CAPITALIZATION RULES
Rule #1: Capitalize proper nouns (the names of specific people, places, organizations)
Names of people
Jim / Mr. Kramer
Names of specific gods or goddesses
God / Allah / Zeus
Family words (mom, dad, aunt, etc.) used as names
Did Mom say we could go to the store?
Did your mom say you could go to the movie?
Days of the week and months
Sunday / August,
Seasons when used in a title (but not seasons in general)
2012 Summer Olympics / winter
Holidays
Thanksgiving / Easter
Periods and events in history
the Middle Ages, the Battle of Midway
Official documents
the Declaration of Independence
Special events
Elgin Community Spring Gala
Languages, nationalities, religions
Spanish / Canadian / Islam
Political parties
Democratic Party / Republican Party
Organizations and their abbreviations
American Red Cross / ASPCA
Trademark/brand names
Toyota Camry / Pepsi
Titles right before names (but not
Mayor Parker / mayor of Houston
Formal epithets
Alexander the Great
Directions used as names (not as directions)
the Southwest / east of town
Geographical names
Planets, heavenly bodies
Jupiter / the Milky Way
Continents
South America
Countries, states, provinces, cities, towns, villages
Ireland / Ohio / Nova Scotia / El Paso
Streets, roads, highways
Kingwood Drive / Highway 59 / Interstate 10
Major Landforms
the Rocky Mountains, the Sahara Desert
Bodies of water
Lake Travis, San Jacinto River
Buildings, monuments
Kingwood High School, Gateway Arch
Public areas
Town Center, Sequoia National Park
Rule #2: Capitalize the pronoun “I.”
Rule #3: Capitalize the major words of a title (but not short prepositions, articles or the coordinating
conjunctions unless they are the first word of the title). Including…
books, newspapers, magazines, poems, plays, songs,
articles, films, works of art, photographs, and stories
The Catcher in the Rye, The Houston Chronicle,
“The Diary of a Madman”
Rule #4: Capitalize the first word in a sentence.
Rule #5: Capitalize the first word in a full-sentence direct quotation, but do not capitalize the first
word of a quotation that is only a portion or fragment of a sentence.
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Live as if you were going to die tomorrow.”
Marilyn Monroe once said that people should really “start to live before [they] get too old.”
Rule #6: Capitalize the first word of a sentence enclosed in parentheses, but do not capitalize the first
word if the parentheses appear within another sentence.
In a bygone era, a fortunate paddleboat passenger could be entertained by a young Louis Armstrong playing the
coronet. (A coronet is a kind of small trumpet with a mellower tone.)
Damien’s aunt (she’s a wild woman) plays bingo every Saturday night.
Special Cases:
Capitalize the letters used to indicate form or shape.
U-turn, I-beam, S-curve, T-shirt, V-shaped
Capitalize words like “sociology” and “history” when they are used as titles of specific courses; do
not capitalize these words when they name a field of study.
Who teaches World Geography Pre-AP?
It’s the same teacher who teachers your geography class.
Do not capitalize the words “freshman,” “sophomore,” “junior,” or “senior” unless they are part of
an official title.
Are you excited to be a freshman this year?
Did you attend Freshman Orientation?