What to Capitalize in Titles: Rule & Examples

If you’ve worked with a team of content writers, editors, and marketers, the question of what to capitalize in titles is quite prevalent, as there is sometimes confusion on how this should be done, especially if there has never been a rule within the organization that emphasizes how titles should be structured.

This comprehensive guide addresses the most common capitalization challenges that content teams face and provides clear, actionable guidelines to establish consistency across your organization.

The Style Guides That Set the Standards for Capitalizing Titles

Understanding who makes the rules is crucial for establishing your organization’s title capitalization standards. The major style guides that govern title capitalization include:

Primary Style Guides

Associated Press (AP) Stylebook: Used by journalists, news organizations, and public relations professionals. AP style capitalizes:

• The first and last words
• All words of four letters or more
• Principal words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)
• “To” in infinitives

Chicago Manual of Style: Preferred by book publishers, academic journals, and magazines. Chicago style features unique rules:

• Capitalizes prepositions of five or more letters
• Capitalizes conjunctions “yet” and “so” (unlike other guides)
• Always lowercases “as” regardless of function

APA Publication Manual: Standard for social sciences, education, and psychology. APA style capitalizes:

• Major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns)
• All words of four letters or more
• First word after colons, em dashes, or end punctuation

MLA Handbook: Used in humanities, language, and literature studies. MLA style:

• Capitalizes all major words including short conjunctions
• Lowercases all prepositions regardless of length
• Does not capitalize “to” in infinitives

Specialized Style Guides

AMA Manual of Style: Used in medical and scientific publishing Bluebook: Standard for legal documents New York Times Manual: Unique rules including capitalizing specific short words like “off,” “out,” and “up”

The key insight for content teams is that there is no universal standard – the choice depends on your industry, audience, and organizational preferences.

How to Capitalize Titles

Universal Rules Across Style Guides

Regardless of which style guide you follow, these rules are consistent:

1. Always capitalize the first word of any title, regardless of its part of speech
2. Always capitalize the last word of any title
3. Always capitalize proper nouns (names of specific people, places, organizations)
4. Always capitalize major words: nouns, pronouns, verbs (including linking verbs like “is,” “am,” “are”), adjectives, and adverbs

Style-Specific Differences

The main differences between style guides involve:

Prepositions:

• AP/APA: Capitalize prepositions of 4+ letters (“With,” “Between”)
• Chicago: Capitalize prepositions of 5+ letters
• MLA: Lowercase all prepositions regardless of length

Conjunctions:

• Most guides: Lowercase short conjunctions (“and,” “but,” “or”)
• Chicago: Capitalizes “yet” and “so”
• MLA: Capitalizes subordinating conjunctions

Example showing style differences:

• AP/APA: “The Man With the Golden Grain”
• Chicago/MLA: “The Man with the Golden Grain”

What Words Are Capitalized in Titles?

Major Words (Always Capitalized)

• Nouns: “Marketing,” “Strategy,” “Business”
• Pronouns: “You,” “We,” “It,” “This,” “That”
• Verbs: “Is,” “Are,” “Has,” “Do,” “Go” (including short verbs)
• Adjectives: “Best,” “New,” “Complete”
• Adverbs: “Really,” “Very,” “How”

Minor Words (Generally Lowercase)

• Articles: “a,” “an,” “the”
• Short conjunctions: “and,” “but,” “or,” “for,” “nor”
• Short prepositions: “in,” “on,” “at,” “by,” “to,” “up”

Special Cases

Hyphenated Compounds: Most style guides agree to:

• Always capitalize the first element
• Capitalize subsequent major words
• Example: “Self-Report,” “Work-Life Balance,” “State-of-the-Art”

Numbers and Fractions: Both parts are typically capitalized:

• “Twenty-One,” “One-Third,” “Ninety-Nine”

Words After Colons: Always capitalize the first word after a colon in titles:

• “Content Marketing: A Complete Guide”

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Don’t lowercase short major words: “Is,” “Be,” “It,” “Go” should be capitalized
2. Don’t capitalize every word: Articles and short prepositions stay lowercase
3. Consider grammatical function: “Up” in “Look Up” (adverb) vs. “up” in “up the hill” (preposition)

Title Case vs. Sentence Case in Titles

Title Case

In title case, major words are capitalized while minor words remain lowercase:

