Title Case Converter

Capitalize your title correctly with real APA, Chicago, AP, MLA, Bluebook and AMA rules. Compare all styles side by side and keep your acronyms intact.

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APA 7
Chicago 18
AP
MLA 9
Bluebook 21
AMA 11

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UPPERCASE
lowercase
Sentence case
Capitalize Each Word

What is title case?

Title case is a capitalization style for headings and titles where the major words are capitalized and the minor words (short articles, conjunctions and prepositions) are left lowercase.

Unlike simply capitalizing the first letter of every word, real title case follows the rules of a style guide. The tricky part is that each guide treats the minor words differently, so the same title can be capitalized in several valid ways. This converter applies the exact rules of the six most common guides, so you get the correct result for the context you are writing in.

It also preserves acronyms like NASA or SEO and brand casing like iPhone, capitalizes the first word after a colon, and handles hyphenated compounds such as State-of-the-Art.

Which words are not capitalized in a title?

Three classes of "minor words" are lowercased in the middle of a title:

  • Articles: a, an, the.
  • Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so.
  • Short prepositions: of, to, in, on, at, by, for, with… The length that counts as "short" depends on the guide.

Everything else — nouns, pronouns, verbs (including short ones like is and be), adjectives, adverbs and subordinating conjunctions — is a major word and is always capitalized. The first word is always capitalized too, whatever its class.

APA 7 title case

Used in psychology, education and the social sciences. Capitalizes the first word, the first word after a colon and all major words of four or more letters. Lowercases articles, coordinating conjunctions and prepositions of three letters or fewer. The last word is not automatically capitalized (though it usually is a major word).

Chicago 18 title case

The Chicago Manual of Style, common in publishing and the humanities. Capitalizes the first and last words, and lowercases articles, coordinating conjunctions and prepositions of four letters or fewer, capitalizing longer prepositions.

AP title case

Associated Press style, used in journalism and headlines. Its rule is length-based: capitalize any word of four or more letters, including conjunctions and prepositions. It also capitalizes the infinitive "to". First and last words are always capitalized.

MLA 9 title case

Modern Language Association, used for literature and the humanities. Capitalizes the first and last words and lowercases all prepositions regardless of length, along with articles and coordinating conjunctions.

Bluebook 21 title case

The legal citation standard. Lowercases articles, coordinating conjunctions and prepositions of four letters or fewer. The last word is not forced.

AMA 11 title case

American Medical Association, used in medical journals. Capitalizes major words and lowercases articles, short conjunctions and prepositions of three letters or fewer.

Title case vs sentence case

In title case, most words start with a capital letter. In sentence case, only the first word (and proper nouns) is capitalized, like a normal sentence. Blogs and modern style increasingly prefer sentence case for headlines because it reads more naturally, while academic and journalistic writing still relies on title case.

Use the "Other case modes" above to switch a title between title case, sentence case, UPPERCASE and lowercase in one click.

Frequently asked questions

Which words are not capitalized in a title?
In title case you lowercase the "minor words": articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so) and short prepositions. Exactly which prepositions depends on the style guide — most lowercase those of three or four letters or fewer, while MLA lowercases all of them.
Is "is" capitalized in a title?
Yes. "Is", "are", "be" and other forms of the verb "to be" are verbs, which are major words, so they are always capitalized even though they are short.
Is "the" capitalized in a title?
"The" is an article, so it is lowercased in the middle of a title. It is capitalized only when it is the first word (or the first word after a colon), which every style guide requires.
What is the difference between APA and MLA title case?
The main difference is prepositions. APA lowercases only short prepositions (three letters or fewer) and does not force the last word, while MLA lowercases every preposition regardless of length and always capitalizes the last word.
Do you capitalize the last word of a title?
It depends on the guide. Chicago, AP and MLA always capitalize the last word. APA, Bluebook and AMA do not force it, although the last word is usually a major word that gets capitalized anyway.
How is a subtitle after a colon handled?
Every major style guide capitalizes the first word after a colon, because the subtitle starts a new titled phrase. This tool capitalizes the word after a colon (and after ?, ! or an em dash) automatically.

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