How to Write in Title Case — Rules, Examples, and Style Guide Differences

Getting title case right means knowing which words to capitalize and which to leave lowercase. The tricky part: AP, APA, Chicago, and MLA each have slightly different rules. This guide breaks down every major style guide so you can format headings, titles, and headlines correctly every time.

What Is Title Case?

Title case is a capitalization style where major words start with uppercase letters and minor words stay lowercase. It is the standard format for book titles, article headlines, email subject lines, and section headings.

A title case example: "The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog."

Notice that "The" at the start is capitalized, but "the" before "Lazy" is not. That single difference trips up more writers than any other title case rule.

The Universal Rules (All Style Guides Agree)

Before getting into the differences between style guides, here are the rules every major guide shares:

1. Always capitalize the first word of the title, regardless of what it is.
2. Always capitalize the last word of the title.
3. Capitalize all nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns. This includes short verbs like "Is," "Are," "Be," and "Do."
4. Lowercase articles ("a," "an," "the") unless they are the first or last word.
5. Lowercase coordinating conjunctions ("and," "but," "or," "nor," "for," "yet," "so") in most positions.

These five rules handle about 80% of title case formatting. The remaining 20% is where style guides diverge.

AP Style Title Case

The Associated Press Stylebook is used by journalists, news outlets, and marketing teams. AP rules for title case:

• Capitalize words with four or more letters, including prepositions like "With," "From," and "Into."
• Lowercase prepositions with three or fewer letters: "at," "by," "in," "of," "on," "to," "up."
• Capitalize both words in a phrasal verb: "Break Down," "Turn Off," "Set Up."
• Capitalize "Is," "It," "Be," and other short verbs. Verbs are always capitalized regardless of length.

AP example: "Man Bites Dog in Park on Tuesday"

The word "in" (two letters) and "on" (two letters) stay lowercase. "Bites" and "Park" are capitalized as a verb and noun respectively.

APA Style Title Case

The American Psychological Association style is standard in academic and scientific writing. APA's rules are close to AP but differ in a few spots:

• Capitalize words with four or more letters.
• Capitalize the first word after a colon or em dash in a title.
• Capitalize both parts of a hyphenated compound if each part is a major word: "Self-Reported," "Decision-Making."
• Lowercase short conjunctions, articles, and prepositions with three or fewer letters.

APA example: "Self-Reported Anxiety in College Students: A Longitudinal Study"

Both "Self" and "Reported" are capitalized. "A" after the colon is capitalized because it is the first word of a subtitle.

Chicago Manual of Style Title Case

Chicago style (CMOS) is used in book publishing, literary journals, and humanities writing. It has the most detailed rules:

• Capitalize words based on part of speech, not length.
• Lowercase all prepositions, regardless of length: "between," "through," "about," "against" all stay lowercase.
• Lowercase "as," "but," "for," "or," "nor," "yet," "so" (coordinating conjunctions).
• Capitalize the second element of a hyphenated compound if it is a noun, adjective, or other major word.
• "To" in infinitives stays lowercase: "How to Write Better."

Chicago example: "The Man between the Fences against the Wall"

Notice that "between" and "against" are lowercase despite being long words. Chicago treats all prepositions the same regardless of length.

MLA Style Title Case

The Modern Language Association style is common in humanities courses and English departments. MLA title case rules:

• Capitalize the first and last words of the title and subtitle.
• Capitalize all principal words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, subordinating conjunctions).
• Lowercase articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions unless they are the first or last word.
• Lowercase "to" in infinitives.
• No specific length rule — decisions are based on part of speech.

MLA example: "A Study of the Effects of Music on Memory"

MLA and Chicago produce similar results for most titles. The main difference shows up in edge cases with subordinating conjunctions like "because" and "although" (MLA capitalizes them; some Chicago interpretations do not).

Quick Comparison Table

| Word | AP | APA | Chicago | MLA | |------------|-------|-------|---------|-------| | the | lower | lower | lower | lower | | between | Cap | Cap | lower | lower | | from | Cap | Cap | lower | lower | | is | Cap | Cap | Cap | Cap | | to (infin.)| lower | lower | lower | lower | | after colon| — | Cap | Cap | Cap |

How FlipMyCase Helps

Manually checking every word against style guide rules is tedious. The Toggle Case Converter on FlipMyCase instantly converts any text to title case. Paste your headline, click one button, and get correctly capitalized output.

If you also need to clean up extra spaces, fix line breaks, or strip formatting artifacts before applying title case, run your text through the Text Cleaner first. Clean input produces clean output.

Common Title Case Mistakes

Capitalizing every word. "The Man And The Dog" is wrong in every style guide. "And" should be lowercase.

Lowercasing short verbs. "Is," "Am," "Be," "Do," and "Go" are verbs and must be capitalized. "The Dog Is Happy" — not "The Dog is Happy."

Forgetting the last word rule. Even articles and prepositions get capitalized when they are the last word: "The Team She Belongs To" — "To" is capitalized here.

Ignoring phrasal verbs. In "How to Set Up Your Account," both "Set" and "Up" are capitalized because "set up" is a phrasal verb, not a verb plus a preposition.

Inconsistent hyphenated words. Pick a style guide and stick with it. "High-Quality" vs "High-quality" depends on whether your guide capitalizes the second element.

Real-World Examples

Before: "how to write better emails for your team at work" After (AP): "How to Write Better Emails for Your Team at Work" After (Chicago): "How to Write Better Emails for Your Team at Work"

Before: "a beginner's guide to self-publishing on amazon" After (AP): "A Beginner's Guide to Self-Publishing on Amazon" After (APA): "A Beginner's Guide to Self-Publishing on Amazon" After (Chicago): "A Beginner's Guide to Self-Publishing on Amazon"

Before: "the effects of sleep deprivation on decision-making in adults" After (APA): "The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Decision-Making in Adults" After (Chicago): "The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Decision-Making in Adults"

In many common titles, the style guides produce identical output. Differences appear most often with longer prepositions and hyphenated compounds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you capitalize 'the' in title case? Only capitalize 'the' when it is the first or last word of a title. In all four major style guides — AP, APA, Chicago, and MLA — short articles like 'the,' 'a,' and 'an' stay lowercase when they appear in the middle of a title.

What is the difference between AP and APA title case? AP style capitalizes words with four or more letters, while APA capitalizes words with four or more letters and also capitalizes both parts of a hyphenated compound. APA also requires capitalizing the first word after a colon, which AP does not always require.

Should prepositions be capitalized in title case? Short prepositions like 'in,' 'on,' 'at,' 'to,' and 'by' stay lowercase in most style guides. Chicago capitalizes prepositions with five or more letters (like 'about' and 'between'). AP capitalizes prepositions with four or more letters.

Pick a Style and Stay Consistent

The biggest title case mistake is not picking the wrong style — it is switching between styles within the same document. Choose AP for marketing, APA for research papers, Chicago for books, or MLA for humanities essays. Then apply it everywhere.

For fast, accurate title case conversion, use the Toggle Case Converter on FlipMyCase. Paste your text, select title case, and copy the result. No manual checking required.