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Grammar and Punctuation Guide For Writing: Capitalization

English Capitalization Rules

1. Don't Capitalize after a colon. 

  • Dave owns three dogs: a beagle, a Dalmation, and a husky. 
  • The ingredients for the recipe are: flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. 
  • The schedule for the conference is as follows: registration at 8:00 AM, keynote speaker at 9:00 AM, and breakout sessions throughout the day.

2. Capitalize the first word of a quote.

  • "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."-Ralplh Waldo Emerson
  • "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."-Robert Frost
  • "No, try not. Do or do not, there is no try."-Yoda

3. Capitalize days, months, and holidays, but not seasons. 

  • Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November each year, and it's a time for families to come together and give thanks.
  • My favorite month is December because of the festive atmosphere and the anticipation of Christmas. 
  • I can't wait for the weekend to arrive so I can relax and enjoy some leisure time after a long workweek.
  • Independence Day, celebrated on July 4th, is a national holiday in the United States, marked by fireworks and parades. 

4. Capitalize most words in titles, but not articles, conjunctions, and prepositions. Sometimes capitalize conjunctions and prepositions if they are longer than five letters. 

  • The Great Gatsby
  • To Kill a Mockingbird
  • The Empire Strikes Back
  • The Wizard of Oz
  • Gone with the Wind

5. Capitalize cities, countries, nationalities, and languages. 

  • Killeen, Texas
  • United States of America
  • American
  • English

6. Capitalize time periods and events. 

  • Middle Ages
  • Neolithic
  • The Renaissance
  • The American Revolution

7. Capitalize any locations, direct addresses, or regions. This includes bodies of water, a river or a lake. 

  • Grand Canyon, Arizona
  • EPCOT, Florida
  • 221B Baker St., London
  • 124 Conch Street, Bikini Bottom, Pacific Ocean

8. Capitalize family relationships. 

  • Aunt
  • Uncle
  • Step-Mother
  • Cousin

9. Capitalize trade marks. 

  • Google
  • Exxon
  • Apple
  • Taco Bell

10. Gods, religious figures, and holy works should be capitalized. 

  • Thor 
  • Hercules 
  • Anasi
  • Thoth
  • The Talmud
  • The Tao Te Ching
  • The Bhagavad Gita

11. The name of schools, including any educational institution, not just a college and university. 

  • Rhode Island School of Design
  • Army and Navy Academy
  • College of William & Mary
  • Central Texas College
  • Texas A&M University-Central Texas

12. Groups and organized bodies. 

  • World Health Organization
  • Association of South East Nations
  • New Development Bank
  • World Wide Fund for Nature

13. Lists. 

Chupacabra

Bigfoot

Lock Ness monster

Mokele-mbembe

Jersey Devil

Mothman

Yeti

Honey Island Swamp Monster

14. Initials, initialisms, initials with names and acronyms. 

  • J.K. Rowling
  • J.R.R. Tolkien
  • MLK
  • JFK
  • LBJ

15. The first word of each line of poetry, unless quoted in the poem.

  • "Oh, to be in England"-Robert Browning
  • "April is the cruelest month"-T.S. Eliot
  • "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"-Shakespeare
  • "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and wear,"-Edgar Allen Poe
  • "I have gone out, a possessed witch,"-Anne Sexton

 

Capitalization Rules