CAPITALIZATION

Capitalize the first word in any sentence, the personal pronoun I, and the first word of a direct quotation if it is a complete statement.

Example:

- Night falls quickly in the mountains.

- The door was open when I arrived home.

- He looked at the cake and said, “Diets, like pie crust, are made to be broken.”

1) PROPER NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES

Capitalize all proper nouns and adjectives such as the names of person, business firms, business products, institutions, government bodies and agencies, and public and private organizations.

Example:

Personal names: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Barbara Walters.

Business firm: Wal-Mart, Mrs. Field’s Cookies.

Business products: Nissan Sentra, Wisk, Dr. Pepper.

Institutions: Adler Planetarium, Stanford University.

Government bodies and agencies: Internal Revenue Service, Civil Rights Commission, Justice Department.

Public organizations: Junior Chamber of Commerce, Girl Scouts.

Private organizations: Midwest Authors Guild, JoAnn Kilmer Foundation.

2) HYPHENATED NAMES AND PREFIXES

Capitalize all hyphenated names and hyphenated proper nouns. Also capitalize all proper nouns and adjectives used with a prefix, but do not capitalize prefix.

Example:

- Send the bill to Mrs. Austin-Healy.

- The Minneapolis-St. Paul project has been approved.

- I am neither anti-British or pro-French; I happen to enjoy both countries equally well.

- He will always be a pro-Kennedy person.

3) FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

Capitalize words describing family relationships only when they substitute for a proper noun or are used with the person’s name. Do not capitalize the words if they are used with a possessive pronoun.

Example:

- I told Mother that my sister would be late.

- She described her father to me perfectly.

- Granny Winters and Grampa McDonough are always ready to dance.

- We got a letter from Aunt Helen and Uncle Bill.

- Do you know her cousin Lucia?

4) NATIONALITIES AND RACES

Capitalize the names of nationalities. Racial groups may be lowercased or capitalized. The only firm rule is be consistent. If you capitalize one racial group, capitalize the others as well.

Example:

Nationalities: Australian, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Cambodian, Japanese, Korean, etc.

Racial groups: Black or black, White or white, Yellow or yellow, etc.

5) LANGUAGES AND SCHOOL SUBJECTS

Capitalize languages and those school subjects followed by a number. Do not capitalize general school subjects unless the subject is a language.

Example:

Languages: Arabic, English, Korean, Polish, Khmer, etc.

School subjects: Biology, French, history, literature, Social Science, statistics, etc.

6) RELIGIOUS NAMES AND TERMS

The names of all religions, denominations, and local groups are capitalized.

Example:

Religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shintoism, Taoism, etc.

Denominations and movements: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Methodism, Mormonism, Sufism, Theosophy, Zen Buddhism, etc.

Local groups: Church of the Redeemer, Midwest Baptist, Conference, Saint Leonard’s House, Temple Shalom, etc.

The names of deities and revered person: the Almighty, Allah, Lamb of God, Pan, Kali, Child of God, Jehovah, Holy Ghost, Shiva, Egun-gun, The Word, Logos, Mother of God, Kwan Yin, Astarte, etc.

NOTE: However, pronouns referring to deities are not capitalized in today’s style.

Ø Capitalize the names of sacred words or highly revered works and their individual parts.

Example: the Bible, the Talmud, Genesis, Apostles’Creed, the Decalogue, the Koran, the Vedas, the Beatitudes, Epistles, Book of Job, the Book of the Dead, the Tripitaka, the Diamond Sutra, Sermon on the Mount, Acts of the Apostles, etc.

Ø Capitalize religious holidays and terms relating to the Eucharistic sacrament.

Example: Ascension of the Virgin, Christmas, Easter, High Mass, Holy Communion, Lent, Passover, Ramadan, Yom Kippur, etc.

Ø Names of other rites and services are not capitalized in a text.

Example: baptism, bar (bas) mitzvah, confession, confirmation, evening prayer, matins, seder, vesper service, worship service, etc.

