The Editor’s Manual
Free learning resource on English grammar, punctuation, usage, and style.
- Capitalization
Title Case: Capitalization of Titles, Headings, and Headlines
Capitalize the first, last, and all major words in a book title, headline, or first-level heading. Major words are all words except articles ( a , an , the ), prepositions ( on , in , of , etc.), coordinating conjunctions ( and , or , but , etc.), and the word to . This capitalization style is called title case .
- Title case: T he C urious I ncident of the D og in the N ight- T ime
- Title case: T he S trange C ase of D r. J ekyll and M r. H yde
Capitalize lower-level headings using sentence case , in which you capitalize only the words you would normally capitalize in a sentence.
- Sentence case: T he curious incident of the dog in the night-time
- Sentence case: T he strange case of D r. J ekyll and M r. H yde
Style guides like the AP Stylebook , Chicago Manual of Style , APA Publication Manual , and MLA Handbook prescribe additional rules, discussed in this article.
Title case is also called headline style or up style: you see it used in headings and titles of books, movies, TV shows, articles, and other works. Sentence case, also called sentence style or down style, is used for second-level headings and lower. News headlines have traditionally been capitalized using title case, although these days, sentence case is often used, especially online.
Title case: General rules
Here are the general rules for capitalizing titles and headings:
- Capitalize the first word and last word of a title.
- Capitalize all major words, which are all words except articles ( a , an , the ), prepositions (e.g., on , in , of , at ), and coordinating conjunctions ( and , or , but , and nor ; also for , yet , and so when used as conjunctions).
- Always lowercase the word to .
- Capitalize the first element of a hyphenated term. Capitalize any subsequent elements only if they are major words.
- Capitalize the first word of a subheading that appears after a colon.
- Break a rule if you need to—for example, if a preposition is emphasized in a title, capitalize it.
Major words are all words except articles , prepositions , and coordinating conjunctions .
- L ove in the T ime of C holera
- T hree M en in a B oat
- P ride and P rejudice
- R equiem for a D ream
- C atch M e I f Y ou C an
- The P ortrait of a L ady
- The W ay W e L ive N ow
- The G irl W ho P layed with F ire
- M en without W omen
- The G round beneath H er F eet
- E verything I s I lluminated
The first and last words of a title are always capitalized, no matter what they are.
- A Clockwork Orange
- T he Mill on the Floss
- I n Search of Lost Time
- T hrough a Glass Darkly
- F rom Blood and Ash
- B ut What If There’s No Chimney?
- A nd Then There Were None
- Something to Answer F or
- Something to Believe I n
- All We Dream O f
- Where We Come F rom
It may not always be clear at first glance whether a word should be capitalized. Check what function it serves in the title.
- Capitalize over as an adverb , but lowercase it as a preposition. Adverb: The Soup Boiled O ver Preposition: The Light o ver London
The word to is lowercased, regardless of what function it serves in the sentence (unless it is the first or last word).
- Train t o Busan
- Zero t o One: Notes on Startups, or How t o Build the Future
- A Good Man Is Hard t o Find
In a hyphenated term, the first prefix or word is always capitalized, but the following words are capitalized only if they are major words.
- The M an- E ater of Malgudi Eater is a noun and should be capitalized.
- The Academy’s O ut- o f- U niform Procedure Lowercase of , which is a preposition, but capitalize uniform , a noun.
- The S tep- b y- S tep Guide to Finding Fairies
- The T hirty- N ine Steps
- The A nti- I nflammatory Diet Cookbook
- Originals: How N on- C onformists Move the World
- The F ire- B reathing Dragon
Any subtitle or subheading that follows a colon is always capitalized.
- Computer: A History of the Information Machine
- The Lord of the Rings: T he Return of the King
- The View from the Cheap Seats: S elected Nonfiction
- A Memoir: O f Mermaids and Waterfalls
Break a rule if you must. If a word is emphasized in a title, capitalize it, even if it is not a major word.
- How to Be the Go- T o Person in Your Organization
- A Run- I n with Religion and Other True Stories
Capitalize all the words that make up a phrasal verb , even a word that is a preposition.
- What to Do When You R un I nto Someone You Don’t Like
- How to S et U p Your Spaceship’s AI
- Don’t P ut O ff Being Happy
Be and is in a title
Verbs are major words and should be capitalized, including the be verb in all its forms: be , is , are , was , were .
- There Will B e Blood
- Tender I s the Night
- Where the Wild Things A re
- Then She W as Gone
- Their Eyes W ere Watching God
Also capitalize the have and do verbs in all their forms: have , has , had , do , does , did .
- The Heart H as Its Reasons
- Owls D o Cry
- What Katy Did
- Inequality: What Can Be Done ?
That in a title
The word that is always a major word and should be capitalized.
- Companies T hat Fleece Their Customers
- The House T hat Jack Built
It and me in a title
Capitalize all pronouns , including it , my , me , we , our, you , he , his , she , her , they , them , and who .
- How I t All Began
- Some of M y Favorite Things
- The Best W e Can Do
- The General in H is Labyrinth
- The Woman W ho Did
No and not in a title
Capitalize the words no and not (a determiner and an adverb) whenever these words appear in titles.
- Beasts of N o Nation
- Oranges Are N ot the Only Fruit
AP and APA style
The APA Publication Manual (used in academic editing, especially the social sciences) and the AP Stylebook (preferred in journalism, media, and corporate communication) both specify one major exception to the general rules :
Capitalize all words of four letters or more, even if they are prepositions.
- One Flew O ver the Cuckoo’s Nest
- The Girl Who Played W ith Fire
- Men W ithout Women
- The Ground B eneath Her Feet
- So Far F rom God
- Once U pon a Time in the West
- Much Ado A bout Nothing
- The Light B etween Oceans
- The Cat Who Walks T hrough Walls
- A Woman U nder the Influence
- Three Billboards O utside Ebbing, Missouri
- The World U ntil Yesterday
- The Man i n the Brown Suit
- The Wizard o f Oz
- A Home f or Lunatics
- The Woman o n the Beach
Thus, in APA and AP style, words four letters or longer are always capitalized, regardless of function. Note that the other general rules apply as usual. Capitalize any major words, even if they are three letters or shorter: be , has , had , do , did , me , who , my , etc.
