that I need to have edited and proofread.
Prices include your personal % discount.
Prices include % sales tax ( ).
![is the title of an essay capitalized is the title of an essay capitalized](https://www.scribendi.com/images/quote-widget/digicert-seal.jpg)
Which Words in a Title Should Be Capitalized?
The Difference Between Sentence and Title Case
ThoughtCo/Richard Nordquist
- An Introduction to Punctuation
- Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
- M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
- B.A., English, State University of New York
There is no single set of rules for capitalizing words in a title of a book, article, essay, movie, song, poem, play, television program, or computer game. And, unfortunately, even style guides disagree, complicating matters.
However, here is a basic guide to the two most common methods, sentence case and title case , and the top differences between some of the main title capitalization styles. For most of us, it's a matter of selecting one convention and sticking to it.
First, which is which?
Sentence Case (Down Style) or Title Case (Up Style)
In sentence case, which is the simplest, titles are treated more like sentences: You capitalize the first word of the title and any proper nouns (not the same for subtitles).
In title case, on the other hand, which is the most prevalent in book titles and magazine and newspaper headlines, you capitalize the first and last words of the title and all nouns , pronouns , adjectives , verbs , adverbs , and subordinating conjunctions ( if , because , as , that , and so on). In other words, all the important words.
But this is where things start getting sticky. There are four main title capitalization styles: Chicago style (from the style manual published by the University of Chicago), APA style (from the American Psychological Association), AP style (from The Associated Press), and the MLA style (from the Modern Language Association).
In American mainstream publishing, Chicago and AP are the most widely used and referenced (APA and MLA are more used in scholarly articles). And when it comes to capitalization, it's the little words that they disagree on.
Little Words
According to "The Chicago Manual of Style," " articles ( a, an, the ), coordinating conjunctions ( and, but, or, for, nor ), and prepositions , regardless of length, are lowercased unless they are the first or last word of the title."
"The Associated Press Stylebook" is fussier. It calls for:
- Capitalizing the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of three or more letters
- Capitalizing an article— the, a, an —or words of fewer than four letters if it is the first or last word in a title
Other guides say that prepositions and conjunctions of fewer than five letters should be in lowercase—except at the beginning or end of a title. (For additional guidelines, see the glossary entry for title case .)
"Whichever preposition rule you adopt, you need to remember that many common prepositions [can also] function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs, and when they do, they should be capitalized in a title," says Amy Einsohn in her "Copyeditor's Handbook."
A Capital Answer
So, should you use sentence case or title case?
If your school, college, or business has a house style guide, that decision has been made for you. If not, simply pick one or the other (flip a coin if you have to), and then try to be consistent.
A note on hyphenated compound words in a headline: As a general rule, says the latest edition of "The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage" (that newspaper's style manual), "capitalize both parts of a hyphenated compound in a headline: Cease-Fire; Able-Bodied; Sit-In; Make-Believe; One-Fifth. When a hyphen is used with a prefix of two or three letters merely to separate doubled vowels or to clarify pronunciation , lowercase after the hyphen: Co-op; Re-entry; Pre-empt. But: Re-Sign; Co-Author. With a prefix of four letters or more, capitalize after the hyphen: Anti-Intellectual; Post-Mortem. In sums of money: $7 Million; $34 Billion."
One piece of advice on this subject comes from "The Chicago Manual of Style:" "Break a rule when it doesn't work."
And if you want a little help, there are sites online that will check your titles for you.
- 36 Common Prefixes in English
- Definition and Examples of Title Case and Headline Style
- What Is a Style Guide and Which One Do You Need?
- The 9 Parts of Speech: Definitions and Examples
- Definition and Examples of Asterisks (*)
- Top 10 Reference Works for Writers and Editors
- Common Keyboard Symbols: Names, Uses, and Styles
- Top 8 Free Online Style Guides in English
- Guidelines for Using Capital Letters
- Using Sentence Case for Titles, Headings, and Headlines
- 140 Key Copyediting Terms and What They Mean
- Should We Use A.D. or C.E.?
- What Is a Citation?
- The Function of the Prefix
- Embedded Questions in Grammar
- Conventions of Editing House Style
![is the title of an essay capitalized American Psychological Association](https://apastyle.apa.org/Content/Images/megamenu/images@2x/apa-logo.png)
Sentence Case Capitalization
APA Style uses two types of capitalization for titles of works (such as paper titles ) and headings within works : title case and sentence case.
In title case, major words are capitalized, and most minor words are lowercase. In sentence case, most major and minor words are lowercase ( proper nouns are an exception in that they are always capitalized).
- major words: Nouns, verbs (including linking verbs), adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, and all words of four letters or more are considered major words.
- minor words: Short (i.e., three letters or fewer) conjunctions, short prepositions, and all articles are considered minor words.
Sentence case capitalization is covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 6.17 and the Concise Guide Section 5.7
![is the title of an essay capitalized](https://apastyle.apa.org/images/icon-expanded-50x50_tcm11-319243_w1024_n.png)
How to implement sentence case
In sentence case, lowercase most words in a title or heading. Capitalize only the following words:
- the first word of the title or heading
- the first word of a subtitle
- the first word after a colon, em dash, or end punctuation in a heading
- nouns followed by numerals or letters
- proper nouns (such as the names of racial or ethnic groups)
When to use sentence case
Use sentence case for the following:
- titles of articles, books, reports, webpages, and other works in reference list entries , even if title case was used in the original work
Knapp, S. J. (2019). Suicide prevention: An ethically and scientifically informed approach . American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000145-000
Scott, T. N., Gil-Rivas, V., & Cachelin, F. M. (2019). The need for cultural adaptations to health interventions for African American women: A qualitative analysis. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology , 25 (3), 331–341. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000228
- table column headings, entries, and notes
- figure notes
- Link to facebook
- Link to linkedin
- Link to twitter
- Link to youtube
- Writing Tips
When to Capitalize Job Titles in Writing
![is the title of an essay capitalized When to Capitalize Job Titles in Writing](https://proofed.com/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/uploads/2021/07/11-Graphic-When-to-Capitalise-Job-Titles-in-Writing.png.webp)
4-minute read
- 19th July 2021
Should it be “President Biden” or “president Biden”? Is the “social worker” coming to the meeting, or should it be “Social Worker”? To learn when to capitalize job titles in business writing (or any other document), read our guide below.
When Capitalization is Key
Typically, job titles that come before names are capitalized (unless there is punctuation separating the title from the name). In these cases, the job title functions as part of a proper noun formed by the title and name:
President Biden has won the election.
Head of Sales Mark Smith will be interviewing for the position.
But beware of commas! As you can see, the job title below is not capitalized as we’re using it generically, not as a proper name:
The graphic designer , Sohaila Hussein, is very good at her job.
