Capitalization
The first letter of the first word in every sentence is always capitalized. However, the following are other rules students should know:
Reproduce capitalization in a quoted passage.
The first word of quoted material which follows an explanatory phrase must be
capitalized.
For example:
According to Kate Chopin, "All women should live for
themselves."
NOTE: When the quotation is blended into the grammatical structure of the
sentence, the first word is not capitalized.
For example:
The University's President asserts that all students "need to
comply with University guidelines."
Capitalize words of significance in a title.
Capitalize all words of significance in the titles of books, periodicals, and
art works. Do not capitalize articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and, but, or),
or prepositions of four or fewer letters, unless they are the first or last
words of a title.
For example:
Pride and Prejudice
"Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern
Abbey"
The Mayor of Casterbridge
Capitalize names of people or groups of people.
For example:
| Margaret Atwood |
Brad Pitt |
| Catholics |
Libertarians |
Names of family relations are only capitalized when they are before the
person's name:
| Grandma Sally |
grandma |
| Uncle Johnnie |
uncle |
Capitalize religions and religious titles and names.
For example:
| Catholicism |
God |
| Unitarian |
Hindu |
| the Bible |
Judaism |
| Presbyterian |
the Koran |
Capitalize names of nations, nationalities, and languages.
For example:
| Australia; |
German |
| African-American |
Chinese |
| Italian |
Gaelic |
Capitalize places and regions (designated by points on a compass) when they
function as nouns and refer to a particular place in the country and not to a
direction.
For example:
| The Grand Canyon |
the Appalachian Mountains |
| the Midwest |
the Wild West |
NOTE: I was driving west. (In this sentence "west" refers to a
direction.)
Capitalize titles of distinction.
For example:
| Secretary of the Interior |
President Roosevelt |
| Prime Minister Blair |
Governor Doyle |
| Dr. Phil |
Nathan Starck, D.C. |
| Andy Weiner, Ph.D. |
Sam Jackson, Sr. |
| Sam Jackson, Jr. |
|