- We Should All B e Feminists
- If I H ad Your Face
- Marley and M e
- The Man W ho Sold H is Ferrari
Another exception is that all conjunctions three letters or shorter are lowercased. Thus, in APA and AP style, lowercase not only the seven coordinating conjunctions ( and , or , but , nor , for , yet , so ) but also subordinating conjunctions up to three letters long (which pretty much boils down to the word if ).
- Pride a nd Prejudice
- I’d Tell You I Love You, b ut Then I’d Have to Kill You
- Catch Me i f You Can
Also, do lowercase articles and any prepositions up to three letters long: a , an , the , for , in , of , to , etc.
- The Bridge o n t he River Kwai
- Stranger i n a Strange Land
- The Catcher i n t he Rye
- A House f or Mr. Biswas
Finally, in AP Style, the first and last words are capitalized as usual, regardless of length.
- A n American Tragedy
- T he Invisible Man
- A s I Lay Dying
- O f Human Bondage
- O n the Waterfront
- F or the Green Planet
- These Times We Live I n
However, in APA style, the last word is capitalized only if it is a major word or longer than three letters.
- Something to Answer f or
- These Times We Live i n In APA style, lowercase prepositions, unless they are four letters or longer.
Chicago style
According to the Chicago Manual of Style , the conjunctions to be lowercased are and , or , nor , but , and for . All others are capitalized. Thus, the words yet and so are capitalized regardless of function. The word if is also always capitalized.
- Sense a nd Sensibility
- The Hobbit, o r There a nd Back Again
- Though We Be Dead, Y et Our Day Will Come
- Even I f We Break
In a hyphenated phrase, if the first element is merely a prefix that could not stand by itself (e.g., anti- , pre- , non- ), don’t capitalize the second part.
- The A nti- i nflammatory Diet Cookbook
- The Thirty- N ine Steps The word thirty can stand by itself, so capitalize nine as well.
Remember to capitalize not just the first but also the last word of a title or heading, even if it is not a major word.
- The Things We Believe I n Capitalize the last word, even a preposition.
- Only One Way T hrough
- It’s You I’m Dreaming O f
The MLA Handbook (used in academic writing for the humanities) specifies no exceptions to the general rules .
- T hese T imes W e L ive I n
- A H eartbreaking W ork of S taggering G enius
- T he M oon I s a H arsh M istress
Differences in AP, APA, Chicago, MLA rules
As you can see, style manuals differ in their guidelines on what qualifies as a “major” word worthy of capitalization in title case. Here’s a quick summary of the key differences between the popular styles.
In both AP and APA styles, capitalize prepositions four letters or longer. In Chicago and MLA , lowercase all prepositions, regardless of length.
- APA, AP: The Girl F rom Mars Chicago, MLA: The Girl f rom Mars
- APA, AP, Chicago, MLA: The Woman i n Red
Lowercase not just coordinating but also subordinating conjunctions shorter than four letters in AP and APA styles; capitalize all subordinating conjunctions in Chicago and MLA.
- APA, AP: Isolate i f You Are Sick Chicago, MLA: Isolate I f You Are Sick
Capitalize the words yet and so in Chicago style. In the other styles, lowercase them when they are used as conjunctions, but capitalize when they are adverbs.
- Chicago: Broke Y et Happy APA, AP, MLA: Broke y et Happy
- Chicago, APA, AP, MLA: Am I Normal Y et?
Capitalize the last word of the title in AP, Chicago, and MLA styles even if it is not a major word; in APA, capitalize the last word only if it is a major word. (But remember that the APA Publication Manual considers all words four letters or longer major words.)
- Chicago, MLA, AP: Something to Answer F or APA: Something to Answer f or
- Chicago, MLA, APA, AP: The Places We Come F rom
In all four styles, capitalize the first word (whatever it may be), and lowercase articles.
- APA, AP, Chicago, MLA: T he Girl Who Found a Dragon Egg
Sentence case
In sentence case, a title is written as a sentence would be: the first word and all proper nouns are capitalized. This capitalization style is generally used for headings that are second level or lower. These days, it is also increasingly being used for online news headlines.
- C lear light of day
- W e need to talk about K evin
- T he quiet A merican
The first word of a subtitle or subheading that follows a colon is also capitalized.
- Traveling with ghosts: A memoir
- Understanding comics: T he invisible art
If a title begins with a numeral, lowercase the next word.
- 27 b ooks to read before you die
- P ractice guidelines for the pickling of pineapples: 2019 u pdate
Professional and social titles that precede a name are capitalized as well.
- The island of D octor Moreau
- The strange life of P resident Farley
- The story of F ather Femy and his music
For more on which words to capitalize in a sentence, see this article on the rules of capitalization .
Share this article
In title case, all major words are capitalized.
In sentence case, only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
The word it , which is a pronoun, is capitalized in title case.
The words we (a pronoun) and be (a verb) are capitalized in title case.
The word a , which is an article, is lowercased unless it is the first word of the title.
The words let (a verb) and me (a pronoun) are capitalized in title case.
The first word of a subtitle following a colon is capitalized in both title case and sentence case.
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Posted on Mar 03, 2023
Title Capitalization Rules: Learn Which Words To Capitalize
Like many aspects of the English language, title capitalization rules can seem confusing and unintuitive. While the words that are (and are not) capitalized in a title aren’t always consistent, it’s really not as complicated as you might think.
Whether you’re titling a book , writing a headline for a blog post or article, or referring to a movie, song, or other published work , you’ll need to follow standard title capitalization rules. To help you along, let’s break down the basic rules and explain some exceptions.
These are the three title capitalization rules you’ll need to remember:
- Capitalize the first and last words of a title
- Capitalize verbs, pronouns, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs
- Don’t capitalize articles, coordinating conjunctions, or prepositions
1. Capitalize the first and last words of a title
The simplest rule you can follow with complete certainty is this: the first and last words of a title are always capitalized. It doesn’t matter what length the title is or what grammatical role the word plays. From the humble article “the” to longer nouns like “tyrannosaurus,” you’re 100% safe capitalizing the first and last word.
