Title Case means capitalizing the first letter of the important words in a title or heading. Most people know the basics, but the rules get complicated quickly: Do you capitalize "in"? What about "It"? Should "the" be uppercase when it's the first word? Different style guides give different answers.
The Core Rule
The fundamental rule of Title Case is: capitalize the first letter of each significant word while leaving minor words in lowercase. The practical challenge is agreeing on what counts as "minor."
Almost every style guide agrees on capitalizing:
- The first word of the title (always, no exceptions)
- The last word of the title (always, in most guides)
- Nouns — person, place, thing, idea
- Verbs — even short ones like "Is", "Are", "Be"
- Adjectives and adverbs
- Pronouns — He, She, It, They
What to Lowercase: The "Minor Words" List
The minor words that are typically lowercased (when they appear mid-title, not at the beginning or end) are:
- Articles: a, an, the
- Short prepositions: at, by, for, in, of, on, to, up, via
- Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet
- The "to" in infinitives: "How to Write Better" (not "How To Write Better")
Style Guide Differences
Where it gets complex is when style guides disagree. Here's how the three major ones handle prepositions and conjunctions:
APA Style
Capitalize words of four or more letters, including prepositions. Words like "from," "with," "into," and "over" are capitalized because they're 4+ letters. Short words (a, an, the, at, by, for, in, of, on, to, up) are lowercased.
Chicago Style
The most detailed rules. Lowercase prepositions of any length, coordinating conjunctions, and articles — regardless of how long they are. "With," "from," "between," and "through" are all lowercased.
AP Style
Used by journalists and news organizations. Capitalizes all words of four or more letters. Similar to APA but with specific exceptions for common prepositions and conjunctions.
Tricky Cases with Examples
Prepositions longer than four letters
This is where APA and Chicago diverge most clearly:
- APA: "A Guide Through Modern Art" (capitalize "through" — 7 letters)
- Chicago: "A Guide through Modern Art" (lowercase prepositions always)
Hyphenated words
Most guides capitalize both parts of a hyphenated compound: "Self-Awareness and Well-Being in Modern Life." Some guides lowercase the second element if it's a minor part of speech.
The word after a colon
In APA and Chicago, capitalize the first word after a colon in a title: "Writing Better: A Practical Guide."
Titles within titles
If a title appears within another title, apply Title Case rules to both: "A Review of The Great Gatsby as Social Commentary."
Common Examples
When to Use Title Case
- Book, article, and film titles — standard practice in all style guides
- Blog post headings (H1) — common in editorial and content marketing
- Product names — "Adobe Photoshop," "Microsoft Word"
- Job titles — when used as a formal title ("Director of Marketing"), not as a descriptor ("the director")
- Section headings in formal documents — reports, academic papers
Convert to Title Case Instantly
Rather than memorizing every rule, use our free Title Case converter. Paste your text, click Title Case, and get a properly formatted result in one click. Our implementation capitalizes the first letter of each word — which follows the most common simplified rule used in web content and software interfaces.