We’ll look at this and other exceptions again later in the post.
Capitalization in Other Contexts
Other situations in which you may need to capitalize job titles include:
- To show respect to a person in a high-status role or position, especially if you are using their job title to stand in for their name.
The Queen will be opening this leisure center.
Have you written to the President yet?
- In emails or letter signature lines.
Yours faithfully, Sarah Brown, Assistant Principal
Melanie Ferrer, Speech and Language Therapist
- In headings, such as section headings in a resume.
May 2019–July 2020 , Customer Services Assistant
- In the vocative case (i.e., when using a job title to address someone directly).
Find this useful?
Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.
Is it serious, Doctor ?
- If a job title appears in the proper name for a building or department.
Office of the Vice Chancellor
Finally, if you’re an employee, make sure to check your organization’s style guide (if they have one) for specific details on capitalizing titles within the company. For example, some companies prefer to capitalize job roles as a matter of respect. And if your boss prefers to see their title capitalized in official documents, it is usually wise to follow their example even if it means bending the standard rules!
When Capitalization is Not Correct
When job titles are used descriptively or generically within a sentence, they are not usually capitalized. This applies to formal writing, job descriptions, cover letters and resumes, and pretty much any other form of writing you can imagine. For example:
Our chief editor , Simon Crystal, has an office on the second floor.
Mrs. Osborne, our assistant chef , makes the most delicious lasagna.
The receptionists at this company leave a lot to be desired.
During my time as a sales manager , I was responsible for 15 employees.
I would make an excellent staff nurse as I have great interpersonal skills.
In other words, when a job description is used in a sentence and does not stand in for (or form part of) a proper name, your default should be to use lowercase letters at the start of each word. However, as above, you may want to check your employer’s style guide for advice on capitalizing specific job titles.
Summary: To Capitalize or Not to Capitalize?
In summary, the rules for capitalizing job titles are:
- Job titles are normally capitalized when they stand in for (or are part of) a proper name, especially when the title precedes a person’s name.
- Job titles are also commonly capitalized to show respect for high-status individuals, when using a title to address someone directly, or when they appear in headings and signature lines.
- When used generically or descriptively, job titles are not usually capitalized.
We hope this post has clarified how to capitalize job titles in writing. But if you’d like an expert to help you perfect your writing, why not try our proofreading service ?
Share this article:
Post A New Comment
Got content that needs a quick turnaround? Let us polish your work. Explore our editorial business services.
6-minute read
How to Write a Nonprofit Grant Proposal
If you’re seeking funding to support your charitable endeavors as a nonprofit organization, you’ll need...
9-minute read
How to Use Infographics to Boost Your Presentation
Is your content getting noticed? Capturing and maintaining an audience’s attention is a challenge when...
8-minute read
Why Interactive PDFs Are Better for Engagement
Are you looking to enhance engagement and captivate your audience through your professional documents? Interactive...
7-minute read
Seven Key Strategies for Voice Search Optimization
Voice search optimization is rapidly shaping the digital landscape, requiring content professionals to adapt their...
Five Creative Ways to Showcase Your Digital Portfolio
Are you a creative freelancer looking to make a lasting impression on potential clients or...
How to Ace Slack Messaging for Contractors and Freelancers
Effective professional communication is an important skill for contractors and freelancers navigating remote work environments....
![is the title of an essay capitalized Logo Harvard University](https://proofed.com/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/uploads/2020/11/logo-harvard.png.webp)
Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Punctuation Marks](https://punctuationmarks.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/cropped-punctuationmarks-logo2.png)
Capitalizing ‘The’ in a Title: The Ultimate Guide
Have you ever wondered whether to capitalize the word “the” in a title? It’s a question that many writers and editors ask themselves, and the answer isn’t always clear-cut. In this article, we’ll explore the topic of capitalization in titles and provide guidelines to help you determine whether to capitalize “the” in your own writing.
Capitalization rules can vary depending on the style guide you’re following, but there are some general guidelines that can help you decide whether to capitalize “the” in a title. For example, the MLA style guide requires that all major words in a title are capitalized, but “the” is capitalized only if it’s the first word in the title. On the other hand, the AP style guide doesn’t capitalize “the” in any context.
To make things even more confusing, there are different styles of capitalization, including title case, sentence case, and all caps. Each style has its own guidelines for which words to capitalize and which to leave lowercase. In this article, we’ll focus on title case, which is the most commonly used style for titles. By the end of this article, you’ll have a better understanding of when to capitalize “the” in a title and how to apply title case capitalization rules to your own writing.
Table of Contents
Understanding Capitalization in Titles
When it comes to writing titles, capitalization can be a tricky subject. There are many rules to follow, and it can be difficult to know which words should be capitalized and which ones should not. In this section, we will explore the different aspects of capitalization in titles and provide you with some useful tips to help you get it right.
The Basics of Capitalization in Titles
The first thing to understand is that there are three different capitalization styles that you can use when writing titles: title case, sentence case, and lowercase. Title case is when you capitalize the first letter of every major word in the title, while sentence case is when you only capitalize the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns. Lowercase is when you don’t capitalize any words in the title, except for proper nouns.
Rules for Capitalizing Specific Words in Titles
There are specific rules that you should follow when it comes to capitalizing certain words in titles. For example, you should always capitalize the first and last word in a title, regardless of what they are. You should also capitalize all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs in the title. However, you should not capitalize articles, prepositions, or conjunctions unless they are the first or last word in the title.
Another important rule to keep in mind is that you should always capitalize proper nouns in titles. Proper nouns are the names of specific people, places, or things, and they should always be capitalized. For example, if you are writing a title about a specific book, you should capitalize the title of the book, as well as the author’s name.
Exceptions to the Rules
While there are many rules to follow when it comes to capitalization in titles, there are also some exceptions to these rules. For example, if a title includes a phrasal verb, you should capitalize both the verb and the preposition.
Using Punctuation in Titles
Finally, it is important to understand how to use punctuation in titles. In general, you should use standard punctuation rules when writing titles. This means that you should use a comma to separate two independent clauses, a colon to introduce a list or an explanation, and a period at the end of a sentence. However, you should not use a period at the end of a title unless it is a complete sentence.
In conclusion, understanding capitalization in titles is an important skill for any writer. By following the rules for capitalization and using punctuation correctly, you can create titles that are both professional and engaging. Remember to always capitalize proper nouns, and to use title case, sentence case, or lowercase as appropriate. With these tips in mind, you’ll be able to write great titles that grab your readers’ attention and keep them engaged.
Capitalization in Different Style Guides
When it comes to capitalization in titles, different style guides have different rules. It is important to follow the guidelines of the style guide you are using to ensure consistency and accuracy in your writing. In this section, we will discuss the capitalization rules for different style guides.