Example: Andy Williams’s 1966 hit single, “ Music to Watch Girls By ”
All style guides agree on this rule, and it’s because it just makes sense. By capitalizing the first and last words, you create a visual mark that shows the reader where the title begins and ends. Even if it’s used within a longer sentence, it can’t be confused with the text surrounding it.
💡 Note: When words are capitalized to form a title, their format is called “title case” or “headline case.” This is in contrast to “sentence case,” which is what you’ll see in this very paragraph.
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Capitalize the first word of subtitles, too
The rule for subtitles is very simple: the subtitle’s first word is also always capitalized, no exceptions. Subtitles, written after a colon, are especially common in nonfiction books and academic works.
Example: Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar’s classic work of feminist literary criticism, “The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination .”
If this title was written in sentence case, the first word after the colon would not normally be capitalized. And if we were following rule number 3 (spoiler alert), the word “the” would be in lowercase.
If you’re worried about your institution’s style guide of choice, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Capitalizing the first word of a subtitle is one of those rules where APA, MLA, Chicago, and AP style guides are in beautiful, unanimous agreement.
This is not the only rule they agree on — the next one is also universal.
2. Capitalize verbs, pronouns, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs
There are many common parts of speech that are always capitalized in a title. Let’s take a quick look at them, one by one.
The ‘action words’ of language, verbs are capitalized in every style guide. This also applies to phrasal verbs, where a verb and a preposition are used together, like “Get Up,” “Stand Up,” “Let Go,” and “Carry Out.”
A commonly asked question is whether the word “is” needs to be capitalized. “Is” and its cousins (“I am,” “you are,” etc.) are all conjugated forms of the verb “to be,” so the answer is yes. The same applies to the verb “do” and its variations “did” and “does.”
Here are a few examples of book titles that include verbs:
- “This Is How You Lose the Time War” by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
- “Where'd You Go , Bernadette” by Maria Semple
- “ Don’t Cry for Me” by Daniel Black
- “I'll Tell You in Person” by Chloe Caldwell
- “ Do You Want to Start a Scandal” by Tessa Dare
- “History Is All You Left Me” by Adam Silvera
All style guides agree on capitalizing pronouns in titles. If you’re a native speaker, it’s possible you assume the term simply refers to “he,” “she,” “they,” and “his,” “hers,” and “theirs.” These are pronouns indeed, but there are many more types.
We won’t dwell (no one likes a grammar lesson), but to learn more about further types of pronouns, like relative, indefinite, demonstrative, or interrogative pronouns, you can check out Thesaurus.com’s entry on pronoun types . Fun fact: words like “someone,” “whenever,” “whose,” and “ whom ” are pronouns, too. Hopefully, this knowledge will come in handy when you next capitalize a tricky title.
Here are a few examples of book titles with pronouns:
- “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry” by Mildred D. Taylor
- “Guess How Much I Love You ” by Sam McBratney
- “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway
- “ Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston
- “Go Tell It on the Mountain” by James Baldwin
- “ Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good” by Jan Karon
If you do happen to like grammar lessons, however, check out this article about the Oxford comma to learn more about when and how to use it like a pro.
Nouns and adjectives
You already know these ones, so we won’t patronize you. They’re also straightforward when it comes to capitalization: nouns and adjectives are capitalized in all style guides. Wonderful, right?
Let’s look at a few title examples that feature nouns:
- “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
- “How the García Girls Lost Their Accents ” by Julia Alvarez
- “If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler ” by Italo Calvino
- “ Diary of a Young Naturalist ” by Dara McAnulty
And some book titles that capitalize adjectives:
- “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote
- “A Cavern of Black Ice” by J. V. Jones
- “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art” by Scott McCloud
- “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon
You may know adverbs as the words that end in -ly. They describe the way or manner in which something is done or happens. Just don’t forget that adverbs of manner aren’t the only type of adverb.
If your title includes any of the words below, you’re dealing with adverbs of frequency, time, place, or degree:
You don’t need to remember what category each adverb falls under — you just need to be able to recognize them as an adverb, since all adverbs are capitalized across all style guides.
Here are a few titles that feature adverbs, whether they end in -ly or not:
- “Isla and the Happily Ever After ” by Stephanie Perkins
- “A Fairly Honourable Defeat” by Iris Murdoch
- “ Tomorrow , and Tomorrow , and Tomorrow ” by Gabrielle Zevin
- “A Story Lately Told: Coming of Age in Ireland, London, and New York” by Anjelica Huston
So far, we’ve looked at the two major rules where all style guides agree: capitalizing the first and final words of a title, as well as any “principal” or important words, like nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs. The next rule is where it gets a little bit more complicated.
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3. Don’t capitalize articles, coordinating conjunctions, or prepositions
Unless you’re working with a style guide that says otherwise (or if they’re the first or final word in a title), the following types of words are not capitalized:
- Articles — the tiny words that come before nouns to indicate whether it’s a general concept or a particular, specific thing, e.g., “ the garden” vs. “ a garden”
- Prepositions — words that precede nouns to show direction or place, or to establish a relationship between two things, e.g., “ opposite the library,” “ next to the cat”
- Coordinating conjunctions — words that link two parts of a sentence that can stand on their own, e.g., “I was tired. Alice went to bed” vs. “I was tired and Alice went to bed.”
Here are the words that fall under these categories:
📚 For more examples and information on prepositions, head to this page by the University of Ottawa.
Here are a few book titles that do not capitalize articles, coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (unless they are the first or last words of the title):
- “In Search of Lost Time” by Marcel Proust
- “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger
- “The Portrait of a Lady” by Henry James
- “Again, but Better” by Christine Riccio
- Subordinating conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions, on the other hand, are capitalized. These are words that introduce a new part to the sentence that is dependent on the main sentence, or clause. Subordinating conjunctions include: if, since, as, when, although, while, after, before, until, because.
