Sentence case is one of the simplest and most natural capitalization styles — but many people get it wrong. This guide covers the rules, real examples, and when to use sentence case vs other capitalization styles.
Sentence case is a capitalization style where only the first word of a heading or title is capitalized, along with any proper nouns. Everything else is lowercase — exactly as you would write a normal English sentence.
The name comes from the fact that it follows the same rules as capitalizing sentences in body text. If you write a sentence normally, you are already using sentence case.
| Title case version | Sentence case version |
|---|---|
| How to Write Better Blog Posts | How to write better blog posts |
| A Complete Guide to React for Beginners | A complete guide to React for beginners |
| The Benefits of Exercise for Mental Health | The benefits of exercise for mental health |
| Ten Tips for a Better Morning Routine | Ten tips for a better morning routine |
| Why the Internet Changed Everything | Why the internet changed everything |
Notice that "React" remains capitalized in the third example because it is a proper noun (the name of a specific JavaScript library). The word "internet" is lowercase because it is now generally treated as a common noun in modern style guides (including AP Style since 2016).
Sentence case has three simple rules:
If a title contains a colon, the word immediately after the colon is treated as a new sentence and capitalized: "Content marketing: A practical guide for small businesses."
The trickiest part of sentence case is remembering which words are proper nouns. Here are the most common categories:
Words like "internet", "website", "web", and "email" are now generally written in lowercase in modern style guides — they were once treated as proper nouns but are no longer.
| Style | Example | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Sentence case | How to write better blog posts | First word + proper nouns only |
| Title case | How to Write Better Blog Posts | Most major words capitalized |
| Uppercase | HOW TO WRITE BETTER BLOG POSTS | All letters capitalized |
| Lowercase | how to write better blog posts | No capitalization |
| Start case | How To Write Better Blog Posts | Every word capitalized |
Sentence case is the recommended or preferred style in many modern contexts:
Title case remains the standard in:
See our full comparison: Sentence Case vs Title Case.
Convert any heading or title to sentence case instantly with our free Sentence Case Converter. Paste your text and get the correctly formatted result in one click.
Sentence case capitalizes only the first word of a heading or title and any proper nouns. Everything else is lowercase — exactly like a normal English sentence: "How to write better headlines for your blog."
Only two types: (1) the very first word of the heading, and (2) proper nouns — specific names of people, places, brands, languages, software, days, and months. Every other word is lowercase.
No. "Internet" was previously treated as a proper noun, but modern style guides (AP Style since 2016, most tech style guides) now treat it as a common noun written in lowercase. Write "the internet" not "the Internet" in sentence case.
Research suggests sentence case is slightly easier to read in digital interfaces and web content because it more closely resembles normal written text. Many major design systems (Google Material, Microsoft Fluent) recommend sentence case for UI text for this reason.
Use our free Sentence Case Converter — paste your text, click convert, and the tool handles capitalization automatically.
Related articles: Sentence Case vs Title Case • What is Title Case? • Uppercase vs Lowercase