Capitalization rules
Lessons for copyeditors

By Jeff South
VCU School of Mass Communications
1
In general
 ‘Down style’
 It’s faster.
 Blame cheap publishers!
 When in doubt, check the AP Stylebook.
2
Proper vs. common nouns
 Proper nouns =
specific people, places, things
 Common nouns =
general people, places, things
3
Proper vs. common nouns
Proper
Tim Kaine
Kenya
Pepsi
Richmond
University
of Virginia
Common
a man
country
soft drink
a city
university,
school
4
Now you try!
The (nations/Nations) formed an alliance.
The nations formed an alliance.
She once lived in (deltaville/Deltaville).
She once lived in Deltaville.
One of the (johns/Johns) arrested in the
prostitution sting said his name was
(john/John) Smith.
One of the johns arrested in the prostitution
sting said his name was John Smith.
5
Trademarks
 They’re specific, so capitalize them:
Students will get free Cokes at class.
A Realtor sold the house in two days.
The concert is being sponsored by Sprite.
She wore an Armani suit.
 Check the AP Stylebook and gov’t.
offices to see if a brand name is still
protected.
6
Now you try!
Clenching a (kleenex/Kleenex), she tearfully
recalled what happened on the beach.
Clenching a Kleenex, she tearfully recalled what
happened on the beach.
He made a (xerox/Xerox) of the document to
prove it existed.
He made a Xerox of the document to prove it
existed.
They had (jello/Jell-O) for dessert.
7
They had Jell-O for dessert.
Trademarks
 Unless the trademark name is essential
to the story, use the generic word:
cola instead of Coke
real estate agent instead of Realtor
gelatin instead of Jell-O
8
Now you try!
Clenching a Kleenex, she tearfully recalled what
happened on the beach.
Clenching a tissue, she tearfully recalled what
happened on the beach.
He made a Xerox of the document to prove it
existed.
He made a photocopy of the document to prove
it existed.
She was wearing Nikes and Ray-Bans.
9
She was wearing running shoes and sunglasses.
Compass points
 Capitalize if it’s a specific region:
He is from the West.
They live in Southside Virginia.
 Lowercase if it’s a direction:
She drove south on I-95.
Five miles east of the city, the officers
found the abandoned car.
10
Now you try!
Clinton was popular in the east but not in the
south.
Wrong. Clinton was popular in the East but not
in the South.
The wind shifted suddenly to the north.
Correct.
After leaving Nashville, they headed West.
Wrong. After leaving Nashville, they headed
west.
11
Now you try!
The south will rise again, he said.
Wrong. The South will rise again, he said.
The tracks run from West to East.
Wrong. The tracks run from west to east.
It rarely snows that far south.
Correct.
They moved here from the West Coast.
Correct.
12
Awards, honors and prizes
 Capitalize specific awards:
Nobel Prize
Emmy
Oscar
Medal of Honor
Pulitzer Prize
Heisman Trophy
13
Now you try!
She won an academy award in 1998.
Wrong. She won an Academy Award in 1998.
The newspaper received a Pulitzer for
international reporting.
Correct.
She has earned numerous awards for teaching.
Correct.
The Nobel peace prize is awarded each spring.
Wrong. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded ...
14
Multiword proper nouns
Capitalize all the words
if they’re part of the formal name:
Hermitage High School
James River
Chesterfield County
Main Street
15
Multiword proper nouns
Be careful with plurals:
Hermitage and Armstrong high schools
James and York rivers
Chesterfield and Powhatan counties
Main and Harrison streets
Don’t capitalized the ‘pluralized’ word, such as schools or streets.
16
Multiword proper nouns
Capitalize:
Grant and Lee fought in the Civil War.
He is taking History 102.
Spain is part of the European Union.
But lowercase:
There’s a civil war in Sri Lanka.
She is studying American history.
Morocco is seeking a union with Algeria.
17
Now you try!
He fell from the top of the Empire State
building.
Wrong. He fell from the top of the Empire State
Building.
The accident occurred at Main and Laurel
Streets.
Wrong. The accident occurred at Main and
Laurel streets.
18
Now you try!
She had no transcript from Middle School when
she transferred to Godwin High school.
Wrong. She had no transcript from middle
school when she transferred to Godwin High
School.
