The basic rule
In title case, capitalize the first and last words and every major word: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Keep minor words in lowercase in the middle of a title: a, an, the, short conjunctions such as and, but, or, and short prepositions such as in, on, of, to.
Example: How to Get the Most out of a Small Kitchen.
Where style guides differ
- AP (news): capitalize words of four letters or more, so With and From are capitalized but in and of are not.
- Chicago (books): lowercase all prepositions, however long, so between and through stay lowercase.
- APA (academic): capitalize words of four letters or more, like AP.
Whichever you pick, use it the same way throughout.
Small traps
- Capitalize both parts of most hyphenated words: Long-Term Plans.
- Capitalize short verbs: Is, Be and Are are verbs, not minor words.
- Capitalize the word after a colon: Title Case: A Quick Guide.
Sentence case
Many websites and scientific journals now use sentence case for headings: only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. It is easier to read and avoids the arguments above.
The Case Converter switches text between title case, sentence case, uppercase and lowercase. Check the length of a headline with the Word Counter.