What Is Title Case?

Quick answer: Title case is a capitalization style for headings in which the main words start with a capital letter and short minor words such as a, the, and, of, and to stay lowercase, unless they open or close the title. For example, a guide to living with less stress from work becomes A Guide to Living With Less Stress From Work in AP style.

The exact rules depend on the style guide, which is why the same headline can be capitalized slightly differently by a newspaper, a psychology journal, and a book publisher.

This title case converter applies the rules of six major style guides plus sentence style and start case, and shows its reasoning for every word. That makes it useful for capitalizing a new headline and for learning the rules, so you can capitalize your title correctly even without a tool. Writers use it for blog posts and YouTube videos, students for essay and reference titles in APA or MLA, and editors for checking titles against a house style.

• 6 Style guides: AP, APA, Chicago, MLA, Bluebook, AMA
• 50+ Prepositions recognised
• 1 Reason shown per word
• 8 Capitalization styles

How Do You Capitalize a Title Correctly?

1. Type the title: Lowercase is fine; capitals in acronyms are kept.
2. Choose a style guide: AP for news and blogs, APA or MLA for school, Chicago for books.
3. Read the reasons: Each word shows why it is capitalized or left small.
4. Copy the result: Or paste a list into the bulk tool to do many at once.

To switch whole paragraphs to UPPERCASE, lowercase, or Sentence case, use the case converter.

Which Words Should Be Capitalized in a Title?

Word type	Examples	AP and APA	Chicago and MLA
First and last word	any word	Capitalize	Capitalize
Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns	guide, is, quick, slowly, it	Capitalize	Capitalize
Articles	a, an, the	Lowercase	Lowercase
Short conjunctions	and, but, or, nor	Lowercase	Lowercase
Prepositions of 3 letters or fewer	at, by, in, of, on, to	Lowercase	Lowercase
Prepositions of 4 letters or more	with, from, about, into	Capitalize	Lowercase
First word after a colon	Title: The Subtitle	Capitalize	Capitalize

The biggest difference between guides is the long preposition. AP and APA capitalize words of four letters or more, so they write Living With, while Chicago and MLA lowercase every preposition and write Living with. Bluebook, used for legal writing, sits in between and lowercases prepositions of up to four letters.

How Do AP, APA, Chicago and MLA Title Case Differ?

Style guide	Used for	Same title, capitalized
AP	News, blogs, press releases	A Guide to Living With Less Stress From Work
APA (7th edition)	Psychology, education, social sciences	A Guide to Living With Less Stress From Work
Chicago	Books, history, publishing	A Guide to Living with Less Stress from Work
MLA	English, literature, humanities essays	A Guide to Living with Less Stress from Work
Bluebook	Law reviews and legal citations	A Guide to Living with Less Stress from Work
AMA	Medical and health journals	A Guide to Living With Less Stress From Work
Sentence style	Web pages, APA reference lists, many apps	A guide to living with less stress from work

Which Words Stay Lowercase in Title Case?

Three groups of short words usually stay small in the middle of a title: the articles a, an, the; the coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet; and short prepositions such as at, by, in, of, off, on, per, to, up, via. Verbs are never minor words, however short, so Is, Be and Are are always capitalized. Neither are pronouns such as It, Me and Us, which surprises many writers.

For a bold headline on social media where formatting is not available, try the bold text generator.

How Are Hyphens, Colons and Acronyms Capitalized?

• Hyphenated words: capitalize both parts of a compound such as Self-Report or Long-Term, but keep a short minor second part small, as in Out-of-Date.
• Colons: the first word of a subtitle after a colon is capitalized in every major style.
• Acronyms: NASA, FAQ, and USA keep their capitals; keep acronyms to protect them.
• Brand names: iPhone and eBay keep their unusual capitals.
• Last words: a preposition at the very end is capitalized, as in What to Look For.

Can Word, Google Docs or Excel Do Title Case?

App	Built-in option	Is it true title case?
Microsoft Word	Change Case, Capitalize Each Word	No, it capitalizes every word, including of and the
Google Docs	Format, Text, Capitalization, Title Case	No, it also capitalizes every word
Excel and Google Sheets	=PROPER(A1)	No, every word gets a capital
This converter	Choose AP, APA, Chicago, MLA, Bluebook, or AMA	Yes, minor words follow the chosen guide

Need underlined titles for a plain-text bibliography? Use the underline text generator.

Does Title Case Help a Headline Get More Clicks?

Consistent capitalization makes a headline look edited and trustworthy, and title case lets the key words stand out when a reader scans a list of results. Length matters as much as case: Google shows roughly the first 600 pixels of a title, about 50 to 60 characters, and replaces the rest with an ellipsis. The search preview in the Title Case Studio measures your headline in Google’s title font so you can see whether the important words survive.

Who Needs a Title Case Converter?

