Avoiding unnecessary capitalization

Do not capitalize a compass direction unless the word designates a specific geographic region.

Voters in the South and much of the West tend to favor socially conservative candidates.

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Do not capitalize a word indicating a family relationship unless the word is used as part of the name or as a substitute for the name.

I could always tell when Mother was annoyed with Aunt Rose.

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Do not capitalize seasons of the year and parts of the academic or financial year.

spring fall semester
winter winter term
autumn third-quarter earnings

Capitalizing whole words or phrases for emphasis may come across to readers as SHOUTING. Use italics, underlining, or asterisks to add emphasis.

Sorry for the abrupt response, but I am *very* busy.