About the Title Case Converter
This title case converter capitalizes a headline, book title, essay title or heading according to the major style guides. Pick AP (journalism), APA (psychology and social sciences), Chicago (books and publishing) or MLA (humanities), and the tool capitalizes the principal words while keeping articles, short conjunctions and prepositions in lowercase where that style requires it. A comparison table shows your title in every style at once.
It is useful for bloggers and journalists writing headlines, students formatting reference lists and essay titles, and marketers writing email subject lines and page titles. The first word, and the first word after a colon or dash, is always capitalized; AP, Chicago and MLA also capitalize the last word. Hyphenated compounds are capitalized on each part unless that part is a minor word.
Words with deliberate capitals such as iPhone, NASA or McDonald are left alone unless the whole title is typed in capitals, in which case it is lowercased first (a single all-caps word is kept as an acronym). The tool cannot tell when a word like "up" or "over" is used as an adverb (Give Up, Take Over), so check those by eye — style guides capitalize them in that role.
How to use the title case converter
- 1Type or paste your title or headline.
- 2Choose the style guide your publication or assignment requires.
- 3Copy the converted title from the result box.
- 4Check the comparison table to see how other styles differ.
Formula and method
Each word is checked against the minor-word list for the chosen style. AP and APA lowercase articles (a, an, the) and conjunctions and prepositions of three letters or fewer (and, but, for, in, of, on, to, up, via…), and capitalize every word of four letters or more, including verbs such as Is and Be. Chicago lowercases articles, the conjunctions and, but, for, or and nor, the words to and as, and prepositions of any length (between, through, without). MLA is similar to Chicago but also lowercases so and yet.
In every style the first word of the title and of any subtitle (after a colon, dash or end punctuation) is capitalized. AP, Chicago and MLA also capitalize the last word; APA does not force it. Each part of a hyphenated compound follows the same rules. Mixed-case words like iPhone are preserved.
Worked examples
A book title with a subtitle
The first word and the word after the colon are capitalized. The other "the"s and both "of"s are minor words of three letters or fewer, so they stay lowercase: 4 minor words, everything else capitalized.
AP versus Chicago on a long preposition
Chicago lowercases prepositions of any length, so "through" stays lowercase along with "the" and "of". AP and APA capitalize words of four or more letters, giving "A Walk Through the History of Rome".
APA does not force the last word
The all-caps input is lowercased first. "Are" is a verb, so it is capitalized even though it is short. "For" is a short preposition, and because APA has no last-word rule it stays lowercase; AP, Chicago and MLA would write "Looking For".
Frequently asked questions
What words should not be capitalized in a title?+
In most styles, articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for) and short prepositions (at, by, in, of, on, to) stay lowercase unless they are the first or last word. Chicago and MLA also lowercase longer prepositions such as between or through.
What is the difference between AP and Chicago title case?+
AP capitalizes every word of four letters or more, so long prepositions like "With" and "About" are capitalized. Chicago lowercases prepositions of any length, writing "A Walk through the Park" where AP writes "A Walk Through the Park".
Does APA capitalize words of four letters or more?+
Yes. In APA 7th edition title case you capitalize all words of four letters or more and all major words of any length (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns); only short conjunctions, articles and short prepositions stay lowercase.
Should the word after a colon be capitalized in a title?+
Yes. AP, APA, Chicago and MLA all capitalize the first word of a subtitle, which normally follows a colon — for example "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind".
Is "is" capitalized in a title?+
"Is" is a verb, and verbs are always capitalized in title case regardless of length — "What Is Love", "Time Is Money". The same goes for short verbs like Be, Am, Are and Was, and pronouns like It and He.