It can drive you bonkers

Headline-style capping (sometimes called title caps, title case, or billboard-style capping) is often applied to major signposts in text. The titles of books, for example, and the chapters and sections within.

The use of headline-style capping is not as widespread as once it was. European publications led the way with sentence-style capping, and more recently, publications in this country have followed suit. Newspapers, journals, magazines, and published books have in recent years turned more and more to sentence-style caps.

But for those circumstances where this style does apply, here’s a summary of the typical approach. Some aspects (particularly the treatment of prepositions) vary by context.

What’s capped, what’s not

Words capped by part of speech

Cap all words of “substance.” That is, cap all words that fall into the primary parts of speech, words that confer meaning in a phrase —

• Nouns

• Pronouns

• Adjectives

• Adverbs

• Verbs

Cap these words regardless of length. Sometimes, they are short words. Am, Are, and Is, for example, are verbs and so they’d all be capped. The pronouns It and Its are capped.

Note that subordinating conjunctions (Because, Although, While, When, If, and so on) are adverbs, meaning that they’re also capped.

Special case: Prepositions

Here is where guidelines often differ. In an academic environment, all prepositions are down, regardless of length. In trade publishing, prepositions of four or more letters — or sometimes of five or more letters — are most often capped.

Words capped by design

Cap words in these special categories —

• The second word in a hyphenated compound if it would take a cap on its own (if, in other words, it’s not a short preposition): for example, the second word in Red-Haired, but not the second word in Break-in

• Any word following a colon, regardless of part of speech

• Any word beginning or ending the entire phrase, regardless of part of speech

• The particle in a phrasal verb: for example, Ask Around, Break Down, Break In

Yes! If you are using headline-style capping, the second word in hyphenated compound nouns like break-in or break-up would be treated one way and the second word in phrasal verbs like break in or break up, another.

Like this:

In Which Our Heroes Break In to Save the Day

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

A Massive Break-in Ruins the Day

The Break-up That Wasn’t

Preposition and Particles

Prepositions precede, and govern, nouns. (Like this: in the field, on the table, around the house.)

Particles are a special category of preposition or adverb only when they are currently functioning to complete the sense of a verb, which means that in this case they are an integral part of that verb. (Like this: ask around, add up to, break down, break up, look down on.)

Not all two-word or three-word verb phrases are bona fide phrasal verbs. Sometimes the phrase is just a verb + an adverb.

This is a relatively small point, one you may never run into. If you do, your copyeditor should sort it for you.

Words not capped

Do not cap any of these words (unless, naturally, it is the first word, the last word, or the first word directly following a colon) —

• Articles (a, an, the)

• Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or/not, for, yet, so)

• The infinitive marker (to)

• Prepositions:

  • All prepositions (if following academic guidelines)

  • Prepositions of four or fewer letters (if following one of the common alternative styles), meaning words like at, by, for, in, into, of, on, to, with, to name a few

And do not cap any special terms that always, even when starting a sentence, remain lowercase.

The treatment of some common words

Words always capped, never capped, and sometimes capped. Remember, though, that position trumps all other guidelines: the first word, the last word, and the first word following a colon are always capped.

Cap these words

Some of the words in this list are subordinating conjunctions. Some are relative pronouns and adverbs. Some are coordinating adverbs. Some are prepositions of five or more letters. A few are regular adjectives, adverbs, nouns, pronouns, or verbs. Some cross boundaries and may be used in different ways.

If you’re writing in an environment that keeps all prepositions down regardless of length, then YMWV.

About

Above

After

All

Although

Also

Among

Are

As (as an adverb or a subordinating conjunction)

As If

Be

Because

Before

Below

Besides

Between

Even

Even If

Even Though

How

If

In Case That

In Order That

In That

Indeed

Instead

Is

It

Its

It’s

Once

Our

Rather Than

Since

Still

So That

Than

That

Their

Then

These

This

Though

Those

Til (as a subordinating conjunction)

Toward

Under

Unless

Until

Was

Were

What

Whatever

When

Whenever

Where

Wherever

Whereas

Whether

Which

Whichever

While

Who, Whose, Whom

Whoever

Why

Within

Without

You

Your

Do not cap these words

Three of the words in this list are articles; six are coordinating conjunctions. The rest are prepositions of four or fewer letters.

This is not an exhaustive list. Just some of the more common confusions.

a

an

and

as (as a preposition)

at

but

by

for

from

into

nor

of

onto

or

over

so

the

till (as a preposition)

to

upon

with

yet

Exception: If one of these words happens to fall into one of the three special positions (first word, last word, first word following a colon), do cap it.

Sometimes cap these words

These words can function either as particles, to complete a verb phrase, or as prepositions, governing a noun and setting up its relationship in the sentence.

Cap them when they function as part of a phrasal verb (as in, Break It Off). Do not cap them when they function as prepositions, that is, positioned in front of a noun phrase.

This is not an exhaustive list. Just some of the more common confusions.

in

off

on

out

up

Exception: If one of these words happens to fall into one of the three special positions (first word, last word, first word following a colon), do cap it.