Whether you are writing a school essay, a blog post, or a journal, it wouldn’t be complete without a title. If your title includes the word “is,” do you capitalize it or not? The short answer is yes because major style guides consider “is” a major word.
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Title Capitalization Rules per Style Guide
As mentioned earlier, the word “is” is capitalized in a title. But does this capitalization rule apply to different style guides? Let’s take a closer look.
Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago Style)
If you are following the Chicago Manual of Style, there are only three instances in which you should not capitalize a word — when the word is a preposition, an article, or a coordinating conjunction.
Since the word “is” is not a preposition, an article, or a coordinating conjunction but a verb, you should capitalize it in a title.
American Medical Association (AMA Manual of Style)
Many people think that since “is” is such a short word, it should be in lowercase. However, that’s not true. The American Medical Association style guide even says that you should capitalize 2-letter verbs (is, am, go, and be).
Associated Press Style (AP Style)
If your teacher or professor asked you to follow the Associated Press Stylebook (AP Stylebook), you should also have the word “is” capitalized, even though it is just two letters long. Why? The AP Stylebook has all words capitalized in a title, except for articles and short prepositions.
Modern Language Association (MLA Style)
The MLA Handbook also asks you to capitalize the word “is” in a title. This is because “is” a verb. Other parts of speech that you should capitalize in an MLA title are adverbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and subordinating conjunctions.
The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage
For NY Style, major words such as nouns, pronouns, verbs, the first and last words, and subordinate conjunctions must all be capitalized according to style guidelines. Again, the word “is” is capitalized as well because it is a verb.
American Psychological Association (APA Style)
Verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns are considered major words in the American Psychological Association style. This means these are automatically capitalized in a title, regardless of whether they are the first word or the last word of a title. You should also capitalize the first word of a subtitle. So, since “is” is a verb, you should capitalize it.
Wikipedia Manual of Style
In the Wikipedia Manual of Style, the word “is” is also capitalized in a title, alongside other forms to be (be, was, were, been, am, being, and are). So, what shouldn’t you capitalize? Short coordinating conjunctions, articles, prepositions (four letters or fewer), and infinitives (“to”) are in lowercase.
Bluebook
Bluebook, a style guide used by most law schools and federal courts in the United States, states that writers must capitalize words in a title, including the first word and any word that immediately follows a colon. Words that writers shouldn’t capitalize are articles, prepositions, or conjunctions, which means the Bluebook style requires ‘is’ to be capitalized in a title as it’s a verb.
When Should You Capitalize Is?
While the tiny word can be confusing when it comes to titles, here’s a quick reminder. All of the style guides require writers to capitalize the word “is” in a title.
Tip: Even though the word “is” is a linking verb, it’s still a verb, and the first letter of the first word of the title is always capitalized. You should also always capitalize the last word of a title.
When Shouldn’t You Capitalize Is?
Since all the style guides on this list state that you should capitalize the word “is,” there’s no scenario where you shouldn’t.
Final Thoughts
There you have it! The answer to the question, ” Is is capitalized in a title?” is a resounding yes! If you feel lost about capitalization at any point, head over to Capitalize My Title’s title capitalization tool for quick and hassle-free capitalization.
