Capitalization

Capitalization of words can often be tricky and confusing. A good rule of thumb is that words are capitalized if
they are unique persons, places, or things, or if, in a title, they are important. Of course, all sentences begin
with a capital letter, as well. Proper nouns and proper adjectives are always capitalized. They fall most often
into the following categories:

Category Example Notes

Particular people Eleanor Roosevelt
Confucius
Organizations United Nations
Yellowstone National Park
Calendar names:
Days of the week Monday, Tuesday
Months of the year January, March
Holidays Martin Luther King Day
NOT seasons winter, spring, summer
Geographical names Bay of Biscay
Nile River
New York State
Boston
Building names Empire State Building
Sears Tower
Directions which refer to a Maine is in the Northeast Often regions which should be
region, not a way to go Drive northeast on the old capitalized are preceded by
highway. the.
Group names
Political parties Republicans
Religious sects Presbyterians
Nations Nigeria
Ethnic origin groups Bulgarian
Government body and the Senate The "little words, like of are
department names Department of Education not capitalized
Historic names
Events American Revolution
Periods Age of Innocence
Documents Magna Carta
Titles
Titles before proper names Captain Hook
High government titles President of the United States
without names
College degrees Bachelor of Arts degree
NOT most titles without a group of representatives
names
Words of family relationship Family names are not
Family names when used as The cake belongs to Dad. capitalized after possessive
specific persons name pronouns.
Relationship names when My Uncle Bill is a fireman.
used before a proper name For example: My mom told me
NOT relationship names not Her aunt works at the to ask my dad if he wanted to
naming a person elementary school go out to eat.
Solar system names
Planets Mars, Venus, Pluto
Stars North Star
Satellites Telstar
usually Not sun and moon
Trade names Buick car Notice that the name, not the
Sony television item is capitalized
School subjects
Language course French, Latin II
Specific course History I
Words in a course that need American history
to be capitalized
NOT general courses geography, science
Titles Note that prepositions and
Books Pride and Prejudice articles are NOT capitalized.
Articles The Vietnam War See Quotations and Underlining
Poems Ode to a Grecian Urn for rules about what to underline
Plays Arsenic and Old Lace or surround with quotations
Newspapers The New York Times
Television shows Dharma and Greg
Radio programs The Garrison Keiller Show

Other capitalization rules:

Capitalize first words: The Mississippi River empties

The first word of a sentence into the Gulf of Mexico.
Note: Give begins with a
capital letter because it begins a
A quoted sentence Give me liberty, said Patrick
quotation. The second part of
Henry, or give me death.
the quotation is not capitalized
A line of poetry or verse
because it does not begin the
Alone and warming his five wits,
quote or a new sentence.
The white owl in the belfry sits.
-Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Letters
Dear Mr. Watson,
Salutations My dear Mrs. Washington,

Yours,
Closings Very truly yours,

I, O The winner is I.
O, the day has begun!

Outlines I. Dinosaurs
A. Brontosaurus
1. Food
Taken from <http://www.eliterateeducation.com/site/capitalization.htm>