- The right way to capitalize your title depends on which style guide you’re following. Different style guides—including the most commonly used ones such as the Associated Press Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style—often have their own specific rules for title capitalization.
- While there is some variation among the most commonly used style guides, most guides recommend capitalizing the first and last words of a title, as well as major words such as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
- Most popular style guides generally agree that articles (a, an, the), short conjunctions (and, or, but), and short prepositions (at, by, to, etc.) are not capitalized in titles, unless they are the first or last word in the title.
Even if you excelled in English class or took a copyediting course, the rules governing capitalization in titles might still confuse you. There are specific guidelines for which words to capitalize in titles—these apply to books, movies, plays, television shows, white papers, blog posts, and more. However, these rules are not universal; they vary depending on the style guide you follow. With this guide, you can quickly and accurately capitalize titles in your writing.
Table of contents
The style guides that set the standards for capitalizing titles
What words are capitalized in titles?
Title case vs. sentence case in titles
More examples of capitalization in titles
The style guides that set the standards for capitalizing titles
First, an important question: Who makes the rules for capitalization in titles? Following are the major style guides that set the standards for how to treat the written word.
- The Associated Press Stylebook: The AP stylebook is used by journalists, news organizations, and public relations professionals.
- The Chicago Manual of Style: Chicago style is preferred by book publishers, academic journals, and some magazines.
- AMA Manual of Style: The stylebook of the American Medical Association is used in medical and scientific publishing.
- Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association: APA style is the standard for social sciences, education, and psychology.
- The MLA Handbook: The stylebook of the Modern Language Association is commonly used in humanities, especially language and literature studies.
Of the guides listed above, the most commonly used style guides are the Associated Press Stylebook, the Chicago Manual of Style, and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. This post will focus on two of the most common style guides—the AP stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style.
How to capitalize titles
According to most style guides, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are capitalized in titles of books, articles, songs, and beyond. The popular grammar and punctuation style guides generally agree that when spelling out a title, the first and last words should be capitalized, as should all major words in between. Similarly, they concur that articles (the, an, a), short conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor), and short prepositions (in, off, on, out, at, by) should be in lowercase unless they’re the first or last word.
Capitalization guidelines by style guide
With so much crossover between guides, capitalization in titles seems straightforward. However, there are a few important differences, especially surrounding the treatment of prepositions and conjunctions.
Prepositions in titles
AP capitalizes prepositions of four letters or more, while Chicago capitalizes prepositions of five letters or more. APA and MLA also have their own unique approaches: APA capitalizes words with four or more letters, while MLA capitalizes all major words, including short conjunctions. (We explain this more later in this post.)
Here are some examples of preposition treatments in titles:
- AP/APA: “The Man With the Golden Grain”
- Chicago/MLA: “The Man with the Golden Grain”
Conjunctions in titles
Most style guides lowercase short conjunctions like and, but, or, for, nor, and yet in titles. However, Chicago style capitalizes the conjunctions yet and so in titles.
Here is an example of different style guides’ treatment of conjunctions in a title:
- AP/APA: “So Complicated, so Simple”
- Chicago/MLA: “So Complicated, So Simple”
These differences stem from each guide’s specific focus and target audience, reflecting varying conventions in grammar and usage across different fields. For example, AP style is designed for clarity and brevity in journalism, while academic styles like Chicago and MLA prioritize consistency and thoroughness in scholarly writing.
Given subtle but important variations such as these, it’s critical to consult your specific style guide to ensure consistent and accurate title capitalization. When in doubt, check your style guide.
What words are capitalized in titles?
As noted earlier, capitalizing words in titles depends on the style guide you’re using. Nevertheless, most style guides concur that the first and last words of a title should always be capitalized, irrespective of their part of speech. Furthermore, most style guides consistently capitalize nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
The concept of major and minor words also forms the foundation for most title capitalization rules.
Major words typically include nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions. These words are usually capitalized in titles across most style guides.
Minor words, on the other hand, often consist of articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor), and short prepositions (in, on, at, to). These words are generally not capitalized unless they appear as the first or last word in the title or are four letters or longer, depending on the style guide.
Is the first word in a title capitalized?
The first word in a title is always capitalized, regardless of which style guide you’re following.
Are nouns and pronouns capitalized in titles?
Style guides agree that nouns should always be capitalized.
Are verbs capitalized in titles?
Verbs are also always capitalized, according to all style guides.
Are adjectives capitalized in titles?
Adjectives are always capitalized in titles.
Are adverbs capitalized in titles?
Adverbs are also always capitalized in titles.
Are hyphenated compounds capitalized in titles?
All guides agree that the first element must always be capitalized in a hyphenated compound in a title. The treatment of the remaining elements depends on their function in the compound and the style guide being followed.
Generally, most guides agree that major words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) within the compound are capitalized, while minor words (articles, conjunctions, and short prepositions) are not unless they are the first or last word of the title.
However, some style guides recommend capitalizing all elements of a hyphenated compound for consistency, so check the rules in your guide.
Following are some examples of how to treat compounds when capitalizing in titles:
Both elements are capitalized as they are major words.
