Ever found yourself idle in front of your screen wondering, “Is our capitalized in a title?” You’re not alone in this grammatical query! The answer is yes. Across all style guides, “our” gets to wear its capital letter crown in titles and headlines.
Related:
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- Is “Are” Capitalized in a Title?
Title Capitalization Rules per Style Guide
Major style guides have a different approach to title capitalization. But when it comes to the word “our,” as mentioned earlier, they all agree that it should get a capitalization treatment. Here’s a closer look at each style guide’s rules.
Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago Style)
The Chicago Manual of Style says, “If it’s important, capitalize it!” Chicago Style thinks the word “our” is important, too. “Our” should also always be capitalized when it follows a colon or em dash. The title “The Story of Our Lives” is correct.
American Medical Association (AMA Style)
AMA Style also capitalizes “our” in titles, regardless of where it appears. This is because the AMA capitalizes all major words, including pronouns, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, subordinating conjunctions, and verbs. Therefore, you’ll find “our” capitalized in titles like “Our Health Matters” and “Vaccines: Protecting our Children.”
Associated Press Style (AP Style)
Associated Press Stylebook uses title case for most words, including short pronouns like “our.” You should always capitalize nouns, phrasal verbs, adjectives, and adverbs when writing in this style. The following examples show how to correctly and incorrectly use “our” in a title following the AP Stylebook:
- Correct: Innovation at Scale: Our Company’s Best Practices
- Incorrect: Innovating our Industry: A People-First Strategy’s Impact
Modern Language Association (MLA Style)
All important words should be capitalized, according to the MLA Handbook. This rule includes capitalizing pronouns, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and certain conjunctions. Since “our” is a possessive pronoun, it’s capitalized. For example, the title “The Power of Our Words in Literature” is the correct way to write this headline.
American Psychological Association (APA Style)
Per APA Style’s capitalization rules, you should always capitalize major words in a title. This includes the possessive pronoun “our,” even when it comes after a colon or em dash or is the second part of a hyphenated word. Minor words like “the” or “a” remain lowercase unless they’re the first or last word of a title or subtitle or come directly after a colon or em dash.
The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage
The New York Times style capitalizes “our” in titles. It follows a modified version of title case that includes pronouns. Pulling a re-world example from the newspaper, you’ll see “our” capitalized in the headline, “8 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week“.
Bluebook
Bluebook Style, used in legal writing, follows a stringent title case format and capitalizes “our” in titles. Pronouns, nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions are always capitalized. All other words except articles, conjunctions, and prepositions of four letters or less are also capitalized. One exception to this rule is when an article, conjunction, or preposition starts off the title or immediately follows a colon. Here are two examples:
- Correct: Examining Our Rights: A Study of Integrity
- Incorrect: Understanding our Impact: Human Activity and Climate Change
Wikipedia Manual of Style (Wikipedia Style)
Wikipedia Style capitalizes every pronoun, noun, adjective, adverb, and subordinating conjunction. “Our” is capitalized too. For example, “Mapping Our World: Understanding Global Geography.”
When Should You Capitalize “Our“?
Is “our” always capitalized in a title? Yes, it is. According to all style guides, whenever “our” functions as a pronoun in a title—which is always—it should be capitalized. There are no exceptions across Chicago, AMA, AP, MLA, APA, The New York Times, Bluebook, and Wikipedia styles for capitalizing “our” in a title, subtitle, or headline.
When Shouldn’t You Capitalize “Our”?
In all titles, subtitles, and headlines, “our” is always uppercase, regardless of the style guide you’re following. This is because all style guides capitalize pronouns, and “our” is a possessive pronoun. There are no exceptions to this rule. Therefore, “our” should not be left in lowercase, even when it appears in the middle of a title or headline.
Final Thoughts
But remember, every rule has its rogue moments, so always double-check your specific style guide for any plot twists. And hey, if you ever find yourself in a capitalization conundrum, don’t sweat it! Hop over to our handy free title capitalization tool to simplify your process and ensure every title follows the correct rules.
