Ever stare at a heading and get stuck on a tiny word like “of” or “to”? You already know your professor cares, and so does your reader. The manual by Kate L. Turabian is the gold standard for research papers and advanced academic formatting, and Turabian title case gives your paper a clean, consistent look, but only if you apply it the same way every time.
Below are the Turabian 9th headline-style rules in plain English, plus 60 ready-to-copy conversions perfect for a professional title page or a complex table of contents. You can paste them into your draft and adapt fast.
Turabian title case rules for titles and subheadings (9th edition) you can apply in seconds
The Turabian 9th edition uses headline-style capitalization for titles and most subheadings, and it is largely based on the Chicago Manual of Style. If you want the official context for Turabian 9th edition’s scope and updates, see the publisher’s overview of Turabian, ninth edition. For a quick cross-check against Chicago headline case rules, this companion guide to Chicago title case rules helps because Turabian and Chicago often land on the same decisions.
Use these rules as your default:
Capitalize:
- The first and last word of the title, no matter what they are.
- major words capitalized, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and most longer subordinating conjunctions (like “because,” “although”).
- Proper nouns and official names (and keep brand styling like “iPhone” as is).
Lowercase (unless first or last word):
- Articles: a, an, the
- Short coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet
- Prepositions: in, of, to, at, by, from, with, over, between, without (and similar)
- “To” in infinitives (as in “to write”)
- “As,” “if,” and “than” when they act like connective helpers in a title (common classroom Turabian practice)
Also:
- After a colon, capitalize the first word of the subtitle.
- In hyphenated compounds, capitalize both parts, but keep articles, conjunctions, and prepositions lowercase inside the compound (unless they’re first or last).
If you’re switching between class standards, it helps to know how Turabian compares to other systems. This title case styles comparison gives a quick map of what changes from guide to guide.
The edge cases that usually cost points
Most Turabian title-case mistakes happen when a word can “change jobs.” A word like “up” might be a preposition in one sentence, but in a phrasal verb like “Set Up,” it behaves more like an adverbial particle and often gets capitalized in headline style. When your title reads like a verb phrase, treat the meaningful particle as part of the action. While headline style is used for titles, specific Turabian formatting for a dissertation might require different rules for internal citations. Whether a student uses the notes-bibliography style or the author-date system, title case in the main text remains consistent.
Colons cause another common slip. In headline-style titles, the subtitle starts fresh. So even if the next word would normally be lowercase (like “the” or “to”), many instructors prefer it capitalized after the colon for consistency across headings. If your department has a house preference, follow it, then stay consistent.
Hyphenated compounds look simple until they’re not. “State-of-the-art” should keep “of” and “the” lowercase, but “State” and “Art” take caps. The trick is to treat each side of the hyphen like its own mini-title.
Finally, remember that citation fields may differ. While titles in footnotes follow headline style, the entry in the final bibliography might vary; some use sentence-style capitalization for article titles, while your paper title uses headline style. If you need a campus-specific refresher on where Turabian applies which format, a university quick guide like Liberty University’s Academic Success Center Turabian format guide can help you match expectations.
