Capitalizing Titles
Basics on the topic Capitalizing Titles
Title Capitalization
You already know that you have to capitalize the first word in a sentence and all proper nouns. In the titles of books, songs, movies, articles and essays, some other words have to be capitalized too. We want people to notice the most important words in the title: the content words. We capitalize them to make them stand out.
Title Capitalization – Rules
This article will teach you about proper title capitalization. The rules are the same for book title capitalization, song title capitalization, movie title capitalization, article title capitalization, and essay title capitalization. Some people call these title case capitalization rules.
When to Capitalize with Examples
We capitalize the following kinds of words in a title:
- the first word
- the last word
- nouns (a person, place or thing, for example tree, house or toy)
- pronouns (words you use instead of a noun, like he, she and it)
- verbs (action words like run, burp and snore)
- adverbs (words that give more information about verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. They often end in -ly, for example softly, slowly or angrily)
- adjectives (description words like red, silly and famous)
When Not to Capitalize with Examples
We do not capitalize the following kinds of words in titles unless they are the first or last word in the title:
- articles (a, and and the)
- prepositions (words like at, by and in)
- conjunctions (words like and, but and or)
Title Capitalization – Summary
When you are writing a title, you don’t capitalize every word. Here’s a quick overview of capitalization in a title. We’ll use The Brave Koala and the Dangerous Dragon for an example of a title and its capitalization.
| Type of word | Example(s) | Capitalize | Don’t capitalize |
|---|---|---|---|
| First word | The | ✓ | |
| Last word | Dragon | ✓ | |
| Noun | koala, dragon, boat, girl, dirt, toes | ✓ | |
| Pronoun | she, he, mine, yours | ✓ | |
| Verb | sneeze, touch, dream, love | ✓ | |
| Adverb | hungrily, crazily, fast | ✓ | |
| Adjective | brave, dangerous, ugly, tired, shiny, new | ✓ | |
| Article | the, a, an | ✓ | |
| Preposition | at, by, in, off, on | ✓ | |
| Conjunction | and, but, or | ✓ |
Frequently Asked Questions on Capitalizing Titles
Transcript Capitalizing Titles
Capitalizing Titles “I just finished the script. It's about the time I fought off the monster that was under my bed.” ”Here are some titles I am thinking of using…what do you think?” ”But, you didn’t figh …" [shaking head realizing it's not worth the argument] “Nevermind…you can’t use those titles for the puppet show.” "Why not?" "They aren't written correctly." "You need to use the rules for capitalizing titles." Capital letters are a useful signal for readers. We already know that we capitalize the beginning of a sentence and proper nouns. When writing titles, we capitalize certain words to show emphasis and importance. We want CONTENT WORDS in a title to stand out, so we do not capitalize every word. First, let’s look at the types of words that get capitalized in a title. We capitalize the FIRST and LAST words. We also capitalize other important words like… nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. When certain types of words are in the MIDDLE of the title, we do not capitalize them. These include... the articles, a, an, and the… prepositions like at, by, or to… and conjunctions such as and, but, or for. Here is the first title Pip was thinking of using for the puppet show... protecting Koko from the scary monster. In this title, 'protecting' is capitalized because it is the first word... and monster is capitalized because it is the last word. Koko remains capitalized because it is a name. Now, let's look at the rest of the words in the MIDDLE of the title. The word 'from' is a preposition... and we do NOT capitalize prepositions in the middle of a title, so this word stays lowercase. The' is an article, so it also does NOT get capitalized. The next word is 'scary'. Which is an adjective, so it MUST be capitalized. Pip's first title idea would be capitalized like this. Here is another title idea Pip had. Let's determine which words need to be capitalized. We would capitalize the here because this article is the first word of the title... and monster is also the last word of this title as well. The noun, 'hero' would be capitalized. Do you see any other words that need to be capitalized? HIS would be capitalized because it is a PRONOUN. And is a conjunction in the middle of the title, so it remains lowercase. Pip's next title idea would be capitalized like this. Let's practice with some more of Pip's titles. Read the following titles and choose which one is capitalized correctly. How would we capitalize a monster on the loose? We would capitalize 'a', 'monster', and 'loose', so choice is correct. Here's one more. How do we capitalize never trust my nightmares? The correct choice is we would capitalize ALL the words in the title including 'my' because it is a pronoun. While Pip gets ready to put on the show, let's review. Remember, When writing titles, we capitalize certain words to show emphasis and importance. We ALWAYS capitalize the FIRST and LAST words, also nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. We DO NOT capitalize articles, prepositions, and conjunctions when they are in the middle of a title. "I WILL DEFEAT THE MONSTER UNDER MY BED!"