Chicago Manual of Style
The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is a widely used style guide in the publishing industry. According to CMOS, the first and last words of a title should always be capitalized. Additionally, all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs should be capitalized. However, articles, conjunctions, and prepositions should be lowercase unless they are the first or last word of the title.
The American Psychological Association (APA) Style is commonly used in the social sciences. According to APA, the first word of the title and subtitle should be capitalized. Proper nouns and acronyms should also be capitalized. However, all other words should be lowercase, including articles, conjunctions, and prepositions.
MLA Handbook
The Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook is commonly used in the humanities. According to MLA, the first word of the title and subtitle should be capitalized. Proper nouns and acronyms should also be capitalized. However, all other words should be lowercase, including articles, conjunctions, and prepositions.
Associated Press Stylebook
The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook is commonly used in journalism. According to AP, the first word of the title and subtitle should be capitalized. Proper nouns and acronyms should also be capitalized. However, all other words should be lowercase, including articles, conjunctions, and prepositions, unless they are four or more letters.
AMA Manual of Style
The American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style is commonly used in the medical field. According to AMA, the first word of the title and subtitle should be capitalized. Proper nouns and acronyms should also be capitalized. However, all other words should be lowercase, including articles, conjunctions, and prepositions, unless they are four or more letters.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, different style guides have different rules for capitalization in titles. It is important to follow the guidelines of the style guide you are using to ensure consistency and accuracy in your writing. Remember to always capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle, as well as proper nouns and acronyms.
Specific Cases for Title Capitalization
When it comes to title capitalization, there are specific cases that you need to keep in mind. Whether you are writing a book, a movie, a song, a play, a periodical, a TV show, a magazine, a journal, a chapter, or a bibliography, the rules for capitalization can vary depending on the style guide you are following.
Major Words
In general, you should capitalize all major words in a title. Major words include nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. However, you should not capitalize articles, conjunctions, and prepositions unless they are the first or last word in the title.
The First and Last Words
As mentioned above, you should capitalize the first and last words in a title, regardless of whether they are major words or not. This rule applies to all titles, regardless of the style guide you are following.
If your title includes a subtitle, you should capitalize the first word of the subtitle, as well as any major words in the subtitle. However, you should not capitalize articles, conjunctions, and prepositions unless they are the first or last word in the subtitle.
Colons and Dashes
If your title includes a colon or a dash, you should sometimes capitalize the first word after the colon or dash, as well as any major words that follow it. However, you should not capitalize articles, conjunctions, and prepositions unless they are the first or last word in the title.
Numbers and Letters
If your title includes numbers or letters, you should capitalize the first letter of the first word and any major words that follow it. However, you should not capitalize articles, conjunctions, and prepositions unless they are the first or last word in the title.
To illustrate these rules, here are some examples of correctly capitalized titles:
- “To Kill a Mockingbird” (book)
- “The Shawshank Redemption” (movie)
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” (song)
- “Hamlet” (play)
- “The New York Times” (periodical)
- “Breaking Bad” (TV show)
- “National Geographic” (magazine)
- “Psychological Review” (journal)
- “Chapter 1: The Beginning” (chapter)
- “Bibliography of American Literature” (bibliography)
By following these rules, you can ensure that your titles are properly capitalized and easy to read.
Capitalization in Subtitles and Colons
When it comes to subtitles, the rules for capitalization are simple. The first word of the subtitle should always be capitalized, regardless of whether it is an article, preposition, or conjunction. This rule applies even if the first word of the title is not capitalized.
For instance, in the title “The Art of War: A Guide to Strategy,” both “Art” and “War” are capitalized, as is “Guide” in the subtitle.
Similarly, when a colon is used in a title, the first word after the colon is often capitalized. This applies even if the word is a minor one, such as an article or preposition.
For example, in the title “The Great Gatsby: A Novel of the Roaring Twenties,” “Gatsby,” and “Novel,” and “A” are all capitalized.
It’s important to note that these rules apply to both fiction and nonfiction works, as well as to other types of titles, such as article headings and chapter titles.
In summary, when it comes to capitalization in subtitles and after colons, the first word is often capitalized, regardless of its part of speech. Doing this helps to ensure consistency and clarity in titles, making them easier to read and understand.
Geographical and Temporal Terms in Titles
When it comes to geographical and temporal terms in titles, the rules for capitalization can vary depending on the style guide you follow. Here are some general guidelines to follow:
North, South, East, and West
When referring to a direction, such as North, South, East, or West, you should capitalize the word only if it is part of a proper noun, such as “North America.” If it is not part of a proper noun, it should be lowercase, such as “The wind was blowing from the north.”
When it comes to the names of places, such as cities, states, and countries, the general rule is to capitalize them. For example, “New York City” or “The United States of America.” However, there are some exceptions to this rule, such as “the city of New York” or “the state of California.”
When referring to days of the week, you should capitalize them. For example, “I have a meeting on Monday.” However, when referring to seasons or months, you should only capitalize them if they are part of a proper noun, such as “Winter Olympics” or “July Fourth.”
Time Periods
When referring to time periods such as eras, you should capitalize them; for example, “the Roaring Twenties” or “the Renaissance.” However, if you are referring to a general time period, such as “the 1920s,” you should lowercase it.
In summary, when it comes to geographical and temporal terms in titles, the rules for capitalization can vary depending on the context. It is important to follow the style guide you are using and be consistent throughout your writing.
Capitalization of Company and Product Names in Titles
When it comes to writing titles, it is important to know how to capitalize company and product names correctly. Capitalizing them properly can help to avoid confusion and ensure that your title looks professional.
In general, company and product names should be capitalized in titles. However, there are some exceptions to this rule.
For example, if the company or product name is used in a descriptive or generic way, it should not be capitalized. This means that if you are referring to a specific product or brand, you should capitalize it. However, if you are referring to a general type of product or brand, you should not capitalize it.
Here are some examples to illustrate this point:
- Capitalize: “The New iPhone X is Here!”
- Do not capitalize: “I prefer tablets to small phones.”
It is also important to note that different companies and products may have their own specific capitalization rules. For example, some companies may use all lowercase letters in their logos and branding, while others may use all uppercase letters.
In these cases, it is important to follow the specific capitalization rules set by the company or product. This can help to ensure that your title is accurate and consistent with the company’s branding.
Overall, when it comes to capitalizing company and product names in titles, it is important to be consistent and follow the specific rules set by the company or product. This can help to ensure that your title looks professional and accurately represents the company or product you are referring to.
Capitalization of Languages and Dialects in Titles
When it comes to capitalizing languages and dialects in titles, there are a few rules to follow. First and foremost, it’s important to remember that languages and dialects are proper nouns and should be capitalized. However, there are some exceptions to this rule.
