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Table of Contents | Reference Texts | Workbook: Lessons & Exercises

English
Guidelines for Using Capitalization

  • Capitalize proper nouns, including the specific names of persons, places, schools, streets, parks, buildings, religions, holidays, months, agreements, programs, services, and so forth.  Do not capitalize common nouns that make only general references.  For example

Proper Nouns

Common Nouns

Judith Blake

teacher

Canada, United States, Mexico

countries

Camosun College

college

Beacon Hill Park

park
  • Capitalize most adjectives that are derived from proper nouns; eg.,  Roman numeral, Pentax camera, Russian submarine.
  • Do not capitalize the few adjectives that, although originally derived from proper nouns, have become common adjectives through usage; eg., china dishes, india rubber ball, manila envelope.
  • Capitalize the names of specific places such as cities, provinces, states, mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers, oceans, and geographic regions; eg., Victoria, British Columbia, Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Northwest.
  • Capitalize the principal words in the names of all business, civic, educational, governmental, labour, military, philanthropic, political, professional, religious, and social organizations; eg., Child and Family Services, the Times Colonist, The Rainbow Butterfly Society.  (Capitalize the only when it is part of the official name of an organization.)
  • Capitalize particular academic degrees and course titles.  Do not capitalize references to general academic degrees and subject areas; eg., Professor Joseph Bacon, Ph.D., will teach History 101, English 099, and Accounting 200 this fall.  Florence is enrolled in history, English, and accounting this fall.
  • Capitalize personal and business titles when they precede names; eg., Vice-President Simpson of Computers Inc., will chair the meeting today.
  • Do not capitalize common titles following names; eg., Jim Simpson, vice-president, Computers Inc., will chair the meeting today.
  • Capitalize titles of high governmental rank or religious office, whether they precede a name, follow a name, or replace a name; eg., the Prime Minister of Canada, the Premier’s office, Simone Fleure, Senator, an audience with the Pope.
  • Do not capitalize more common titles appearing alone; eg., Neither the president nor the vice-president was invited to speak.
  • Capitalize titles in addresses, salutations, and closing lines; eg.,

    Mr. Peter Shears
    Yours sincerely,                                                            
    Director of Public Relations
    Moravian Designs Inc.
    Victoria, BC V8S 2G5
    Peter Shears
    Director, Public Relations

  • Do not capitalize titles when they are followed by appositives naming specific individuals; eg., We must consult our director of public relations, Peter Shears, before replying to your query.
  • Do not capitalize family titles used with possessive pronouns; eg., My mother met my father during the war.
  • Capitalize titles of close relatives used without pronouns; eg., Mother met Father during the war.
  • Capitalize nouns followed by numbers of letters (except page, paragraph, line, and verse references); eg., Rural Route 12; page 1, line 4; Figure 9.2.
  • Capitalize north, south, east, west, and their derivatives when they represent specific geographical regions.  Do not capitalize the points of the compass when they are used in directions or in general references; eg., living in the North, west of the city.
  • Capitalize the names of departments, divisions, or committees within your own organization.  Outside your organization, capitalize only specific department, division, or committee names; eg., The letter was sent to the Accounting Division in our Human Resources Department.  Please send the letter to their accounting division.  A social committee will be organized soon.
  • Do not capitalize the words federal, government, nation, or province unless they are part of a specific title; eg., The provincial project will be stopped if we don’t receive federal support.  The Federal Employees Union is looking for support from other unions.
  • Capitalize product names only when they refer to trademarked items; eg., Canon camera, 3M diskettes, Apple computer.  (Except in advertising, common names following manufacture’s names are not capitalized.)
  • Capitalize the principal words in the titles of books, magazines, newspapers, articles, movies, plays, songs, poems, and reports; eg., Francis Jackson’s “Is Your Job Right for You?” is a thought-provoking article.
  • In addition to capitalizing the first word of a complete sentence, capitalize the first word in a quoted sentence, independent phrase in informal writing, item in an enumerated list, and formal rule or principle following a colon; eg., Yes, if you agree. (Capitalize an independent phrase in informal writing.) Our company has established one policy:  No smoking is allowed in the building.  (Capitalize a rule following a colon.)
  • Capitalize the names of celestial bodies such as Mars, Saturn, and Neptune.  Do not capitalize the terms earth, sun, or moon unless they appear in a context with other celestial bodies; eg., Where on earth did you put my tennis racquet?  Venus and Mars are the closest planets to Earth.
  • Capitalize terms that refer to a particular culture, language, or race; eg., Persian, Oriental, but anglophone, francophone.
  • Do not capitalize seasons; eg., In the fall, we don’t think about our spring wardrobe.

 

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