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Capitalize on Cue

Many eager beaver e-mailers feel it’s easier and more efficient to type their messages in all lowercase. But with the rapid pace at which striking a keyboard has taken over putting pen to paper (think resumes, proposals, and reports), good business correspondence requires accurate capitalization. If you need some help sorting the big from the small, follow these basic guidelines.

The word I, as in me, myself, and I, is always capitalized. For example: “I love learning the rules of capitalization.”

The first word of a sentence always begins with a capital. For example: “She is a terrific speller.”

Days of the week are always in capital letters. For example: “I love Monday, Wednesday, and Friday—but Thursdays and Tuesdays are lousy.”

The names of countries, cities, and specific locations are all capitalized. For example: “Jane visited Paris, France, where she watched the Seine from the Left Bank.”

Languages are capitalized. For example: “Judy is so smart. She speaks French, Spanish, English, Italian, Chinese, and Turkish!”

Proper names of people and organizations are usually typed in the big letters. For example: “Dr. Jack Smith is president of Smithco and also the vice president of Botswana. His wife, Sheri Dee Smith, likes it there, but misses the small town in Minnesota where she grew up.”

North, South, East, and West are capitalized when used as geographical areas: For example: “Jon and Janice met in the West.”

Days of the week, holidays, and months of the year should all be capitalized. For example: “On Friday, October31, it will be Halloween.”

The first word in a sentence of a quote is capitalized. For example: “Sharon spoke highly of Shannon. In fact, she said, ‘Without a doubt, Shannon is the best friend I have ever had.’”

The major words in a title (book, movie, magazine, song, painting) start with large letters. For example: “Julie enjoys the movie The Sound of Music, but loves the book The Sound of Music: The Making of America’s Favorite Movie.

Members of groups are capitalized. For example: “I am a Democrat, my husband is a Republican. But we both agree that the San Francisco Giants are the greatest baseball team around. We are also both long-time Sierra Club members.”

Exercise

Take a look at the following paragraph and correct the 22 capitalization mistakes within.

jane just can’t wait to go to italy in september and see the Spanish steps. She has heard about them from her cousin in the western united states—mayor paula perkins. she first fell in love with the idea when she saw the movie roman holiday, with gregory peck and audrey hepburn. Now all she needs to do is learn to speak italian. “i’m going to start taking lessons right away,” she tells her sister maggie, who lives in the southeast.

Correct Answers

Jane just can’t wait to go to Italy in September and see the Spanish Steps. She has heard about them from her cousin in the Western United States—Mayor Paula Perkins. She first fell in love with the idea when she saw the movie Roman Holiday, with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. Now all she needs to do is learn to speak Italian. “I’m going to start taking lessons right away,” she tells her sister Maggie, who lives in the Southeast.