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American English and Commonwealth English sometimes differ in their inclination to use capitals. If possible, as with spelling, use rules appropriate to the cultural and linguistic context. In other words, do not enforce American rules on pages about Commonwealth topics or Commonwealth rules on pages about American topics. In regard to pages about other cultures, choose either style, but be consistent within the page itself. Initial capitals and all capitals should not be used for emphasis. For example, "aardvarks, which are Not The Same as anteaters" and "aardvarks, which are NOT THE SAME as anteaters" are both incorrect. Use italics instead ("aardvarks, which are not the same as anteaters").
Section headingsCapitalize the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns in headings, but leave the rest lower case. Thus "Rules and regulations", not "Rules and Regulations". Titles
In the case of "prime minister", either both words begin with a capital letter or neither, except, obviously, when it starts a sentence. Again, when using it generically, do not use a capital letter: "There are many prime ministers around the world." When making reference to a specific office, generally use uppercase: "The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said today…" (A good rule of thumb is whether the sentence uses a definite article [the] or an indefinite article [a]. If the sentence uses the, use "Prime Minister". If the sentence uses a, go with "prime minister". However to complicate matters, some style manuals, while saying "The British Prime Minister", recommend "British prime minister".) Religions, deities, philosophies, doctrines and their adherentsNames of religions, whether as a noun or an adjective, and their followers start with a capital letter. Individual deities begin with a capital letter: God, Allah, Freya, the Lord, the Supreme Being, the Messiah. The same is true when referring to important religious figures, such as Muhammad, by terms such as the Prophet. Groups of deities should not be capitalized (the Norse gods). Transcendent ideas in the Platonic sense also begin with a capital letter: Good and Truth. Pronouns referring to deities, or nouns (other than names) referring to any material or abstract representation of any deity, human or otherwise, do not begin with a capital letter. Scriptures like the Bible and Qur'an should be capitalized. Do not capitalize other groups of mythical creatures, such as elves, fairies, nymphs or genies. The exception is some works of fantasy, such as those of J.R.R. Tolkien, where the audience considers the mythical creatures an ethnicity and thus written with an initial capital. The given name of individual mythical creatures is capitalized (the angel Gabriel). Philosophies, theories, doctrines, and systems of thought do not begin with a capital letter, unless the name derives from a proper noun: lowercase republican refers to a system of political thought; uppercase Republican refers to a specific Republican Party (each party name being a proper noun). Calendar itemsThe names of months, days, and holidays always begin with a capital letter: June, Monday, Fourth of July, Michelmas, Ides of March. Seasons start with a capital letter when they go with another noun or when they personify. Here they function as proper nouns: "Winter Solstice"; "Autumn Open House"; "I think Spring is showing her colors"; "Old Man Winter". However, in the general sense, they do not start with a capital letter: "This summer was very hot." Animals, plants, and other organismsEditors have hotly debated whether the common names of species should start with a capital letter, and this remains unresolved. As a matter of truce, both styles are acceptable (except for proper names), but create a redirect from the alternative form, to prevent article duplication. Celestial bodiesNames of other planets and stars are proper nouns and begin with a capital letter: "The planet Mars can be seen tonight in the constellation Gemini, near the star Pollux." The words sun, earth, and moon are proper nouns when the sentence uses them in an astronomical context, but not elsewhere: so "The Sun is a main sequence star, with a spectral class of G2"; but "It was a lovely day and the sun was warm". Note that these terms are only proper nouns when referring to a specific spectral body (our Sun, Earth and Moon): so "The Moon orbits the Earth"; but "Pluto's moon Charon". Directions and regionsRegions that are proper nouns, including widely known expressions such as Southern California, start with a capital letter. Follow the same convention for related forms: a person from the Southern United States is a Southerner. Directions (north, southwest, etc.) are not proper nouns and do not start with a capital letter. The same is true for their related forms: someone might call a road that leads north a northern road, compared to the Great North Road. If you are not sure whether a region has attained proper-noun status, assume it has not. InstitutionsProper names of specific institutions (for example, Harvard University, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, George Brown College, etc.) are proper nouns and require capitalization. However, the words for types of institutions (university, college, hospital, high school, etc.) do not require capitalization if they do not appear in a proper name:
Musical genresNames of musical genres do not require capitalization at all. For example:
Acronyms and initialismsWhen showing the source of an acronym, initialism, or syllabic abbreviation, it is neither necessary nor desirable to emphasize the letters that make up the acronym:
All capsAvoid writing in all capitals. Here are some guidelines:
See also
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