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Spring or spring?
In principle, the guidelines for capitalizing seem straightforward. You surely know to capitalize most proper nouns (and the proper adjectives formed from them), book and movie titles, the first words of sentences, and so on. But the fact is that you make many judgment calls when capitalizing, some of which will require a dictionary. Here are just a few of the special cases that can complicate your editing.
Capitalize the names of ethnic, religious, and political groups.The names of these groups are considered proper nouns. Nonspecific groups, however, are lowercase.
| South Korean | Native Americans | native peoples |
| Buddhists | Muslims | true believers |
| Tea Party | Democrats | political parties |
| the Miami City | the city council | |
| Council |
Capitalize modifiers formed from proper nouns. In rare cases, such as gargantuan or french (in fry or toast), the expressions have become so common that the adjective is not routinely capitalized. When in doubt, consult a dictionary.
| PROPER NOUN | PROPER NOUN USED AS MODIFIER |
| French | French thought |
| Navajo | Navajo rug |
| Jew | Jewish lore |
| American | American history |
Capitalize all words in titles except prepositions, articles, or conjunctions.This is the basic rule for the titles of books, movies, long poems, and so on.
Dickens and the Dream of Cinema
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
The variations and exceptions to this general rule, however, are numerous. MLA style specifies that the first and last words in titles always be capitalized, including any articles or prepositions.
The Guide to National Parks of the Southwest
To the Lighthouse
Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made Of
APA style doesn’t make that qualification, but does specify that all words longer than four letters be capitalized in titles — even prepositions. (Note that this rule applies to titles mentioned within articles and essays themselves not titles in APA-
A Walk Among the Tombstones
Sleeping Through the Night and Other Lies
In all major styles, any word following a colon (or, much rarer, a dash) in a title is capitalized, even an article or preposition:
True Blood: All Together Now
The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel
Finally, note that in APA style documentation — that is, within the in-
Bat predation and the evolution of frog vocalizations in the neotropics
Human aging: Usual and successful
Take care with compass points, directions, and specific geographical areas.Points of the compass and simple directions are not capitalized when referring to general locations.
| north | southwest |
| northern Ohio | eastern Canada |
| southern exposure | western horizons |
But these same terms are capitalized when they refer to specific regions that are geographically, culturally, or politically significant (keep that dictionary handy!). Such terms are often preceded by the definite article, the.
| the West | the Old South |
| the Third Coast | Southern California |
| Middle Eastern politics | the Western allies |
Understand academic conventions.Academic degrees are not capitalized, except when abbreviated.
| bachelor of arts | doctor of medicine |
| MA | PhD |
Specific course titles are capitalized, but they are lowercase when used as general subjects. Exception: Languages are always capitalized when referring to academic subjects.
| Organic Chemistry 101 | Contemporary British Poetry |
| an organic chemistry course | an English literature paper |
Capitalize months, days, holidays, and historical periods.But don’t capitalize the seasons.
| January | winter |
| Monday | spring |
| Halloween | summer |
| the Enlightenment | fall |