Rules for Capitalization
1. People and Cultures
a. Names and initials
i. Michelle Kwan
ii. Robert D. Ballard
iii. W.P. Kinsella
b. Personal Titles and Abbreviations
i. Mr. Lewis
ii. Dr. Dot Richardson
iii. Todd Owens, Jr.
iv. Mary Mueller, Ph.D.
v. President Obama
vi. Attorney General Eric Holder
vii. ****do not capitalize titles when they are not used with a
proper noun
1. We saw the queen sitting in the royal box.
2. We saw Queen Elizabeth sitting in the royal box.
c. Family Relationships (when used with or instead of a name)
i. Aunt Carla
ii. Cousin Maggie
iii. Grandpa Johnson
iv. I asked Mom if I could go to the movies.
v. ****do not capitalize when used without a proper name or
with the word my.
1. My mom said I could go to the movies.
d. The pronoun I-I is always capitalized.
i. John and I went to the movies.
e. Religious Terms
i. Religions-Christianity, Buddhism, Islam
ii. Sacred Days-Ramadan, Easter, Christmas
iii. Sacred Writings-Bible, Torah, Koran
iv. Deities-God, Allah, Buddha
v. ****Do not capitalize the words god and goddess when they
refer to gods of ancient mythology.
1. The ancient Olympic Games honored the Greek god
Zeus.
f. Nationalities, Languages, and Races
i. Minnesotans
ii. French
iii. Hispanic
iv. Spanish
v. Native American
2. First Words and Titles
a. Sentences and Poetry
i. Capitalize the first word of every sentence.
ii. In traditional poetry, capitalize the first word of every line.
b. Quotations
i. Capitalize the first word of a direct quotation presented as a
complete sentence.
1. Yogi Berra once asked a player, “How can you hit and
run?”
ii. In a divided quote, only capitalize the first word in the second
part if it starts a new sentence.
1. “Don’t worry,” said Nina. “There’s always more.”
2. “Yes,” said Fred, “but will there be enough?”
c. Outlines
i. Capitalize the first word of each entry
1. Look at this outline as an example.
d. Parts of a Letter
i. The greeting: Dear Miss Robinson,
ii. The Closing: Yours Truly,
e. Titles of Literary Works
i. Capitalize the first, last, and all other important words. Do not
capitalize articles, conjunctions, or prepositions with fewer
than five letters in the middle of the title.
1. The Giver
2. The Call of the Wild
3. Mona Lisa
4. Sports Illustrated
5. “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
6. “Ode to an Artichoke”