7
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W R I T I N G 1 2 .1 9
AP Style — Capitalizations
OBJECTIVES
STEP 1 | L E A R N
Students will learn the Associated Press (AP) Style for capitalizations in the AP Style —
Capitalizations handout.
STEP 2 | P R A C T I C E
Students will utilize the AP Style for capitalizations in the AP Style — Capitalizations exit ticket.
STEP 3 | U S E
Students will edit existing spreads for AP Style capitalizations as well as use AP Style capitalizations on
subsequent work.
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
The Associated Press Style Guide is an industry standard for the grammatical and stylistic
presentation of print media. Students in this lesson are exposed to the style guide and will communicate
with it in their own publication.
COMMON CORE
STATE STANDARDS
ELA-Literacy.L.9-12.1, CCRA.L.1
Demonstrate command of grammar and
usage when speaking or writing.
ELA-Literacy.L.9-12.2, CCRA.L.2
Demonstrate command of capitalization,
punctuation and spelling.
ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.2c (11-12.2b)
Spell correctly.
ELA-Literacy.W.9-12.5, CCRA.W.5
Plan, revise, edit, rewrite or try a
new approach.
ISTE
ISTE STANDARDS
1C: Use models and simulations to explore
complex systems.
2A: Publish, employing a variety of digital
environments and media.
5C: Demonstrate personal responsibility for
lifelong learning.
6D: Transfer current knowledge to learning of
new technologies.
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AP Style — Capitalizations
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Rule of thumb: When in
doubt, don’t.
Capitalize proper nouns that
constitute the unique identification
for a specific person, place or thing:
– Brock, Shae, Dallas, Spain,
Statue of Liberty
Capitalize common nouns such as
party, river, street, north and room
when they are an integral part of
the full name for a person, place
or thing:
– Democratic Party, Neosho
River, Wall Street, North Bend,
Room 220
Lowercase the common
noun elements of names in all
plural uses:
– The Democratic and
Republican parties
– Main and Broadway streets
Capitalize words that are derived
from a proper noun and still depend
on it for their meaning:
– American, Kansan,
Washingtonian, Christian,
Christianity, English, Spanish,
Shakespearean
Lowercase words that are derived
from a proper noun but no longer
depend on it for their meaning:
– french fries, herculean,
pasteurize, quixotic,
venetian blind
Capitalize the first letter of the first
word in a statement that stands as
a sentence:
– Franklin said, “A penny saved
is a penny got.”
Capitalize the first letter of the
first word as well as key words in
the titles of books, movies, plays,
poems, operas, songs, radio and
television programs, works of art:
– The Scarlet Letter, A
Midsummer Night’s Dream,
The Raven, Carmen, “Stand
By Me” (song title), Scream,
National Public Radio
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»
Lowercase articles, conjunctions
and prepositions of four or fewer
letters in titles except when the title
begins with them:
– War and Peace, Wizard of Oz
» Capitalize words when they are
followed by figures:
– Highway 50, Chapter 3, Page
29, Room 108
Athletic teams: Bulldogs, Hornets,
Wildcats, Jayhawks
Advanced Placement Program: AP,
AP tests, Advanced Placement English,
advanced placement class (lowercase
because it is not the official title)
Awards: Teacher of the Year,
Most Valuable Player, National Merit
Scholar Finalist
Buildings: Capitalize the proper names
and their distinguishing modifiers of
buildings and official areas within the
school and city:
» Hartman Arena
» Kedzie Hall
» Community Building
» Words that serve as both proper
nouns and common names
(depending upon the way in which
they are used in a sentence) should
always be lowercase:
– auditorium, cafeteria, library,
main office, journalism room
Characters: In books, plays, comic
strips, etc.
Church: Capitalize as part of the formal
name of a building, a congregation or a
denomination:
» St. Anthony’s Catholic Church,
Elmdale Methodist Church, the
Catholic and Episcopal churches
» Lowercase in other uses:
– The pope says the church
opposes abortion.
Classes: Capitalize official class names,
but use lowercase when used to
identify individuals:
» junior, Junior Class, senior Katie
Harshman, Class of 2005
Clubs and organizations: Capitalize
the names of clubs and organizations:
» Student Council, Pep Club,
Spanish Club (but “the club”), Pep
Band, A Capella Choir, National
Honor Society
Colleges and universities:
Capitalize formal names of schools
and departments of colleges and
universities, but use lowercase when
informal names are used:
» School of Journalism (but
“journalism school”), Department
of Mathematics (but “mathematics
department”)
Colors: When used to stand for the
name of the school:
» The Red and Black volleyball
team won…
Committees: Capitalize official titles of
school committees:
» Prom Committee, Graduation
Committee
Course titles: Capitalize only the
proper name for a class:
» Computer Applications, personal
typing, English IV, sophomore
English, Geometry, algebra class
Degrees: Capitalize abbreviations of
college degrees, and put no space
between letters:
» B.A., M.A., Ph.D., LL.D.
