Words to Capitalize in a Title
Words to Capitalize in a Title
Bloggers and other writers may experience confusion as to which words should be capitalized in a title of an article. I sometimes capitalize all words so that I do not have to look up the rules. But it is good form to learn how to write correctly. The following rules apply to capitalizing titles:
- Always capitalize the first as last words of the title as well as verbs, adverbs, adjectives, nouns and pronouns.
- Consistently capitalize or do not capitalize conjunctions (examples: but, for, and) or prepositions (examples: words that show a relationship between the noun/pronounce with another word – example: from, over, around, about, before, behind) with five or more letters. Older rules required no capitalization and newer rules require capitalization if words contain five letters or more. Exception: If the word is the last word or the first word in a title, then it should be capitalized.
- Do not capitalize articles (example: a, an, the), prepositions (see examples above), conjunctions (see examples above) with four letters or fewer, and the particle “to” used with an infinitive (example: to do; to be). Exception: If the word is the last word or the first word in a title, then it should be capitalized.
Never have your title all in CAPITALIZED LETTERS because this is not only incorrect, it is considered yelling.
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Anthropomorphisms: When Not to Use Them
There is a really big word that students should know, but may not. That word is anthropomorphic. Technically it means to give human form or attributes to something that is not human. It is popularly used in children’s books. However, doctoral students often have their dissertations rejected for including anthropomorphisms.
Here are some examples of what an anthropomorphism looks like:
- The study assumed that people would not be interested.
- The computer program thinks that the results are accurate.
Both of these sentences should not be used. The reason is that a person can “assume” but a study cannot. Animate nouns are things like a person, a researcher or a participant. Animate nouns can make an assumption. An inanimate noun, like a research study, cannot. Just like an animate noun, a researcher can “think”, but an inanimate noun, a computer, cannot.
To put it more simply, think of it this way:
- Person, Researcher, Participant = assume and think
- Study, Computer, Inanimate Object ≠ assume and think