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What to Capitalize in a Title: APA Title Capitalization Rules

capitalize title of research paper

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 can capitalized in a title, keyboard closeup

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. 

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:

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.

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:

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. 

Capitalizing Verbs in Titles      

Verbs are another easy case and are also always capitalized, according to all style guides. 

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:

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:

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:

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.

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Making title capitalization easy. Automatically capitalize and case convert to Title Case (in AP, APA, Chicago, MLA, BB, AMA ) , sentence case, UPPERCASE, lowercase, and more.

What is capitalize my title.

Capitalize My Title is an easy, smart title capitalization tool that uses title capitalization rules published by leading professional organizations to ensure your titles and headlines are capitalized correctly. We analyze your titles and headlines using a combination of logic and artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning to determine which words in your heading should be capitalized.

Join our free writing community on Skool .

How to use capitalize my title.

  • Select your title capitalization style above by clicking on a tab. If you have questions, read our title capitalization rules below.
  • Enter your title in the text box.
  • Watch your title convert case and be automatically capitalized!
  • If you want to, you can press “Enter” on your keyboard or click the Copy button next to the text box to copy the text to your clipboard.
  • Capitalize your next title.

Bonus: We have some great shortcuts to make your life easier.

Quick Links: How to Use Capitalize My Title , What to Capitalize in a Title ( What Is Title Case , What Is Sentence Case ), Title Capitalization Rules by Style ( APA , Chicago , AP , MLA , BB , AMA , NY Times , Wikipedia )

Case Converter Options

You have multiple options to capitalize and change the case of your titles, headlines, song titles, book titles, email subjects, and more. Below is a description of the ways you can use our case converter.

The top tabs allow you to select which style of capitalization you want to use. You can learn more in the Title Capitalization Rules by Style section.

  • APA : Capitalize using the APA style guide.
  • Chicago : Capitalize using the Chicago Manual of Style capitalization rules.
  • AP : Use the Associated Press Stylebook capitalization guidelines.
  • MLA : Use the MLA Handbook title capitalization rules.
  • BB: Use the Bluebook title capitalization rules.
  • AMA: Use the AMA Manual of Style capitalization rules.
  • NY Times: Use the NY Times style guidelines.
  • Wikipedia: Use Wikipedia’s capitalization rules.
  • Email: Use proper capitalization rules for email.

Bottom Buttons

The buttons at the bottom let you choose specific case conversion options for the various styles.

  • Title Case: Capitalize only the words that should be capitalized according to the top tab style guide.
  • Sentence Case : Capitalize only the first word of each sentence.
  • Uppercase: Convert your title from lowercase to uppercase .
  • Lowercase: Convert your title from uppercase to lowercase .
  • First Letter / Proper Case: Capitalize the first letter of every word.
  • Alt Case: Capitalize every other letter of your text starting with the first letter being capitalized.
  • Toggle Case: Change the case of every letter in your string. Similar to the Microsoft Word feature.

Other Options

  • Straight quotes: Curly quotes (“,”,‘,’) are used in good typography . If you need to use straight quotes, enable this feature.
  • Get Headline Score/Get Email Subject Score: Find out how strong your headline or email subject is by using our convenient tools.

Common Case Converter Uses

Title case converter.

Quickly convert your title or text to title case by simply clicking the “Title Case” button in the tool above.

Sentence case converter

Quickly convert your title or text to sentence case by simply clicking the “Sentence case” button in the tool above.

Uppercase to lowercase converter

If you left caps lock on accidentally, you can quickly convert your title from uppercase to lowercase by selecting the “lower” button above. This will uncapitalize your text. You can also use this tool to do it automatically.

Lowercase to uppercase converter

Alternatively, you can use our tool to convert text from lowercase to uppercase by clicking the “UPPER” button. You can also use this tool to do it automatically.

Uppercase to title case converter

If you want to change your title from uppercase to title case, you can select the “Title Case” button above.

All caps converter

You can quickly convert your text or title to all caps by selecting the “UPPER” button on the tool. This will convert your text to uppercase.

What to Capitalize in a Title

Understanding what to capitalize in a title is important to make sure that your titles and headlines look correct. If you’re confused about what words to capitalize in a title or headline, we recommend using our title capitalization tool above, 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.

