What to Capitalize in a Title

Don't Lose Points - Be Sure to Capitalize Your Titles Correctly

Understanding what to capitalize in a title is important to make sure that your titles look correct. If you’re confused about what words to capitalize in a title or headline, use the title capitalization tool (HERE), but if you want specific capitalization rules, they are as follows.


First, it is important to note that there are four main title capitalization styles: Chicago style, APA style, MLA style, and AP style. 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.

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, article titles, etc. When multiple letters in a title need to be capitalized, use title case capitalization.

 

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) - UNLESS they are the first word in the title
  • Coordinating Conjunctions (and, but, for)
  • Short (fewer than 5 letters)
  • Prepositions (at, by, from, etc.)

 

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)
  • Capitalize all words of four letters or more.






Work Cited

"Automatic Title Case Converter." Title Capitalization Tool - Capitalize My Title. 02 Sept. 2019 

           <https://capitalizemytitle.com/>.

 

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