What is Title Case?
Title case is a capitalization style where the first letter of most words is capitalized. It is commonly used in headlines, article titles, book titles, and headings. The exact rules vary by style guide (AP, Chicago, APA), but generally short prepositions, conjunctions, and articles are not capitalized unless they open the title.
Title Case Rules Explained
Title case distinguishes between "major words" and "minor words." Major words — nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns — are always capitalized. Minor words — articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or), and short prepositions (in, on, at, by, to) — are lowercased unless they appear at the very start or end of the title, where they are always capitalized regardless of their role.
When to Use Each Text Case
- Title Case — for headings, article titles, and page titles.
- UPPER CASE — for emphasis, acronyms, or short labels.
- lower case — for informal contexts or stylistic branding.
- Sentence case — for body text, UI copy, and standard writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What words are not capitalized in title case?
Articles: a, an, the. Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for. Short prepositions: at, by, in, of, on, to, up, via. Exception: always capitalize if first or last word.
What is the difference between title case and sentence case?
Title case capitalizes most words. Sentence case only capitalizes the first word of the sentence and proper nouns — like normal sentence writing.
Is there a difference between AP and Chicago title case?
Yes. AP style lowercases prepositions under 4 letters. Chicago style lowercases all prepositions regardless of length. Our converter follows Chicago-style rules.
When should I use title case?
Use title case for article headlines, book or movie titles, blog post titles, page headings (H1, H2), product names, company names, and job titles when used as a formal title.