What Is Title Case Capitalization?

Title case is the most common form of title and headline capitalization and is found in all four major title capitalization styles. Title case is also commonly used for book titles, movies titles, song names, plays, and other works.

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.

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. Again, these will depend on the specific style you choose (see Title Capitalization Rules by Style section). These include short words and conjunctions:

  • Articles (a, an, the)
  • Coordinating Conjunctions (and, but, for)
  • Short (fewer than 4 letters)
  • Prepositions (at, by, to, 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. Our tool lets you convert the case of your text easily into sentence case.

Title Capitalization Rules by Style

Chicago manual of style 17th edition 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 (including phrasal verbs such as “play with”), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions.
  • Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (regardless of length).
  • Lowercase the second word after a hyphenated prefix (e.g., Mid-, Anti-, Super-, etc.) in compound modifiers (e.g., Mid-year, Anti-hero, etc.).
  • Lowercase the ‘to’ in an infinitive (e.g., I Want to Play Guitar ).

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th Edition 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 including phrasal verbs such as “play with”, 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.

Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook, 9th Edition 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 including phrasal verbs such as “play with”, 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 (e.g., I Want to Play Guitar ).

The Associated Press (AP) 2020 Edition Stylebook 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 follows:

  • Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions.
  • Lowercase the second word in a compound modifier (e.g., Mid-year or On-site).
  • Capitalize words with four or more letters (including conjunctions and prepositions).
  • Capitalize both parts of a hyphenated word ( new as of 4/25/23 ).
  • Capitalize the ‘to’ in an infinitive (e.g., I Want To Play Guitar ).

Bluebook 21st Edition Capitalization Rules

Bluebook style capitalization is mainly used by lawyers. The capitalization rules are as follows:

  • Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions of four letters or fewer.
  • Lowercase “to” in the infinitive (though not defined in the stylebook).

American Medical Association ( AMA) Manual of Style 11th Edition Capitalization Rules

AMA style capitalization is mainly used in the scientific community. The capitalization rules are as follows:

  • Capitalize the first and the last word of titles and subtitles.
  • Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as “play with”), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions (major words).
  • Lowercase “to” in the infinitive.
  • Lowercase the second word in a hyphenated compound when it is a prefix or suffix (e.g., “Anti-itch”,”world-wide”) or part of a single word.
  • Capitalize the second word in a hyphenated compound if both words are equal and not suffices or prefixes (e.g., “Cost-Benefit”)
  • Capitalize the first non-Greek letter after a lowercase Greek letter (e.g., “ω-Bromohexanoic”)
  • Lowercase the first non-Greek letter after a capital Greek letter (e.g., “Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol”)
  • Capitalize the genus but not the species epithet

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 follows:

  • 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 follows:

  • Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions.
  • Lowercase indefinite and definite articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions.
  • Prepositions that contain five letters or more.
  • The word “to” in infinitives.
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  • USC Libraries
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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

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The title summarizes the main idea or ideas of your study. A good title contains the fewest possible words needed to adequately describe the content and/or purpose of your research paper.

Importance of Choosing a Good Title

The title is the part of a paper that is read the most, and it is usually read first . It is, therefore, the most important element that defines the research study. With this in mind, avoid the following when creating a title:

  • If the title is too long, this usually indicates there are too many unnecessary words. Avoid language, such as, "A Study to Investigate the...," or "An Examination of the...." These phrases are obvious and generally superfluous unless they are necessary to covey the scope, intent, or type of a study.
  • On the other hand, a title which is too short often uses words which are too broad and, thus, does not tell the reader what is being studied. For example, a paper with the title, "African Politics" is so non-specific the title could be the title of a book and so ambiguous that it could refer to anything associated with politics in Africa. A good title should provide information about the focus and/or scope of your research study.
  • In academic writing, catchy phrases or non-specific language may be used, but only if it's within the context of the study [e.g., "Fair and Impartial Jury--Catch as Catch Can"]. However, in most cases, you should avoid including words or phrases that do not help the reader understand the purpose of your paper.
  • Academic writing is a serious and deliberate endeavor. Avoid using humorous or clever journalistic styles of phrasing when creating the title to your paper. Journalistic headlines often use emotional adjectives [e.g., incredible, amazing, effortless] to highlight a problem experienced by the reader or use "trigger words" or interrogative words like how, what, when, or why to persuade people to read the article or click on a link. These approaches are viewed as counter-productive in academic writing. A reader does not need clever or humorous titles to catch their attention because the act of reading research is assumed to be deliberate based on a desire to learn and improve understanding of the problem. In addition, a humorous title can merely detract from the seriousness and authority of your research. 
  • Unlike everywhere else in a college-level social sciences research paper [except when using direct quotes in the text], titles do not have to adhere to rigid grammatical or stylistic standards. For example, it could be appropriate to begin a title with a coordinating conjunction [i.e., and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet] if it makes sense to do so and does not detract from the purpose of the study [e.g., "Yet Another Look at Mutual Fund Tournaments"] or beginning the title with an inflected form of a verb such as those ending in -ing [e.g., "Assessing the Political Landscape: Structure, Cognition, and Power in Organizations"].