Because titles are not typically multi-clause sentences, it’s harder to intuit which group a conjunction belongs to. The simplest way to know when to capitalize conjunctions is to just remember which are coordinating and which subordinating.
Subordinating conjunctions do get capitalized, as in these title examples:
- “Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke” by Eric LaRocca
- “As Good As Dead” by Holly Jackson
- “What If ?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions” by Randall Munroe
- “Live Right and Find Happiness ( Although Beer Is Much Faster): Life Lessons and Other Ravings” by Dave Barry
4. When in doubt, refer to your style guide
If you're writing for a specific institution, keep their style guide bookmarked. For your convenience, here's what the four most commonly used style guides in North America require when it comes to capitalizing titles correctly:
Chicago Manual of Style
Capitalize:
- The first and last words of a title
- Verbs, pronouns, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs
Don’t capitalize:
- Articles, prepositions of any length, and coordinating conjunctions
- “To,” if used in an infinitive (e.g., “Failure to Launch” )
Modern Languages Association (MLA) Handbook
American psychological association (apa) publication manual.
- Words that consist of more than four letters, even conjunctions and prepositions
- Words shorter than four letters
The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook
- “To,” if used in an infinitive (e.g., “Failure To Launch” )
- Articles and prepositions shorter than four letters
- Coordinating conjunctions
You’ll notice that the first two, Chicago and MLA, are the same — whereas AP and APA share an enthusiasm for capitalizing words longer than four letters.
Now compare these book titles:
See the difference?
- Chicago and MLA don’t capitalize “along” because it’s a preposition.
- AP and APA do capitalize it because it’s longer than four letters long.
- “For” is a coordinating conjunction (so lowercase for Chicago and MLA) and not long enough to be capitalized in AP and APA.
- All four style guides capitalize the first and last words of the title, as well as the first word of the subtitle.
🎯 Want to test yourself? Head over to our book title generator and give it a whirl. Write down what titles you’re given and then ask yourself how they’d be formatted for each style guide.
Those are all the rules, so you can go ahead and capitalize your title. Beyond your title, if you’ve got a whole manuscript in need of polishing, consider hiring a copy editor to take care of the finer details.
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If you want to expand your knowledge of niche linguistic matters even further, head over to the world of punctuation with our post on using hyphens and dashes correctly. Just don’t forget your linguist geek hat.
Continue reading
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What to Capitalize in a Title: APA Title Capitalization Rules
Which words do you capitalize in a title?
Have you ever been confused about which words to capitalize in the title of your manuscript ? You have probably seen titles where only the first word is capitalized (so-called “sentence case”), titles where all words seem to be capitalized (“title case”), and also titles that look like combinations of the two. And you might have wondered where there is any general rule to all this.
The answer is that, no, there is not really one general capitalization rule, but there are several style-dependent capitalization guidelines you can rely on, and the journal you plan to submit to will tell you (in their author instructions ) which one they want you to apply to your manuscript before submission. Just like you format your manuscript and reference list following APA or MLA formatting rules, you apply the respective style guide to capitalize your title, headings, and subheadings . In this article, we will first explain the general rules on what types of words to capitalize (e.g., nouns, articles, and conjunctions) and then look at the APA and MLA style guides in particular and their specific variations of those rules.
Research Paper Title Capitalization Rules
According to most style guides, all proper nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in titles of books and articles are to be capitalized. Some elements of titles are, however, never capitalized, such as articles (except articles at the beginning of a title), and some, such as conjunctions, can or cannot be capitalized, depending on the specific style guide variation. In the following, we will outline the general rules for all the different words in your title so that you can orient yourself easily to the different style guides and adapt your title quickly when necessary.
Capitalizing Nouns and Pronouns in Titles
Nouns (including formal names of people, organizations, and places) and pronouns are easy to format, as all style guides agree that they should always be capitalized using title case capitalization.
Capitalizing Articles in Titles
The rules for articles are also simple, as all major style guides agree that articles should be lowercase in titles—unless they represent the first and/or last word in the title:
In the latter example, the first “the” is capitalized because it is the first word of the title, while the second “the” is lowercase as articles usually are. Note that the same rule regarding article capitalization applies to subtitles as well.
Capitalizing Conjunctions in Titles
Conjunctions are a slightly more complicated case, as style guides differ on whether to capitalize them or on which conjunctions to capitalize. According to some guides, conjunctions of three letters or fewer are to be written in lowercase while longer ones should be capitalized. Other style guides, however, state to write all conjunctions in lowercase, or make exceptions for specific conjunctions such as “yet”, “so”, and “as”. It is therefore always necessary to look up the specific rules of the target journal before submitting a manuscript—and have a look at our sections on APA and MLA style below. The following examples are, however, fairly universal:
Capitalizing Prepositions in Titles
Capitalization rules for prepositions are equally ambiguous and depend on the specific style guide you follow. Prepositions of four letters or more are often capitalized, while according to some style guides, all prepositions are written in lowercase, no matter their length. Sometimes, for example, when following the Chicago Manual of Style , capitalization depends on how a preposition is used in a title and whether it does indeed function as a preposition. According to this rule, prepositions are capitalized when they are used “adverbially or adjectivally” in prepositional phrases (as in “How to Back Up a Computer”), but not when used otherwise.
Capitalizing Adjectives and Adverbs in Titles
Rules for capitalizing adjectives and adverbs , like nouns, are unproblematic, as they are capitalized across style guides.
Capitalizing Verbs in Titles
Verbs are another easy case and are also always capitalized, according to all style guides.
Title Case Rules by Style Guide
Apa title case rules .
APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used for scholarly articles in the behavioral and social sciences. The APA guidelines on when to capitalize a title include the following rules:
MLA Title Case Rules
The Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook , used primarily to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities, promotes the following rules for when to capitalize a title or header:
Additional Rules for Title Capitalization
As we have stressed several times throughout this article, it is crucial to always check the specific rules of the target journal and/or the rules of the style guide the target journal wants you to follow—note that these can sometimes conflict with each other, in which case the journal rules override the style guide. Apart from the two common style guides we explained here, APA and MLA , there are several others that have their own rules, such as the Chicago Manual of Style , the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style , or the Associated Press Stylebook , an American English grammar style and usage guide originally developed for AP writers but now used widely across journalistic fields. There is even a specific set of rules for the capitalization of titles of Wikipedia articles !