7) ACADEMIC DEGREES AND PERSONAL TITLE

Capitalize academic degrees and personal titles used as part of people’s names or as a substitute for their names. Titles used after a person’s name or by themselves generally are not capitalized.

The exception to the rule occurs when the title refers to the highest national, state, or church office, such as the President of the United States. In such cases, the title may be capitalized.

Dr. Marjorie Adamowski Bernard Stone, Ph. D Resident Don Roth Director Ellen Tate Vice-President Quayle Cardinal Cody Pope John Paul II Revernd Alice Milano General George Custer Admiral Chester Nimitz Queen Elizabeth Count von Moltke

Professor Louise Sasaki Perry Whitehall, M.B.A Don Roth, president Ellen Tate, director the Vice-President (of U.S.) the Cardinal the Pope the reverend the general the admiral the Queen the count

8) HISTORIC EVENBTS, SPECIAL EVENTS, AND HOLIDAYS

Capitalize the names of historic events and periods, special events, holidays, and other publicly recognized special days.

Battle of Midway Black History Month Columbus Day Elizabethan Age Han Dynasty Hundred Year War Labor Day Live AID Africa

Midwest Book Fair Mother’s Day National Pickle Week New Year’s Day Nicene Council President’s Day Thanksgiving Word War II

9) HISTORICAL MONUMENTS, PLACES, AND BUILDINGS

Capitalize the names of all historical monuments, places, and buildings.

Arlington National Cemetery the Chicago Loop the Latin Quarter

the Prudential Building Times Square Washington Monument

10) CALENDA DAYS, MONTHS, AND SEASONS

Capitalize the names of all days of the week, and months of the year. Seasons of the year are lowercase unless they are personified.

Example:

Days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Months of the year: January, February, March, April, May, June…

Seasons of the year: summer, winter, fall, spring.

Exception: Have we not seen, Summer, your jeweled nights, your days young and fair?

11) DOCUMENTS

Capitalize the first word and all other words except articles (a, an, the) and prepositions under five letters (in, to, out) in charters, treaties, declarations, laws, and other official documents. However, when the words charter, act, treaty, and law are used alone, they generally are not capitalized.

Articles of Incorporation Declaration of Independence Magna Carta

Treaty of Orleans Uniform Commercial Code Wagner Act

12) TITLES OF PUBLICATIONS

Capitalize the first word and all other words except articles, prepositions under five letters in the titles of books, chapters, magazines, articles, newspapers, musical compositions, and other publications.

Example:

- Girl of the Golden West (opera)

- No Name in the Streets (book)

- “The Midwest’s Blue-collar Blues” (article)

- “Do Your Own Tune-ups” (chapter)

- Kansas City Star (newspaper)

13) COMPASS POINT

Points of the compass are not capitalized when they refer simply to direction of are used as adjectives. They are capitalized when they refer to regions of the country.

Example:

Direction or adjectives: east, west, north, south, southwest, northwest, eastern, western.

Regions of the country: the South, the East, the Southwest, the Northeast, the North Central states.

14) GEOGRAPHIC NAMES AND REGIONS

Capitalize all geographic names and regions of a country, continent, or hemisphere.

Cities, Townships, Countries, States, Continents: California, New York, South America, India, Miles Township, Western Hemisphere.

Islands, Peninsulas, Straits, Peaches: Baja Peninsula, Strait of Magellan, Myrtle Beach, Canary Islands, Strait of Malacca, Seal Island.

Bodies of Water: Aegean Sea, Nile River, Victoria Falls, Lake Tahoe, Tinker Creek, Walden Pond.

Mountains and Mountain Chains: the Andes, Kilimanjaro, Mount Fuji, Cascade Mountains, Mount Everest, Pike’s Peak.

Parks, Forests, Canyons, Dams: Aswan Dam, Humboldt Redwoods Forest, Bright Angel Canyon, Serengeti National Preserve, Hoover Dam, Yosemite National Park.