Appiah, Kingsley Richard et al. “Structural Organisation of Research Article Titles: A Comparative Study of Titles of Business, Gynaecology and Law.” Advances in Language and Literary Studies 10 (2019); Hartley James. “To Attract or to Inform: What are Titles for?” Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 35 (2005): 203-213; Jaakkola, Maarit. “Journalistic Writing and Style.” In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication . Jon F. Nussbaum, editor. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018): https://oxfordre.com/communication.

Structure and Writing Style

The following parameters can be used to help you formulate a suitable research paper title:

  • The purpose of the research
  • The scope of the research
  • The narrative tone of the paper [typically defined by the type of the research]
  • The methods used to study the problem

The initial aim of a title is to capture the reader’s attention and to highlight the research problem under investigation.

Create a Working Title Typically, the final title you submit to your professor is created after the research is complete so that the title accurately captures what has been done . The working title should be developed early in the research process because it can help anchor the focus of the study in much the same way the research problem does. Referring back to the working title can help you reorient yourself back to the main purpose of the study if you find yourself drifting off on a tangent while writing. The Final Title Effective titles in research papers have several characteristics that reflect general principles of academic writing.

  • Indicate accurately the subject and scope of the study,
  • Rarely use abbreviations or acronyms unless they are commonly known,
  • Use words that create a positive impression and stimulate reader interest,
  • Use current nomenclature from the field of study,
  • Identify key variables, both dependent and independent,
  • Reveal how the paper will be organized,
  • Suggest a relationship between variables which supports the major hypothesis,
  • Is limited to 5 to 15 substantive words,
  • Does not include redundant phrasing, such as, "A Study of," "An Analysis of" or similar constructions,
  • Takes the form of a question or declarative statement,
  • If you use a quote as part of the title, the source of the quote is cited [usually using an asterisk and footnote],
  • Use correct grammar and capitalization with all first words and last words capitalized, including the first word of a subtitle. All nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that appear between the first and last words of the title are also capitalized, and
  • Rarely uses an exclamation mark at the end of the title.

The Subtitle Subtitles are frequently used in social sciences research papers because it helps the reader understand the scope of the study in relation to how it was designed to address the research problem. Think about what type of subtitle listed below reflects the overall approach to your study and whether you believe a subtitle is needed to emphasize the investigative parameters of your research.

1.  Explains or provides additional context , e.g., "Linguistic Ethnography and the Study of Welfare Institutions as a Flow of Social Practices: The Case of Residential Child Care Institutions as Paradoxical Institutions." [Palomares, Manuel and David Poveda.  Text & Talk: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Language, Discourse and Communication Studies 30 (January 2010): 193-212]

2.  Adds substance to a literary, provocative, or imaginative title or quote , e.g., "Listen to What I Say, Not How I Vote": Congressional Support for the President in Washington and at Home." [Grose, Christian R. and Keesha M. Middlemass. Social Science Quarterly 91 (March 2010): 143-167]

3.  Qualifies the geographic scope of the research , e.g., "The Geopolitics of the Eastern Border of the European Union: The Case of Romania-Moldova-Ukraine." [Marcu, Silvia. Geopolitics 14 (August 2009): 409-432]