One capitalization rule that might not necessarily be mentioned in such style guides but is relevant for some academic/scientific fields is that when the Latin name of a species is mentioned, the second portion of the name must be written in lowercase, even when the rest of the title follows title case rules.
Another capitalization rule you might need when describing research experiments is that both elements of spelled-out numbers or simple fractions should be capitalized in title case:
Lastly, no matter your personal preference, make sure you always write the titles of books and articles exactly as they are written on the original document/in the original version, even if they do not seem to follow common capitalization rules.
Correct Capitalization in Your Title with Professional Editing
If you are even more unsure now how to capitalize your title or find the author instructions of your target journal confusing (which can happen, since those sets of rules have often grown organically over a long period of time and, as a result, can lack consistency), then you might want to make use of professional English proofreading services , including paper editing services —your professional academic editor will figure such details out for you and make sure your manuscript is in the correct format before submission.
If you need more input on how to write and perfect the other parts of your manuscript, then head over to the Wordvice academic resources website where we have many more resources for you.
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What to Capitalize in a Title
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Confused about what to capitalize in a title?
Do you ever encounter titles in which every word is capitalized? It's understandable why some authors and publications do this. The advice that is commonly given in terms of capitalization in titles is very vague, and rules vary based on the style guide being used.
A common rule that is thrown around is to capitalize all major words in a title. But what constitutes a major word? All of the words in a title are major, right? Well, not quite.
Although capitalizing your title correctly can be difficult, there are several concrete rules that you can rely on when it comes to capitalization in titles. Title case is used for titles, headings, subheadings, and headlines. Here, we'll be describing the rules for writing in title case, as outlined in The Chicago Manual of Style , which is a very common style guide. However, we'll also offer some resources at the end of this article that discuss some of the variations in title case, based on the rules of other style guides.
Download our capitalization rules guide
If you're curious to learn more, download our guide to capitalization rules. Using helpful examples, it explains all kinds of capitalization rules from book titles to job titles and more.
What to capitalize in a title
1. always capitalize the first word as well as all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs..
Let's go back to that rule about major words that we referred to earlier. Though the word major may seem a little bit vague, this essentially refers to all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. In addition, all major style guides indicate that the first word of the title should be capitalized regardless of the word's role as a part of speech. So, yes, even if the first word of the title is not a noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, or adverb, it must be capitalized.
As long as you know your parts of speech , you should have no problem identifying the words that require capitalization. Here are some examples:
In this example, both Grapes and Wrath are nouns, so they should be capitalized. The is capitalized because it is the first word in the title.
2. Articles, conjunctions, and prepositions should not be capitalized.
Though it is sometimes said that small words in a title do not require capitalization, let's be a bit more specific. After all, many nouns and verbs are small (e.g., dog , go ), but these words must still be capitalized. The small words we are referring to in this case essentially include articles, conjunctions, and prepositions, which should not be capitalized (again, unless they are the first word of a title). There are only three articles in the English language ( a, an , and the ), so pinpointing these words in a title should be a cinch. Conjunctions like and, nor, but, for, and or should also be written in lowercase.
Let's break down this example from William Faulkner. Sound and Fury are nouns and must be capitalized. Though the is used twice in this title, only the first appearance of this article needs to be capitalized, because it is at the beginning of the title. Finally, and is a conjunction and should be written in lowercase.
Prepositions are a different story, as they can be tricky to identify. Prepositions link nouns or other phrases (the objects of the prepositions) to the rest of the sentence. Simple prepositions indicate temporal, spatial, or logical relationships between the object of the preposition and the rest of the sentence; these include above, below, after, around, outside, toward, through, into , etc. Participial prepositions are not linked to nouns and include terms like concerning, considering, regarding, and during. Neither simple prepositions nor participial prepositions should be capitalized in a title. Though some prepositions can be quite lengthy, they should still be written in lowercase. (There are some exceptions to this rule, but we'll get to that a bit later.)
In this example, at is a preposition that adds spatial information to the sentence and should be written in lowercase. Bury (verb), My (possessive pronoun), Heart (noun), and Wounded Knee (proper noun) are all capitalized.
Okay, things get more complicated here. When prepositions function as adverbs, they should be capitalized. ( Near and beneath can act as either prepositions or adverbs.) When does a preposition function as an adverb, you ask? A good way to determine this is to identify the part of speech of the term following the word that you are unsure about. If the word that follows is a noun, then the term you are unsure about is probably functioning as a preposition. If a noun does not follow the term, then the word is an adverb and should be capitalized.
3. Capitalize the first element in a hyphenated compound.
If a title contains a hyphenated compound, then the first element must always be capitalized. The other elements of the compound are generally capitalized, unless they are parts of speech that are not capitalized (articles, conjunctions, or prepositions) .
In this example, Half-Blood is a hyphenated compound. Blood is capitalized because it is a noun.
If you come across a title that contains a hyphenated compound with a prefix that cannot stand as a word on its own, the second element of the compound should be written in lowercase (unless it is a proper noun or proper adjective). Examples of this include such words as "Co-owner" and "Re-elect."
4. Capitalize both elements of spelled-out numbers or simple fractions.
When a spelled-out number or simple fraction is used in a title, both components require capitalization.
You're getting to be an expert with title case capitalization, so instead of rehashing what we have already learned, let's move on, shall we?
5. If the scientific name of a species is mentioned, the second portion of the name must be written in lowercase.
This is one of those picky rules that is easy to overlook. This rule will most often apply to the titles of academic works in the medical or scientific fields. If you are working with a title that contains the scientific name of a species, then the second portion of the name must be lowercased.
