Capitalization

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Proper nouns

Capitalize proper nouns. These are words that refer to specific persons, places, or things.

Example: As Mitch Jackson drove his Edsel down Rosebud Street, the people of St. George laughed.

Capitalize an adjective created from a proper noun.

Example: The drama was very Shakespearian; however, the Freudian undertones were a little too much.

Titles

Capitalize titles when used as part of a person’s name.

Example: Judge Roberts introduced Mrs. Kelley, an employee of of the company, to Mayor Greenleaf.

Titles are not capitalized when they are used in place of a name or as a descriptive tag.

Example: George W. Bush, the president, enjoys pork rinds and children’s books.
The judge made a ruling on the murder case that was very unexpected.

Specific institutions

Capitalize the entire name of a specific institution.

Example: Most students who attend Brigham Young University study at the Harold B. Lee Library rather than at the city library.

Language courses and specific courses

Capitalize a specific course but do not capitalize general subjects. However, names of languages are always capitalized whether they are part of a course title or are simply general subjects.

Example: Even though my major is chemistry, I will take Biology 100, Philosophy 105, and two history courses to fulfill general education requirements. Luckily, I do not have to take any Spanish classes.

Calendar events or time periods

Capitalize days of the week and months, as well as days with specific titles, but seasons (winter, spring, summer, fall) are not capitalized.

Example: Of all the seasons of the year, summer is my favorite because on Independence Day¬—the Fourth of July—we get to light fireworks.
President’s Day is always celebrated on a Monday.

Brand names

Capitalize the names of specific brands but not products.

Example: When I have a cold, I use only Halls cough drops, but I’ll use any type of pain reliever, whether it is Tylenol or not.

Kinship names

Capitalize names such as mother, father, and uncle when used directly before a proper name or when they replace someone’s name. Do not capitalize family relationships when they do not refer to a specific relative or when they are preceded by a pronoun.

Example: At the picnic, Grandma gave some of the pie to Uncle Herbert as well as to Aunt Nadine, but none of my mother’s uncles or aunts ate pie.

Parts of the world

Capitalize the names of cities, states, and countries, as well as all other locations with a proper name. Directions (north, south, east, west) are not capitalized, but regions are capitalized when they refer to a specific topographical place.

Example: The captain directed his ship up the Mississippi River towards Columbus, Ohio, hoping eventually to reach the Great Lakes region of the United States. He observed the beautiful riverbanks of the Midwest as he traveled north.

Nationalities

Capitalize the names of ethnic groups and adjectives created from those names.

Examples: Asians; Asian art
New Zealanders; New Zealand fashion
Arabs; Arabian rugs
Americans; American cuisine

Note: In names such as American Indians, African Americans, Italian Americans, etc., both words in the name are capitalized. The 15th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style recommends that hyphens not be used in two-word ethic titles like those above. Names loosely based on color (black, white, yellow, red) are never capitalized.

Quotes

Do not capitalize quoted material that is part of the sentence structure.

Example: Neil Young has always advised us to “keep on rockin’ in the free world.”

Capitalize the first letter of the first word when the quote is separated by punctuation and is part of its own independent clause.

Example: Neil Young gives us his advice: “Keep on rockin’ in the free world.”

Note: These guidelines should be used for block quotations as well.

Maria Hoagland, Feb. 1993
Revised by James Gunter, spring 2005