4.  Qualifies the temporal scope of the research , e.g., "A Comparison of the Progressive Era and the Depression Years: Societal Influences on Predictions of the Future of the Library, 1895-1940." [Grossman, Hal B. Libraries & the Cultural Record 46 (2011): 102-128]

5.  Focuses on investigating the ideas, theories, or work of a particular individual , e.g., "A Deliberative Conception of Politics: How Francesco Saverio Merlino Related Anarchy and Democracy." [La Torre, Massimo. Sociologia del Diritto 28 (January 2001): 75 - 98]

6.  Identifies the methodology used , e.g. "Student Activism of the 1960s Revisited: A Multivariate Analysis Research Note." [Aron, William S. Social Forces 52 (March 1974): 408-414]

7.  Defines the overarching technique for analyzing the research problem , e.g., "Explaining Territorial Change in Federal Democracies: A Comparative Historical Institutionalist Approach." [ Tillin, Louise. Political Studies 63 (August 2015): 626-641.

With these examples in mind, think about what type of subtitle reflects the overall approach to your study. This will help the reader understand the scope of the study in relation to how it was designed to address the research problem.

Anstey, A. “Writing Style: What's in a Title?” British Journal of Dermatology 170 (May 2014): 1003-1004; Balch, Tucker. How to Compose a Title for Your Research Paper. Augmented Trader blog. School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Tech University; Bavdekar, Sandeep B. “Formulating the Right Title for a Research Article.” Journal of Association of Physicians of India 64 (February 2016); Choosing the Proper Research Paper Titles. AplusReports.com, 2007-2012; Eva, Kevin W. “Titles, Abstracts, and Authors.” In How to Write a Paper . George M. Hall, editor. 5th edition. (Oxford: John Wiley and Sons, 2013), pp. 33-41; Hartley James. “To Attract or to Inform: What are Titles for?” Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 35 (2005): 203-213; General Format. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Kerkut G.A. “Choosing a Title for a Paper.” Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology 74 (1983): 1; “Tempting Titles.” In Stylish Academic Writing . Helen Sword, editor. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012), pp. 63-75; Nundy, Samiran, et al. “How to Choose a Title?” In How to Practice Academic Medicine and Publish from Developing Countries? A Practical Guide . Edited by Samiran Nundy, Atul Kakar, and Zulfiqar A. Bhutta. (Springer Singapore, 2022), pp. 185-192.

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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Titles, Headlines, and Capitalization: Helpful Tips for Researchers

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With a serious focus on research content, many academics and researchers don’t worry too much about the mechanics of writing. But having a research paper written in professional, academic English is the key to having your work taken seriously. Communicating information clearly and accurately will ensure that your work gets the attention it deserves.

Capitalization in English can be particularly tricky for non-native speakers. Even native speakers struggle to do it correctly! Different writing and citation styles all have different rules for capitalization. In this article, we will talk about the main things to keep in mind when writing titles and headlines in articles to ensure your capitalization is proper.

We will also review the differences between different citation styles and suggest some tools so that your research papers are the best they can be.

Table of Content:

Capitalization basics, exceptional cases of capitalization, capitalization in different style guides.

English capitalization is tricky, but there are that apply in every situation. The first rule is that the first word of a sentence is always capitalized in a title or headline. It does not matter whether that word is a noun, article, preposition, or otherwise- if it comes first, it should be capitalized. With this in mind, of title capitalization.

  • Only first words capitalized
  • All significant words capitalized
  • Vary capitalization by title/headline level

In the first style, a headline or a title is written like a sentence (known as sentence case). For example:

capitalize title of research paper

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The influence of pharmaceutical pollution on frogs

A study on the influence of social media on self-esteem in teenagers

History of women’s rights in Afghanistan

In the second style, all significant words are capitalized (known as title case). What words are considered significant? This list is quite long, and includes, for example, nouns, pronouns, proper nouns, adjectives, and verbs.

