What is Title Case? A Complete Guide with Examples

Title case is one of the most commonly used — and most commonly confused — capitalization styles. This guide explains exactly which words to capitalize, how major style guides differ, and when to use title case.

What is Title Case?

Title case is a capitalization style where the first letter of most words in a phrase or heading is capitalized. It is used for titles of books, articles, films, and headings throughout many formal and journalistic writing styles.

The core rule is simple: capitalize major words, lowercase minor words. But the definition of "major" and "minor" varies slightly between different style guides — which is where the confusion begins.

Which Words Are Capitalized in Title Case?

As a general rule, capitalize:

• Nouns — person, place, thing, or idea (Book, River, Technology)
• Verbs — action or state words (Run, Is, Become)
• Adjectives — describing words (Beautiful, Fast, Blue)
• Adverbs — words modifying verbs/adjectives (Quickly, Never, Always)
• The first word of the title, regardless of its type
• The last word of the title, regardless of its type
• Proper nouns — specific names (London, JavaScript, Amazon)

Do not capitalize (unless they are the first or last word):

• Articles: a, an, the
• Short prepositions (under 4–5 letters): in, on, at, by, to, of, up, for
• Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet

Title Case Examples

The first column uses web / Chicago-style rules (prepositions stay lowercase regardless of length). APA and AP capitalize four-letter-and-longer prepositions such as Over.

Title Case Rules by Style Guide

Different fields and publishers follow different style guides. Each has slightly different rules for which words to capitalize. Here is a summary of the four most common:

APA Style (American Psychological Association)

APA title case is used in psychology, education, and social sciences. The rules:

• Capitalize all major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns)
• Capitalize words of four or more letters (including prepositions like "with", "from", "about")
• Lowercase: articles (a, an, the), short conjunctions, and prepositions under 4 letters
• Always capitalize the first word, the last word, and any word after a colon or em dash

Example: "A Study of the Effects of Sleep on Learning and Memory"

MLA Style (Modern Language Association)

MLA is used widely in humanities and liberal arts. Rules are similar to APA but slightly different:

• Capitalize nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns
• Lowercase articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions regardless of length
• Always capitalize the first and last word
• Capitalize words of any type following a colon

Example: "The Representation of Women in Contemporary American Fiction"

Chicago Style (The Chicago Manual of Style)

Chicago style is widely used in book publishing and general non-fiction. Headline-style rules:

• Capitalize all major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns)
• Lowercase articles, coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions regardless of length (of, to, with, through, between)
• Always capitalize the first and last word

Example: "The History of the United States through the Eyes of Its Immigrants"

AP Style (Associated Press)

AP composition titles capitalize principal words. Prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters are capitalized; shorter ones usually stay lowercase. (Confirm against the current AP Stylebook for your desk—this needs editorial confirmation.)

• Capitalize nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns
• Capitalize prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters (Over, With, From, Through)
• Lowercase articles and short prepositions/conjunctions (a, an, the, in, of, to, and, but)
• Verbs of any length, including short ones like "is", "be", "are", are capitalized

Example: "Scientists Find New Approach to Treating Heart Disease"

Style Guide Quick-Reference Table

*AP capitalizes conjunctions of four or more letters; common coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) are shorter and stay lowercase.

When Should You Use Title Case?

• Book, film, and album titles — often use title case, but conventions vary by publisher, style guide, and region
• Academic paper titles — APA, MLA, and Chicago commonly use title case for work titles in some contexts; always check the current handbook for the element you are formatting
• News headlines — many outlets (including AP Style) prefer sentence case for news headlines; magazine-style title case is a different convention
• Blog post titles — common in American content, though sentence case is increasingly popular
• Section and chapter headings — varies by publisher's style guide
• Job titles used before a name — e.g., "President Biden" (not after a name)

Title Case vs Sentence Case

While title case capitalizes most words, sentence case only capitalizes the first word and proper nouns — exactly as you would in a normal sentence. Modern web style guides (Google, Microsoft, Shopify) increasingly favor sentence case for UI elements and headings. See our full comparison: Sentence Case vs Title Case.