Result
Yes. "It" is a pronoun, and every style guide capitalizes pronouns in a title. Two letters is short, but the lowercase list covers only articles, short prepositions, and certain conjunctions. "It" is none of those, so "Make It Work" is correct and "Make it Work" is not.
"It" by Style Guide
| Style guide | "It" mid-title | Why |
|---|---|---|
| AP | Capitalize | Pronouns are major words |
| APA | Capitalize | Pronouns are major words |
| Chicago | Capitalize | Pronouns are major words |
| MLA | Capitalize | Pronouns are major words |
| AMA | Capitalize | Pronouns are major words |
| Bluebook | Capitalize | Pronouns are major words |
Examples in Chicago Style
- Just Do It
- Love It or List It
- How to Make It in Publishing
- Why It Matters
"It," "Its," and "It's"
All three are capitalized in titles. "It" is a pronoun, "its" is a possessive pronoun, and "it's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has." The apostrophe question is about spelling, not capitalization: "It's Complicated" and "Its Own Reward" are both correct.
Why "It" Gets Lowercased by Mistake
Writers often lowercase every two-letter word in a title, because so many of them (in, on, at, to, of) are prepositions. "It" is the most common word caught by that shortcut. Others include "is", "be", "we", and "he", all of which are capitalized.
Real Titles With "It"
- It Happened One Night (1934 film): first word
- Love It or List It (TV series): capitalized mid-title
"It" 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 "it" is lowercase unless it starts the title: "How to make it in publishing." Pick one of the two styles for a whole set of headings rather than mixing them.
Quick Answers
Should "it" be capitalized in a title?
Yes. "It" is a pronoun, and pronouns are capitalized in every title case style.
Is "it" capitalized in APA?
Yes. APA capitalizes pronouns regardless of length.
Is "it's" capitalized in a title?
Yes, as "It's." Only the first letter is capitalized.