An easier way to think about this capitalization style is to focus on what words are not significant. Words that are not significant include articles (a, an, the), prepositions (by, before, in), and conjunctions (and, but, or). For example:

The Influence of Pharmaceutical Pollution on Frogs

A Study on the Influence of Social Media on Self-Esteem in Teenagers

History of Women’s Rights in Afghanistan

In the third style, you can use a combination of the two styles to indicate different levels. For example:

Chapter 1. The Influence of Pharmaceutical Pollution on Frogs (level 1)

Section 1.1. What is pharmaceutical pollution? (level 2)

Section 1.1.2. Types of act ive ingredients found in waterways (level 3)

You may be thinking that the above rules seem too simple to cover all cases, and you are correct. In English, there are exceptions to just about every rule, including title capitalization. In our first style above, we capitalized the words as we would in a sentence. In this case, we should also capitalize proper nouns. For example:

Ten exciting getaways in Paris

A study of the novel coronavirus impact on the healthcare system in Wuhan

In our second style above, it was mentioned that prepositions are generally not capitalized. However, if a preposition is part of a phrasal verb , it should be capitalized. For example:

How to Bring Up Your Child to be Healthy

Get Up and Go Out: Ten Ways to Stay Fit

When a title or headline contains a hyphenated word, generally both words should be capitalized.

Nightmare on Sixty-Seventh Street: One Man’s Battle with Zoning Laws

However, if the hyphenated word consists of a prefix that cannot stand alone (anti-, pre-, etc.), then only the first word should be capitalized.

Pre-diabetic Teens and Sugar Consumption

These are just a few of the most common exceptions. There are additional rules for things like dates, religions, and occupations, which are covered in this article here .

Each style guide (Chicago, APA, MLA, AP) has its own particularities when it comes to citation and how words are written, and capitalization is no exception. In this article, we will discuss the major differences between them, but note that you should always when writing to ensure that you are following the rules.

In the AP guide, all words with three letters or fewer are lowercase in a title. However, if any of those short words are verbs (e.g., “is,” “are,” “was,” “be”), they are capitalized. For example:

How to Be an Ethical Researcher

Chicago Style

In Chicago style, all prepositions are lowercase unless they are the first or last word of the title. These include the longer prepositions such as “between,” “among,” and “throughout.”

Between Two Worlds: Navigating through Adolescence

In MLA style, words with three letters or fewer are lowercase , unless they meet the criteria for “significant” words above. If a short word is the first or last word of the title, then it is capitalized.

Eat Healthy, Eat Well: Embracing Good Nutrition

And Thus Spoke Zarathustra

APA style uses both sentence case and title case as described in the first part of this article. In APA, all major words and all words that are four letters or longer should be capitalized in a title.

Korean Democracy Thirty Years on

How Effective is Hand Sanitizer Anyway?

Fortunately, there are a number of online tools these days in addition to the style guides that can help you figure out how and when to capitalize words in your titles. While sites can offer quick AI help to keep your paper free of the most common typos, there are other tools available specifically for academics as well.

Trinka AI is one option that will provide you with more advanced proofreading for academic and technical writing . Specifically designed to meet the needs of researchers and academics, Trinka can be a great option for when you don’t want to pay for pricier human editors or proofreaders.

Of course, if you need human confirmation that you’ve got your capitalization correct, Enago’s writing services are an affordable and fast option as well.

While capitalizing your titles properly can be a challenge, hopefully this guide has provided you with some helpful tips and rules to use as a basis.

Do you find proper capitalization in titles challenging? What questions do you have for us about proper capitalization? Let us know in the comments below.

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Capitalization Of Titles And Headings — The 3 Methods

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Capitalization-of-Titles-Definition

When crafting your dissertation , capitalizing chapter and section headings can be approached in three distinct ways: only the first word is capitalized, all words of significance are capitalized, or a blend of the two methods. The choice of method greatly impacts the presentation and readability of academic writing . This article is designed to guide you through these three capitalization strategies.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

  • 1 Capitalization of Titles – In a Nutshell
  • 2 Definition: Capitalization of titles and headings
  • 3 Capitalization of titles and headings: The methods
  • 4 Capitalization titles and headings: Proper nouns
  • 5 Consistency is important
  • 6 Why consistency is important

Capitalization of Titles – In a Nutshell

Depending on the style of capitalization of titles, you may capitalize all significant words or only the first word. If you choose the first option, then you should capitalize every word except the following:

  • Articles – an, a, the, etc.
  • Prepositions – of, in, on, etc.
  • Coordinating conjunctions – but, or, and, etc.
  • The word “to.”