In general, when you are referring to a specific language or dialect, it should be capitalized, for example, “Spanish” or “Mandarin Chinese.” However, when using a regional dialect as an adjective, it should not be capitalized, for example “a southern drawl.”
It’s also important to note that when using a language or dialect in a title, it should be capitalized regardless of whether it is used as a noun or an adjective. For example, “The Art of Speaking Spanish” or “Southern Comfort: A Guide to Southern Dialects.”
When it comes to multiple languages or dialects in a title, it’s important to capitalize each one. For example, “A Comparison of Spanish, French, and Italian Cuisine.”
Here’s a quick summary of the rules for capitalizing languages and dialects in titles:
- Capitalize the name of a language or dialect when referring to it specifically
- Do not capitalize a dialect when using it as an adjective
- Capitalize a language or dialect in a title, whether it is used as a noun or an adjective
- Capitalize each language or dialect listed in a title
Capitalization in Legendary and Mythical Titles
When it comes to legendary and mythical titles, capitalization can be a bit tricky. While there are no hard and fast rules, there are some general guidelines that can help you navigate the capitalization of “the” in a title.
In general, if “the” is part of the official title of a legendary or mythical entity, then it should be capitalized. For example, “The Loch Ness Monster” or “The Kraken” are both official titles that include “the” and should be capitalized accordingly.
However, if “the” is not part of the official title, then it should not be capitalized. For example, “Hercules and the Hydra” does not include “the” as part of the official title, so “the” should not be capitalized.
It’s also worth noting that some legendary and mythical entities have multiple official titles, some of which include “the” and some of which do not. In these cases, it’s important to consult reliable sources to determine which title is the most commonly used and which capitalization rules apply.
Overall, the key to capitalizing “the” in legendary and mythical titles is to pay attention to the official title and to use your best judgment based on the context and available information.
Common Queries on Title Capitalization
When it comes to title capitalization, there are a lot of questions that can arise. Here are some common queries that people have when it comes to capitalizing titles.
What Words Should Be Capitalized in a Title?
The answer to this question can depend on the style guide you are following. Generally, you should capitalize the first letter of the first and last words in a title, as well as all nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Articles, prepositions, and conjunctions are typically not capitalized unless they are the first or last word in the title.
What is AP Title Case?
AP Title Case is a style of title capitalization that is used by the Associated Press. In AP Title Case, you should capitalize the first and last words in a title, as well as all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Articles, prepositions, and conjunctions are not capitalized unless they are the first or last word in the title.
How Should “Of Mice and Men” Be Capitalized?
The title “Of Mice and Men” should be capitalized according to title capitalization rules. This means that you should capitalize the first and last words in the title, as well as all nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. The word “and” is typically not capitalized, unless it is the first or last word in the title.
What Are English Capitalization Rules?
English capitalization rules can vary depending on the style guide you are following. Generally, you should capitalize the first letter of the first word in a sentence, as well as proper nouns and titles. In titles, you should also capitalize all nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, and only capitalize articles, prepositions, and conjunctions if they are the first or last word in the title.
In conclusion, understanding title capitalization rules can be confusing, but by following the guidelines of your chosen style guide, you can ensure that your titles are properly capitalized. Remember to capitalize the first and last words in a title, as well as all nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, and only capitalize articles, prepositions, and conjunctions if they are the first or last word in the title.
The Role of Editors in Title Capitalization
As an editor, it is crucial to have a good understanding of title capitalization rules. Editors are responsible for ensuring that titles are correctly capitalized, so it is important to know the rules and follow them consistently. Here are some key points to keep in mind:
- Editors should be familiar with the style guide being used for the publication. Different style guides have different rules for title capitalization, so it is important to use the correct guide and follow its rules.
- In general, the first and last words of a title should always be capitalized, as well as all other words except for articles, prepositions, and conjunctions that are three letters or fewer. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, depending on the style guide being used.
- It is important to be consistent with capitalization throughout a publication. If a certain style is used for capitalizing titles in one section, it should be used consistently throughout the entire publication.
- Editors should also be aware of any specific capitalization rules for certain words or phrases. For example, job titles are often capitalized when they come before a person’s name, but not when they come after.
- Finally, editors should be aware of the importance of grammar in title capitalization. Capitalizing the wrong words or using incorrect grammar can change the meaning of a title or make it difficult to understand.
In conclusion, editors play an important role in ensuring that titles are correctly capitalized. By following the rules of the style guide being used, being consistent with capitalization, and paying attention to grammar and specific capitalization rules, editors can help ensure that titles are clear, concise, and easy to understand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which words should be capitalized in a title.
In general, the first word of a title should always be capitalized. Additionally, all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs should be capitalized. However, small words like articles and prepositions are generally not capitalized unless they are the first word in a title.
Should ‘the’ be capitalized in a title?
Yes, ‘the’ should be capitalized in a title if it is the first word. However, following a specific writing style guide will then determine where else, if at all, you have to capitalize ‘the’ in a title.
Is ‘at’ capitalized in a title?
No, ‘at’ is generally not capitalized in a title unless it is the first word. However, following a specific writing style guide will then determine where else, if at all, you have to capitalize ‘at’ in a title.
Is ‘you’ capitalized in a title?
Yes, generally “you” is capitalized in a title. However, following a specific writing style guide will then determine where else, if at all, you have to capitalize ‘you’ in a title.
What words are not capitalized in a title?
Small words like articles and prepositions are generally not capitalized in a title unless they are the first word in a title.
Can ‘can’ be capitalized in a title?
Yes, “can” is generally capitalized in a title.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Essay Freelance Writers](https://essayfreelancewriters.com/wp-content/uploads/headr-1.png)
How to Write a Book Title in an Essay: Tips and Guidelines [2025]
Jul 29, 2024 | 0 comments
![blog-dev.-banner blog banner](https://essayfreelancewriters.com/wp-content/uploads/blog-dev.-banner.webp)
Jul 29, 2024 | Blog | 0 comments
When writing an essay , properly formatting a book title is more than just a matter of style – it’s a crucial aspect of academic integrity and professionalism. As someone teaching essay writing for years, I’ve seen countless students struggle with this seemingly simple task.
When writing an essay, it is important to know how to properly write a book’s title within your text. How you write the title can vary depending on the title type, citation style rules, and any exceptions that may apply. A book in an essay can be written in various ways, such as using quotation marks around the title, italicizing the book’s name, or simply writing it in standard font with no added emphasis.
In this article, I’ll explain how to write a book title in an essay , covering various style guides and common pitfalls to avoid. We will also explore the different types of titles, the punctuation rules that apply, when to use quotation marks around the title, and any exceptions to the standard formatting.
By the end, you will clearly understand how to write a book title in an essay according to proper grammar and formatting guidelines.
