What Words Are Not Capitalized in a Title?

May 20, 2024

What words are not capitalized in a title? Generally, there are certain parts of speech you should not capitalize, including articles, prepositions, and coordinative conjunctions — unless they are the first word of a title or title. However, keep in mind that title case rules can differ by style guide, and there are some exceptions to consider. In this article, we’ll go through different style guides’ rules on what words you should not capitalize.

Related:

Is “The” Capitalized in a Title?

Table of Contents

List of Words That You Should Not Capitalize in a Title

Short and or minor words are typically in lowercase. Though this guideline cuts across major style guides, as we’ve mentioned earlier, title capitalization rules still vary significantly, depending on the style guide you’ll use.

A list of words that you should not capitalize in a title include:

For
And
Or
But
If
By
As
Nor
Of
From
The
A
An
At
In
On
Up

Articles

Generally, you should not capitalize articles in a title, except when it appears as the first or last word of a title or if it comes after a colon introducing a sentence. Articles that you should not capitalize in a title include:

Style Guide	Rule	Exception
Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago Style)	Do not capitalize articles (‘’a,’’ ‘’an,’’ and ‘’the’’)	Capitalize if they are the first or last word of the title or if they are part of a proper noun or adjective. If there is a subtitle, capitalize the first word.
Modern Language Association (MLA Style)	Do not capitalize articles (‘’a,’’ ‘’an,’’ and ‘’the’’)	Capitalize if they are the first or last word of the title or if they are part of a proper noun. If there is a subtitle, capitalize the first word.
American Psychological Association (APA Style)	Do not capitalize articles (‘’a,’’ ‘’an,’’ and ‘’the’’)	Capitalize if they are used at the beginning of a title or subtitle, if they are part of a proper noun or title, or if they are used as part of a hyphenated compound modifier that precedes a noun. Or if it’s the first word after a colon or em dash.
Associated Press Stylebook (AP Stylebook)	Do not capitalize articles (‘’a,’’ ‘’an,’’ and ‘’the’’)	Capitalize if any of the articles begin a sentence or if they are part of a proper noun such as ‘’ An Inconvenient Truth.’’
American Medical Association (AMA Manual of Style)	Do not capitalize articles (‘’a,’’ ‘’an,’’ and ‘’the’’)	Capitalize if the article is the first word of the title or a subtitle (after the colon or dash). Another exception is if the article is part of a title.
New York Times Manual of Style and Usage	Do not capitalize articles (‘’a,’’ ‘’an,’’ and ‘’the’’)	You can capitalize articles if they are used as first words in a title or subtitle and if they integrate into a proper noun or title.
Bluebook	Do not capitalize articles (‘’a,’’ ‘’an,’’ and ‘’the’’)	Capitalize in cases where the articles are the first words of a subtitle, if they are part of a proper noun, or if they immediately follow a colon.

Wikipedia Style	Do not capitalize articles (‘’a,’’ ‘’an,’’ and ‘’the’’)	Capitalization occurs when the articles are used to begin a title or subtitle, or when they form part of a proper noun or title.

Prepositions

According to major style guides, you should not capitalize prepositions in a title. Some prepositions you should not capitalize include:

However, there are exceptions to this rule. Certain style guides like AP style require you to capitalize prepositions consisting of 4 letters or more or when they are used to describe a noun or verb.

Style Guide	Rule	Exception
Chicago Manual of Styles	Do not capitalize prepositions that are fewer than five letters.	There are three instances you should capitalize short prepositions: (1) they are used adverbially or adjectivally, (2) they are next to a longer preposition or (3) part (used adverbially or adjectivally) of a Latin phrase.
Modern Language Association (MLA Style)	Do not capitalize prepositions (“for,” “of,” “to,” “in,” “from,” “by,” or “between”) regardless of length.	Capitalize if they are first or last words or if they are part of a proper noun.
American Psychological Association (APA Style)	Do not capitalize short prepositions (“for,” “of,” “to,” “from,” “by,”)	Prepositions are capitalized in titles only when they are the first or last word, or when they are part of a proper noun.
American Medical Association (AMA Manual of Style)	Do not capitalize prepositions that are three or fewer letters.	Capitalize if they are the first or last word of a title.
Associated Press (AP Stylebook)	Do not capitalize short prepositions (“for,” “of,” “to,” “from,” “by,”)	Capitalize if they are the first or last word in a title or if they are part of proper nouns, or if they contain four or more letters.
New York Times Manual of Style and Usage	Do not capitalize prepositions (“for,” “of,” “to,” “from,” “by,”)	Prepositions are capitalized in titles when they are the first or last word or if they are integral to a proper noun. There are two other instances to capitalize prepositions: (1) if they turn into adverbs, which modifies the preceding word, and (2) if the preposition “for” takes the place of a verb.
Bluebook	If the preposition is four letters (or less), do not capitalize.	Prepositions are capitalized in titles when they appear as the first or last word, when they form part of a proper noun, or if they immediately follow a colon.