60 copy-paste examples (sentence case -> Turabian Title Case)
| sentence case | Turabian Title Case |
|---|---|
| A study of maps | A Study of Maps |
| The art of memory | The Art of Memory |
| Writing in history | Writing in History |
| Notes from the field | Notes from the Field |
| War and peace | War and Peace |
| Love but not loss | Love but Not Loss |
| Rules for writers | Rules for Writers |
| Research on reform | Research on Reform |
| Life in the city | Life in the City |
| Culture of the sea | Culture of the Sea |
| Stories to remember | Stories to Remember |
| The path to freedom | The Path to Freedom |
| A guide to style | A Guide to Style |
| Questions in ethics | Questions in Ethics |
| Truth and the archive | Truth and the Archive |
| Faith in public life | Faith in Public Life |
| Music for study | Music for Study |
| A theory of change | A Theory of Change |
| Reading at midnight | Reading at Midnight |
| Working with sources | Working with Sources |
| To write well | To Write Well (Note: first word is always capped) |
| How to write faster | How to Write Faster (Note: “to” stays lowercase) |
| Plans to build trust | Plans to Build Trust (Note: “to” stays lowercase) |
| From draft to print | From Draft to Print |
| Between law and custom | Between Law and Custom (Note: preposition stays lowercase) |
| Beyond the syllabus | Beyond the Syllabus (Note: preposition stays lowercase) |
| Under the same roof | Under the Same Roof (Note: preposition stays lowercase) |
| Over the long term | Over the Long Term (Note: preposition stays lowercase) |
| Without fear or favor | Without Fear or Favor (Note: preposition stays lowercase) |
| A letter to my advisor | A Letter to My Advisor |
| Gender as performance | Gender as Performance (Note: keep “as” lowercase mid-title) |
| Evidence than opinion | Evidence than Opinion (Note: keep “than” lowercase mid-title) |
| As we remember | As We Remember (Note: first word is always capped) |
| If we must | If We Must (Note: first word is always capped) |
| Cities: a brief history | Cities: A Brief History (Note: cap first word after colon) |
| Methods: the basics | Methods: The Basics (Note: cap first word after colon) |
| After the flood: a report | After the Flood: A Report (Note: cap first word after colon) |
| Ethics: to tell the truth | Ethics: To Tell the Truth (Note: cap first word after colon) |
| Self-reliance and doubt | Self-Reliance and Doubt (Note: cap both parts of major-word hyphen) |
| Well-known myths | Well-Known Myths (Note: cap both parts of the compound) |
| State-of-the-art tools | State-of-the-Art Tools (Note: keep “of” and “the” lowercase) |
| End-to-end tests | End-to-End Tests (Note: keep “to” lowercase inside compound) |
| Mother-in-law rules | Mother-in-Law Rules (Note: keep “in” lowercase) |
| Step-by-step proof | Step-by-Step Proof (Note: keep “by” lowercase) |
| Set up camp | Set Up Camp (Note: “Up” is often capped in phrasal verbs) |
| Follow up tomorrow | Follow Up Tomorrow (Note: “Up” is often capped in phrasal verbs) |
| Cats vs. dogs | Cats vs. Dogs (Note: keep “vs.” lowercase) |
| Rome and the republic | Rome and the Republic (Note: proper noun stays capped) |
| The u.s. in 1917 | The U.S. in 1917 (Note: keep acronym caps) |
| COVID-19 and schools | COVID-19 and Schools (Note: keep original acronym styling) |
| iPhone use in class | iPhone Use in Class (Note: preserve brand capitalization) |
| O’Connor and faith | O’Connor and Faith (Note: keep proper name punctuation) |
| Part 2: first steps | Part 2: First Steps (Note: cap “Part” with a number) |
| Volume 1: sources | Volume 1: Sources (Note: cap “Volume” with a number) |
| Chapter 3: methods | Chapter 3: Methods (Note: cap “Chapter” with a number) |
| Appendix a: tables | Appendix A: Tables (Note: cap appendix label) |
Additional Paper Standards
Proper Turabian formatting extends beyond sentence case and title case conversions to the overall page layout. Standard requirements include one-inch margins on all sides, Times New Roman 12-point font, and double-spaced text. The bibliography should utilize hanging indents for all entries to ensure clean alignment and readability.
For a deeper refresher on sentence case versus title case across common citation systems and related formatting rules, EasyBib’s overview of capitalization rules is a handy reference.
Conclusion
Turabian headline-style capitalization looks small, but it signals control and care. Once you lock in a few defaults, Turabian title case becomes a quick final pass, not a debate. Whether using note-based systems or author-date with parenthetical citations, copy any example above, swap in your own wording, and keep your headings consistent from the student title page to the final page of citations. Even specialized elements like block quotes or shorthand like ibid. require attention to detail, much like the main title page. Mastering headline-style capitalization makes the final review of any paper much easier.