Departments of high schools:
Capitalize formal names of high school
departments (don’t abbreviate the
word “department”):
» English Department, Science
Department, Fine Arts Department
Directions: In general, lowercase
north, south, east and west when
they indicate compass directions.
Capitalize these words when they
designate regions:
» Midwest, snow fell in the Northeast,
she traveled west
Documents: Constitution (referring
to the U.S. Constitution and
State Constitution), Declaration of
Independence, Bill of Rights
WRITING 12.19 | H A N D O U T
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AP Style — Capitalizations (cont.)
Government bodies: Capitalize
congressional committees, cabinet
positions, specific courts, governmental
agencies, district and school
governing bodies:
» Senate, House, U.S. Supreme
Court, Legislature, Grievance
Committee, Chase County
School Board
Holidays and special, historic or
school events or days: Fourth of July,
National Dog Week, New Year’s Eve,
World War II, Reformation, Christmas,
Homecoming, Spirit Week,
Western Day
Junior Varsity: Capitalize and do not
use periods when using as a modifier,
as in JV team. Otherwise, spell it out:
» JV baseball, JV volleyball,
JV football
Languages: Spanish, French, English
Magazines: Newsweek, Entertainment
Weekly, Men’s Health
Newspapers: Article “the” may be
capitalized if it is in the nameplate:
» The New York Times, The Emporia
Gazette, The Chase County
Leader-News
Titles: Capitalize specific titles
preceding and attached to a name, but
lowercase a title if it follows a name or
stands by itself:
» President Barack Obama; Barack
Obama, president; Principal John
Ireland; John Ireland, principal
» Lengthy titles of more than three
words should be placed after the
name: Denise Uhlrich, English
department head
» Don’t capitalize false titles or
occupational titles: junior Myranda
Bower, southpaw Pete Gomez,
attorney Bill North
Trademarks: Use the generic
description unless the trademark is
essential to the story:
»
Wars: World War II, the second world
war, Korean War, the war in Korea
DO NOT CAPITALIZE:
Campus terms: alma matter, alumnus,
alumni, faculty, graduate
Classes: Do not capitalize senior, junior,
sophomore or freshman when used
with individual names as identification,
but do capitalize official class names:
» Junior Class, Senior Class, junior
Taylor Heins, senior Kelly Hannigan
Course titles (informal): If in doubt,
use this rule of thumb: if you are
referring to a specific class, then
capitalize; but if you are referring to a
subject or class in general, then use
lowercase:
» Digital Media, business test,
math assignment, I take Creative
Writing Period 6, I’m studying
creative writing
Degrees when spelled out: bachelor
of arts degree, master’s degree
Directions: Topeka is northeast
of Wichita.
Governmental bodies when not
used specifically: student body,
executive board, exec board, varsity,
administration, federal government,
federal, nation, the church.
Prepositions, conjunctions or
articles: Do not capitalize these in titles,
except when they begin the title:
» For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Man
Who Came to Dinner
Seasons: These are lowercase
except when part of a proper name
for an event:
» spring, summer, fall, winter, Winter
Formal, Spring Fling
Sports teams: basketball team,
baseball team, varsity basketball team,
junior varsity basketball team
Scotch tape, Coca-Cola,
Pepsi-Cola, Kleenex
7
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WRITING 12.19 | H A N D O U T
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EXIT TICKET
AP Style — Capitalizations
Using the handout, correct the following paragraph to follow AP Style.
In the Fall, senior Cindy Roberts was in the Journalism class but decided to drop out because she was becoming more and
more involved with the swim team. “I wanted to put some time into becoming a better swimmer for the robinsdale high school
team,” Roberts said, “and it required me to make a tough decision. I loved design journalism but I also loved swimming and
could see myself doing that longer.” Additionally, Roberts decided that she wanted to try something new her Senior year, such
as join the Basketball team, something she had always wanted to try.
I edited the following pages for AP Style Capitalization:
I used the following 21st Century Skills in class today:
(Check as many as apply.)
Creativity and Innovation
Technology Operations and Concepts
Personal Productivity
Communication and Collaboration
Leadership
Personal Responsibility
Research and Information Fluency
Ethics
People Skills
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and
Decision Making
Accountability
Self Direction
Adaptability
Social Responsibility
Digital Citizenship
Explanation of task or situation where a 21st Century Skill was used:
7
MINUTE
STARTER
WRITING 12.19 | E X I T T I C K E T
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