Capitalizing Titles exercise
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Which words in a title are capitalized?
HintsHere is an example of a correctly capitalized title using the preposition in:
Pearl in the Treasure Chest
Here is an example of a correctly capitalized title using the conjunction and:
The Boy and His Dog
There are seven types of words that are capitalized. There are three types of words that are not capitalized.
SolutionRules tell us which words should be capitalized in a title. Important words are capitalized. These include:
- the first word
- the last word
- nouns
- pronouns
- verbs
- adverbs
- adjectives
Words that are not capitalized are:
- articles
- prepositions
- conjunctions
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Determine which titles are correctly capitalized.
HintsThe first word in the title is always capitalized.
Articles such as the and a, are not capitalized in titles.
Solutionthe Diary of a happy Kid is wrong because:
- the word the should be capitalized since it is the first word in the title
- the word happy should be capitalized since it is an adjective.
The Magic Inside The Earth is wrong because:
- the word the should not be capitalized since it is an article in the middle of the sentence.
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Determine which title uses correct capitalization.
HintsThe first and last words in a title should be capitalized.
Prepositions in the middle of a title should not be capitalized.
SolutionThe answers and explanations are as follows:
The Great Pie Contest
- The word "the" is capitalized because it is the first word of the title.
Tank and Axel's Race
- The word "and" is not capitalized because it is a conjunction in the middle of the title.
A Magical Nighttime Picnic
- The word "picnic" is capitalized because it is the last word in the title and it is a noun.
A Pirate's Ride on Stormy Seas
- The word "on" is not capitalized because it is a preposition in the middle of the title.
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Identify and highlight the capitalization errors in the titles.
HintsPrepositions are words like in, to, under, over, and of.
Conjunctions are words like and, but, and so.
Solution- The word In should not be capitalized because it is a preposition.
- The word And should not be capitalized because it is a conjunction.
- The word birthday should be capitalized because it is an adjective here.
- The word a should be capitalized here because it is the first word of the title. It is also an article, but it is not in the middle of the title.
- The word mystery should be capitalized because it is a noun.
- The word of should not be capitalized because it is a preposition.
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Identify and explain capitalization errors.
HintsHere is an example of a correctly capitalized title:
The Adventures of the Lost Dog
Here is an example of a correctly capitalized title:
Pirates in Miami
Solution- a Day at the Beach is wrong because the first word is not capitalized. The title should be capitalized like this: A Day at the Beach.
- Charlie and The Scooter is wrong because articles in the middle of the title should not be capitalized. The title should be capitalized like this: Charlie and the Scooter.
- The Magic bathroom is wrong because the last word is not capitalized. The title should be capitalized like this: The Magic Bathroom.
- The fairy in Black is wrong because the noun fairy is not capitalized. The title should be capitalized like this: The Fairy in Black.
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Complete the titles using correct capitalization.
HintsOuch! Don't let a bee sting you in the summer!
Prepositions like on and of are not capitalized.
SolutionThe correct answers are as follows:
The Tale of the Buzzing Beekeeper
- The word "the" is capitalized because it is the first word in the title.
All That and a Jar of Honey
- The word "and" is not capitalized because it is a conjunction in the middle of the title.
Summertime Bee Stings
- The word "stings" is capitalized because it is the last word of the title and a noun.
Bees on the Loose
- The word "on" is not capitalized because it is a preposition in the middle of the title.
This is fun to learn