Capitalization

 

CAPITALIZATION
           The current trend in writing is to avoid the heavy use of capitalization. Although authorities frequently disagree on the correct use of capital letters, these general rules reflect correct business usage:

Name:
1. Capitalize proper nouns - the official name of a person, place or thing - and adjectives derived from proper nouns.

• United States                                                                 American
• France                                                                           French
• The University of Virginia        
  

2. Capitalize names of organizations and institutions. 

• International Business Machines
• Mt. Sinai Medical Center
• Association of Information Systems Professionals.

     Note: Do not capitalize terms such as company, corporation, committee and club when they stand alone, unless special distinction is necessary, as in legal documents, by laws or other uses in which the short form represents the full authority of the organization (Such as the Club). 

• an officer of the company
• a member of the committee

3. Capitalize the full  name of places, not the short forms.

• Lake Michigan                                           the lake
• the Empire State Building                          the building

      Note: A few short forms are capitalized because they are clearly associated with one place.

• the Coast                                                      the West Coast
• the Canal                                                      the Panama Canal

4. Capitalize all official titles of honor and respect when they precede personal names.

• President Carol Schein
• Professor James Carleton

      Note: Do not capitalize when the personal name is in apposition with the title or when the title follows the personal name.

• our professor, James Carleton
• the president of the company, Carol Schein

5. Always capitalize the title of high ranking national, state and international officials, even when they follow or replace a name.

• the Secretary of State
• The Governor
• The Prime Minister

     Note: Always capitalize the following: President, Vice President, the Cheif Justice, Cabinet members, Ambassadors, Senators, Representatives, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Kings, Queens, and Secretary General of the United Nations.

6. Capitalize state only when it follows the name of a state, city only when it is part of the corportate name of a city, and the only when it is part of the official name of a place.

• New York State                                               the state of California
• Garden City                                                     the city of Charlotte
• The Vatican

7. Capitalize organizational terms - names of departments or divisions - only when they are the office name.

• Department of Finance                                   your accounting department
• Department of Physics

8. Capitalize north, south, east, west, etc., when they are used to designate definite regions. Do not capitalize them when they are used to indicate a general direction.

• the Midwest                                                        turn east
• the South                                                             drive north

9. Capitalize the days of the week, the months of the year, and the names of holidays. 

• Monday
• July
• Labor Day

10. Capitalize academic degrees when used after a person's name but not when they are used as a general term of classification.

• Doctor of Philosophy                                       a master of science degree
• Janet W. Hubbard, Ph.D                                   a bachelor of arts degree

11. Capitalize a nounc followed by a number or letter that indicates sequence - except line, page, note, paragraph, size and verse.

• Chapter V
• Column 2
• Check 6804
• Invoice 32587
• Room 2008
• Policy 6790776
• Exhibit H

     Note: It is usually unnecessary to use No. before the number, except with License, Patent and Social Security numbers. 

• License No. 45-3355
• Social Security No. 167-58-3405

12. Capitalize the first and last word and all other words of the title of a publication except in short articles, conjunctions and prepositions that consist of fewer than four letters.

• Modern Office Procedures
• Travel and Leisure
• A Manual of Style

     Note: Capitalize the at the beginning of a title only if it is actually    part of the title.

• The New York Times

13. Capitalize brand names, trademarks and commercial product names. Common names following the product names should not ordinarily be capitalized. However, advertisers and manufacturers often capitalize such words for special emphasis. Do not capitalize trade names that have become established as common nouns.

• Panasonic typewriter                                    nylon
• Philco television                                           aspirin

14. Capitalize the words federal and national  only when they are part of a proper name, such as the official name of a government agency. The terms government and federal government, referring to the United States government, are usually only capitalized in formal writing.

• Federal Bureau of Investigation                   the federal government
• National Labor Relations Board                   national elections

15. Capitalize the names of departments of the government, the official names of government bodies and the titles of government documents.

• Department of Justice
• House of Representatives
• Central Intelligence Agency