Result
Yes. "What" is a pronoun or determiner, and every style guide capitalizes it in a title. It starts many titles ("What Is Title Case?") but is capitalized anywhere: "Here's What Changed."
"What" by Style Guide
| Style guide | "What" mid-title | Why |
|---|---|---|
| AP | Capitalize | Pronouns and determiners are major words |
| APA | Capitalize | Pronouns and determiners are major words |
| Chicago | Capitalize | Pronouns and determiners are major words |
| MLA | Capitalize | Pronouns and determiners are major words |
| AMA | Capitalize | Pronouns and determiners are major words |
| Bluebook | Capitalize | Pronouns and determiners are major words |
Examples in Chicago Style
- Here Is What Changed in Search
- What Readers Want from a Headline
- Everything We Know about What Works
- Guess What Happened Next
Related Words
The other question words are capitalized too: "how", "when", "where", "which", "who", and "why". For a full explanation of title case itself, see what is title case.
Real Titles With "What"
- What We Do in the Shadows (2014 film)
"What" 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 "what" is lowercase unless it starts the title: "Here is what changed in search." Pick one of the two styles for a whole set of headings rather than mixing them.
Quick Answers
Should "what" be capitalized in a title?
Yes. "What" is a pronoun or determiner, capitalized in every style guide.
Is "what" capitalized in the middle of a title?
Yes: "Here's What Changed."