Capitalization+Rules

Capitalize. . . 1. the first word of a sentence EXAMPLE 2. proper nouns EXAMPLE A. preceding a name EXAMPLE **EXCEPTION** - Do not capitalize titles that follow names. **EXCEPTION** - Do not capitalize titles used as general words. B. when used in direct address ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR TITLES Capitalize very high ranking government officials' titles even when not followed by a name or used in direct address when a specific individual is referred to. EXAMPLES If no specific individual is referred to, do not capitalize titles of even very high ranking government officials. EXAMPLE Capitalize important words in compound titles used with names, but do not capitalize prefixes or suffixes added to the titles. EXAMPLES 3. major words in titles of books, articles, and songs EXAMPLE **EXCEPTION** - Do not capitalize short prepositions, conjunctions, or articles unless they are the first word of the title EXAMPLES 4. names of God, specific deities, religious figures, and holy books EXAMPLES **EXCEPTION** - Do not capitalize the non-specific use of the word "god." 5. directions that are names, such as North, South, East, and West when used as sections of the country EXAMPLE 6. days of the week, months of the year, and holidays EXAMPLES 7. seasons, when used in a title EXAMPLE **EXCEPTION** - Do not capitalize the names of seasons if they are used generally. 8. countries, nationalities, and specific languages EXAMPLES 9. periods and events EXAMPLES **EXCEPTION** - Do not capitalize century numbers 10. names of national, political, racial, social, civic, and athletic groups EXAMPLES 11. trademarks EXAMPLES 12. the first word in a sentence that is a direct quote, even if the direct quote comes in the middle of a sentence EXAMPLE 13. the first word of a sentence following a colon EXAMPLE **EXCEPTION** - Do not capitalize the first word of a list following a colon if the list is not a complete sentence. 14. The first word in each line of most poetry EXAMPLE 15. the single-letter word, first person pronoun **//I.//** EXAMPLE 16. salutations and closings in letters - first word only unless proper name is used EXAMPLES 17. initials, initialisms, and acronyms EXAMPLES 18. names of the planets EXAMPLES
 * names of relatives (to indicate family relationship) when used with name
 * names of relatives when used as proper name| EXAMPLE [[image:http://www.towson.edu/ows/capitalization3.jpg width="539" height="129"]]
 * titles
 * EXCEPTION **- Do not capitalize directions when used as compass directions
 * NOTE -** Experts disagree about whether to capitalize //earth, sun,// and //moon.// For consistency, this author suggests capitalizing them when they are used to designate celestial bodies.