Here, for is lowercase because it is a minor word, unless you follow a guide that recommends capitalizing all the compound words. In that case, the correct version would be Navigating the Work-For-Hire Landscape.
Are spelled-out numbers or fractions capitalized in titles?
According to most style guides, both components require capitalization when a spelled-out whole number or simple fraction is used in a title. The rule for capitalization around the spelling of numbers and fractions also follows the notion of capitalizing important words and leaving unimportant words lowercase.
Here are some examples:
Since style guides vary, it’s a good idea to check the rules of the guide you follow, even if you think it looks right.
Are articles capitalized in titles?
All major style guides agree that articles are lowercase in titles unless they’re the first or last words in the title.
In each of these titles, the and a are not capitalized because they are articles.
In this next example, the article a is capitalized because it’s the first word, but the is lowercase because it is an article that is not a first or last word:
Are conjunctions capitalized in titles?
Style guides differ on whether to capitalize or lowercase certain conjunctions, or words that link other words, phrases, or clauses together. For instance, according to AP style, conjunctions of three letters or fewer are lowercase.
However, Chicago style prefers to lowercase all coordinating conjunctions except for yet and so. It also lowercases the subordinating conjunction as but capitalizes if, while AMA and MLA capitalize both. Again, it’s best to look up the rule if you’re unsure about your specific title.
The examples below illustrate both AP and Chicago rules for conjunctions:
Are prepositions capitalized in titles?
Sometimes prepositions are capitalized, and sometimes they’re not, depending on the style guide you’re following.
In AP title case, prepositions of four or more letters (such as between, above, and below) are capitalized. However, the Chicago Manual of Style says to capitalize prepositions only when they’re five or more letters.
When following Chicago style, watch out for how you’re using each word in the title—some words that usually function as prepositions can also act as adjectives or as part of a verb (in both cases, they’d be capitalized). The Chicago Manual of Style advises that you can capitalize a preposition when it is “used adverbially or adjectivally (up in Look Up, down in Turn Down).”
If you were writing the following title of this painting, here’s how you would write it in AP style:
But if you were following Chicago style, you would write it this way:
Is the last word in a title capitalized?
Yes, the last word in a title is always capitalized, regardless of which style guide you’re following or what part of speech the word represents. This rule is consistent across all major style guides, including AP, Chicago, MLA, and APA.
The universal capitalization of the last word ensures visual balance and consistency in titles, even when it’s a word that would typically be lowercase according to other title capitalization rules.
For example, in the title Something to Die For, the final For is capitalized because it’s the last word, even though it’s a preposition. Similarly, in To Be or Not to Be, the final Be is capitalized despite being a short verb that might otherwise be lowercase in some style guides.
This rule applies even to words that are typically minor and would be lowercase elsewhere in the title, such as articles (a, an, the), short prepositions (in, on, to), or coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or). For instance, in the song title “Something to Live For,” the final For is capitalized because it’s the last word, even though it’s a preposition that might be lowercase if it appeared elsewhere in the title.
Title case vs. sentence case in titles
Sentence case is a capitalization style used in writing titles, headings, and subheadings where only the first word of the title and any proper nouns are capitalized.
So far, we’ve focused on title case, or headline style, where the first letter of every major word is capitalized in a title, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
Sentence case is distinctly different; its rule is to capitalize the first word but leave most other words—except for proper nouns or terms—lowercase regardless of whether they are major or minor words. Sentence case is not as commonly used, but it is becoming more popular, especially in online writing.
Here are a couple of sentence-case examples:
The choice between title case and sentence case often depends on the style guide used. Some style guides, like APA, recommend using sentence case for titles in reference lists, while others prefer title case for most headings.
But unlike title case, where there is a wide variety of treatments depending on your guide, sentence case is generally consistent across styles.
More examples of capitalization in titles
Consider these additional examples of correctly capitalized titles (which meet the criteria in any style guide) to help guide you:
The same rule applies to subtitles regarding title capitalization. See these examples:
In these particular examples, the articles an and a are capitalized because they are both the first word of the subtitle.
Capitalization in titles FAQs
What words need to be capitalized in titles?
In titles, most style guides agree on capitalizing the first and last words, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. However, there are differences among style guides regarding the capitalization of prepositions, conjunctions, and articles, with some guides (like AP) capitalizing prepositions of four or more letters, while others (like Chicago) capitalize only prepositions of five or more letters.
What words don’t need to be capitalized in titles?
Generally, articles (a, an, the), short conjunctions (and, but, or), and short prepositions (in, on, at, by) aren’t capitalized in titles, unless they are the first or last word. However, style guides differ on some specifics; the Associated Press Stylebook capitalizes prepositions of four or more letters, while the Chicago Manual of Style capitalizes prepositions of five or more letters.
What is title case vs. sentence case?
Title case capitalizes the first letter of every major word in a title, while sentence case capitalizes only the first word and any proper nouns. For example, in title case, you would write The Catcher in the Rye, whereas in sentence case, it would be The catcher in the rye.