6. Pay attention to the specific requirements of the style guide.
The rules outlined above are the usual conventions when it comes to title case capitalization rules, but make sure that you check the specific style guide that you are using. In addition to formatting, many style guides have established their own rules for the proper use of title case. And though many of these style guides follow the basic rules outlined in this article, there are some variations that you definitely must consider.
For example, remember the previous point about prepositions always being written in lowercase? Well, let's compare two style guides to clarify some of the differences that exist.
According to The Chicago Manual of Style (8.157), a long preposition, such as between , should be written in lowercase. However, some style guides allow words that are longer than five letters to be capitalized (such as the style guide of the Associated Press).
Here are some useful links that provide more information on the rules for title case capitalization according to various style guides:
- Modern Language Association (MLA)
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- Associated Press
Though properly capitalizing a title of your own might be difficult, we hope that this guide has eliminated some of the confusion regarding what to capitalize in a title. The majority of the rules are pretty straightforward, but others (such as the capitalization of prepositions) vary among style guides. Make sure you know which style guide you want to use and that you stick to it.
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CGTC FAQs: Academic Support
What words do i capitalize in my essay title.
When capitalizing words in a title you create for an essay, there are common rules that overlap between various writing styles, such as AP (Associated Press), APA (American Psychological Association), MLA (Modern Language Association), and Chicago.
Regardless of the writing style you are using for a class, here are set rules for capitalizing words in your essay's title:
1) Always capitalize the first word and the last word in a title. Here are examples of titles that have their first words and last words capitalized.
Example: Gone with the Wind
Example: Into the Woods
Example: Something in the Way
2) Always capitalize what are called the "important words": nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions. Let's look at an example:
Example: All Quiet on the Western Front
The first word and last word are capitalized ("All" and "Front") as well as the two adjectives ("Quiet" and "Western"). The words "on" and "the" are not capitalized in this title, which leads us to the third rule...
3) Do NOT capitalize prepositions, articles, and coordinating conjunctions.
Example: The Fire in the Sky and a Rainfall
Keep in mind that while articles (a, an, the) are not capitalized in a title, the first word and last word always are. Therefore, the first word of this title ("The") is an article, but it must be capitalized since it is the first word.
However, the second "the" in this title is not capitalized since it is an article and is not the first or last word of the title. This is also why the words "in," "and," and "a" are not capitalized: Respectively, they are a preposition, a coordinating conjunction, and an article that are not the first or last word.
Here are a few more examples of various titles. Consider why certain words are capitalized while others are not.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Rise and Fall of the Halo Series
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
A Doll's House
All Because of Love
Call Me by Your Name
Catch Me if You Can
If you need further assistance with understanding which words to capitalize in your essay title, watch the attached video.
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When to Capitalize Job Titles in Writing
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- 19th July 2021
Should it be “President Biden” or “president Biden”? Is the “social worker” coming to the meeting, or should it be “Social Worker”? To learn when to capitalize job titles in business writing (or any other document), read our guide below.
When Capitalization is Key
Typically, job titles that come before names are capitalized (unless there is punctuation separating the title from the name). In these cases, the job title functions as part of a proper noun formed by the title and name:
President Biden has won the election.
Head of Sales Mark Smith will be interviewing for the position.
But beware of commas! As you can see, the job title below is not capitalized as we’re using it generically, not as a proper name:
The graphic designer , Sohaila Hussein, is very good at her job.
We’ll look at this and other exceptions again later in the post.
Capitalization in Other Contexts
Other situations in which you may need to capitalize job titles include:
- To show respect to a person in a high-status role or position, especially if you are using their job title to stand in for their name.
The Queen will be opening this leisure center.
Have you written to the President yet?
- In emails or letter signature lines.
Yours faithfully, Sarah Brown, Assistant Principal
Melanie Ferrer, Speech and Language Therapist
- In headings, such as section headings in a resume.
May 2019–July 2020 , Customer Services Assistant
- In the vocative case (i.e., when using a job title to address someone directly).
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Is it serious, Doctor ?
- If a job title appears in the proper name for a building or department.
Office of the Vice Chancellor
Finally, if you’re an employee, make sure to check your organization’s style guide (if they have one) for specific details on capitalizing titles within the company. For example, some companies prefer to capitalize job roles as a matter of respect. And if your boss prefers to see their title capitalized in official documents, it is usually wise to follow their example even if it means bending the standard rules!
When Capitalization is Not Correct
When job titles are used descriptively or generically within a sentence, they are not usually capitalized. This applies to formal writing, job descriptions, cover letters and resumes, and pretty much any other form of writing you can imagine. For example:
Our chief editor , Simon Crystal, has an office on the second floor.
Mrs. Osborne, our assistant chef , makes the most delicious lasagna.
The receptionists at this company leave a lot to be desired.
During my time as a sales manager , I was responsible for 15 employees.
I would make an excellent staff nurse as I have great interpersonal skills.
In other words, when a job description is used in a sentence and does not stand in for (or form part of) a proper name, your default should be to use lowercase letters at the start of each word. However, as above, you may want to check your employer’s style guide for advice on capitalizing specific job titles.
Summary: To Capitalize or Not to Capitalize?
In summary, the rules for capitalizing job titles are:
- Job titles are normally capitalized when they stand in for (or are part of) a proper name, especially when the title precedes a person’s name.
- Job titles are also commonly capitalized to show respect for high-status individuals, when using a title to address someone directly, or when they appear in headings and signature lines.
- When used generically or descriptively, job titles are not usually capitalized.
We hope this post has clarified how to capitalize job titles in writing. But if you’d like an expert to help you perfect your writing, why not try our proofreading service ?
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When to Capitalize Job Titles and Positions
When should a job title be capitalized in a sentence? It’s a simple question with a less-than-simple answer. Sometimes job titles like “president,” “prime minister,” or even royal titles like “queen” use lowercase letters, but sometimes they’re capitalized, as in “President Lincoln” or “Prime Minister Sanchéz.” So how do you know when to capitalize job titles?
Luckily, when it comes to job titles, most style guides use the same rules for when to capitalize. AP style handles job title capitalization the same as APA, MLA, and Chicago formats, so you only have to learn the rules once. Let’s take a closer look at what those rules are.