Table of Contents
General Rules for Formatting Book Titles
Before we dive into specific style guides , let’s discuss some general rules that apply across most writing styles. When you mention a book title in your essay , you typically need to set it apart from the surrounding text. This is usually done by either using italics or quotation marks . The choice between these two often depends on the style guide you’re following and the context in which you’re mentioning the book.
For longer works like books, novels, and full-length plays, the general rule is to italicize the title. We usually use quotation marks for shorter works such as poems, articles, or short stories. However, these rules can vary depending on the specific style guide style style guide you’re using, so always double-check your assigned guide.
Now that we’ve covered the basics let’s explore how different style guides handle book titles . We’ll start with one of the most commonly used styles in humanities: MLA.
College Admission Essay Writing Service
Transform your college admissions journey with our expert College Admission Essay Writing Service, designed to elevate your application and maximize your chances of acceptance into your dream school!
MLA Style Guide for Book Titles
The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is widely used in humanities and liberal arts. When following MLA style , you should italicize the titles of books in your essay. This applies whether you’re mentioning the book in the main text of your essay or your works cited list.
For example, if I were writing about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel, I would write it as The Great Gatsby . Notice how the title is italicized, including the articles (“The” in this case).
It’s important to note that while we italicize full book titles, we use quotation marks for titles of shorter works or parts of a book, such as chapter titles . So, if I were referencing a specific chapter, I might write Chapter 3, “The Party,” in The Great Gatsby .
Moving on from MLA, let’s examine APA, another popular style guide used in many academic fields.
Read Also: How to Write an Argumentative Essay | Full Guide and Examples [2025]
APA Style Guide for Book Titles
You’ll follow slightly different rules if you’re writing in the social sciences or other fields that use APA style. The American Psychological Association (APA) also recommends italicizing book titles in the text of an essay.
When you cite a book in APA style, you must include the author’s last name and the publication year in parentheses after mentioning the book. For instance, Fitzgerald’s exploration of the American Dream ( The Great Gatsby , 1925) remains relevant today.
In your reference list at the end of your essay, you’ll also italicize the book title. However, in APA style, only the first word of the title and proper nouns are capitalized. So, your reference might look like this:
Fitzgerald, F. S. (1925). The Great Gatsby . Scribner.
Now that we’ve covered MLA and APA let’s look at another common style guide: Chicago.
Chicago Style Guide for Book Titles
The Chicago Manual of Style is often used in history and some humanities disciplines. Like MLA and APA, Chicago style also recommends italicizing book titles in an essay.
When citing a book title in Chicago style, use footnotes or endnotes for your citations. In these notes, the book title should be italicized. For example, your footnote might look like this:
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (New York: Scribner, 1925), 68.
In your bibliography, you’ll also italicize the book title. Chicago style is unique in that it allows for two different citation systems: notes and bibliography or author-date. Make sure you know which one your instructor prefers.
Now that we’ve covered the main style guides, let’s examine how to use book titles in different contexts within your essay.
Read Also: How to write a Spooky Essay on Halloween (With Example)
Handling Book Titles in Different Contexts
How you format a book title can vary depending on where it appears in your essay. As we’ve discussed, you’ll typically italicize the title in the main text. However, if you’re writing a title with an italicized book title, you’ll need to set the book title in regular type.
For example, if I were writing an essay titled “Symbolism in The Great Gatsby ,” I would not italicize “The Great Gatsby” in the essay title because the entire title is already italicized.
The formatting of your works cited or references page may differ slightly depending on your style guide. Always refer to your specific guide for the most up-to-date rules.
Regarding handwritten essays , where italics aren’t an option, the convention is to underline book titles instead. So, if you’re writing by hand, you would underline “The Great Gatsby” rather than italicizing it.
Now, let’s talk about an important aspect of writing book titles: capitalization.
Capitalizing Book Titles
![How to Write a Book Title in an Essay: Tips and Guidelines [2025] 1 Capitalizing Book Titles](https://essayfreelancewriters.com/wp-content/uploads/Capitalizing-Book-Titles-1024x535.webp)
Proper capitalization is crucial when writing book titles, regardless of the style guide you’re following. Generally, you should capitalize the first letter of:
- The first word of the title
- The last word of the title
- All principal words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and some conjunctions )
However, you typically don’t capitalize:
- Articles (a, an, the) unless they’re the first word of the title
- Short prepositions (in, on, with, at) unless they’re the first or last word
- Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor)
For example: The Catcher in the Rye
Remember, these rules vary slightly between style guides, so always check your specific guide.
Next, let’s address a common issue: dealing with subtitles.
Dealing with Subtitles
Many books have subtitles, and it’s important to know how to properly include these when citing the full title in your essay. Generally, you should include the subtitle after the main title, separated by a colon. Both the main title and subtitle should be italicized.
For example: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
When capitalizing subtitles, follow the same rules as for main titles: capitalize the first word and all principal words.
Now, let’s look at how to handle book series and editions.
High School Essay Help
Discover the ultimate guide to acing your high school essays with our High School Essay Help – your key to unlocking top grades and academic success!
Formatting Book Series and Editions
There are additional considerations when referencing books that are part of a series or specific editions. If you’re mentioning a book part of a series, you typically don’t need to include the series name unless it’s relevant to your discussion.
Include the edition number after the title in your citation for editions other than the first. For example:
Strunk, William, and E. B. White. The Elements of Style . 4th ed., Allyn and Bacon, 2000.
As we wrap up, let’s look at some common mistakes to avoid.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Even experienced writers can make errors when formatting book titles. Here are some common pitfalls to watch out for:
- Inconsistency: Use the same formatting style throughout your essay.
- Overuse of italics or quotation marks: Remember, only use these for titles, not for emphasis in your writing.
- Incorrect capitalization: Double-check that you’ve capitalized all the right words in your titles.
- Forgetting to italicize or use quotation marks: It’s easy to forget, especially with longer titles, but it’s important for clarity and professionalism.
- Using quotation marks for full-length book titles: Remember, quotation marks are typically reserved for shorter works.
Mastering the art of properly formatting book titles in your essays is a valuable skill that will serve you well throughout your academic and professional writing career. Whether you’re following MLA, APA, Chicago, or another style guide, consistency and attention to detail are key.
Remember, these formatting rules aim to make your writing clear and professional. By properly formatting your book titles, you show respect for the works you’re citing and demonstrate your attention to detail and academic integrity.
As you continue to write and cite books in your essays, these rules will become second nature. Keep practicing, and don’t hesitate to refer to your style guide. Happy writing!
FAQs: How to Write a Book Title in an Essay
Should we underline or italicize book titles .
When referencing a book title in an essay , italics rather than underlining is generally recommended. This helps distinguish the title from the rest of the text and conforms to most style guides and formatting conventions .
How to Write a Book’s Title in The Main Body of a Handwritten Essay ?
