Title case is a capitalization style traditionally used for titles of various works, including books, movies, songs, plays, and more.

In this Online Title Case Capitalization Converter, major words are capitalized, while minor words are lowercase. For example, “Lord of the Flies” is in title case.

 

Common Use Cases

• Title case is used for headlines in newspapers, essays, blogs, and other publications.

Capitalization Rules

• Always capitalize the first word in a title.
• Capitalize the following parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and some conjunctions (style-dependent).
• Lowercase articles, some conjunctions, and short prepositions (style-dependent).

Style Guide Variations

Different style guides, like the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) and the MLA Handbook, have their own rules for capitalizing titles.

There’s a consensus on basic rules:

• Capitalize the first word.
• Capitalize specific parts of speech.
• Lowercase articles, some conjunctions, and short prepositions.

Key Style Differences

1. Prepositions:
   • AMA, APA, and AP lowercase prepositions up to three letters.
   • Bluebook and Wikipedia lowercase prepositions up to four letters.
   • CMOS and MLA lowercase all prepositions, regardless of length.
   • The New York Times has special rules for prepositions.
2. Coordinating Conjunctions:
   • AMA, AP, APA, MLA, Bluebook, and Wikipedia lowercase all seven coordinating conjunctions.
   • CMOS lowers “yet” and “so” but not the others.
   • The New York Times capitalizes “nor,” “yet,” and “so.”
3. Subordinating Conjunctions:
   • AP, APA, and The New York Times lowercase “as” but capitalize “if.”
   • AMA, Bluebook, MLA, and Wikipedia capitalize both “as” and “if.”
4. Last Word:
   • AP, CMOS, MLA, The New York Times, and Wikipedia always capitalize the last word.
   • AMA, APA, and Bluebook don’t have such a rule.

Examples of Title Capitalization

• “The Catcher in the Rye” (adverb)
• “Give In to Me” (adverb)
• “Fresh out the Oven” (adjective)
• “School’s Out Forever” (adjective)
• “Crawling up a Hill” (adverb)
• “Picking Up the Pieces” (adverb)
• “Nothing but the Truth” (adverb)
• “Life Is But a Dream” (adverb)
• “Let’s Make a Deal” (noun)
• “The A to Z of TV Gardening” (noun)
• “Stand by Me” (adverb)
• “Stand By for Action” (adverb)

Sophisticated Capitalization

• This title capitalization tool uses advanced methods to capitalize titles, considering the context of each word for highly accurate results.

Variability in Title Case Usage

• Title case is common in book titles, but deviations exist in various publications and fields. It involves capitalizing all words except articles, coordinating conjunctions, and short prepositions.