• Bloggers and marketers: post titles, email headlines, and landing page headings.
• Students: essay titles and reference lists in APA, MLA, or Chicago.
• Researchers: journal article titles in AMA or APA format.
• Law students and lawyers: Bluebook titles for briefs and law review articles.
• YouTubers and podcasters: video and episode titles that look professional.
• Editors: checking a writer’s titles against the house style in bulk.

Title Capitalization Terms

Major word

A noun, verb, adjective, adverb, or pronoun, always capitalized in a title.

Minor word

An article, short conjunction, or preposition that may stay lowercase.

Coordinating conjunction

A joining word: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.

Preposition

A word showing position or relation, such as in, on, with, or about.

Style guide

A rulebook for writing, such as the AP Stylebook or the Chicago Manual of Style.

Headline style

Another name for title case, used by the Chicago Manual of Style.

What Makes This Title Capitalizer Different?

Six style guides

Plus sentence and start case.

Explains itself

A reason under every word.

Checker

Flags words that break the rules.

Google preview

Pixel width, not just characters.

Bulk mode

Whole lists in one go.

Keeps acronyms

NASA stays NASA.

Not sure your headline is right?

Paste it into the checker and see every word that needs fixing.

✔ Check My Title

Title Capitalization Looks Wrong?

Problem	Cause	Fix
“With” is capitalized	AP and APA capitalize prepositions of four or more letters	Switch to Chicago or MLA if you want it lowercase
A phrasal verb like “set up” became “Set up”	Up is treated as a preposition	Capitalize Up by hand; in phrasal verbs it acts as an adverb
A name lost its capital in sentence style	Sentence style only capitalizes the first word	Type the name with a capital mid-word or fix it by hand
An acronym became lowercase	The whole title was typed in capitals	Type the title in lowercase and the acronym in capitals
The Google preview is cut short	The title is wider than about 600 pixels	Shorten it or move the keyword to the front

Want a decorative title font instead? Open the font generator.

Tips for Better Titles

Follow your audience’s guide

Teachers expect APA or MLA; editors expect their house style.

Front-load the keyword

Put the main topic in the first few words so it survives truncation.

Be consistent

Use one style for every heading on a page or in a paper.

Check subtitles

The word after a colon starts with a capital in every guide.

Some book designs set titles in small capitals; make them with the small caps generator.

Title Case Converter FAQ

What is a title case converter?

A tool that capitalizes the important words of a title and leaves minor words lowercase, following a chosen style guide.

What is title case?

A heading style where major words start with capitals and short articles, conjunctions, and prepositions stay small in the middle.

How do I capitalize my title in AP style?

Choose AP in the studio. Words of four letters or more are capitalized, and short articles, conjunctions, and prepositions are not.

What are the APA title case rules?

APA 7 capitalizes words of four or more letters, every major word, both parts of hyphenated major words, and the first word after a colon.

How does Chicago style capitalize titles?

Chicago lowercases articles, all prepositions regardless of length, and the conjunctions and, but, for, or, and nor.

What are the MLA title capitalization rules?

MLA capitalizes major words and lowercases articles, prepositions, coordinating conjunctions, and the to in infinitives.

Is “with” capitalized in a title?

In AP and APA, yes, because it has four letters. In Chicago and MLA, no, because it is a preposition.

Should “is” be capitalized in a title?

Yes. Is is a verb, and verbs are capitalized in every style, however short they are.

Do you capitalize the word after a colon?

Yes. Every major style guide capitalizes the first word of a subtitle that follows a colon.

Are prepositions at the end of a title capitalized?

Yes. The last word of a title is always capitalized, so it is What to Look For.

What is the difference between title case and Start Case?

Start Case capitalizes every single word; title case leaves minor words such as of and the in lowercase.

Which style should I use for a blog post?

Most blogs follow AP style, or sentence style for a more relaxed look. Pick one and use it on every post.

Which style do APA references use?

APA reference lists use sentence style for article and book titles, while the paper title itself uses title case.

Can I capitalize many titles at once?

Yes. Paste a list into the Bulk Title Capitalizer, one title per line, and copy or download the results.

How do I check if my title is capitalized correctly?

Paste it into the Title Case Checker. It lists every word that breaks the chosen style and offers a fixed version.

Does Google Docs have proper title case?

Its Title Case option capitalizes every word, so short words like of and the end up capitalized.

How long should a title be for Google?

Around 50 to 60 characters, or about 600 pixels. The search preview shows when a title will be cut off.

Will acronyms stay in capitals?

Yes. With Keep acronyms ticked, NASA, FAQ, and brand names like iPhone are left as you typed them.

Is this title capitalization tool free?

Yes. Every style guide, the checker, and the bulk tool are free, with nothing to sign up for.

Does the tool keep my titles private?

Yes. The capitalization happens locally, so the headlines you test stay with you.

Can I use the title case converter on my phone?

Yes. The studio, checker, and bulk tool all fit a phone screen.

Capitalize It Properly

Tt → Title

Six style guides, a checker, and a Google preview, free. 📝 Capitalize a Title