When handwriting an essay , it is customary to italicize the title of a book to indicate emphasis. The title of the book should be clearly differentiated from the rest of the text to ensure clarity for the reader.
How to Cite a Book and its Author in a References or Works Cited Page?
When citing a book and its author in a References or Works Cited page, the standard format typically requires listing the author first, followed by the book title , publication details, and other relevant information depending on the citation style , such as MLA or Chicago style.
Do Book Titles Go in Quotes in an Essay?
When referenced in an essay, book titles are generally italicized or placed in quotation marks. The choice between italics and quotation marks often depends on the style guide followed and the essay’s overall formatting.
![How to Write a Book Title in an Essay: Tips and Guidelines [2025] 2 Herman Bailey](https://essayfreelancewriters.com/wp-content/uploads/Herman-Bailey.webp)
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
People Also Read
- How to Write an Argumentative Essay | Full Guide and Examples [2025]
- How to write a Spooky Essay on Halloween (With Example)
- What Is a Blue Book?- All you need to Know as a Student
![discount discount](https://essayfreelancewriters.com/wp-content/uploads/discount-1.webp)
Most Popular Articles
Racism thesis statement example, how to rephrase a thesis statement, capstone project topic suggestions, how to write an abortion essay, should students wear school uniforms essay, list causal essay topics write, respect essay, signal words, great synonyms, informative speech examples, essay writing guide, introduction paragraph for an essay, argumentative essay writing, essay outline templates, write an autobiographical essay, personal narrative essay ideas, descriptive essay writing, how to write a reflective-essay, how to write a lab report abstract, how to write a grant proposal, point of view in an essay, debate topics for youth at church, theatre research paper topics, privacy overview.
How-To Geek
How you can create a great title page in microsoft word.
![is the title of an essay capitalized 4](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress%2Fwp-content%2Fauthors%2F659e5a65add09-Me.jpg?fit=crop&w=90&h=90)
Your changes have been saved
Email Is sent
Please verify your email address.
You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.
Quick Links
Cover page templates (and why you shouldn't use them), use styles to create your text, add a section break, add a page border, amend the page alignment, organize your page numbers.
Whether you're writing a book, a business plan, an academic paper, or a newsletter, a title page is a great way to capture your reader's attention, lay out what the document contains, and add professionalism to your work. In this article, we will explore the steps to achieving this.
Microsoft Word offers many template title pages for you to add to your document, which you can access by clicking the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, and choosing "Cover Page" in the Pages tab.
![is the title of an essay capitalized A Microsoft Word document with the Cover Page option highlighted.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/insert-cover-page.png)
While this might be a good option if you're looking to save time, there are various reasons why it's not the best choice:
- Certain preset designs are overused. Similar to well-known PowerPoint presentation designs or website templates, they look pre-designed and standard, lacking that personal touch.
- Designing your own title page means that you can create and follow your own formatting. If you add a preset cover page after finishing your work, you might find the layout is inconsistent with the remainder of your document.
- Word's preset cover pages contain placeholders where you position your text. While you can move, format, and resize these placeholders, they are created using text boxes (rather than as text on the page itself), so their structure is limiting and insecure.
- Depending on the type of document you are creating, you might want a plainer title page. Indeed, some of Word's fancier layouts would look out of place at the beginning of a formal academic document.
- You might find that the designs do not work for you. Creating your own title page offers more flexibility for displaying what you want, where you want it, and how you want it.
The first step to creating your impressive title page is to use or modify styles . You'll find a Title style in the Style Gallery (in the Home tab on the ribbon), which you can click before, during, or after typing your main document title.
![is the title of an essay capitalized A Word document containing the text 'Title Page' and the Title style selected in the Style Gallery.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/title-style.png)
However, if you're not happy with the layout of the Title style, right-click "Title" in the Style Gallery, and click "Modify."
![is the title of an essay capitalized A Word document showing the menu that appears when a style in the Style Gallery is right-clicked, and the Modify option is highlighted.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/modify-title-style.png)
You can then change the style's settings to present your title as you wish. I'd recommend the following settings.
In the Modify Style dialog box, click Format > Font.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Microsoft Word's Modify Style dialog box with the Font option selected.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/modify-style-font.png)
Here, change the font to bold and 72 pt (or a similarly large size, but not too big!). This will make your title really stand out.
![is the title of an essay capitalized The Modify Style Font dialog box, with Bold and 72 pt selected.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/modify-style-font-options.png)
By default, Word condenses any text in the Title style to differentiate it from the rest of the text. However, since I've chosen a larger typeface, I don't need the text to be condensed. So, open the "Advanced" tab, change the Character Spacing to "Normal," and click "OK" to close your font settings.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Word's Font dialog box with the Advanced tab opened, the Character Spacing set to Normal, and the OK button selected.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/font-spacing.png)
With the Modify Style dialog box still open, click Format > Paragraph to open the Paragraph dialog box. Here, change the Spacing After to half your chosen font size. So, since I have chosen size 72 pt font, I'll go with 36 pt for the spacing after the paragraph. Then, click "OK."
![is the title of an essay capitalized Word's Modify Style Paragraph dialog box with the Spacing After changed to 36 pt, and the OK button selected.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/modify-style-paragraph-options.png)
Before you close the Modify Style dialog box, decide on your title alignment. In my example, I'll go with center alignment, as this layout looks great on a cover page. Finally, click "OK."
![is the title of an essay capitalized Word's Modify Style dialog box with the centralized font alignment selected.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/modify-style-center-font.png)
You can now press Enter and type further text beneath your title (such as your name, a second heading, or whatever you wish), and follow the same steps to decide on the style formatting. I've gone with Word's Intense Quote style and modified it to size 20 pt.
![is the title of an essay capitalized A title page on Word with a heading and a sub-heading.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/title-page-heading-and-sub-heading.png)
So that you can format your title page separately from the rest of your document, you need to add a Section Break . With your cursor at the end of the last word you have typed on the title page, click "Breaks" and then "Next Page" in the Layout tab on the ribbon.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Word's Next Page Section Break option in the Layout tab on the ribbon.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/add-section-break.png)
This will create a second page in your document, separated from your title page by an invisible section barrier. If you click the "Show/Hide" (¶) icon in the Home tab on the ribbon, you'll see where this Section Break is added. Click the ¶ icon again to hide these pagination markers.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Word's Show/Hide icon selected, and a Section Break displayed on the page.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/showhide-section-break.png)
If you want to add more content to the title page, simply place your cursor before the Section Break, and press Enter. Word will then set the following line to the Normal style, ready for you to add more details.
