MECHANICS

CAPITALIZATION

SOURCES

Berry, Chris, and Allen Brizee. "Welcome to the Purdue OWL." Purdue OWL: Capital Letters. N.p.,

19 Jan. 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2012. <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/592/1/

>.

The FIRST WORDS of a SENTENCE

Examples:

• When he tells a joke, he sometimes forgets the punch line.

• During a hill workout he sometimes forgets to breath.

The PRONOUN NOUN "I"

Examples:

• The food store was closed so I came back home.

• Yesterday I ran ten miles nonstop on the track.

PROPER NOUNS

Example:

• Golden Gate Bridge

• United Nations

• Supreme Court

(Names of specific people, places, organizations, and sometimes things)

NAMES of GOD, SPECIFIC DEITIES, RELIGIOUS FIGURES, and HOLY BOOKS

Examples:

Names of God

Specific Deities

Religious Figures

Holy Books

CHRISTIANITY Jehovah NA Jesus Bible

SIKHISM Waheguru NAGuru

Nanak SahibGuru

Granth Sahib

ISLAM Allah NA Abraham Quran

HINDUISM Bhagwan Agni NA Vedas

TITLES PRECEDING NAMES

Examples:• She worked as the assistant to Mayor Hanolovi.

Exception:(DON'T CAPITALIZE TITLES that FOLLOW NAMES)

Examples:

• She worked as the assistant to George Hanolovi, mayor of some city.

DIRECTION DESCRIBING SECTIONS of the COUNTRY

Examples:• Northeast

• Southwest

Exception:(DON'T CAPITALIZE COMPASS DIRECTIONS )

Examples:• Jim's house is two miles north of Otterbein.

DAYS of the WEEK, MONTH, HOLIDAYS

Examples:• Monday, January, Halloween, etc...

Exception:(DON'T CAPITALIZE SEASONS, EXCEPT in a TITLE )

Examples:• The Fall 2012 semester

NAMES of COUNTRIES, NATIONALITIES, AND

SPECIFIC LANGUAGESExamples:

• United States, Indian, and Punjabi

FIRST WORD in a QUOTE

Examples:

• Emerson once said, " If you like running, then get out there and run."

MAJOR WORDS in TITLES of BOOKS, ARTICLES, and SONGS

Examples:

• One of Jerry's favorite books is The Catcher in the Rye.

MEMBERS of NATIONAL, POLITICAL, RACIAL, SOCIAL, CIVIC,

and ATHLETIC GROUPSExamples:

• African-Americans

• Anti-Semitic

• Democrats

• Friends of the Wilderness

PERIODS and EVENTS

Examples:• Victorian Era

• Great Depression

• Constitutional Convention

Exception:(DON'T CAPITALIZE CENTURY NUMBERS)

Examples:• Isaac Newton was born in the seventeenth century.

TRADEMARKS

Examples:

• Apple

• Honda

• Sony

• lenovo

WORDS and ABBREVIATIONS of SPECIFIC NAMES

Examples:

• NBC, NBA, UN, etc...

Exception:(DON'T CAPITALIZE GENERAL THINGS THAT WERE ONCE SPECIFIC)

• french fries, italics, etc...