Basic Capitalization Rules

2.  Capitalize:
• The first word of every sentence.
• Words and phrases used as sentences.
• The first word of each item in a formal outline
• Most words in a Title
 The Kite Runner
 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
 A Time to Kill

3.  The first word of a formal quotation or
statement following a colon.
• Hemingway said it best: Courage is grace under
pressure.
 The pronoun I (always!).
 Key words in the greeting and close of a
letter.

4.  Names
 Specific Persons
 Religions
 Ethnic groups
 Tribes
 Languages
 Specific Places
 Specific companies, organizations, brand
names

5.  Religious names considered sacred
 Historical events, periods, and
documents
 Educational institutions
 Awards
 Stars and planets
 Ships, trains, aircraft, and spacecraft
 Acronyms
 Personifications…Mother Nature

6.  Titles preceding names
• Mrs., Mr., General, Professor, Dr., Reverend
 Days of the week, Months, Holidays, Holy
Days

7.  Points on the compass
 Seasons
 Words denoting family relations
 Names of academic disciplines (unless
part of specific course titles or proper
nouns
 Common nouns
 Common words derived form proper
nouns
• china, french fries, roman numerals

8.  The first word after a semicolon
 The first word in the latter part of an
interrupted quotation
 The second part of most hyphenated
words
• Thirty-fifth street
• Mayor-elect
 A word you want to emphasize (use italics
instead)
 Words for parts of a literary work

9.  Avoid dividing words if possible.
 If you must divide a word:
• Divide by syllable
 Never divide a one syllable word.

10.  In general write out, in words, numbers
from one through nine.
 Numbers starting from 10 can be written
out in numerals.