Capitalization Basics
This word is always capitalized, even when it appears in the middle of a sentence.
What is "I"?
You capitalize a person’s title only when it comes in this position relative to their name.
What is before (preceding) the name?
This Latin abbreviation means “for example.”
What is e.g.?
This abbreviation stands for “Bachelor of Arts.”
What is B.A.?
You should avoid using informal shortcuts like “thru” or “b/c” in academic writing because they belong to this communication style.
What is texting or informal writing?
You should always capitalize these—names of people, specific places, and official organizations.
What are proper nouns?
In the sentence “Johnson is the president of the university,” “president” is lowercase because it appears in this position.
What is after the name or used generally?
This Latin abbreviation means “in other words” or “that is.”
What is i.e.?
This advanced degree abbreviation means “Doctor of Philosophy.”
What is Ph.D.?
To maintain clarity, always write out an organization’s full name on first use, then you can use this shorter form.
What is an acronym or abbreviation?
You capitalize “Spring Semester” but not just “spring” because only this kind of season reference gets a capital.
What is a specific or official name?
This direction word is lowercase when it means “where you’re going” but uppercase when it names a region.
What is north/south/east/west?
This Latin abbreviation means “and others” and is often used in citations.
What is et al.?
You should not use “Dr.” and this degree abbreviation together in a name, because it’s redundant.
What is Ph.D.?
When forming plurals of abbreviations like Ph.D., you add this letter without an apostrophe.
What is s?
In college writing, you only capitalize an area of study if it’s this type of subject.
What is a specific course title or a language?
Organizations like “College Republicans” or “Student Council” get capitals because they are this type of group.
What is a specific or formal organization?
In a college paper, you must write out an organization’s full name before putting this in parentheses.
What is its abbreviation or acronym?
This Latin phrase meaning “course of life” is abbreviated as C.V. and used for academic résumés.
What is Curriculum Vitae?
This common abbreviation rule reminds writers to focus on reader understanding before fancy shortcuts.
What is "clarity first"?
“History 101” and “Biology Department” both take capitals, but “history” and “biology” don’t—this rule distinguishes what two things?
What is the difference between a general subject and a specific course or department?
When referring to a job generally, like “professor,” use lowercase—but capitalize it when used with a name, as in “Professor Garcia.” This shows the difference between a _____ and a _____ title.
What is a job description and an official title?
In formal writing, you can say “NASA” because it’s pronounced as a word, but “FBI” stays spelled out letter by letter. These are examples of what two types of shortened forms?
What are acronyms and initialisms?
In MLA and APA style, most abbreviations require these punctuation marks after each letter.
What are periods?
Style guides like MLA, APA, and Chicago may have slightly different rules about this punctuation in abbreviations.
What are periods?