When do you capitalize the name of a profession?
The short answer is to capitalize job titles when they act as proper nouns . When job titles are used as common nouns, use lowercase for the first letter.
How do you know if a job title is a proper noun or just a common noun? Basically, if a job title is part of the name, then it’s a proper noun and you capitalize it. To put it another way, when a job title is used before a name, it’s similar to a courtesy title like Mr. or Ms. and should be capitalized.
When he was young, Professor Garcia dreamed of becoming a professor.
Editor in Chief Jameson replaced our former editor in chief 10 years ago.
In this usage, the job title comes immediately before the name. A general capitalization rule is to capitalize job titles when they come directly in front of a name, but not when they’re used elsewhere in a sentence.
This rule proves true most of the time, but you have to be careful about appositives, which are noun phrases that precede or follow other nouns and describe them. If either a person’s name or job title is used as an appositive, you do not capitalize the job title. How can you tell if it’s an appositive? Look for a comma—appositives are often set apart with a comma.
[APPOSITIVE] At today’s meeting, the chair of the board, Elizabeth Devi, respectfully disagreed.
[PROPER NOUN] At today’s meeting, Chair of the Board Elizabeth Devi respectfully disagreed.
Also, notice how, when a job title is used as a common noun in an appositive, it includes an article like the , a , or an . This is another way to determine whether the job title is a common noun or part of a proper noun.
So the quick rule for when to capitalize job titles is this: if the job title comes immediately before a name and there’s no comma between them, capitalize it.
However, there are a few more instances when you capitalize a job title, and these have their own special guidelines. Let’s look at those now.
Replacement for a name
Similar to the capitalization of family titles, when a job title is used as a replacement for a person’s name, it is capitalized. In this case the job title acts as the name itself, which means it’s a proper noun.
What are your orders, Captain?
When the test results come back, Doctor, please call me.
Formal listings and signatures
If your name and job title appear in a formal listing or signature line, capitalize the job title. These include mail and email signatures, website profiles, and bylines, as well as other formal situations where names are listed alongside job titles. Conventionally, the job title comes after the name, separated by a comma.
Amadou Ba, Head of Marketing
Written by Carol Green, Associate Editor
Job title initials
Initials are a type of abbreviation that uses a capital letter to represent an entire word. Jobs that are initials, such as C-suite jobs like CEO or COO, are always capitalized.
The CEO asked an employee to parallel park for them.
However, if the job title is spelled out, it follows the standard rules for job title capitalization. That means if the spelled-out job title is used as a common noun, it is not capitalized.
The chief executive officer asked an employee to parallel park for them.
Job titles in names of places and institutions
Just as job titles are capitalized as part of a person’s name, so too are they capitalized as part of a place’s or institution’s name. In both cases, the job title is part of a proper noun, so it’s capitalized.
Office of the Prime Minister
Should job titles be capitalized in cover letters and résumés or CVs?
Cover letters, résumés, and CVs all follow the same rules for when to capitalize job titles. That’s important to remember because these texts use job titles a lot, especially cover letters.
However, note that when job titles are used in your résumé or CV, this counts as a formal listing. In other words, capitalize a job title in your résumé or CV when it’s given as the name of a position you held, but not when it appears in a description of the work you did.
Should job titles be capitalized in essays?
In essays, capitalize job titles according to the rules above. This goes double for job application essays, which like cover letters will probably mention job titles often. Remember that it is not capitalized if you’re discussing the job title as a concept and not in reference to a particular person or institution.
When to capitalize job titles FAQ
When should a job title be capitalized in a sentence.
Capitalize a job title if it is part of a proper noun, but keep it lowercase if it is used as a common noun. Job titles used as a proper noun come immediately before the name, as in President Lincoln . If the name and job title are separated by a comma, however, then it’s an appositive and not capitalized.
In cover letters and résumés or CVs, job titles follow the standard capitalization rules. However, note that when job titles are used in your résumé or CV, this counts as a formal listing. In other words, capitalize job titles when they’re used as an entry on a résumé or CV, but not when they’re used in descriptions.
In essays, capitalize job titles according to the standard rules. This goes double for job application essays, which will probably mention job titles often. Remember that it is not capitalized if you’re discussing the job title as a concept and not in reference to a particular person or institution.
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How to Format Movie Titles in Academic Writings
- by Lesley V.
- October 26, 2023
How to write a movie title in an essay?
Students, especially those in Arts, often refer to films or movie series in their papers. The formatting rules here are easy to remember. But:
They vary a bit, depending on the citation style you use.
In this post, I’ve gathered the guidelines for citing movie titles in five primary formats. Examples included, for you to compare and remember everything better.
How to Write Movie Titles in Essays
Are movie titles italicized?
It’s the most frequent question students ask when looking for this information online. Indeed, most citation formats prescribe italicizing. Other general rules include:
- Uppercase for subtitles
- Extra short movie names (like “It” ) may also go in quotations
- When using quotation marks (AP style), put punctuation inside them
Below are the details on how to format movie titles in essays and reference lists correctly.
Writing Film Titles in Different Citation Styles
For APA style (1):
- Uppercase all four-letter words and above
- Uppercase the first and the last word of a movie title, even if they are short articles (a, the) or pronouns (in, at, etc.)
- Italicize the entire name
For MLA format (2):
- Uppercase movie titles and subtitles
- Use capital letters for both parts of hyphenated words
- No uppercase for articles (a, the) and short conjunctions within the movie name
- Italicize the entire movie title
For Chicago style:
- Uppercase all main words
- Lowercase short conjunctions (below four letters) within the movie title
- Uppercase prepositions, regardless of their length
For AP citation style:
- Lowercase articles (a, the) and prepositions/conjunctions that are shorter than four letters
- Uppercase articles and prepositions/conjunctions in the beginning/end of the title
- No italics; put movie names in quotation marks
For Harvard style:
- Uppercase all primary words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.)