Also, ensure you understand what the Style Guides, like APA style , MLA and Chicago style , s ay about capitalization before writing your paper.

Definition: Capitalization of titles and headings

The three main methods of capitalizing headings include sentence case, title case, and a combination of both sentence and title case.  All three have specific guidelines you should follow when using them.

It is essential to look out for any inconsistencies while using the different styles of capitalization of titles for your academic writing. Hence, always remain consistent to ensure your audience can easily follow through with your content. You must also understand that all proper nouns appearing in any headings should be capitalized.

Capitalization of titles and headings: The methods

Capitalization-of-titles-methods

Here is an in-depth look at the capitalization of titles methods you can use:

Method 1 – Title case

When using the title Case, you capitalize every significant word. This capitalization of titles style helps you understand what a powerful word is and what is not.

Generally, significant words are pronouns , nouns, adjectives , adverbs, and verbs; therefore, do not capitalize any prepositions , articles , or conjunctions .

Here is a table that gives examples of this method of capitalization of titles:

Method 2 – Sentence case

If you choose to use the sentence case, you only capitalize the first words. The table below shows examples of this capitalization of titles method:

Method 3 – Capitalization varies by methods

You can combine the two methods above in this capitalization of titles method. Here, you choose when to use a title case and when to format it with the sentence case. For example, you can use method 1 for chapter headings and 2 for lower-level headings and titles.

The table below shows examples of this method of capitalization of titles:

Capitalization titles and headings: Proper nouns

However, theories, models or schools of thought are not proper nouns, so you should not capitalize them in any of the styles of capitalization of titles. It would help if you only capitalized the scholar’s name when necessary.

Wrong: The Realist School

Correct: the realist school

Despite the capitalization of titles style, ensure you follow the grammar rules for using proper nouns. These constitute the name of organizations, people, and places and are always capitalized in headings, regardless of the writing style. For example, when writing the names of a country, like England, you must capitalize it regardless of your writing style.

Consistency is important

If you are wondering which option you should use for the capitalization of titles, we recommend using the title or sentence case for your headings. Both, title and sentence cases, are easier to follow and would not require you to make many choices of the words you should capitalize and those you should not. Additionally, using many capital letters may make it difficult to read the texts and follow through, especially when your headings are longer.

You should also remember the specific requirements for writing headings for the APA, MLA , and Chicago styles. This will ensure you use the method of capitalization of titles as required.

Why consistency is important

Whatever option you choose for capitalization of titles and headings, remember that consistency throughout your document matters. This applies to your main chapter headings and the supporting materials, including appendices , acknowledgements, abstracts, figures and tables, reference lists, or table of contents.

To remove any inconsistency that might result from your preferred capitalization of titles style, carefully analyze your take on the contents. You can use Microsoft Word to automatically generate your list and see all your headings in a list. Looking through headings together without any distractions will pinpoint any anomalies. Also, ensure that other components of your dissertation format and layout are consistent and relate to your headings.

What words should you capitalize when writing a thesis title?

Because a thesis statement is an argument or claims you write to defend your research, do not capitalize it. Only capitalize the words you should capitalize according to the English Grammar.

What can you capitalize on an MLA paper?

All the first words of titles and subtitles are capitalized in MLA format. For example, The Future Fair: A Fair for Everybody.

What is the difference in capitalization of titles and headings between APA, MLA, and Chicago?

In Chicago and MLA, all prepositions appear lowercase, regardless of length. However, in APA style, capitalize all four letters and longer words, even if they are prepositions.

How do you capitalize headings in the AP Stylebook?

Most people use the AP Stylebook to write media, journalism, and corporate communication content. In this capitalization of titles method, capitalize all words of four and more letters, even when they are prepositions.

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How to Capitalize Titles and Headings?

Home / Blog / How To Capitalize Titles And Headings?

How to Capitalize Titles

Introduction

When you write your essay , it can be easy to overlook some basic elements of your essay. You need to ensure that titles, subheadings, and headings are correctly formatted in your paper, which leads us to headings and title capitalization. Most of us have never really bothered about it and leave our titles and headings formatted incorrectly. 

Although this may not matter if you are in middle school, a high school or university student needs to ensure that they properly format their titles and subheads to not lose marks. This is because different types of papers have varying styles, and you need to make sure where exactly you are using upper and lower-case letters in your text. This article will provide you with a brief guide to ensure you are properly capitalizing your titles and headings. 