They flew missions in the Korean and Vietnam
wars.
Correct.
19
Now you try!
I took four semesters of History.
Wrong. I took four semesters of history.
I flunked Biology 101.
Correct.
The professor has taught at the Universities of
Tennessee and West Virginia.
Wrong. The professor has taught at the
universities of Tennessee and West Virginia.
20
Government
 Capitalize specific governmental bodies:
Congress
Senate
House
Virginia General Assembly
the General Assembly
the Legislature
21
Government
 Lowercase nonspecific
and plural references:
The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, …
The Virginia and Maryland legislatures
22
Now you try!
By October, Congress is expected to pass the
long-delayed bill.
Correct.
No Legislature has passed the amendment.
Wrong. No legislature has passed …
The new cabinet met with the president
Wrong. The new Cabinet met …
23
Now you try!
Jesse Helms is retiring from the Senate.
Correct.
The North and South Carolina Legislatures will
consider regulating pig farming.
Wrong. The North and South Carolina
legislatures will consider ...
She is a member of the Diet, Japan’s
parliament.
Correct.
24
Government
 Capitalize ‘Capitol’ because it refers
to a specific building:
He visited the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
 Lowercase ‘capital’ - referring to the city
where government is headquartered:
Richmond is the capital of Virginia.
25
Government
 Capitalize City Hall and City Council
because they’re specific.
 Lowercase ‘council’ standing alone:
The council will vote next week.
26
Now you try!
The capitol dominates the skyline of the
nation’s Capital.
Wrong. The Capitol dominates the skyline of the
nation’s capital.
What is the capital of West Virginia?
Correct.
The protesters marched east to the capitol.
Wrong. The protesters marched east to the
Capitol.
27
Religion
 Capitalize names of religions, religious
groups, their deities and their sacred
books:
God, Allah, Buddha
Christians, Jews, Muslims
the Bible, the Torah, the Koran
28
Religion
 But remember:
‘bible’ can be lowercase, too:
The AP Stylebook is the reporter’s bible.
 Always lowercase ‘biblical.’
The speech included
several biblical references.
29
Now you try!
Jerry Garcia was almost a god to his devoted
fans.
Correct.
Jerusalem is sacred to Jews, Muslims and
Christians.
Correct.
The talmud is a book of religious and civil laws.
Wrong. The Talmud is a book ...
30
Race & ethnicity
 Capitalize the formal names of races
and ethnic groups:
African American, Caucasian,
Asian, Hispanic, Indian
 Lowercase skin colors:
black community, white residents,
the whites, the blacks
31
Race & ethnicity
 Call people what they want to be called.
Black or African American?
Native American or Indian?
Hispanic, Latino or Chicano?
 But first, consider: Is race relevant to
the story? If not, don’t use it.
32
Now you try!
In the South, Whites used the poll tax to keep
Blacks from voting.
Wrong. In the South, whites used the poll tax
to keep blacks from voting.
Virginius Dabney, a white editor at the
Richmond Times-Dispatch, won a Pulitzer for
opposing the poll tax.
Correct.
33
Now you try!
But the Times-Dispatch led the campaign
against allowing blacks and whites to attend
schools together.
Correct.
As a result, many people in the Black
Community continue to distrust the whiteowned daily.
Wrong. As a result, many people in the black
community continue to distrust the whiteowned daily.
34
Titles
 Capitalize formal titles directly before a name
(‘fused’ to a name),
not separated by a comma:
The speaker is Mayor Tim Kaine.
Today, President Bush signed the bill.
 Lowercase descriptive titles:
The concert featured singer Sheryl Crow.
The city bought the land from farmer Jerry
Crawford.
35
Titles
 Formal titles denote authority or
professional or academic achievement:
Pope Paul, President Bush, King Henry
 Descriptive titles include:
sophomore Bill Sims, reporter Jean
Williams, first baseman Mark Grace
36
Titles
 If a comma separates the title and
name, the title is no longer a proper
noun:
 The new dean, Steve Gottfredson, will
meet with the students.
 The U.S. president, George W. Bush, held
a state dinner for Mexican President
Vicente Fox.
37
Titles
 Likewise, lowercase titles that
come after a name:
Eugene Trani, president of Virginia
Commonwealth University, ...
 Jeff South, a VCU professor, taught
Newswriting last year.
