Title case capitalizes the first letter of every major word in a title or heading. The key word is "major", articles (a, an, the), short prepositions (in, of, at), and coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or) are typically left lowercase unless they appear as the first or last word.
Example: The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog
"The" at the start is capitalized (first word rule). "the" before "Lazy" stays lowercase, it's an article in the middle of the title.
The rules sound simple until you hit a preposition like "over" and wonder: does that get capitalized? The answer depends entirely on which style guide you follow. This guide covers the four major ones, AP, Chicago, APA, and MLA, plus when to use title case vs. sentence case in practice.
You can convert text to title case instantly using the Convert Case tool at TextTools.app.
Open Tool →The Core Rule: Major Words vs. Minor Words
Every style guide agrees on one thing: major words get capitalized, minor words don't (unless they're first or last).
Always capitalize:
- Nouns (book, city, theory)
- Verbs (run, is, get)
- Adjectives (fast, blue, complex)
- Adverbs (quickly, never, always)
- Pronouns (he, she, it, they)
- The first word of the title, always, no exceptions
- The last word of the title, always, no exceptions
Usually lowercase:
- Articles: a, an, the
- Short prepositions: in, of, at, by, for, on, up, to
- Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet
Where style guides diverge is in the gray zone: longer prepositions (between, across, within), subordinating conjunctions (as, if, while), and "to" in infinitives (I Want to Go vs. I Want To Go).
Title Case Rules by Style Guide
The four most common style guides have different answers for those edge cases. Here's a direct comparison:
| Rule | AP | Chicago | APA | MLA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First and last word | Always capitalize | Always capitalize | Always capitalize | Always capitalize |
| Articles (a, an, the) | Lowercase | Lowercase | Lowercase | Lowercase |
| Short prepositions | Lowercase | Lowercase all, regardless of length | Lowercase up to 3 letters | Lowercase all, regardless of length |
| Longer prepositions (between, across) | Capitalize (4+ letters) | Lowercase | Capitalize (4+ letters) | Lowercase |
| Coordinating conjunctions | Lowercase | Lowercase and, but, for, or, nor; capitalize yet, so | Lowercase all | Lowercase all |
| "To" in infinitives | Capitalize | Lowercase | Lowercase | Lowercase |
| Subordinating conjunctions (as, if) | Lowercase | Capitalize if; lowercase as | Lowercase | Capitalize |
AP Style Title Case
AP Style (Associated Press) is the standard for journalism and newsrooms. It capitalizes prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters.
AP examples:
- The Rise of Content Marketing
- How To Write Better Headlines ("To" is capitalized in AP, it's an infinitive marker)
- Rules About Writing in Plain English ("About" has 5 letters → capitalized)
Used for: News articles, press releases, journalistic content.
Chicago Style Title Case
The Chicago Manual of Style lowercases all prepositions regardless of length (updated in the 18th edition). It also lowercases the conjunctions and, but, for, or, nor, but capitalizes yet and so.
Chicago examples:
- Secrets within the Team ("within" has 6 letters but stays lowercase)
- A Guide to Writing with Clarity ("to" is lowercase)
- Beyond Good and Evil ("Beyond" is a preposition → lowercase; "Good" and "Evil" are adjectives → capitalized)
Used for: Books, academic publishing, historical writing, professional manuscripts.
APA Style Title Case
APA (American Psychological Association) capitalizes prepositions of four or more letters, similar to AP. It's used mainly in scientific and academic writing.
APA examples:
- The Role of Language in Cognition
- Factors Affecting Learning Outcomes ("Affecting" is a verb → capitalized)
Used for: Psychology, education, social sciences, research journals.
MLA Style Title Case
MLA (Modern Language Association) lowercases all prepositions regardless of length, similar to Chicago. It also lowercases "to" in infinitives.
MLA examples:
- A Room with a View ("with" lowercased even though it's common to capitalize longer prepositions in other styles)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ("and" and "of" are lowercase; "the" inside the title is lowercase)
Used for: Literature, humanities, language studies.
Quick Pick: Which Style Should You Use?
| Context | Recommended Style |
|---|---|
| Academic paper (sciences, psychology) | APA |
| Academic paper (humanities, literature) | MLA |
| Book or long-form publishing | Chicago |
| News article, press release | AP |
| Blog post or website heading | Chicago or AP (pick one, stay consistent) |
| SEO page titles and meta titles | Chicago or AP |
| Legal documents | Bluebook |
When in doubt for web content, AP or Chicago are both broadly accepted. Pick one and apply it consistently across your site.
Title Case vs. Sentence Case
Title case and sentence case are the two most common capitalization styles for headings. They look different and send different signals.