Why are heading and title capitalization important?

Different types of essays or academic research papers require you to use different formatting styles. This helps to bring out the content in your paper more and make sure your text appears structured and readable. This is where you should be looking to capitalize your title, heading or subheading. Down below, I have discussed the importance of capitalizing each element of your text.

Title 

The title holds the highest significance in your academic paper. It helps to convey to your reader the main idea or theme behind your writing. Title capitalization is important because it helps to make your title stand out all the more. It reinforces the idea that it conveys and makes the reader interested in reading through your text.

Using upper and lower-case letters in headings is essential to make your heading’s meaning appear clearer and consistent with your text below it. Many specialized academic papers will have different styles of implementing capitalization in headings.

Subheadings

Using capitalization in your subheading further reinforces the idea behind your heading. Significant words can be capitalized here to convey your idea or thought more clearly to your reader. 

Down below, I have provided a guide to using capitalization in the correct manner in all three of these elements. 

How to use capitalization for your paper

There are mainly three ways in which you can use capitalization for your title, heading and subheading.

  • Capitalizing the first letter

This includes capitalizing only the first letter of your title. This is usually basic formatting that is done to make sure the title is readable and sends a clear message. 

You are also required to capitalize the first letter of every subheading and heading to keep following proper formatting and punctuation in your text. Capitalizing the first letter is the default way most of us write our academic papers.

  • Capitalizing only significant words

There might be certain words in your titles, headings and subheadings that hold more value than the other words. In situations like these, it may help if you capitalized the first letter of every significant word. This way you can bring out the meaning or impact of those words all the more. 

For example, if you are writing an essay on Java programming language , you might want to capitalize the word Java in every title, heading or subheading that you use. Another good example; if our title is “top ten ways to write a letter,” then you can write it like “Top Ten Ways to Write a Letter.” As you can see, only significant words are the upper case here. 

  • Capitalizing Proper nouns

This is another way of using capital letters in your paper. You capitalize words that are names, terms, abbreviations, etc. This way you can establish the importance of those proper nouns (like Collective Nouns ) and use them in your text correctly. 

Essays or papers on history, biology or even physics have many proper nouns that need to be capitalized. Another essential thing to note here is that the letter “I” has to be always in capital, regardless of the sentence, essay or paper you are writing. 

As you can see, these are the three main ways in which you can capitalize your titles, headings and subheadings in your content.

Parting thoughts

I hope this blog helped you understand how to use capitalization in your paper correctly. Proper use of upper and lower-case letters goes a long way to ensure that your content is readable and properly formatted. 

If you are still having trouble trying to understand how to use capitalization in your academic paper, you can get in touch with us and take help from one of our professional assignment writers . 

Learn to properly use capitalization with the help of Essayhack.io

You can get in touch with us and avail help to write your paper and understand all about using capitalization. We have a team of experienced and talented writers who are well acquainted with all the proper formatting and capitalization styles for your paper. Get professional writing help from us along with other guarantees like:

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We also have a responsive customer support available round the clock for solving and answering any query that you might have. If you have any further questions about title capitalization or have any other queries that you want to ask us, you can get in touch with us by dropping us a mail or calling us. You can also use the contact us form on our website, and we will get back to you at the earliest.

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  1. What to Capitalize in a Title: APA Title Capitalization Rules

    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 ...

  2. Title case capitalization

    How to implement title case. In title case, capitalize the following words in a title or heading: the first word of the title or heading, even if it is a minor word such as "The" or "A". the first word of a subtitle. the first word after a colon, em dash, or end punctuation in a heading. major words, including the second part of ...

  3. Capitalization in Titles and Headings

    Capitalization in Titles and Headings. Published on December 22, 2015 by Sarah Vinz . Revised on July 23, 2023. There are three main options for capitalizing chapter and section headings within your dissertation: capitalizing all significant words, capitalizing only the first word, and a combination of the two.

  4. Title Capitalization Tool

    The rules are fairly standard for title case: Capitalize the first and the last word. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as "play with"), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (regardless of length).

