Capitalization, Titles
Q. What is the proper pronoun form to use to refer to God? I was taught to capitalize the pronoun “He” when “God” was the antecedent. However, I checked a number of standard grammar handbooks and can’t find any information on this point. Have the rules changed? Answer »
Q. The ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a British set of books describing best practices for the IT service provider. The books are poorly written, a mess of needlessly long and stultifyingly passive sentences. That fact aside, the ITIL authors also randomly capitalize nouns that they think worthy. What is your position on this quaint custom of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English literature? Whilst you dwell on your response, is there ever a situation where “utilize” adds anything more to its synonym “use” than two extra syllables and a healthy dose of pretentiousness? Looking forward to your glib, yet wise, response. Answer »
Q. In 8.208, CMOS 15 indicates that titles of exhibitions should be neither italicized nor put in quotation marks. But in 17.240, you use quotation marks around an exhibition title. Which is it? It seems to me that the quotation marks are helpful. Answer »
Q. Hello, my name is Brett and I work for a law enforcement agency in Arizona. My colleagues and I were having a discussion about what does and does not get capitalized in our reports pertaining to laws and arrest charges. I am seeking your guidance on this subject. Could you tell me what gets capitalized and what does not get capitalized in the following sentence: “John Doe was arrested for ADC Parole Violation Warrant 03W3250, Theft of Means of Transportation and Unlawful Flight from Law Enforcement.” Some say the sentence is correct as is; however, others say that the letters in the arrest charges should not be capitalized. Could you please assist me in this matter? Thank you for your help. Answer »
Q. CMOS, 14th edition, paragraph 7.19, mentions that titles are commonly lowercase (president of the United States) but that there is an exception with the title of Speaker. There is debate in my office over the titles of archivist of the United States, Smithsonian secretary, and librarian of Congress. If they do not precede a name, do they remain lowercase? Answer »
Q. When referring to a movie or book title while posting to Internet newsgroups, it’s generally impossible to indicate with italics or underscoring. I usually use all upper-case letters (THE LORD OF THE RINGS, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, for example). What does CMOS suggest? Answer »
Q. In the fourteenth edition “history department” is given at 7.60. However, in the fifteenth edition, only “Department of History” is given. Is “history department” (no caps) still recommended? Answer »
Q. Related to the headings and subheadings of a work, should the c in “o’clock” be capitalized in headline style? Is the proper title “The Origins of Our Three O’clock Prayer” or “The Origins of Our Three O’Clock Prayer”? I think it should appear with a small c. Help! Answer »
Q. Besides italicization, does “ceteris paribus” require an initial C? In an article of mine, I wrote: “With this notation, the ceteris paribus cost relevant to the source . . .” The copyeditor capitalized “ceteris” but not “paribus.” Why would that be? Answer »
Q. Are there any exceptions to paragraph 8.180 in CMOS 15, which states that the “the” in newspaper and magazine titles should be lowercase and roman? I’ve seen some publications keep the article uppercase (i.e., The New Yorker). Thanks for your insight. Answer »
Q. When I refer to the government of the United States in text, should it be U.S. Federal Government or U.S. federal government? Answer »
Q. My colleagues and I are perplexed by the format of film series titles. According to paragraph 8.186, book series are not italicized. Television series, according to 8.196, are italicized. My inclination is to call the Tolkien adaptations “the Lord of the Rings series,” but to call the Rowling adaptations “the Harry Potter series.” One colleague says both series titles should be roman; another wonders whether both should be italicized. And then there’s the pesky matter of the initial article, which I think modifies series in this case and should not be considered part of the title. Answer »
Q. What is the proper way to capitalize (or not capitalize) “generation X”? Merriam-Webster lists “baby boom” and “baby boomer,” which I would normally take as a precedent, but it seems that “generation” should be capitalized because it precedes a single letter. Has this been decided? Answer »
Q. Every institution for which I have worked seems to have a different practice relating to the capitalization of college or university when referring to the specific institution while dropping the proper name. I used to work for Cornell University’s admissions office. That office insisted on not capitalizing university when using the word without Cornell but still referring to CU specifically. For example, Answer »
Q. I hope you can definitively answer this question. Should the word following a colon in a sentence be capitalized or not? Answer »
Q. For rock fans, such as myself, it is sometimes important to know whether one is to capitalize the “the” preceding a rock group’s name. For instance, the group “the Who.” In the middle of a sentence, do I say “the Who” or “The Who,” given that the “the” is an integral part of the title and furthermore is the first word in the title? Answer »
Q. When referring to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in saying “the Corps of Engineers” and “the Corps,” how should the shortened forms be capitalized? Should “the Corps of Engineers” be in initial caps and “the corps” be in lowercase? Answer »
Q. I am having a discussion/argument with my author’s editor over the presentation of Pizza and its Variations: Beyond Two Pi R, the title [changed for this forum] of a forthcoming book edited by myself. The title is so presented in the UK edition, and the American publisher is insisting that this is incorrect (or at any rate in defiance of normal convention), and “Its” should be used, despite the fact that the lowercase version appears in the book (whose text will be the same in both editions). Quite apart from the question of consistency, I feel that in the case of this particular title a capital ‘I’ would take the eye away from the two important words, “Pizza” and “Variations.” Do you have a (quick, please!) view? Answer »
Q. When referring to a specific conference, would the word “conference” be capitalized when used alone? For example, “I attended the Western Region Writing Style Conference earlier this year. During the Conference I learned . . .” Answer »
Q. People Seem to Have Capitalitis These Days. I am editing our company directory and wondering if all titles must be capitalized. My column headings include “Name” and “Title.” Under “Name,” I have Joe Smith. Under “Title,” which is correct: “Customer Service” or “customer service”? Answer »
Q. I’m confused why CMOS suggests leaving “cold war” lowercase in rule 8.81. It seems to me that it should be capped, because it’s a clear historical period. Pleeaazze help. Answer »
Q. I am unable to find a ruling on state nicknames in my Chicago manual. Am I overlooking it? Is it “aloha state,” “Aloha state,” or “Aloha State”? Answer »
Q. Do you capitalize Scotch when it’s used singularly as a noun, or only in a proper name situation: Let’s have a scotch. I drink Scotch whisky and Irish coffee. Thank you! Answer »
Q. I am writing a text and need help with one thing. I checked your Q&A and didn’t see anything on this so I’ll ask here. Do government offices and bureaus need to be capitalized? For example, the Wireless Bureau of the FCC, or can it be listed in a sentence as the wireless bureau of the FCC? Thanks! Answer »
Q. In the phrase “federal constitutional law,” should the “c” in “constitutional” be capitalized? I say no, but a coworker says yes. Answer »