- Lowercase articles and prepositions/conjunctions (below four letters) within the movie title
How to Capitalize Movies in Papers
When writing a film name in a sentence, capitalize every word except for:
- Articles (a, an, the) within the movie title
- Short (below four letters) prepositions and conjunctions within the title
If a movie name begins with the above, use uppercase. Also, write long prepositions/conjunctions (moreover, although, etc.) with a capital letter. For example:
Italics vs. Quotations vs. Underlines
Most citation styles, except AP, prescribe italicization for movies and film series titles. When writing in AP, use quotation marks.
Quotes are also possible to use if you mention super short movie names like “It” or “M.” You italicize them in APA, MLA, or Chicago.
Underlines are for handwritten essays. When written by hand, you can’t italicize, huh? Use underlining instead to highlight a movie title somehow.
How to Format Punctuation in Movie Titles
If punctuation is a part of a film name, place it inside quotation marks or italicize it.
For example:
Writing Movie Titles in Reference Lists
Do you italicize movie titles.
Here they go, the rules on formatting movie titles in essays. Now that you know how to write a movie title in an essay properly, the only detail remains:
Check the formatting guidelines before writing. What citation style does an educator or editor ask you to follow? If none assigned, choose one and stick to it for consistency.
References:
- https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/index.html
- https://lib.westfield.ma.edu/c.php?g=354010&p=2388441
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COMMENTS
The rules are fairly standard for title case: Capitalize the first and the last word. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as "play with"), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (regardless of length).
Generally, though, title case follows these rules: Capitalize the first word. Capitalize all proper nouns. Capitalize pronouns. Capitalize all principal words and longer words (usually four letters or more). Keep short articles, prepositions, and conjunctions lowercase. Here are a couple of examples of title case:
Use quotation marks around the title if it is part of a larger work (e.g. a chapter of a book, an article in a journal, or a page on a website). All major words in a title are capitalized. The same format is used in the Works Cited list and in the text itself. Place in quotation marks. Italicize.
Here are the general rules for capitalizing titles and headings: Capitalize the first word and last word of a title. Capitalize all major words, which are all words except articles ( a, an, the ), prepositions (e.g., on, in, of, at ), and coordinating conjunctions ( and, or, but, and nor; also for, yet, and so when used as conjunctions).
These are the three title capitalization rules you'll need to remember: Capitalize the first and last words of a title. Capitalize verbs, pronouns, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Don't capitalize articles, coordinating conjunctions, or prepositions. Learn how to capitalize titles the right way, so you never have to Google it again.
Capitalization in Titles and Headings. Published on December 22, 2015 by Sarah Vinz . Revised on July 23, 2023. There are three main options for capitalizing chapter and section headings within your dissertation: capitalizing all significant words, capitalizing only the first word, and a combination of the two.
Capitalize. - the first word of the title or heading (or any subtitle/subheading) - all nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns—note that this includes the second part of hyphenated words (e.g., Self-Reliance not Self-reliance) - all other words of four letters or more. Do NOT Capitalize.
What to capitalize in a title. 1. Always capitalize the first word as well as all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Let's go back to that rule about major words that we referred to earlier. Though the word major may seem a little bit vague, this essentially refers to all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
The title holds the highest significance in your academic paper. It helps to convey to your reader the main idea or theme behind your writing. Title capitalization is important because it helps to make your title stand out all the more. It reinforces the idea that it conveys and makes the reader interested in reading through your text.
How to implement title case. In title case, capitalize the following words in a title or heading: the first word of the title or heading, even if it is a minor word such as "The" or "A". the first word of a subtitle. the first word after a colon, em dash, or end punctuation in a heading. major words, including the second part of ...
Capitalizing titles. The capitalization rules for the titles of books, articles, movies, art, and other works vary slightly between style guides. But in general, the following rules apply across major style guides, including APA, MLA, and Chicago. Capitalize the first word of the title and (if applicable) the subtitle. Capitalize the last word.
Regardless of the writing style you are using for a class, here are set rules for capitalizing words in your essay's title: 1) Always capitalize the first word and the last word in a title. Here are examples of titles that have their first words and last words capitalized. Example: Gone with the Wind. Example: Into the Woods.
October 8, 2012, at 7:24 pm. Our Rule 5 of Capitalization states, "Capitalize the titles of high-ranking government officials when used before their names. Do not capitalize the civil title if it is used instead of the name. Examples: The president will address Congress. All senators are expected to attend.
1.2 Titles of Sources. Whenever you use the title of a source in your writing, take the title from an authoritative location in the work, not, for example, from the cover or the top of the page. Copy the title without reproducing any unusual typography, such as special capitalization or lowercasing of all letters.
In summary, the rules for capitalizing job titles are: Job titles are normally capitalized when they stand in for (or are part of) a proper name, especially when the title precedes a person's name. Job titles are also commonly capitalized to show respect for high-status individuals, when using a title to address someone directly, or when they ...
How To Use the AI Essay Title Generator. Our AI essay title generator uses the power of large language models to generate interesting and unqiue titles for your essays. Simply enter a topic in the textbox above and click the "Get Titles" button. A title will be generated for you. If you almost like a title generated, but want some modifications ...
Exceptions for Capitalizing "with" In a Title. As stated above, when writing general English, the word "with" should not be capitalized. An exception is when the word starts or finishes the title sentence. According to the title writing rules, you must capitalize the first and the last word in a title. Note that capitalization of the ...
In essays, capitalize job titles according to the rules above. This goes double for job application essays, which like cover letters will probably mention job titles often. Remember that it is not capitalized if you're discussing the job title as a concept and not in reference to a particular person or institution.
For APA style (1): Uppercase all four-letter words and above. Uppercase the first and the last word of a movie title, even if they are short articles (a, the) or pronouns (in, at, etc.) Italicize the entire name. Bonus: APA Citation for the Bible. For MLA format (2):
The Essay Title Generator is an AI-based tool that creates original and thought-provoking essay titles. By analyzing your input keywords or themes, it generates a range of titles suitable for various academic disciplines and writing styles. This tool is a helpful resource for students and writers looking to create titles that accurately reflect ...