A great title page always has a page border . To add one, place your cursor anywhere before the Section Break you just added, and click "Page Borders" in the design tab on the ribbon.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Word's Page Borders button.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/page-borders.png)
In the dialog box that opens, modify the border's Settings and Style to suit your needs. I've gone for a simple box and a solid, thin line, but you can design your border to your taste. Then, importantly, ensure you click the "Apply To" drop-down option and choose "This Section" or "This Section - First Page Only." This is why we created a Section Break in the previous step, and failing to choose this option will add page borders to every page in your document.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Words' Borders and Shading dialog box, with the Settings and Style sections highlighted, and the Apply To drop-down changed to This Section - First Page Only.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/first-page-border.png)
When you're done, click "OK" to see the outcome.
![is the title of an essay capitalized A title page in Word with a page border.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/page-border-added-to-title-page.png)
At the moment, the text is aligned at the top of the page, but a more professional title page will align the text in the center . To achieve this, with your cursor anywhere in the text you have typed so far, click the "Page Setup" icon in the corner of the Page Setup group in the Layout tab.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Word's Page Setup icon in the Page Setup group of the Layout tab.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/page-setup-icon.png)
In the resulting dialog box, first, open the "Layout Tab." Then, click "Center" in the Vertical Alignment option, and choose "This Section" in the Apply To field. When you're done, click "OK."
![is the title of an essay capitalized Word's Page Setup dialog box with Vertical Alignment changed to 'Center,' and Apply To changed to 'This Section.'](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/center-vertical-page-alignment.png)
You will now see that your title page is nicely center-aligned.
![is the title of an essay capitalized A Word document with a center-aligned title page.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/center-aligned-title-page.png)
Title pages tend not to contain page numbers, so you need to change one more setting to make sure this doesn't happen when you add numbers to your subsequent pages .
Go to the second page (which you created when adding a Section Break to your title page), and double-click in the footer area.
![is the title of an essay capitalized The footer section on page 2 is activated.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/page-2-footer.png)
Then, in the "Header And Footer" tab on the ribbon, check "Different First Page."
![is the title of an essay capitalized Different First Page is checked in the Header And Footer tab on the ribbon.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/different-first-page-footer.png)
Now, in the same tab, click "Page Number," then "Bottom Of Page," and choose your preferred style. Personally, I always go for a centered page number.
![is the title of an essay capitalized Word's page number styles, with the Bottom Of Page options showing.](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/choose-page-number-style.png)
Since you told Word that your first-page footer is different from the rest of the document, you'll see that although your second page is numbered as page 2, there isn't a page number on your title page, keeping it clean and tidy without any unnecessary detail.
Now that you have an impressively formatted cover page, make sure you apply the necessary settings to make the rest of your document equally professional .
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft 365
Show Bookstore Categories
![is the title of an essay capitalized Kamala Harris & The Future of America: An Essay in Three Parts](https://assets.lulu.com/cover_thumbs/z/m/zmkjegd-front-shortedge-384.jpg)
Kamala Harris & The Future of America: An Essay in Three Parts
By Caleb Maupin
Specifications
Ratings & reviews.
- Learning Center
What Is Title Insurance and What Does It Cover?
![is the title of an essay capitalized What Is Title Insurance and What Does It Cover?](https://www.zillowstatic.com/bedrock/app/uploads/sites/47/shutterstock_192062969-34d029-1440x960.jpg)
In this article:
What does title insurance cover?
What are the types of title insurance.
- What is lender's title insurance?
- What is owner's title insurance?
What is a warranty of title?
- How much does title insurance cost?
Do I need title insurance?
- How to choose a title company
Who pays for title insurance?
What is title insurance.
Title insurance is a type of insurance that protects mortgage lenders and/or homeowners against claims questioning the legal ownership of a home or property (i.e., the title to the property). If disputes over title ownership arise after the purchase, the insurance policy pays for any legal fees to resolve them.
Unlike other types of insurance that help cover future mishaps, title insurance is designed to protect the policyholder from any past title discrepancies from the seller or previous owner that might be uncovered during or after the purchasing process.
Title insurance covers any underlying issues with a home or property's title that the title company may have missed during the home-buying process. In any real estate transaction, the title company runs a public records search to ensure that the home being purchased is free and clear of any liens or ownership disputes. This process confirms the seller's legal right to sell the home.
While this process usually goes smoothly, title insurance comes into play when disputes arise. Here are some of the more common title issues:
- Title forgeries
- Filing errors
- Unknown heirs to the estate who claim ownership
- Inconsistent or conflicting wills
- Liens, commonly from unpaid home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) or contractor bills
- Undocumented easements
There are two types of title insurance: lender’s title insurance and owner’s title insurance (also called buyer’s title insurance). They both provide the same kind of protection but cover different parties who have financial stakes in a property.
Lender's title insurance
A lender's title insurance policy is designed to protect the financial institution providing your mortgage from title claims that would put their stake in your home at risk. Lenders almost always require borrowers to purchase title insurance on the lender’s behalf as part of the loan-approval process . It's considered a closing cost.
Owner's title insurance
The owner's title policy is designed to protect the homeowner in case of any claims against their ownership of the home. In most cases, owner's title insurance is not required in a home purchase, but it is recommended. It can be paid for by the seller at closing, so you may want to negotiate for it when you are purchasing a home.
If you are buying a home in cash or your lender doesn’t require title insurance, you can request that the seller provide a warranty of title, which states that they are the sole party with a right to sell the home.
How much is title insurance?
Title insurance costs often range between $500 and $3,500 for each policy, but varies by provider. The cost also generally varies based on property location, purchase price and the extent of the coverage. For example, you may opt to have a restriction endorsement to protect against any HOA or subdivision violations related to the home's structure.
Your title insurance premium is generally a one-time charge that's paid at closing. In addition to the insurance itself, you may be responsible for other related fees, like wire transfer fees or courier charges.
In many states, you can compare the prices of different title insurance companies. But in some states, including Texas and Florida, all title companies are required to provide the same level of coverage at the same price, so shopping around isn't required.
Typically, the buyer pays for their lender’s title insurance policy as a closing cost . Owner’s title insurance (which is not usually required) is often paid for by the seller as part of the offer negotiation.
It depends on the transaction. In most cases, buyers are not required to have their own policies. Still, if you want to protect yourself from potential legal costs in the future, you may choose to get a title insurance policy.
Here's an example: You purchase a home, and six months later you find out there was an old, unrecorded contractor's lien against the property for $40,000. Since you are now the owner of the home, you might be responsible for paying off the lien to clear your title and/or paying legal fees to fight the claim.
How to choose a choose a title company
Pick a title company that comes highly recommended from friends, family, your lender or your agent. You might also check the years of experience, number of completed transactions and online reviews from former clients. You can find real estate title companies on Zillow’s professional directory .
![is the title of an essay capitalized Meredith Arthur](https://wp.zillowstatic.com/trulia/wp-content/uploads/sites/1/2017/12/Meredith-Arthur_avatar_1512504654-ebd2ac..jpg)
Meredith Arthur
A local agent can help you stay competitive on a budget.