• Example: “How to Create Engaging Content That Converts”
• When to use: Professional publications, formal documents, marketing materials, headlines

Sentence Case

In sentence case, only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized:

• Example: “How to create engaging content that converts”
• When to use: Academic references (APA), casual blog posts, user interface elements

Choosing Between Them

Title Case Advantages:

• Commands attention and looks professional
• Improves click-through rates in digital marketing
• Creates visual hierarchy
• Standard for most publications

Sentence Case Advantages:

• Easier to read and more conversational
• Simpler to implement (fewer rules to remember)
• Growing trend in digital design
• More accessible for global audiences

Industry Considerations:

• Journalism: Often uses title case for headlines
• Academic writing: May use sentence case for references
• Digital marketing: Title case typically performs better
• User interface: Sentence case increasingly popular

More Examples of Capitalization in Titles

Correct Title Case Examples

• “The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing“
• “Why Remote Work Is Here to Stay”
• “10 Strategies for Building Customer Loyalty“
• “Content Creation: From Ideas to Publication”
• “The State-of-the-Art Approach to Digital Transformation”

Subtitle Examples

When a title has a subtitle, capitalize the first word of the subtitle:

• “Digital Marketing Mastery: An Executive’s Guide to Online Success”
• “The Content Creator’s Handbook: Strategies for Building an Engaged Audience”

Different Style Guide Examples

Same title in different styles:

AP Style: “What’s Love Got To Do With It” APA Style: “What’s Love Got to Do With It”
MLA Style: “What’s Love Got to Do with It”

Blog Post and Article Examples

• “5 Proven Methods for Increasing Website Traffic”
• “The Psychology Behind Effective Call-to-Action Buttons”
• “From Startup to Scale-Up: Lessons Learned Along the Way”
• “Why Authenticity Matters More Than Ever in Brand Marketing”

Capitalization in Title FAQs

Q: Should I capitalize “is,” “are,” and other short verbs in titles?

A: Yes. Despite being short, these are verbs and should always be capitalized in title case. This is one of the most common mistakes – remember that grammatical function, not length, determines capitalization for these words.

Q: What about words like “with,” “from,” and “through”?

A: It depends on your style guide:

• AP/APA: Capitalize if 4+ letters (“With,” “From,” “Through”)
• Chicago: Capitalize if 5+ letters (“with,” “from,” “Through”)
• MLA: Always lowercase (“with,” “from,” “through”)

Q: How do I handle brand names that use unusual capitalization?

A: Preserve the official brand capitalization: “iPhone,” “eBay,” “WordPress.” However, if the brand name starts the title, capitalize the first letter even if the brand typically uses lowercase: “EBay Announces New Features.”

Q: Should I capitalize words in quotations within titles?

A: Follow the original quotation’s capitalization when possible, but ensure the first word of the title follows title case rules.

Q: What about titles that are questions?

A: Apply the same capitalization rules regardless of punctuation:

• “What Makes a Great Leader?”
• “Is Remote Work the Future of Business?”

Q: How do I capitalize acronyms and abbreviations?

A: Keep acronyms in their standard form: “CEO,” “AI,” “ROI.” For abbreviations that aren’t typically capitalized, follow normal title case rules.

Q: Should “and” always be lowercase?

A: In most cases, yes. However, some organizations choose to capitalize “and” for emphasis or brand consistency. The key is maintaining consistency across all your content.

Q: What about very long titles?

A: The same rules apply regardless of title length. Consider breaking very long titles into a title and subtitle for better readability.

Q: How do I handle titles in different languages?

A: Each language has its own capitalization conventions. For multilingual content, research the appropriate rules for each language or establish consistent organizational guidelines.

Recommendations for Content Teams

Establishing Organizational Standards

1. Choose one primary style guide based on your industry and audience
2. Document your choice in a style guide or content guidelines document
3. Create examples specific to your content types
4. Train team members on the chosen standards
5. Review and audit existing content for consistency

Best Practices for Implementation

• Consistency over perfection: It’s better to consistently follow one imperfect system than to randomly apply multiple “correct” systems
• Consider your audience: Academic audiences may expect different standards than marketing audiences
• Account for digital platforms: Some social media platforms have character limits that may influence your choices
• Regular reviews: Periodically review your standards as your organization grows and evolves

By establishing clear, documented guidelines for title capitalization, your content team can eliminate confusion and maintain professional, consistent branding across all communications.