Capitalize this!
1. The first word of every sentence.
2. The first-person singular pronoun,
​
​I.
3. The first, last, and important words in a title. (The concept "important words" usually
does not include articles, short prepositions (which means you might want to capitalize
"towards" or "between," say), the "to" of an infinitive, and coordinating conjunctions.
4. Proper nouns
○ Specific persons and things: George W. Bush, the White House, General
Motors Corporation.
○ Specific geographical locations: Hartford, Connecticut, Africa, Forest Park
Zoo, Lake Erie, the Northeast, the Southend. However, we do not capitalize
compass directions or locations that aren't being used as names: the north side
of the city; we're leaving the Northwest and heading south this winter. When
we combine proper nouns, we capitalize attributive words when they precede
place-names, as in ​L​akes Erie and Ontario, but the opposite happens when the
order is reversed: the Appalachian and Adirondack ​m​ountains. When a term is
used descriptively, as opposed to being an actual part of a proper noun, do not
capitalize it, as in "The California ​d​eserts do not get as hot as the
Sahara​D​esert."
○ Names of celestial bodies: Mars, Saturn, the Milky Way. Do not, however,
capitalize​
​
earth, moon, sun, except when those names appear in a context in
which other (capitalized) celestial bodies are mentioned. "I like it here on
e​arth," but "It is further from ​E​arth to​M​ars than it is from ​M​ercury to the ​S​un.
○ Names of newspapers and journals. Do not, however,
​ capitalize the word ​the,
even when it is part of the newspaper's title: the ​Hartford Courant.
○ Days of the week, months, holidays. Do ​not​, however, capitalize the names of
seasons (spring, summer, fall, autumn, winter). "Next ​winter​, we're traveling
south; by ​spring​, we'll be back up north."
○ Historical events: World War I, the Renaissance, the Crusades.
○ Races, nationalities, languages: Swedes, Swedish, African American, Jewish,
French, Native American. (Most ​ writers ​ do not capitalize ​whites, ​blacks.)
○ Names of religions and religious terms: God, Christ, Allah, Buddha,
Christianity, Christians, Judaism, Jews, Islam, Muslims.
○ Names of courses: Economics, Biology 101. (However, we would write: "I'm
taking courses in biology and earth science this summer.")
○ Brand names: Tide, Maytag, Chevrolet.
​
5. Names of relationships ​only when they are a part of or a substitute for a person's name.
(Often this means that when there is a modifier, such as a possessive pronoun, in front
of such a word, we do not capitalize it.)
○ Let's go visit Grandmother today. Let's go visit my grandmother today.
○ I remember Uncle Arthur. I remember my Uncle Arthur. My uncle is
unforgettable.
6. This also means that we don't normally capitalize the name of a term of endearment:
○ Can you get the paper for me, hon?
○ Drop the gun, sweetie. I didn't mean it.
Capitalizing People's Titles and the Names of Political
Entities
7. One of the most frequently asked questions about capitalization is whether or not to capitalize
people's job titles or the names of political entities.
● When a title appears as part of a person's name, usually before the name, it is capitalized:
P​rofessor Farbman (or ​P​rofessor of ​P​hysics Herschel Farbman), Mayor Perez, U.S.
S​ecretary of ​S​tate Colin Powell.
● When the title appears after the name, it is not capitalized: Herschel Farbman, ​p​rofessor
of ​h​istory; Eddie Perez, ​m​ayor of the ​c​ity of Hartford; Juan Carlos, ​k​ing of Spain.
Although we don't capitalize "​p​rofessor of history" after the individual's name, we would
capitalize department and program names when they are used in full*: "He worked in the
D​epartment of ​B​ehavioral ​S​ciences before he started to teach ​p​hysics." (We do not
capitalize majors or academic disciplines unless they refer to a language, ethnic group, or
geographical entity: Roundbottom is an ​e​conomics major, but he loves his courses in
F​rench and ​E​ast ​E​uropean ​s​tudies.)
● The capitalization of words that refer to institutions or governmental agencies, etc. can
well depend on who is doing the writing and where or from what perspective.
○ For instance, if I were writing for the ​c​ity of Hartford, doing work on its charter or
preparing an in-house document on appropriate office decor, I could capitalize the
word ​City​ in order to distinguish between this city and other cities. "The ​C​ity has
a long tradition of individual freedom in selecting wallpapers." If I were writing
for the College of Wooster's public relations staff, I could write about the
C​ollege's new policy on course withdrawal. On the other hand, if I were writing
for a newspaper ​outside these institutions, I would not capitalize those words.
"The ​c​ity has revamped its entire system of government."