AP Title Capitalization™

AP Title Capitalization Rules & Guidelines

AP title capitalization follows the Associated Press Stylebook, the standard for journalism and news writing. Understanding AP title capitalization rules is essential for headlines, article titles, and news content.

AP Title Capitalization Rules

• Capitalize words of 4 letters or more
  This is the defining rule of AP title capitalization that sets it apart from other styles.
• Always capitalize first and last words
  Regardless of their length or part of speech
• Capitalize proper nouns and adjectives
  Names, places, brands, and proper adjectives
• Lowercase short prepositions
  Words like "in," "on," "at," "by," "for" (under 4 letters)
• Lowercase short conjunctions
  "and," "but," "or," "nor," "for," "so," "yet" (under 4 letters)
• Lowercase articles
  "a," "an," "the" (unless first or last word)

AP Title Capitalization Examples

• ✓ "The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog"
• ✓ "How to Write Better Headlines for Your News Site"
• ✓ "Breaking News: Stock Market Rises After Fed Decision"
• ✓ "President Announces New Policy for Climate Change"
• ✓ "Tech Giants Face Scrutiny Over Data Privacy Laws"

Common AP Title Capitalization Mistakes

• ❌ Capitalizing prepositions under 4 letters: "How To Write Better Headlines"
• ✓ Correct: "How to Write Better Headlines"
• ❌ Not capitalizing 4+ letter words: "President announces new Policy"
• ✓ Correct: "President Announces New Policy"

When to Use AP Title Capitalization

AP title capitalization is the standard for:

• Newspaper headlines and article titles
• Online news websites and blogs
• Press releases and media announcements
• Magazine articles and features
• Broadcast journalism scripts
• Social media news posts

AP Style vs Other Title Capitalization Styles

• AP vs APA: AP uses the 4-letter rule and title case; APA uses sentence case
• AP vs Chicago: Both use title case, but Chicago lowercases all prepositions regardless of length
• AP vs MLA: Similar rules, but MLA lowercases all prepositions while AP capitalizes 4+ letter ones

Quick AP Title Capitalization Tips

• Remember the magic number: 4 letters or more = capitalize
• Always capitalize the first and last words
• Proper nouns are always capitalized
• When in doubt about a word, check if it's 4+ letters
• Use our free AP title capitalization tool above for instant results

Need perfect AP title capitalization?
Use our free AP title capitalization tool to instantly format your headlines according to Associated Press style guidelines.

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