Title Case: How to Write Better Blog Headlines That Convert
Sentence case: How to write better blog headlines that convert
Title case looks more formal and authoritative. Sentence case reads as more conversational and approachable. Neither is wrong, it's a style choice.
When to use title case:
- Book and article titles (especially in academic and formal publishing)
- News headlines
- H1 headings on formal or professional websites
- Document titles, report headings, legal sections
- SEO page titles (common convention for web pages)
When to use sentence case:
- Blog post headings and H2/H3 subheadings (increasingly common on web)
- Product documentation and UX copy
- Email subject lines (sentence case converts better in A/B tests for many audiences)
- Internal tools and dashboards
- Social media posts
Many modern style guides, including Google's developer documentation style guide and Microsoft's writing style guide, prefer sentence case for digital interfaces. If you run a blog, both work; consistency matters more than which you choose.
Common Title Case Mistakes
1. Capitalizing all prepositions
The most common error. Writers treat title case as "capitalize everything" and end up with:
❌ The Catcher In The Rye
✅ The Catcher in the Rye
Short prepositions (in, of, at, on, by, for) stay lowercase in all four major style guides.
2. Forgetting to capitalize the last word
The first-word and last-word rules override everything else. Even if the last word would normally be lowercase, it gets capitalized.
❌ Something to live for
✅ Something to Live For
"For" is a preposition that's normally lowercase, but it's the last word, so it's capitalized.
3. Getting confused by prepositions that double as adverbs
Some words can be prepositions or adverbs depending on context. When they function as adverbs, they're typically capitalized.
- Look Up the Answer, "Up" here acts as part of the phrasal verb "look up" → capitalize
- Up the Mountain, "Up" is a preposition → lowercase (in Chicago/MLA)
4. Hyphenated words
Most style guides capitalize the first part of a hyphenated compound and any major words after the hyphen:
- Self-Reported Data (the adjective "Reported" → capitalized)
- Long-Term Strategy ("Term" is a noun → capitalized)
- Built-in Feature ("in" is a preposition → lowercase in most guides)
5. Using the wrong style guide for your context
Mixing Chicago rules for prepositions with AP rules for conjunctions produces inconsistent capitalization. Pick a style guide and apply it throughout.
Title Case in Practice
Writers and bloggers
Use title case for H1 headings (your article title) and decide early whether you'll use title case or sentence case for H2/H3 subheadings. Most blogs use sentence case for H2s, it reduces visual noise when headings appear frequently.
Developers
Title case shows up in API responses (field labels), CMS templates, documentation headers, and UI strings. It's distinct from code naming conventions, camelCase and snake_case are used in code, while title case is for user-facing display text. You can use the Convert Case tool to convert between naming conventions.
Marketers and content teams
Use title case for page titles (H1s), browser tab titles, and meta titles for SEO. Sentence case is increasingly preferred for ad headlines and email subject lines. For landing page copy, consistency within a page matters more than which style you choose.
SEO titles and meta tags
Title case is the dominant convention for HTML <title> tags and H1 headings. It signals formality and matches user expectations for page titles they see in browser tabs and search results.
Frequently asked questions
What words are not capitalized in title case?
Articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet), and short prepositions (in, on, of, at, by, up), unless they appear as the first or last word.
Is "with" capitalized in title case?
Depends on the style guide. In AP and APA, "with" (4 letters) is capitalized. In Chicago and MLA, all prepositions are lowercased, so "with" stays lowercase.
Should I use title case or sentence case for blog headings?
Title case is more common for H1 (article title). For H2 and H3 subheadings, sentence case has become standard on many modern blogs, it's easier to read when headings appear frequently. Pick one and stay consistent.
Does title case apply to subtitles?
Yes. In most style guides, the first word of a subtitle is always capitalized, and the rest follows the same title case rules as the main title: Digital Marketing: How to Build a Brand That Lasts.
Is "is" capitalized in title case?
Yes. "Is" is a verb, and all verbs are major words, they're always capitalized in title case: Content Is King.
Conclusion
Title case has one universal rule, capitalize major words, lowercase articles, short prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions, and four style guides that disagree on the edges.
For most web writers:
- Blog post titles: Either AP or Chicago works. Stay consistent.
- Academic writing: Match your discipline (APA for sciences, MLA for humanities).
- Journalism: AP.
- Book publishing: Chicago.
The biggest practical shortcut is using a tool rather than second-guessing every preposition. TextTools.app's Convert Case tool converts any text to title case instantly, paste your heading and get the correctly-formatted result.
Related: Generate URL-safe slugs from titles | Case conversion overview