  5. Title Case and Sentence Case Capitalization in APA Style

    Title case is used to capitalize the following types of titles and headings in APA Style: Titles of references (e.g., book titles, article titles) when they appear in the text of a paper, Titles of inventories or tests, Headings at Levels 1 and 2, The title of your own paper and of named sections within it (e.g., the Discussion section), and.

  6. APA Style 6th Edition Blog: Capitalization

    Title Case. Title case is used to capitalize the following types of titles and headings in APA Style: Titles of references (e.g., book titles, article titles) when they appear in the text of a paper, Titles of inventories or tests, Headings at Levels 1 and 2, The title of your own paper and of named sections within it (e.g., the Discussion ...

  7. Capitalization

    Capitalization. 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. The Publication Manual contains guidance on how to ...

  8. How to Capitalize and Format Reference Titles in APA Style

    The formatting of the titles of sources you use in your paper depends on two factors: (a) the independence of the source (stands alone vs. part of a greater whole) and (b) the location of the title (in the text of the paper vs. in the reference list entry). The table below provides formatting directions and examples: Independence of source. Text.

  9. What Is Title Case?

    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 ...

  10. APA Title Page (7th edition)

    The student version of the APA title page should include the following information (double spaced and centered): Paper title. Author name. Department and university name. Course number and name. Instructor name. Due date of the assignment. The professional title page also includes an author note (flushed left), but not a course name, instructor ...

  11. Choosing a Title

    The following parameters can be used to help you formulate a suitable research paper title: The purpose of the research; The scope of the research; ... Use correct grammar and capitalization with all first words and last words capitalized, including the first word of a subtitle. All nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that appear ...

  12. Title page setup

    Paper title. Place the title three to four lines down from the top of the title page. Center it and type it in bold font. Capitalize major words of the title. Place the main title and any subtitle on separate double-spaced lines if desired. There is no maximum length for titles; however, keep titles focused and include key terms.

  13. What to Capitalize in a Title

    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 ...

  14. Capitalization Rules in English

    Capitalizing titles. The capitalization rules for the titles of books, articles, movies, art, and other works vary slightly between style guides. But in general, the following rules apply across major style guides, including APA, MLA, and Chicago. Capitalize the first word of the title and (if applicable) the subtitle. Capitalize the last word.

  15. Capitalization

    Sample Paper ; Title Page ; APA 7th Style Chart ; Abbreviations ; Bias Free Language ... Research Methods & Analysis Resources; Statistics & Analysis Resources ... Zotero Reference Manager; Capitalization (APA 7th) Proper Nouns (APA 7th) Guidance to capitalize proper nouns in APA Style. Title Case Capitalization (APA 7th) Sentence Case ...

  16. Sentence case capitalization

    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.

  17. Titles, Headlines, and Capitalization: Helpful Tips for ...

    Titles, Headlines, and Capitalization are crucial elements of written research. Here are some helpful tips for researchers. With a serious focus on research content, many academics and researchers don't worry too much about the mechanics of writing. ... But having a research paper written in professional, academic English is the key to having ...

  18. MLA Titles

    Use quotation marks around the title if it is part of a larger work (e.g. a chapter of a book, an article in a journal, or a page on a website). All major words in a title are capitalized. The same format is used in the Works Cited list and in the text itself. When you use the Scribbr MLA Citation Generator, the correct formatting and ...

  19. Capitalization Of Titles And Headings ~ The 3 Methods

    Method 1 - Title case. When using the title Case, you capitalize every significant word. This capitalization of titles style helps you understand what a powerful word is and what is not. Generally, significant words are pronouns, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs; therefore, do not capitalize any prepositions, articles, or conjunctions.

  20. Mastering Title Capitalization: A Comprehensive Guide

    The title holds the highest significance in your academic paper. It helps to convey to your reader the main idea or theme behind your writing. Title capitalization is important because it helps to make your title stand out all the more. It reinforces the idea that it conveys and makes the reader interested in reading through your text.

  21. What do you capitalize in a title?

    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.

  22. APA Headings and Subheadings

    Headings and subheadings provide structure to a document. They signal what each section. is about and allow for easy navigation of the document. APA headings have five possible levels. Each heading level is formatted differently. Note: Title case simply means that you should capitalize the first word, words with four or more letters, and all ...