| RULES | EXAMPLES |
| Rule 1. Capitalize the first word of a sentence or quoted sentence. | He said, "Treat
her as you would your own daughter." "Look out!" she screamed. "You almost ran into my child." |
| Rule 2. Capitalize a proper noun. |
Golden
Gate
Bridge Does Steve drive you crazy, too? |
| Rule 3. Capitalize a person's title when it precedes the name. Do not capitalize when the title is acting as a description following the name. | Chairperson
Petrov Ms. Petrov, the chairperson of the company, will address us at noon. |
|
Rule 4. Capitalize the person's title when it follows the name on
the address or signature line. |
Sincerely, Ms. Haines, Chairperson |
|
Rule 5. Capitalize the titles of high-ranking government officials
when used before their names or a specific position. Do not capitalize the civil title if
it is used instead of the name. |
The President of the United States will address the nation tonight. All senators are expected to attend. The governors, lieutenant governors, and attorney general called for a special task force. Governor Fortinbrass, Lieutenant Governor Poppins, Attorney General Dalloway, and Senators James and Twain will attend. |
|
Rule 6. Capitalize any title when used as a direct address. |
Will you take my temperature, Doctor? |
|
Rule 7. Capitalize points of the compass only when they refer to
specific regions. |
We have had three
relatives visit from the South. Go south three blocks and then turn left. We live in the southeast section of town. Southeast is just an adjective here, describing the part of town, so it should not be capitalized. |
| Rule 8.
Always capitalize the first and last words of titles of
publications regardless of their parts of speech. Capitalize
other words within titles, including the short verb forms
is, are, and be. Exception: Do not capitalize little words within titles such as a, an, the, but, as, if, and, or, nor, or prepositions, regardless of their length. |
The Day of the
Jackal What Color Is Your Parachute? A Tale of Two Cities |
| Rule 9. Capitalize federal and state when used as part of an official agency name or in government documents where these terms represent an official name. If they are being used as general terms, use lowercase letters. |
The State Board of Equalization
collects sales taxes. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been subjected to scrutiny and criticism lately. The state has evidence to the contrary. We will visit three states during our summer vacation. Her business must comply with all county, state, and federal laws. |
| Rule 10. You may capitalize words such as department, bureau, and office if you have prepared your text in this way: | The Bureau of Land Management (Bureau) has some jurisdiction over Indian lands. The Bureau is finding its administrative role to be challenging. |
