Quick and Dirty Tips Podcasts

Episode Transcript

Title Capitalization Rules
Episode 15: September 24, 2006

Grammar Girl here.

Today's topic is capitalizing titles.

In an email, Michelle from Manila asked, "Should I capitalize all the first letters of the words in a title or just the first letter of the first word?"

This is one of those style questions. For the Grammar Girl website, I capitalize every letter of the title; but there are many different ways of capitalizing the words in a title, and which one you use is simply a matter of style. So both of the ways you asked about could be correct; it just depends on what your employer or teacher prefers. It's another reason to ask for the style guide!

In addition to capitalizing the first word, and capitalizing all the words, other methods include capitalizing only the nouns (e.g., Grammar Girl loves Tea) and capitalizing every single letter, which on a computer looks like screaming to most people but is still sometimes done for book titles (e.g., GRAMMAR GIRL WOULD KILL FOR SOME ICED TEA). There are even more options, so I'll put some links in the transcript to a few good websites that cover all the possibilities. It's kind of a visual thing anyway, so it's good to look at the examples.

Thanks for listening, and remember: if you want to call in the number is 206-338-GIRL, and if you want to email the address is feedback@quickanddirtytips.com

Links

Writers.com Tips on Title Capitalization
Wikipedia Entry on Capitalization

Comments (22) for Title Capitalization Rules | Subscribe to Comment

Kelly Says:
10/20/2009 2:55:09 PM

In a title, should a the name of, say, an organization be capitalized if the name itself is not capitalized, such as "edWeb" (www.edweb.net)? I follow Gregg, but Gregg doesn't address that--at least not that I can find.

devdev Says:
9/28/2009 12:00:59 PM

i love ice tea...

David A. P. Says:
9/22/2009 7:33:46 PM

The article contains this statement: "For the Grammar Girl website, I capitalize every letter of the title...." This is probably not what you intended to say. Given your ostensible mission here -- that is, encouraging better writing -- I think that better proofreading is in order.

Jijesh Devan Says:
9/3/2009 10:15:01 AM

Grammar girl, thanks for your podcast. This episode on capitalization was just what I was looking for. Good work, keep it up.

Amber Earnest Says:
5/14/2009 2:07:45 PM

Are the directions North, East, South and West always capitalized /

Ro Says:
4/21/2009 1:14:31 AM

I have been capitalizing the 1st letter of every word in eBay titles for years. It's a way to help the listing stand out. It's funny how those sort of things catch on all over. It's like the language people are learning from LOLcats. Another thing I'm seeing is people capitalizing words that are able to be 2 words, but are one. Like PageRank, or EveryOne. I will do that if when putting down my web address because it helps the eye separate the words. What's being taught in school NowDays?

Vanessa Says:
11/5/2008 9:47:53 AM

What about the word "intranet"? Should that be capitalized? I believe that Internet should be but am unsure about intranet.

Geof Says:
10/27/2008 2:54:25 PM

There isn't any particular reason for which parts of speech are capitalized, but almost all stylebooks consider prepositions, articles (a, the), and coordinating conjunctions as "unimportant" (therefore capitalized) and all the others "important." In following this rule, many people forget that the forms of "to be" (is, are, was, were, be) are verbs and therefore should be capitalized under this rule. Almost no one capitalizes "as" when used as an adverb, but strict following of the rule would also call for capitalizing it in such a case.

Mary Says:
10/1/2008 11:47:33 AM

Grammar Girl, regarding the below post, the salutation "Hi Jake" should be "Hi, Jake." A comma is needed between Hi and Jake because it is a direct address. Always use a comma when directly addressing someone/something, regardless of whether the direct address is at the beginning or end of the sentence. If the direct address is in the middle of a sentence, use a pair of commas to set off the direct address. Note the placement of commas in the example sentences below: Example 1: Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please? (Direct address at beginning of sentence) Example 2: It was a pleasure to meet you, Sir. (Direct address at end of sentence) Example 3: Thank you, my fellow grammarians, for remembering to use correct English. (Direct address in middle of sentence) Grammar Girl Says: 9/24/2006 6:09:56 PM Hi Jake, Thanks for stopping by. I noticed that you changed the name of your podcast to "Just Not Right" to make it more clear that it isn't a political show. Good luck!

Andie Says:
12/19/2007 7:40:41 PM

My favorite style of title case is capitalizing the "important" words. Example: This is the Way I Like to Use Title Case!

Darlene Says:
8/18/2007 3:35:18 PM

Good morning,
I am a volunteer creating a program for an upcoming conference and I have a few questions for you.

If you are stating the name and title of two people who share a position such as that of chair, what is the correct format for displaying their names and title(s)?

