Headline & Title Text Input
UPPERCASE lowercase Sentence case kebab-slug camelCase snake_case
APA 7th Edition Title Case
How to Capitalize Headlines in APA, Chicago, and AP Style: A Step-by-Step Guide for Writers
Length: 90 Characters Words: 15 Words SEO Optimal Length
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Writing compelling and grammatically correct headlines is essential for authors, bloggers, journalists, and academic researchers. However, remembering which words to capitalize across different style guides (APA 7th, Chicago, AP Style, and MLA 9th) can be tricky.

Our free online Title Capitalization Generator takes the guesswork out of headline formatting by accurately evaluating short prepositions, coordinating conjunctions, hyphenated compounds, and verbs (like Is, Be, and Was).

APA 7th & MLA Support
Capitalizes all 4+ letter words, major terms, and subtitles following colons.
Chicago Manual (CMOS)
Accurately lowercases prepositions regardless of length (e.g., between, through, without).
Hyphenated Compounds
Properly formats multi-part hyphenated terms like Step-by-Step and State-of-the-Art.
Acronym Preservation
Intelligently preserves industry acronyms (AI, SEO, NASA, HTML, USA) without lowercasing.
Core Title Capitalization Rules
1. Always Capitalize: The first and last words of any title, regardless of their part of speech.
2. Always Capitalize Verbs: All action and linking verbs, including short two-letter forms (Is, Be, Am, Was).
3. Subtitles After Colons: The first word immediately following a colon (:) or em-dash (—) must be capitalized.
4. Lowercase Articles & Conjunctions: Articles (a, an, the) and coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor) unless they start the title.

Style Guide Comparison: APA vs Chicago vs AP vs MLA

Style Guide Primary Domain Preposition Rule Words of 4+ Letters
APA 7th Edition Psychology, Social Sciences, Education Capitalize if 4+ letters (With, From, Into) Always Capitalized
Chicago (CMOS) Book Publishing, History, Literature Lowercase all prepositions regardless of length Lowercase if preposition
AP Stylebook Journalism, Magazines, News Media Capitalize if 4+ letters (Over, Down) Always Capitalized
MLA 9th Edition Humanities, English, Cultural Studies Lowercase short prepositions and conjunctions Capitalize major words

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Should the word "Is" or "Be" be capitalized in a title? +
Yes, absolutely! Even though "is" has only two letters, it is a verb (a form of "to be"). All major style guides (APA, Chicago, AP, MLA) mandate that all verbs must be capitalized in Title Case.
What is the difference between APA and Chicago title capitalization? +
In APA Style, any word with 4 or more letters (like From, With, Into) is capitalized. In Chicago Style, all prepositions are lowercased regardless of length (e.g. from, with, between, throughout).
How are hyphenated words capitalized in titles? +
The first part of a hyphenated compound is always capitalized. The second element is capitalized if it is a major word (noun, verb, adjective), but lowercased if it is an article, preposition, or coordinating conjunction (e.g. Step-by-Step, State-of-the-Art).