Title Case vs Sentence Case
Title case puts a capital letter on every major word of a heading. Sentence case puts a capital letter only on the first word and on proper nouns, as in a normal sentence.
Both are correct. Which one you use depends on the style guide you follow and on where the text appears. This guide shows the difference with examples, who uses which, and how to choose one for your own writing.
What is title case?
Title case is a capitalization style in which the major words of a title start with a capital letter and the minor words stay in small letters.
- Major words are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and pronouns. They get a capital letter.
- Minor words are short articles, conjunctions and prepositions such as a, the, and, of and in. They stay small.
- The first word always gets a capital letter, also when it is a minor word.
Example: How to Train a Dog in Ten Days. The words "to", "a" and "in" are minor words.
What is sentence case?
Sentence case is a capitalization style in which a title is written like a sentence. Only the first word and proper nouns start with a capital letter.
- The first word gets a capital letter.
- Proper nouns such as names of people, places and products keep their capital letter.
- The first word after a colon gets a capital letter in APA Style.
- Everything else is in small letters.
Example: How to train a dog in ten days. With a name: How to train a dog in London.
Title case vs sentence case: the difference
| Title case | Sentence case | |
|---|---|---|
| First word | Capital letter | Capital letter |
| Nouns, verbs, adjectives | Capital letter | Small letter |
| Short words such as a, of, the | Small letter | Small letter |
| Names (London, Maria) | Capital letter | Capital letter |
| Looks | Formal, like a book cover | Plain, like normal text |
| Rules to learn | Many, and they differ by style guide | Few |
| Title case | Sentence case |
|---|---|
| The Quick Brown Fox of the North | The quick brown fox of the north |
| How to Live With a Dog That Is Afraid of Storms | How to live with a dog that is afraid of storms |
| A Short History of Paris | A short history of Paris |
The third row shows the one thing both styles share: a name such as Paris keeps its capital letter.
Who uses title case and who uses sentence case?
Style guides do not agree, and some use both styles for different parts of a text.
| Style guide | Title case | Sentence case |
|---|---|---|
| APA Style | Titles of works named in the text, headings inside a paper | Titles of works in the reference list |
| Google developer documentation style guide | Not used for headings | Document titles and headings |
| Microsoft Writing Style Guide | Only now and then, for example for names of products, books and songs | The default for headings, titles and labels |
Google's guide says it in one line: "In document titles and headings, use sentence case." Microsoft's guide also makes sentence-style capitalization its default.
So the two big technology style guides chose sentence case, while academic writing in APA Style still uses title case for headings. Titles of books, films and songs are written in title case in many guides.
When to use title case or sentence case
- Follow your style guide. A school, a journal or a company usually names one. That rule wins.
- Without a style guide, look at the place. Buttons, menus, help pages and long headings are mostly written in sentence case today. Book titles, film titles and short formal headings are usually in title case.
- Stay consistent. One style for all headings of the same level. A page that mixes both looks like a mistake.
Sentence case has one practical advantage: there is almost nothing to get wrong. Title case needs a decision for every short word. The title capitalization rules of APA, Chicago and AP are compared in their own guide.
A third option, all caps text, is harder to read and fits only short labels.
How to convert between title case and sentence case
A case converter changes a heading from one style to the other without typing it again.
- Paste the heading in the Text to convert box.
- Choose Title Case or Sentence case.
- Check names and short forms, then press Copy.
Step 3 matters. A tool cannot know that a word is a name. In our converter, Sentence case turns "a guide to London" into "A guide to london", and Title Case turns "NASA" into "Nasa". Fix these words by hand.
Our Title Case keeps 18 short words in small letters: a, an, and, as, at, but, by, for, in, nor, of, on, or, so, the, to, up and yet. The first word, the last word and the first word after a colon always get a capital letter.
Frequently asked questions
- Is title case or sentence case better?
- Neither is better. Title case looks more formal. Sentence case is easier to read and easier to apply. Follow your style guide, and without one choose a style and keep it.
- Does APA use title case or sentence case?
- Both. APA Style uses title case for headings and for titles named in the text, and sentence case for titles in the reference list.
- Do names get a capital letter in sentence case?
- Yes. Proper nouns such as London or Maria keep their capital letter in every style.
- Is the first word after a colon capitalized in sentence case?
- In APA Style, yes. The first word of a subtitle after a colon gets a capital letter.
- What is the difference between title case and capitalized case?
- Capitalized case puts a capital letter on every word. Title case keeps short words such as a, of and the in small letters.