 Juan Carlos, the king of Spain, is visiting
South America.
38
Titles
 Put long titles (more than three words)
after a name:
Tracy Smith, chairwoman of the Henrico
County Planning and Zoning Commission,
voted against the proposal.
 Ron Nixon, a deputy secretary of state for
Middle Eastern affairs, attended the
meeting.
39
Titles
 Always lowercase titles standing alone,
without a name.
They met the president in the White
House.
The pope gave his blessing.
40
Titles
 Formal titles are used on first reference
only, with the person’s full name:
First reference: Dr. Thomas Alexander
Second reference: Alexander
First reference: Vice President Richard
Cheney
Second reference: Cheney
41
Titles
 Plural formal titles are capitalized:
In Washington, Presidents George W. Bush
of the United States and Vicente Fox of
Mexico are discussing immigration.
The committee will be headed by Vice
Provosts Cynthia McWilliams and Oscar
Garcia.
42
Titles
 Don’t capitalize words that modify or
describe a formal title:
At VCU, former President Jimmy Carter
will speak at a symposium on poverty.
The group invited retired Gen. Art Hall.
43
Titles
 AP style does not use courtesy titles
(Miss, Ms., Mrs., Mr.) unless they are
needed to prevent confusion.
 But some publications do use courtesy
titles. (See The NY Times, or Richmond
Times-Dispatch obituaries.)
44
Now you try!
A popular Soul Singer, Mary J. Blige, will
perform in Richmond.
Wrong. A popular soul singer, Mary J. Blige, will
perform in Richmond.
The pressure is building on president Bush.
Wrong. The pressure is building on President
Bush.
45
Now you try!
Police Officer Jessica Jean Cheney died
Saturday night in a traffic accident.
Correct.
A police officer, Jessica Jean Cheney, died
Saturday night in a traffic accident.
Correct.
Jessica Jean Cheney, a police officer, died
Saturday night in a traffic accident.
Correct. These are three ways of handling titles.
Capitalize only if it’s a formal title ‘fused’ to
46
the person’s name (sentence No. 1).
Organizations
 Capitalize an organization’s name
because it’s a proper noun.
 But don’t capitalize:
a, an, the
and
prepositions of fewer than 5 letters
47
Organizations
Boy Scouts
Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce
the Delta Chi Fraternity (because
‘Fraternity’ is part of the name)
the Phi Mu sorority (because ‘sorority’
isn’t officially part of the name)
VCU Board of Visitors
Federal Communication Commission
48
Now you try!
Amnesty International
Correct.
Black Awakening Choir
Correct.
American Society Of Interior Designers
Wrong. American Society of Interior …
Activities Programming board
Wrong. Activities Programming Board
49
Now you try!
Federal Bureau Of Investigation
Wrong. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Latino Student Alliance
Correct.
the Donkey And Elephant Society
Wrong. Donkey and Elephant Society
VCU Student Government Association
Correct.
50
U.S. military branches
 Capitalize when written
in full or shortened form
the
the
the
the
the
the
U.S. Air Force
Air Force
U.S. Army
Army
U.S. Marines
Marines
51
U.S. military branches
 Lowercase when these words
don’t mean military:
 An army of ants took over the picnic.
 Like an air force bent on destruction, the
birds swooped over the crowd and dropped
their bombs.
52
Political terms
 Capitalize ‘party’ when
it is part of a proper noun:
the Democratic Party
the Republican Party
the Green and Libertarian parties
She is a Democrat and a loyal member of the
party. He is a longtime Republican senator.
53
Political terms
 Lowercase a political term when it
refers to a form of government or
an ideology (not a political party):
They believed in the republican form of
government, with elected representatives.
She opposes socialism, but she used to
belong to the Socialist Party of America.
54
Now you try!
The democratic governor appointed a
Republican to the Supreme Court.
Wrong. The Democratic governor
appointed a Republican …
She joined the Navy at age 19.
Correct.
He spent his life fighting Communism.
Wrong. Lowercase ‘communism.’
55
Now you try!
The Green party is collecting signatures.
Wrong. The Green Party …
The country was founded in 1776
on Democratic ideals.
Wrong. Lowercase ‘democratic’ ideals.
A ragged army of refugees fled from the
drought-striken region.
Correct.
56