15) SCIENTIFIC TERMS

The rules for capitalizing scientific terms, particularly the divisions of plants and animals, can be complex and bewildering. This section presents some general rules for capitalizing the more common terms that are likely to be used.

a. Common Names of Plants and Animals

Usually, lowercase the names of plants and animals, capitalizing only proper nouns and adjectives used with the names. Check with a dictionary to be sure of accuracy.

black-eyed Susan Cooper’s hawk border collie golden retriever jack-in-the pulpit mustang Persian cat

rhesus monkey Rhode Island red Rocky Mountain sheep rose of Sharon Thomson’s gazelle thoroughbred white leghorn fowl

b. Geological Terms

Capitalize the names of eras, periods, epochs, and episodes but not the words era, period, and so on used with the term.

Ice Age (reference to Pleistocene glacial epoch) Lower Jurassic period Paleozoic era

Pliocene epoch Precambrian period

c. Astronomical Terms

Capitalize all proper names of asteroids, planets and their satellites, constellations, and other astronomical phenomena. In many cases, earth, sun, and moon are lowercased unless used with other planets in a sentence.

Alpha Centuri Andromeda Galaxy Arcturus Big Dipper Cassiopeia

the Crab nebula Demos Halley’s Comet the Leonids Mercury

Milky Way North Star Orion Pleiades Saturn

NOTE: Descriptive terms that apply to unique astronomical or meteorological phenomena are not capitalized.

aspirin blizzard hurricane the rings of Jupiter

meteor shower sun dogs tornado the moons of Uranus

d. Medical Terms

Lowercase the names of diseases, syndromes, symptoms, tests, drugs, and the like. Capitalize only proper nouns and adjectives or trade names used with these terms.

aspirin finger-nose test Guillain-Barré syndrome infectious granuloma Metymid

Parkinson’s disease poliomyelitis Salk vaccine tetracycline Tylenol

e. Physical and Chemical Terms

Lowercase laws, theorems, principles, and the like, capitalizing only proper nouns and adjectives used with these terms. Chemical symbols are also capitalized and set without periods.

Boyle’s law C14 or C-14 carbon 14 general theory of relativity H2SO4 Lorenz transformations

Maxwell’s equations Newton’s second law Planck’s constant sulfuric acid U238 or U-238 uranium 238

16) CAPITALS WITH NUMBERS

Capitalize a noun or abbreviation before a number when it designates a formal part of a written work.

Act V, Scene 3 Book IV Chapter 14 or Chap. 14

Paragraph 3 or Para. 3 Section 44 or Sec. 44 Unit 3

ITALICS

Italics are used to indicate emphasis, to mark foreign terms and expressions not commonly used, and to highlight titles of publications and names of certain vehicles such as ships, spacecraft, and the like. Use the underscore for any item that would be italicized in print.

1) EMPHASIS

Occasionally, italics are used to stress certain words or phrases. This usage is more common in dialogue than in formal writing and should be kept to a minimum.

Example:

- “I didn’t blue paint; I wanted lavender paint!”

- “Mr. Lloyd, you told the prosecutor that you didn’t meet Mrs. Young until last month, is that right?”

- On the basis of the field inspector’s report, I recommend that we shut down off shore drilling platform #45.

2) FOREIGN WORDS AND PHRASES

Foreign words and phrases that are not part of common usage are italicized.

Example:

- The motto of the Coast Guard is simper paratus—always prepared.

- As they say, Ende gut, alles gut: all’s well that ends well.

NOTE: However, many foreign words have been in common use long enough that they are no longer italicized.

Example:

- His clothes are very avant-garde.

- At one time the motto caveat emptor—let the buyer beware—was the rule in business.

- Her hat is chic, her shoes passé.

- The military junta declared a 7:00 P.M. curfew.

3) TITLES

The titles of plays, books, magazines, newspapers, movies, and other types of periodicals and publications are italicized when they appear in print. If the first word of a title is a, an, or the, it is italicized only if it is part of the actual name.