They’ll help you get an edge without stretching your finances.
Related Articles
![is the title of an essay capitalized What Is a Mortgage Note?](https://www.zillowstatic.com/bedrock/app/uploads/sites/47/shutterstock_465884879-225bfc-720x480.jpg)
What Is a Mortgage Note?
![is the title of an essay capitalized How Does Mortgage Interest Work?](https://www.zillowstatic.com/bedrock/app/uploads/sites/47/Mortgage-Calculator-3-65c47d-720x480.jpg)
How Does Mortgage Interest Work?
![is the title of an essay capitalized How Long Is Mortgage Pre-Approval Good For?](https://www.zillowstatic.com/bedrock/app/uploads/sites/47/GettyImages-1161381382_cr-e373fc-720x405.jpg)
How Long Is Mortgage Pre-Approval Good For?
![is the title of an essay capitalized](https://www.zillowstatic.com/bedrock/app/uploads/sites/47/2023/09/SZ_72_Dream-Prepare-Campaign-Extensions_Q223_SEM_Premier-Agent_1200x1200_Set-1_cropped.jpg)
![](http://mangareview.fun/777/templates/cheerup/res/banner1.gif)
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
MLA Titles | How to Format & Capitalize Source Titles. Published on April 2, 2019 by Courtney Gahan.Revised on March 5, 2024. In MLA style, source titles appear either in italics or in quotation marks:. Italicize the title of a self-contained whole (e.g. a book, film, journal, or website).; Use quotation marks around the title if it is part of a larger work (e.g. a chapter of a book, an ...
The Four Major Title Capitalization Style Guides. First, it is important to note that there are four main title capitalization styles:. Chicago style; APA style; MLA style; AP style; Our title capitalization tool also supports Bluebook and AMA style capitalization.. Each of these capitalization styles has slightly different rules for which words are capitalized and each of these styles can be ...
In title case, major words are capitalized, and most minor words are lowercase. Major words are nouns, verbs (including linking verbs), adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, and all words of four letters or more.
Title case: General rules. Here are the general rules for capitalizing titles and headings: Capitalize the first word and last word of a title. Capitalize all major words, which are all words except articles (a, an, the), prepositions (e.g., on, in, of, at), and coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but, and nor; also for, yet, and so when used as conjunctions).
Capitalizing Prepositions in Titles. Capitalization rules for prepositions are equally ambiguous and depend on the specific style guide you follow. Prepositions of four letters or more are often capitalized, while according to some style guides, all prepositions are written in lowercase, no matter their length.
1. Capitalize the first and last words of a title. The simplest rule you can follow with complete certainty is this: the first and last words of a title are always capitalized.
3 options for capitalizing headings within your thesis: capitalizing all significant words, capitalizing only the first word, and a combination of the two.
APA Style Capitalize the first word. Capitalize all nouns, verbs and verb phrases, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns. Keep articles, conjunctions, and prepositions with three letters or less lowercase.
MLA style's rules for capitalization are intended to help authors remain consistent while also respecting the ways in which titles have traditionally been styled in different languages. The history of capitalization in titles is complicated, though titles of printed works from earlier eras written in English generally conform to a currently recognizable style. For instance, the …
APA Style is a "down" style, meaning that words are lowercase unless there is specific guidance to capitalize them. For example, capitalize the first word of a sentence, unless the sentence begins with the name of a person whose name starts with a lowercase letter.
Title case vs. sentence case. Title case and sentence case are two common capitalization styles that differ in how they capitalize words.. In title case, the initial letter of every major word is in uppercase, while minor words are in lowercase.Title case is most frequently used for headings and titles of books, movies, and other works of art.; In sentence case only the first word of a ...
I used to think there were only two ways to use capitalization in a title: (1) Capitalize only the first word in the title (except for proper nouns), which I learned working for a local newspaper; and (2) Capitalize the principal and longer words and lowercase the minor, shorter words, which I learned was wrong.
Capital letters are used in titles using the 'title case' convention. Title case involves capitalizing the first word, the last word, and all 'principal words.' The so-called 'principal' words in titles are all those that are not articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.
What to capitalize in a title 1. Always capitalize the first word as well as all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Let's go back to that rule about major words that we referred to earlier. Though the word major may seem a little bit vague, this essentially refers to all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. In addition, all major style guides indicate that the first ...
Familiarize yourself with common title capitalization rules, and it will be easier to write articles, papers, and other pieces.
A note on hyphenated compound words in a headline: As a general rule, says the latest edition of "The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage" (that newspaper's style manual), "capitalize both parts of a hyphenated compound in a headline: Cease-Fire; Able-Bodied; Sit-In; Make-Believe; One-Fifth. When a hyphen is used with a prefix of two or three letters merely to separate doubled vowels or ...
APA Style uses two types of capitalization for titles of works (such as paper titles) and headings within works: title case and sentence case.. In title case, major words are capitalized, and most minor words are lowercase.
Because chair, chairman, chairwoman, chairperson, head of school, etc. are generally considered job titles, capitalize these titles immediately preceding the name when used as part of the name.. Some policies capitalize job titles immediately following the name when the word the does not appear in front of the job title. Others do not. Therefore: Joe Smith, Chair of the History Department ...
Is it serious, Doctor? If a job title appears in the proper name for a building or department. Office of the Vice Chancellor. Finally, if you're an employee, make sure to check your organization's style guide (if they have one) for specific details on capitalizing titles within the company.
Understanding Capitalization in Titles. When it comes to writing titles, capitalization can be a tricky subject. There are many rules to follow, and it can be difficult to know which words should be capitalized and which ones should not.
General Rules for Formatting Book Titles. Before we dive into specific style guides, let's discuss some general rules that apply across most writing styles.When you mention a book title in your essay, you typically need to set it apart from the surrounding text.This is usually done by either using italics or quotation marks.The choice between these two often depends on the style guide you ...
Does grammar really matter? Grammar is the structure of language, speech or writing. It is and will always be important in the 21st century and in the future.
Whether you're writing a book, a business plan, an academic paper, or a newsletter, a title page is a great way to capture your reader's attention, lay out what the document contains, and add professionalism to your work.
In this book, originally published in 2020, and censored in 2024 when Kamala was named the Democrat Candidate, Caleb Maupin goes over the life story and political background of a woman he considers to be the most dangerous potential US President in history.
Will the dating world really survive without good grammar? Often, when people create online dating profiles, they put a fair amount of effort into making sure that it reads well.
What is title insurance? Title insurance is a policy that insures that you won't have any unknown claims made to the ownership of your home.
The former president and his backers aim to strengthen the power of the White House and limit the independence of federal agencies.