Title Case Converter (APA style headline capitalization)

Understanding the title case converter — concept and principle

Title case capitalises the important words of a title while leaving short minor words in lower case. This converter follows the APA Style (7th edition) rules: it capitalises the first word, the first word after a colon or end punctuation, major words and any word of four letters or more, and keeps short articles, conjunctions and prepositions lowercase.

How it is calculated

Capitalise:

• the first word of each title (each line is a separate title)
• the first word after a colon, em dash or end punctuation
• every word not in the minor-word list, and every word of four letters or more

Keep lowercase (unless first): a, an, the, and, as, at, but, by, for, if, in, nor, of, off, on, or, per, so, to, up, via, yet

Both parts of a hyphenated word follow the same rule (Self-Report)

Option: lowercase everything first to fix ALL CAPS titles

The principle

Style guides differ in detail, but most title case systems capitalise words that carry meaning and leave short function words lowercase, which makes titles easy to scan. APA's rule uses length as a simple test: words of four or more letters are always capitalised, even prepositions like "with" or "from", while three-letter-or-shorter articles, conjunctions and prepositions stay lowercase. A program cannot always tell parts of speech, so phrasal verbs like "Set Up" may need a manual fix.

Worked example

Default inputs: two titles, keeping letters as typed.

1. "a guide to saving money: what to do with the first paycheck": a → A (first word); to stays lowercase; "What" capitalised after the colon; "With" has four letters, so it is capitalised.
2. Result: A Guide to Saving Money: What to Do With the First Paycheck.
3. "self-report of sleep in the first year of school" → Self-Report of Sleep in the First Year of School.
4. Words capitalised = 15; minor words kept lowercase = 7.

How to read the result

Check the result against the style guide you must follow: APA, Chicago, MLA and AP differ, for example in whether four-letter prepositions are capitalised. Review phrasal verbs and proper nouns by hand. For headings in some contexts, sentence case may be required instead of title case.

Common mistakes

• Using one style guide's rules for a publication that follows another.
• Lowercasing "Up" or "Off" when they are part of a phrasal verb.
• Lowercasing a minor word at the start of a subtitle.
• Running the lowercase option on titles that contain acronyms like NASA.

Frequently asked questions

Is "with" capitalised in APA title case?

Yes, because it has four letters.

Why is "to" lowercase?

It is a short preposition of three letters or fewer.

What about words after a colon?

The first word after a colon is capitalised as the start of a subtitle.

Are hyphenated words both capitalised?

In APA style, yes, when both parts are major words: Self-Report.

Sources: American Psychological Association, Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed. (2020), §6.17 "Title Case"