Example:

- The Wall Street Journal (newspaper)

- The Los Angeles Times (newspaper)

- Chorus Line (play)

- The Insider (corporate publication)

- Editorial Eye (newsletter)

- Esquire (magazine)

- The Color Purple (movie)

- Redbook (magazine)

- The Yearling (book)

4) VEHICLES

Use italics for the names of ships, spacecraft, airplanes, and other well-known vehicles.

Example:

- The battleship Excalibur.

- The spaceship Enterprise.

- The titanic.

- The president’s jet Air Force One.

ELLIPSES ( … )

Ellipses point (…) indicate that material has been omitted from a quotation or quoted material.

Example:

Original: This book describes the author’s visit to Nepal and renders scenes of the rugged, mountainous countryside that will remain in the reader’s mind forever.

Condensed: This book…renders scenes…that will remain in the reader’s mind forever.

NOTE: When words are omitted at the end of a sentence, use an end mark plus the ellipses.

Example: This book…renders scenes of the rugged, mountainous countryside…

BRACKETS [ ]

Use brackets to enclose additions to quoted material. These additions, made by editors or writers, usually clarify or comment on the material.

Example:

- “Mark Twain said it [the river] taught him all he ever knew about life.”

- Virginia Woolf lived with him [Lytton Strachey] while recovering from her illness.”

- “There were few Esquimouxs [sic] living in the region we explored.”

NOTE: Brackets are also used to enclose material that falls within material already enclosed by parentheses.

Example: The fall sales records are encouraging (see page 33, Monthly Sales [Table 2.1] for a detailed breakdown by product line).

PARENTHESES ( )

Parentheses ( ) enclose material that is an interruption of the text but adds information.

Example:

- The park (in Washington) is always crowded in summer.

- I know the answer (I think) to the question.

NOTE: If the material enclosed falls at the end of a sentence, the end mark is placed outside the closing parenthesis. If the material is a complete sentence within itself, the end mark is placed inside the parenthesis.

Example:

- We provide a complete list of stores (see the Appendix).

- We provide a complete list of stores. (See the Appendix.)

DASHES ( — )

A dash indicates a break in thought or the addition of information within a sentence or at its end. A dash is typed using two hyphens. There is no space before or after the punctuation mark.

Example:

- The woman came running around the corner—I couldn’t see her face—and disappeared down the alley.

- This building—and every building on the street—is overdue for repairs.

- Paul White—you know the man I mean—told me the ballgame would be canceled tomorrow.

NOTE: A dash can be used to mean namely, that is, or in other words to introduce additional information or an explanation.

Example:

- I thought about taking another route—the one through West Virginia.

- There’s only one way to ride that horse—take out a lot of accident insurance.

HYPHENS ( - )

Hyphens are used to join two or more words that are used as a single unit, to link two last names, to join continuous numbers, to connect some prefixes and suffixes with their nouns, to divide words at the end of a line, and to avoid confusing or awkward word constructions.

1) COMPOUND NUMBERS AND FRACTIONS

Hyphens are used with compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-one and with fractions used as adjectives. However, when fractions serve as nouns, no hyphen is used.

Example:

- Twenty-one red roses.

- Sixty-five and over.

- A two-thirds majority.

- A glass three-fifths full.

- But: two tenths of a percent (Two tenths is used as a noun.)

2) COMPOUND NUMBERS

Hyphens are used to link dates of birth and death, pages of material, scores of games, and other instances in which the relationship between the numbers needs to be shown.

Example:

- T. E. Lawrence, “Lawrence of Arabia,” (1888-1935)

- Read pages 15-32 in your statistics book.

- The Bears beat the Rams 21-0.

- All children ages 8-12 are eligible for camp.

3) PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

Prefixes ex-, self-, all-, and the suffixes –elect, always take a hyphen whether they are used as modifiers or as nouns. Hyphens also are used with all prefixes before proper nouns and adjectives.

Example:

- Self-esteem.

- Ex-director.

- Secretary-elect.

- All-encompassing.

- All-Canadian team.

- Pro-French.

