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CAPITALIZATION RULES

Capitalize . . .
1. the first word of a sentence
EXAMPLE

2. proper nouns
names of relatives (to indicate family relationship) when used with name
EXAMPLE

names of relatives when used as proper name

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EXAMPLE

titles
A. preceding a name
EXAMPLE

EXCEPTION - Do not capitalize titles that follow names.

EXCEPTION - Do not capitalize titles used as general words.

B. when used in direct address

ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR TITLES

Capitalize very high ranking government officials' titles even when not followed by a name or
used in direct address when a specific individual is referred to.
EXAMPLES

If no specific individual is referred to, do not capitalize titles of even very high ranking
government officials.
EXAMPLE
Capitalize important words in compound titles used with names, but do not capitalize prefixes or
suffixes added to the titles.
EXAMPLES

3. major words in titles of books, articles, and songs

EXAMPLE

EXCEPTION - Do not capitalize short prepositions, conjunctions, or articles unless they

are the first word of the title
EXAMPLES

4. names of God, specific deities, religious figures, and holy books

EXAMPLES

EXCEPTION - Do not capitalize the non-specific use of the word "god."

5. directions that are names, such as North, South, East, and West when used as sections of the
country
EXAMPLE

EXCEPTION - Do not capitalize directions when used as compass directions

6. days of the week, months of the year, and holidays

EXAMPLES

7. seasons, when used in a title

EXAMPLE

EXCEPTION - Do not capitalize the names of seasons if they are used generally.

8. countries, nationalities, and specific languages

EXAMPLES

9. periods and events

EXAMPLES

EXCEPTION - Do not capitalize century numbers

10. names of national, political, racial, social, civic, and athletic groups
EXAMPLES

11. trademarks
EXAMPLES

12. the first word in a sentence that is a direct quote, even if the direct quote comes in the middle
of a sentence
EXAMPLE

13. the first word of a sentence following a colon

EXAMPLE

EXCEPTION - Do not capitalize the first word of a list following a colon if the list is not a
complete sentence.

14. The first word in each line of most poetry

EXAMPLE

15. the single-letter word, first person pronoun I.

EXAMPLE

16. salutations and closings in letters - first word only unless proper name is used
EXAMPLES

17. initials, initialisms, and acronyms

EXAMPLES

18. names of the planets

EXAMPLES

NOTE - Experts disagree about whether to capitalize earth, sun, and moon. For consistency, this
author suggests capitalizing them when they are used to designate celestial bodies.