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Rule 1. |
Capitalize the first word of a quoted
sentence. |
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Examples: |
He said, "Treat her as
you would your own daughter." |
| "Look out!" she screamed. "You
almost ran into my child." |
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Rule 2. |
Capitalize a proper noun. |
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Example: |
Golden Gate Bridge
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Rule 3. |
Capitalize a person's title when it precedes
the name. Do not capitalize when the title
is acting as a description following the
name. |
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Examples: |
Chairperson Petrov |
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Ms. Petrov, the chairperson of the
company, will address us at noon. |
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Rule 4. |
Capitalize the person's title when it
follows the name on the address or signature
line. |
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Example: |
Sincerely,
Ms. Haines, Chairperson
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Rule 5. |
Capitalize the titles of high-ranking
government officials when used before their
names. Do not capitalize the civil title if
it is used instead of the name. |
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Examples: |
The president will
address Congress. |
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All senators are expected to attend. |
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The governors, lieutenant governors,
and attorneys general called for a special
task force. |
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Governor Fortinbrass, Lieutenant
Governor Poppins, Attorney General Dalloway,
and Senators James and Twain will attend.
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Rule 6. |
Capitalize any title when used as a direct
address. |
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Example: |
Will you take my
temperature, Doctor? |
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Rule 7. |
Capitalize points of the compass only when
they refer to specific regions. |
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Examples: |
We have had three
relatives visit from the South. |
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Go south three blocks and then turn
left. |
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We live in the southeast section of
town.
Southeast is just an adjective here
describing section, so it should not be
capitalized. |
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Rule 8. |
Always
capitalize the first and last words of
titles of publications regardless of their
parts of speech. Capitalize other words
within titles, including the short verb
forms Is, Are, and Be.
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Exception: |
Do not
capitalize little words within titles such
as a, an, the, but, as, if, and, or, nor,
or prepositions, regardless of their length. |
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Examples: |
The Day of the Jackal
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What Color Is Your Parachute?
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A Tale of Two Cities |
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Rule 9. |
Capitalize
federal or state when used as
part of an official agency name or in
government documents where these terms
represent an official name. If they are
being used as general terms, you may use
lowercase letters. |
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Examples: |
The state has evidence
to the contrary. |
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That is a federal offense.
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The State Board of Equalization
collects sales taxes. |
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We will visit three states during
our summer vacation. |
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation
has been subject to much scrutiny and
criticism lately. |
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Her business must comply with all
county, state, and federal laws. |
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Rule 10. |
You may
capitalize words such as department,
bureau, and office if you
have prepared your text in the following
way: |
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Example: |
The Bureau of Land
Management (Bureau) has some jurisdiction
over Indian lands. The Bureau is finding its
administrative role to be challenging.
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Rule 11. |
Do not capitalize names of seasons. |
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Example: |
I love autumn colors and
spring flowers. |
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Rule 12. |
Capitalize the first word of a salutation
and the first word of a complimentary close.
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Examples: |
Dear Ms. Mohamed:
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My dear Mr. Sanchez: |
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Very truly yours, |
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Rule 13. |
Capitalize words derived from proper nouns.
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Example: |
I must take English and
math.
English is capitalized because it
comes from the proper noun England,
but math does not come from
Mathland. |
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Rule 14. |
Capitalize the names of specific course
titles. |
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Example: |
I must take history and
Algebra 2. |
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Rule 15. |
After a sentence ending with a colon, do not
capitalize the first word if it begins a
list. |
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Example: |
These are my favorite
foods: chocolate cake, spaghetti, and
artichokes. |
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Rule 16. |
Do not capitalize when only one sentence
follows a sentence ending with a colon. |
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Example: |
I love Jane Smiley's
writing: her book, A
Thousand Acres, was beautiful. |
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Rule 17. |
Capitalize when two or more sentences follow
a sentence ending with a colon. |
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Example: |
I love Jane Smiley's
writing: Her book, A
Thousand Acres, was beautiful.
Also,
Moo was clever. |
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