4) COMPOUND ADJECTIVES

When compound adjectives are used before the noun, they are hyphenated. When they follow the noun, no hyphen is used. If one of the modifiers is an adverb ending in –ly, do not use a hyphen in the compound adjective.

Example:

- A decision-making process/ a process for decision making.

- A well-run program/ a program that is well run.

- A city-owned business/ a business that is city owned.

- Publicly owned parks/ parks that are publicly owned.

5) WORD DIVISION

Hyphens are used to divide words at the end of a line as a reminder that the rest of the word is to follow. Words cannot be divided arbitrarily but only between syllables.

Example:

- We were almost in Niles Town-

ship when our car broke down.

- Sam didn’t really want to con-

tinue the trip, but I did.

6) HYPHENATED NAMES

Hyphens are used to join two last names.

Example:

- Karen Norridge-Adams.

- The Henderson-Smythes.

- Mr. Michael Harrington-Kelly.

- Mr. and Mrs. Barry-Schroeder.

7) TO AVOID CONFUSION

Use hyphens to prevent confusion or awkwardness in sentences.

Example:

- Re-creation (prevents confusion with recreation)

- Re-emphasize (avoid awkwardness of reemphasize)

- Sub-subentry (avoids confusion of subsubentry)

APOSTROPHE ( ‘ )

The apostrophe is used to show possession and to form the plural of many nouns and symbols. (Possessive nou s and pronouns are also covered in Parts of Speech under Nouns and Pronouns.)

1) POSSESSIVE OF SINGULAR NOUNS

The possessive of a singular noun is formed by adding ( ‘s ). Names that end in a z sound often take only the apostrophe to avoid the awkwardness of too many s sounds.

Example:

- The mechanic’s wrench.

- The tree’s leaves.

- Moses’s tablets.

- Mrs. Gonzales’ maid.

- Gloria’s briefcase.

- Mr. Jones’ house.

- Gus’s workbench.

- Ned Stanis’s boots.

2) POSSESSIVE OF PLURAL NOUNS

The plural possessive of nouns ending in (s) is formed by adding only the apostrophe. All other plural nouns take ( ‘s ).

Example:

- The Harlands’ trip.

- Children’s shoes.

- The teams’ scores.

- The trees’ leaves.

- Men’s sports wear.

- Women’s networks.

3) INDEFINITE AND PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Indefinite pronouns (everyone, no one, anybody, everybody, someone, somebody, one) require an apostrophe to form the possessive. However, personal possessive pronouns (his, her, theirs, your/yours, my/mine, our/ours) do not use an apostrophe.

Example:

- Is this someone’s book?

- I’ll take anyone’s ideas.

- Yes, the book is hers.

- Your ideas are great.

4) INDIVIDUAL AND JOINT POSSESSION

When hyphenated words or names of organizations, companies, or individuals are used to show joint possession, only the last word takes ( ‘s ) or an apostrophe.

In cases of individual possession, both nouns or pronouns take ( ‘s ) or the apostrophe only.

Joint possession:

- Lin and Chan’s bicycles. (The bicycle is owned by both Lin and Chan.)

- The vice-presidents’ office. (The office is used by more than one vice president.)

- IBM and Xerox’s new venture. (The two companies are working together on one venture.)

Individual possession:

- Lin’s and Chan’s bicycles. (Notice the plural noun after the names—a clue that each person owns a bicycle.)

- Her father-in-law’s and brother’s golf scores.

- Texaco’s and Esso’s annual reports.

5) UNITS OF MEASURE AS POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

Units of measure such as day, week, yard, cent, and hour take an ( ‘s ) or an apostrophe when used as possessive adjectives.

Example:

- A moment’s peace.

- A month’s pay.

- A dollar’s worth.

- Ten minutes’ work.

- Three weeks’ pay.

- Two cents’ worth.

6) PLURAL FORMS OF SYMBOLS

The apostrophe or ( ‘s ) is used to form the plural of letters, numbers, signs, symbols, and words referred to as words.

