| Capitalization
Use capitalization to indicate proper nouns, specific
geographical locations, professional titles preceding names, etc.
To determine if a word should be capitalized, consult a dictionary.
Capitalize professional positions when they are used
with the person's name.
Ex: We gained an understanding of that issue from Professor Pantz.
Capitalize academic subjects only when referring to
the specific course's full name and number.
Ex: The Literature 2401 class doesn't have enough students in
it.
Capitalize only names of academic subjects that relate to languages.
Ex: I studied history last year, but this year I intend to study
English.
When people's titles are used without their names, only capitalize
the titles when they refer to individuals with high rank.
Ex: Yesterday, the President voted to renew the engineer's
contract.
Capitalize "north, south, east, and west" only
when referring to specific regions but not when discussing
a specific
direction.
Ex: My mother grew up in the South.
Ex: That plant is two miles south of Dempsey City.
Capitalize most religious terms.
Ex: He read the Koran in three months.
Capitalize major words in titles but use small case letters for articles
(a, an, the) and short prepositions (in, on, at, to,
etc.).
Ex: I read Gone with the Wind when I was in junior high.
Capitalize words that indicate family relationship only when they
are not used with possessive structures.
Ex: She told me that my father forgot his glasses.
Ex: I will take Mom and Dad to dinner to celebrate
their anniversary.
Capitalize organizations, institutions, and government agencies.
Ex: She sent a check to the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People (NAACP).
Capitalize holidays, days of the week, and months.
Ex: Return the books by Labor Day to avoid a late fee.
Capitalize specific places.
Ex: She plans to visit the Sahara Desert.
Names of seasons do not need to be
capitalized.
Ex: Ellen will return to Maine in the fall.
You can test your understanding of this handout by completing Academic
Center exercises available
here.
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