Capitalization implies writing the first letter of a word in uppercase, and the rest in lowercase. The rules of capitalization vary, depending on the style guide, which is why it's advisable to select one method and follow it consistently. The MLA Style Manual is a style guide that is commonly used to write papers and cite sources within literature, languages, and humanities, whereas, the APA (American Psychological Association) Publication Manual is used for writing papers and citing sources within the social and behavioral sciences. The following sections will explain the capitalization rules for titles in these two formats, and more. The beginning, or the first word of every sentence should be capitalized. Proper nouns are basically names of specific people, places, or things. On the other hand, common nouns, which denote any or all members of a class, should not be capitalized. While Mt. Vesuvius is a proper noun, the word 'mountain', when used in a generic way is a common noun. You should capitalize the following: ✦ First word of every sentence ✦ Proper nouns and adjectives derived from proper nouns ✦ Days of the week, and months of the year ✦ First-person singular pronoun, I ✦ Words signifying relationships when used as proper nouns (titles or a substitute for that person's name) ✦ Titles (academic titles, religious titles, and titles of rank, name, or honor) ✦ Directions (when used as proper nouns or a part of names) ✦ Groups and languages ✦ Holidays (Christmas, Halloween, Easter) ✦ Races, nationalities, and tribes ✦ Names of governmental organizations or institutions ✦ Titles of books, magazines, articles, songs, etc. ✦ Religions ✦ Names of Gods, specific deities, holy books, and religious figures ✦ Names of volcanoes, mountains, mountain ranges, and hills ✦ Names of water bodies (oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, streams, etc.) ✦ Names of countries, continents, regions, states, counties, cities, and towns ✦ Names of man-made structures such as monuments, schools, colleges, universities, bridges, tunnels, streets, etc. ✦ Historical events ✦ Names of celestial bodies ✦ Initials and acronyms ✦ Salutations and closings in letters ✦ Trademarks/Brand names Here are a few examples to help you understand the aforementioned rules: Keep the aforementioned rules of capitalization in mind while writing. When it comes to titles, the rules vary depending on the format. For instance, the Associated Press Stylebook, which is also referred to as the 'Journalist's Bible', requires the articles (a, an, or the) to be capitalized in the title if it is the first or the last word of the title, and even the prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters need to be capitalized. So, make sure that you follow the rules of only one format, be it the MLA, APA, or AP format.