Example:

- All the R’s in this article were printed backwards.

- Mark these items with X’s and those with Z’s.

- Your 3’s look like 8’s.

- How many and’s can you put in one sentence?

- My typewriter smudged all the &’s in my letter.

QUOTATION MARKS (“ ”)

Quotation marks enclose a direct quotation, that is, the repetition of someone’s exact words.

Example:

- “Keep your head down and charge!” the coach said.

- Her exact words were “Bake the bread at 350 degrees.”

NOTE: Indirect questions do not take quotation marks.

Example:

- The coach said to keep your head down and charge.

- She told us to bake the bread at 350 degrees.

1) PUNCTATION WITH QUOTATION MARKS

a) Commas and periods are always placed inside the closing quote marks even if the quoted material is contained within the sentence.

Example:

- She thinks we’re “off the wall,” but I think our idea will work.

- We’ve heard him say a thousand times, “Waste not, want not.”

- “Tell me something I’ll remember forever,” she said.

- You’ve read the poem “Ash Wednesday,” haven’t you?

b) Semicolons and colons are always placed outside the quotation marks.

Example:

- Look up the title under “Animated Cartoons”; copy the cartoon features listed there.

- The following animals are considered “marsupials”: kangaroo, wombat, and koala.

c) Question marks and exclamation points are placed inside the final quotation mark if they are part of the quoted material. Otherwise they are placed outside the quotation marks. Only one end mark is used at the end of a sentence containing quoted material.

Example:

- Have you read the report “Single-Parent Families”? (The entire sentence is the question; the end mark comes after the final quotation mark.)

- He sent Josh the article “Why Can’t Ivan Compute?” (The title is a question and the end mark comes before the final quotation marks.)

- “Dinner is hot and ready to eat!” he called.

- I can’t believe they want us to increase sales “by twenty percent”!

2) BRIEF AND LONG QUOTATIONS

a) Quotation material that is only two or three lines long is enclosed in quotation marks and included as part of the regular text.

Example: The movie critic was blunt about her reactions to the film. She stated that it “has the intelligence of a jellyfish and as much reality as Max Klinger’s insanity pleas.”

b) Linger quotations have no quote marks and are set off from the rest of the text by being indented and single spaced.

Example: The movie critic was blunt about her reactions to the film. This movie should suffer an early and merciful death. It has the intelligence of a jellyfish and as much reality as Max Klinger’s insanity pleas. I don’t know what the director intended for this film; but unless it was to bore us to death, he has certainly failed.

3) SINGLE QUOTATION MARKS

Single quotation marks are used to set off a quote within a quote.

Example:

- Carla said, “Every time I hear ‘Amazing Grace’ I want to cry.”

- “When I asked him what he wanted, he replied, ‘Safe passage to Cairo.’”

4) TITLE

Quotation marks are used to enclose the titles of articles, chapters of books, poems, reports, many government publications, short stories, individual songs, workshop or conference titles, and titles of proceedings.

Example:

- “The Red Badge of Courage” is required reading in most college literature programs.

- “Born in the USA” made Bruce Springsteen as well known as Tina Turner.

- Read the chapter “How Diet Affects Immune Functions” before you change your eating habits too radically.

- The report “Equality in the Workplace: A Ten-year Study” shows how much work still needs to be done.

- Louise Glück’s poem “The Triumph of Achilles” appears in her latest collection.

- The IEEE international conference focused on the theme “Ultrasonic Research: Practical Applications.”

- Throughout the weekend, we will offer two workshops titled “Living with Stress” and “Getting Control of Your Finance.”

5) TERMS AND EXPRESSIONS

Use quotation marks to enclose terms and expressions that are considered odd or unusual (slang terms in a formal report) or that are likely to be unknown to the reader (jargon, technical terms).

Example:

- The President told reporters he regarded his opponents as “flaky.”

- Not many people know the functions of “T cells” or “B cells” in the immune system.

- Scott said he was as full as “a bug-eyed tick.”

- The term “downloaded” should be defined in your book.