Title Capitalization › APA title case
APA Title Case Converter
Type or paste a title or heading: it is capitalized in APA Style (7th edition) as you type. Press Enter to copy it.
APA title case rules
APA Style capitalizes titles and headings in title case:
- Capitalize the first word of the title, even a short word such as A or The, and the first word of a subtitle — the word after a colon.
- Capitalize every major word: nouns, verbs (short ones too — Is, Are, Be), adjectives, adverbs and pronouns.
- Capitalize every word of four letters or more, prepositions and conjunctions included: With, From, About, Between, That.
- Capitalize both parts of a hyphenated major word: Self-Report, Meta-Analysis, Long-Term.
- Lowercase the minor words of three letters or fewer — articles (a, an, the), short conjunctions (and, as, but, for, if, nor, or, so, yet) and short prepositions (as, at, by, for, in, of, off, on, per, to, up, via) — unless one begins the title or the subtitle.
So: Coping With Loss: How Grief Changes Over Time. With and Over have four letters, so APA capitalizes them, where Chicago and MLA would not.
Where APA uses title case, and where it uses sentence case
APA 7 uses title case for:
- the title of your paper, on the title page and above the first paragraph;
- headings, at all five levels;
- table titles and figure titles;
- the titles of books, articles, reports and other works you mention in your text.
In the reference list APA switches to sentence case for the titles of articles, books, reports and webpages: only the first word, the first word after a colon and proper nouns are capitalized. The names of journals and other periodicals stay in title case (Journal of Applied Psychology). Converting a reference? Use the sentence case converter.
APA title case examples
| You type | APA title case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| what is known about social media use among adolescents | What Is Known About Social Media Use Among Adolescents | Is is a verb; About and Among have five letters |
| effects of sleep deprivation on memory: a meta-analysis | Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Memory: A Meta-Analysis | A begins the subtitle; both parts of Meta-Analysis |
| the role of self-efficacy in academic achievement | The Role of Self-Efficacy in Academic Achievement | of and in are short prepositions |
| mindfulness-based interventions for stress: a systematic review | Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Stress: A Systematic Review | for has three letters |
| a longitudinal study of anxiety and depression in young adults | A Longitudinal Study of Anxiety and Depression in Young Adults | A is the first word; and is a short conjunction |
What the converter handles, and what to check
Beyond word length, it handles the exceptions that trip up simpler tools:
- if is a short conjunction, so it stays lowercase: What to Do if Your Dog Bites.
- A short word that belongs to a verb is an adverb, so it is capitalized: How to Look Up a Word, Log On to the Network.
- yet used as an adverb is capitalized: The Best Is Yet to Come.
- After a dash, as after a colon, the first word of a subtitle takes a capital: Grief — A Guide for Families.
Check by hand: names and brands typed in lowercase (it cannot know that nasa is NASA — type them the way they should look and your capitals are kept), and a rare phrasal verb it does not know.
APA title case FAQ
Does APA use title case or sentence case?
Both. APA 7 uses title case for the title of your paper, for headings, for table and figure titles and for the titles of works you mention in your text. It uses sentence case for the titles of articles, books, reports and webpages in the reference list.
Is “with” capitalized in APA title case?
Yes. APA capitalizes every word of four letters or more, so With, From, Into and About are capitalized even though they are prepositions.
Are “is” and “are” capitalized in an APA title?
Yes. Verbs are major words in APA Style however short they are, so Is, Are, Be and Was are capitalized.
Do you capitalize the first word after a colon in an APA title?
Yes. The first word of a subtitle is capitalized even when it is a minor word: Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Memory: A Meta-Analysis.
How are hyphenated words capitalized in APA?
Capitalize both parts of a hyphenated major word: Self-Report, Meta-Analysis, Long-Term Effects.
Do APA headings use title case?
Yes. In APA 7 all five levels of headings are in title case. The 6th edition used sentence case for the lower levels.