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< Using Capital Letters

Using Capital Letters: Using Capital Letters #7

Dennis Oliver
Using Capital Letters (#7)

Capital (or upper-case) letters are important in English,
and there are many situations when you should use
them. Another important use for capitals is in titles
(names) of articles, books, and so on.

In titles for written materials, some letters are capitalized
and some are not. Here are some guidelines to help you
know which words should begin with capitals:

1. Always capitalize the first and last word
of a title.
2. Capitalize all nouns in a title.
3. Capitalize all pronouns in a title.
4. Capitalize all verbs in a title.
5. Capitalize all adjectives in a title.
6. Capitalize all adverbs in a title.
7. In general, do not capitalize articles
(a, an, the) in a title.*
8. In general, do not capitalize coordinating
conjunctions (for example, and, but, or)
in a title.*
9. In general, do not capitalize prepositions
(for example, in, with, for, to) in a title.*

Special Notes

1. If an article, coordinating conjunction, or
preposition is the first word of a title, it is
(of course) capitalized.
2. If a title is long and has a break (after
a colon [ : ] or dash [ -- ], for example),
capitalize articles and / or prepisitions 
that come directly after the break.
3. Some authorities recommend capitalizing
all prepositions that have four or more
letters (for example, through, until, beside).

Examples:

"Dave's ESL Cafe on the Web"

"Electronic Postcards--Holiday Greetings for
Writing and Reading"

"The Postmodern Shift: A Real Revolution in
ESOL Teaching"

The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
of the English Language

Slang American Style: More than 10,000 Ways
to Talk the Talk

Plants for Dry Climates: How to Select, Grow,
and Enjoy

The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men
Against the Sea

Of Mice and Men

__________________________________________

(In the examples above, quotation marks [ " " ] are
used before and after titles of websites and titles of
articles in magazines and journals and italics are used
for titles of books.)
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