When you pen a title, every word counts, including the small ones. You might wonder about conjunctions like 'or' and whether it deserves a capital letter. It might seem like a tiny detail, but getting it right can make your writing stand out. Whether you're crafting an academic paper or sprucing up a blog post, understanding the rules for capitalization in titles is key. Let's look at the world of style guides like Chicago, MLA, APA, and AP to uncover the mysteries of titling and ensure your headlines shine with perfect punctuation.
Quick Answer
In Chicago, MLA, APA, and AP styles, the word "or" stays lowercase in a title unless it is the first word, the last word, or it directly follows a colon or dash. That rule is consistent across every major American style guide.
You can also paste any title into the free title case converter at the top of the page to apply these rules automatically.
When writing a title, knowing which words to capitalize can be tricky. With the word 'or', the rule of thumb across various style guides is to keep it lowercase unless it's the first or last word in a title.
Understanding Capitalization in Titles
Style guides like Chicago, MLA, APA, and AP have different rules for title capitalization. Chicago and MLA styles recommend capitalizing important words in titles, which usually include nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and some conjunctions. However, 'or' being a short conjunction, is not capitalized. In APA style, capitalize words with four letters or more, so 'or' stays lowercase. AP style is an exception because it says to capitalize all conjunctions, but 'or' is often treated as an exception and left lowercase due to its short length.
Examples in Different Styles
Here is how 'or' would be treated in a title, according to various styles:
Chicago/MLA: Love or Money: The Ultimate Dilemma
Notice 'or' is not capitalized since it's neither the first nor the last word.
APA: To Be or Not to Be: Exploring Choices in Literature
'Or' remains lowercase because it's shorter than four letters.
AP: Cats or Dogs: Which is the Better Pet?
While AP suggests capitalizing all conjunctions, 'or' is often an outlier and remains lowercase.
Always check the specific guidelines of the style you are following for any exceptions or updates to these rules.
When you write your next title, remember that small words like 'or' don't usually get a capital letter in title case, unless they're the first or last word. Whether it's Chicago, MLA, APA, or AP style, this rule applies. So, keep that in mind for your titles to look polished and professional. Stick to capitalizing longer words and main words to make your titles pop. and here's to writing titles that shine!
For a deeper breakdown of how each guide handles capitalization, see the title case styles guide.