Coordinating Conjunctions

As a rule of thumb, you should put coordinating conjunctions with fewer than three letters in lowercase.

AP and APA style guides state that you should capitalize coordinating conjunctions with more than four letters. The MLA handbook, on the other hand, recommends that you should not capitalize all coordinating conjunctions regardless of their length.

Generally, coordinating conjunctions that you should not capitalize in a title are:

Still, there are specific rules for conjunctions, as shown in the table.

Style Guide	Rule	Exception
Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago Style)	Do not capitalize coordinating conjunctions (“and,” “but,” and “or”)	Capitalize coordinate conjunctions that appear as the first words in titles or subtitles.
Modern Language Association (MLA Style)	Do not capitalize coordinating conjunctions regardless of length.	Capitalize when these conjunctions start a title or subtitle, or when they are part of a proper noun or title.
American Psychological Association (APA Style)	Do not capitalize short coordinating conjunctions (those with 3 or fewer words.	Capitalize if it is the first letter in a title or subtitle or if they are part of a proper noun.
Associated Press (AP Style)	Do not capitalize short coordinating conjunctions with 3 or fewer words.	Capitalize if you use them at the beginning or the end of a title or the first word of a subtitle, or if they form part of a proper noun, or if it is a long coordinate conjunction with four or more letters.
American Medical Association (AMA Manual of Style)	Do not capitalize short coordinating conjunctions.	Only capitalize the coordinating conjunction if it is the first word in a title or subtitle.
New York Times Manual of Style and Usage	Do not capitalize coordinate conjunctions (“and,” “but,” and “or”)	Coordinated conjunctions are capitalized if they start a title or subtitle, or if they are included in a proper noun.
Bluebook	Do not capitalize coordinate conjunctions (“and,” “but,” and “or”)	Capitalize if you use them at the beginning of a title or subtitle, are part of a proper noun, or immediately follow a colon.
Wikipedia Style	Do not capitalize short coordinate conjunctions (“and,” “but,” and “or”)	Capitalize if used at the beginning of a title or subtitle or are part of a proper noun or title.

Second Word After a Prefix

If the title features a hyphenated prefix (like anti-, mid-, and ex-), in general, you should not capitalize the second word, especially when it relies on the prefix to complete the word’s meaning.

Depending on the style guide you are following, you might need to capitalize the second word, when the hyphenated word is a major word.

Style guide	Rule	Exception
Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago Style)	Do not capitalize the second word.	Capitalize the second word if it is a major word.
Modern Language Association (MLA Style)	Do not capitalize the second word.	Hyphenated major words are capitalized.
American Psychological Association (APA Style)	Do not capitalize the second word if it’s a minor word.	Capitalize if the second word is a major word.
Associated Press (AP Stylebook)	Capitalize the first and second words.	No explicit exceptions
American Medical Association (AMA Manual of Style)	Do not capitalize the second word.	Capitalize the first and second parts if both words are important or equally carry the same weight.
New York Times Manual of Style and Usage	Do not capitalize the second word if the hyphenated prefix is two or three letters.	If the prefix is more than four words, capitalize the second word.
Bluebook	The word following a prefix is always capitalized.	No explicit exceptions
Wikipedia	Capitalize the word after the hyphen if it is s typically capitalized or if a reliable source capitalizes it.	Default to lowercase if it is unclear.

Final Thoughts

When writing titles, remember that articles, short prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions are generally not capitalized except when they appear at the beginning of the title or subtitle or if they are part of a proper noun. These capitalization rules, however, vary with style guides. If you’re not sure how to capitalize your title, you can use Capitalize My Title to quickly and accurately capitalize your titles in any style guide.