Should both the prefix "co" and the title "chair" be capitalized?

For example, if Judy Gray and Jay Pritchard are co-chairs of The Alberta Association of Public Charter Schools, should they be listed one above the other alphabetically (by last name), followed by the shared title and then the name of the organization as follows:

Judy Gray
Jay Pritchard
Co-Chairs
The Alberta Association of Public Charter Schools

Alternatively, should their names be together on the same line as follows:

Judy Gray and Jay Pritchard
Co-Chairs
The Alberta Association of Public Charter Schools

I also have a question about the correct short form to be used for an organization. If an organization is registered as "The Association of Alberta Public Charter Schools," is TAAPCS the correct short form or is AAPCS the correct short form.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sharon Says:
4/11/2007 9:04:30 PM

The word mustang, as in a horse, should it be capitalized? On another website, half the time it was capitalized, the other half it was not. Would you please clear this up for us? Thank you.

Misty Says:
4/2/2007 2:36:15 PM

Not sure this is correct format for this, but does anyone know if I'm referencing someone giving their "masters thesis presentation" does masters and thesis get capialized?

thanks.

mk

Paul Says:
1/5/2007 9:22:43 PM

Great show!,

I was wondering if you have any tips on capitalizing Song titles (for iPod)?

I'm updating thousands of digital audio files and would like to have a consistent naming method.

Sometimes the CD paper notes show titles having all words starting with caps, other times not.

thanks for any suggestions.

Grammar Girl Says:
12/21/2006 2:50:30 AM

I had been worrying that the episodes were getting too long, and it was an unfortunate coincidence that the sponsor came on board just as I had vowed to write a shorter episode.

Also, the content was actually much longer than the advertisement, but the general announcements at the end got a little out of hand. (There was just so much to say with the awards, book giveaway, holidays, contact info, neat stuff coming up, etc.!) But, I will take your comment to heart and try to make sure that the content doesn't get overwhelmed by ads and announcements in the future.

Erin Says:
12/21/2006 2:01:35 AM

I appreciate that Grammar Girl's show now has an occasional sponsor, but it was a little bit disappointing in the most recent podcast when the sponsor got as much airtime as the content.

Grammar Girl Says:
12/16/2006 4:05:39 PM

"Thanks a bunch" is an informal way of saying thank you. It's a fine way to say thank you to a friend, but it's too informal to use in a business letter.

If you use a voice that drips with sarcasm, it could be taken to mean that you're not really thankful, but otherwise it just means thank you.

ana Says:
12/16/2006 2:32:08 PM

Love your explanations about how to check the spelling of a text.
I have a question. Is it all right to really thank someone by saying - `Thanks a bunch.` or does it mean that I am not really thankful?

Grammar Girl Says:
9/24/2006 6:09:56 PM

Hi Jake,

Thanks for stopping by. I noticed that you changed the name of your podcast to "Just Not Right" to make it more clear that it isn't a political show. Good luck!

Jake (of Just Not Right) Says:
9/24/2006 5:55:50 PM

I love the show, Grammar Girl! Thank you for all of your great tips.

Keep up the good work,
- Jake =)

Grammar Girl Says:
9/24/2006 3:57:43 PM

Hi Neal,

You aren't imagining things! The way you were taught is another way of handling capitalization in titles.

I didn't talk about it in the show because it is one of the more complex methods to explain, but it is included in the links at the bottom of the transcript. In fact, since it is a style issue, I don't understand why people subject themselves to remembering rules such as: capitalize everything except internal articles, prepositions, and conjunctions. (I guess it looks prettier, but it's such a pain for people who aren't grammar fiends.)

Also, I broke a rule and you caught me! When something is a style issue, the most important thing is to be consistent; but I used two different styles: a complex rule for the website title and a simple rule for the transcript titles. One of my former employers used the more complex rule, so I often default to that method; but I prefer using the simpler rule. I must have changed my mind somewhere between setting up the website and actually producing transcripts. (I suppose I could make some lame argument such as, "It's OK to use different styles in different parts of the website, just like it is OK to use different fonts for different levels of headings," and pretend that I did it on purpose; but I won't.)

I keep thinking I need to put together a style guide for this website (and follow it), but getting out new shows always feels more urgent.

Neil Blumengarten Says:
9/24/2006 2:59:58 PM

Another style thing, which I remember being taught, but forget the reason why, is not to capitilize articles or words like "for", "of", as well as conjunctions such as "and," "or," etc.

I notice you follow this in the title of this website (Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing), where "and" and "for" are not capitlized.

Is there a reason, other than style for this? Again, it seems very much something you are taught, and learn, but never understand the reasoning behind.