Capitalization

California State Standard

Language Conventions 1.4 Produce legible work that shows
accurate spelling and correct use of the conventions of
punctuation and capitalization.
Expected School-wide Learning Result
Commit to accuracy and quality in academic work.

Always capitalize
Days of
the Week
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

Months of
the Year
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Holidays
Christmas
Thanksgiving
The Fourth
of July
Halloween
Easter
Passover
Veterans Day
Valentines Day

Always capitalize
Special Events

Periods in History

Middle Ages
World Trade Center Bombings Ice Age
Renaissance
Battle of the Bulge
Cold War
Pearl Harbor Attack
Vietnam War
Virginia Tech Shootings

Always capitalize
Official Documents
Political Parties
Democratic Party
Republican Party
Socialist Party

Declaration of Independence
Emancipation Proclamation
The Constitution
Trade or
Brand Names
Nike
Cadillac
Starbucks
Sony

Always capitalize

State Nicknames

Formal
Epithets

the
the
the
the

Alexander the Great

Conan the Barbarian
William the Conqueror
Mrs. Arrage the Witch

Aloha State
Show Me State
Sunshine State
Golden State

(not yet official)

Official or Government Titles

President Obama
Vice-President Biden
Mayor Rojas
Principal Velasco
Coach Ruiz

Always capitalize
Planets or
Heavenly Bodies
Jupiter
Mars
the Milky Way
Venus
the Big Dipper

geographic

names

Continents

Countries

North America
South America
Australia
Europe
Africa
Antarctica
Asia

Mexico
United States
Australia
Austria
New Zealand
Thailand

Always capitalize
States or
Provinces

geographic

Cities, Towns,
or Villages

Coachella
Sinaloa
Mexicali
Texas
Acapulco
California
New York
Baja California Washington D.C.
Nova Scotia
Sacramento
New York

names

Streets, Roads,
and Highways
Avenue 52
Route 66
El Paseo
Harrison Boulevard
Interstate 10
Van Buren Street

Always capitalize

geographic

Sections of a
Country or
Continent

Public Area

the
the
the
the
the

names

Joshua Tree National Forest

Yellowstone National Park
Times Square
The Smithsonian Institution

West Coast
East Coast
Far East
Landforms
South
North
the Rocky Mountains
the Sahara Desert
the Coachella Valley
the Gobi Desert
the San Andreas Fault
the Baja Peninsula

Always capitalize

geographic

names

Oceans, Seas

Rivers
the Mississippi River
the Colorado River
Whitewater
the Missouri River
the Amazon River
Lakes, Ponds
Lake Superior
Lake Cahuilla
Pyramid Lake
Lake Tahoe

the
the
the
the
the

Salton Sea
Pacific Ocean
Dead Sea
Arctic Ocean
Sea of Cortez

Always capitalize
the first word in a sentence.

The Arabs beat Cathedral City last Friday night.

Always capitalize
sentences in parenthesis.
The Arabs beat Cathedral City last Friday night.

(We had fun at the game.)

Always capitalize
sentences following a colon.
Mr. Zembo made the announcement: Thats another
Arab first down by Oliver Inzunza.

Always capitalize
sections of the country, but not words simply giving a
direction.
We drove west for eleven hours, but we were still in
Texas, part of the

South.

Always capitalize
languages, races, nationalities, and religions.
The Arab team is made of mostly
who speak

Islam.

Spanish

and

English.

Mexican-Americans

None of them practice

Always capitalize
titles.
In Mrs. Arrages class, we have read The

Necklace, The Most Dangerous Game,

and parts of The Odyssey.

Rule: Capitalize the first word, the last word, and

every word in between except articles (a, the, an),
prepositions (of, in, on), and conjunctions (and, but).

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Diary of a Madman
Secrets in the Shadows
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.

Always capitalize
organizations.
The Coachella Valley High
performed at halftime.

School Marching Band

Always capitalize
abbreviations.

CVHS

and

DMHS are both schools in CVUSD.