When you craft the perfect title, every detail matters—right down to the capitalization of words like ‘their’. With various rules from Chicago, MLA, APA, and AP styles, it’s easy to get tangled up in the dos and don’ts. Discover how each guide swings the pendulum for this possessive pronoun, and when you should give ‘their’ the spotlight with a capital ‘T’.
In title case, small words such as ‘their’ are generally not capitalized unless they are the first or last word of the title. This applies for major style guides such as MLA, APA, Chicago, and AP. It’s all about maintaining a consistent, readable style in your writing.
When it comes to capitalizing ‘their’ in a title, rules can vary depending on the style guide you’re following. In most cases, ‘their’ is treated like any other word when applying title case.
Chicago, MLA, and APA Styles
In Chicago, MLA, and APA styles, the focus is on consistency and readability. These styles suggest capitalizing ‘their’ because it has more than four letters, and it’s not an article, a coordinating conjunction, or a preposition.
For example, you would capitalize ‘their’ in a title like “Their Journey Through the Wild.” This rule ensures that all significant words in a title are highlighted to draw attention to the main ideas.
AP Style
The AP style has a different approach. It prescribes capitalizing words with four or more letters, meaning that ‘their’ should also be capitalized since it meets the length requirement. In AP, even shorter important words are capitalized, and since ‘their’ is a possessive pronoun showing ownership, it is deemed important.
Remember, while these rules provide a good baseline, the most crucial aspect is to maintain consistency within a document or series of works. Whether you’re crafting an article, a book title, or a paper, applying title case rules uniformly will ensure professionalism in your writing.
Conclusion
Remember, when it comes to capitalizing titles, style guides vary. In APA, MLA, Chicago, and AP formats, ain’t treating all words equal. Words with five or more letters get the cap, but ‘their’ is a tiny one with just five, so it’s a maybe. APA gives it a big yes, but for MLA and Chicago, it depends on its role in the sentence. If it’s just chillin’ as a preposition or conjunction, keep it lowercase. But if it’s flexing as a noun, pronoun, or verb – boom, capitalize ‘their.’ So check the context and choose wisely. Thanks for reading and keep those titles sharp!
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