Ever stumbled upon the challenge of crafting the perfect title and found yourself scratching your head about capitalization? You’re not alone. Capitalizing words in titles can be a tricky business. One word often under scrutiny is “after.” Understanding the rules of capitalization in different style guides, like Chicago, MLA, APA, and AP, can turn your titles from amateur to polished. Let’s cut through the confusion and dive into the world of proper title formatting, exploring whether ‘after’ should get a capital letter or stay lowercase. Grasp these simple guidelines and you’ll elevate your writing in no time.
In a title, the word ‘after’ should indeed be capitalized. This applies to the title capitalization rules of Chicago, MLA, APA, and AP styles. All four styles require capitalization of major words and conjunctions like ‘after’ in titles. However, prepositions four letters or fewer (AP), five letters or fewer (Chicago), and all prepositions (MLA and APA), are typically lowercased unless they start or end the title.
When you’re writing the title of your next big piece, you might wonder about small words like ‘after’. Should you capitalize it? It seems small, but it can make a big difference in your title’s look.
Capitalize ‘After’ in Most Style Guides
In most title capitalization rules, like those in Chicago, MLA, APA, and AP styles, ‘after’ gets a capital letter if it’s significant in the title. That means, if ‘after’ is used as a preposition, conjunction, or as part of a verb, you usually make it uppercase.
Examples to Understand ‘After’
Let’s see some examples to get this right. In the title ‘After the Storm,’ ‘after’ is a preposition and gets a capital ‘A’. Even in ‘Chasing After Dreams,’ it’s part of the verb ‘chasing after,’ so again, it’s with a capital ‘A’. However, in sentences like ‘And they lived happily ever after,’ when it’s used at the end of a title, some styles may not capitalize it.
Always Check the Style Guide
Keep in mind, the rules can change depending on the style guide. It’s best to keep the guide handy for reference. Every guide has its own rules for capitalization, and they can be quite picky.
In short, look at how ‘after’ is used in your title. If it’s an important word, give it a capital. If not, you might leave it in lowercase. Just make sure to double-check with your preferred style guide to be absolutely certain.
Conclusion
Understand that in title capitalization, small words like ‘after’ do not typically get the big-letter treatment. In styles like APA, MLA, and Chicago, such prepositions remain lowercased when they are part of a title unless they begin or end the sentence. However, AP style ups the ante by capitalizing all words with four or more letters, so ‘after’ gets capitalized because it has five characters. When you craft your titles, keep this tip in mind to ensure each word lands in its proper place. Thanks for reading, and now you’re all set to ace those headlines with confidence!
Want to learn about more specific capitalization rules for words?
