Is "During" Capitalized in a Title?

It depends on the style guide. "During" is a six-letter preposition. AP, APA, AMA, and Bluebook capitalize prepositions that long, so they write "During." Chicago and MLA lowercase prepositions at any length, so "during" stays lowercase there unless it is the first or last word.

"During" by Style Guide

Style guide	"During" mid-title	Why
AP	Capitalize	Prepositions of four or more letters are capitalized
APA	Capitalize	Words of four or more letters are capitalized
Chicago	Lowercase	Prepositions are lowercase at any length
MLA	Lowercase	Prepositions are lowercase at any length
AMA	Capitalize	Prepositions longer than three letters are capitalized
Bluebook	Capitalize	Prepositions longer than four letters are capitalized ("during" has six)

The Same Headline in Four Styles

Style	"staying productive during the holidays"
AP	Staying Productive During the Holidays
APA	Staying Productive During the Holidays
Chicago	Staying Productive during the Holidays
MLA	Staying Productive during the Holidays

Style	"notes written during a storm"
AP	Notes Written During a Storm
APA	Notes Written During a Storm
Chicago	Notes Written during a Storm
MLA	Notes Written during a Storm

Related Words

Other long prepositions split the guides the same way, including "through", "between", and "without". See title case prepositions for every cutoff.

"During" in Sentence Case

APA reference lists, many news sites, and most UI text use sentence case instead of title case. There, only the first word and proper nouns get capitals, so "during" is lowercase unless it starts the title: "Staying productive during the holidays." Pick one of the two styles for a whole set of headings rather than mixing them.

Quick Answers

Should "during" be capitalized in a title?

In AP, APA, AMA, and Bluebook, yes. In Chicago and MLA, no, unless it is first or last.

Is "during" capitalized in APA?

Yes. APA capitalizes words of four letters or more.