Chicago Title Capitalization™

Chicago Title Capitalization Rules & Guidelines

Chicago title capitalization follows the Chicago Manual of Style, widely used in history, literature, and the arts. Understanding Chicago title capitalization rules is essential for academic publishing and scholarly writing.

Chicago Title Capitalization Rules (Headline-Style)

• Capitalize all major words
  Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions.
• Always capitalize first and last words
  Regardless of their part of speech or length
• Lowercase articles
  "a," "an," "the" (unless first or last word)
• Lowercase coordinating conjunctions
  "and," "but," "or," "nor," "for," "so," "yet" (unless first or last word)
• Lowercase all prepositions
  Regardless of length: "in," "on," "with," "through," "against," "between"
• Lowercase "to" in infinitives
  "How to Write Effective Historical Narratives"

Chicago Title Capitalization Examples

• ✓ "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire"
• ✓ "Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There"
• ✓ "How to Write Effective Historical Narratives"
• ✓ "Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction"
• ✓ "Between War and Peace: Diplomatic Relations in Europe"

Chicago vs Sentence-Style Capitalization

Chicago Manual of Style offers two options:

• Headline-style (more common): Capitalize major words
• Sentence-style: Capitalize only first word, words after colons, and proper nouns
• Most publications prefer headline-style for titles and headings

Common Chicago Title Capitalization Mistakes

• ❌ Capitalizing prepositions: "The Rise And Fall Of The Roman Empire"
• ✓ Correct: "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire"
• ❌ Not capitalizing last word: "How to Write Effective historical Narratives"
• ✓ Correct: "How to Write Effective Historical Narratives"
• ❌ Capitalizing "to" in infinitives: "How To Write Effective Narratives"
• ✓ Correct: "How to Write Effective Narratives"

When to Use Chicago Title Capitalization

Chicago title capitalization is the standard for:

• Historical research and publications
• Literature and literary criticism
• Art history and cultural studies
• Philosophy and theology papers
• Book publishing and academic monographs
• Museum catalogs and exhibition materials

Chicago Style Special Cases

• Hyphenated compounds: Capitalize both parts if both are major words
• Foreign language titles: Follow the capitalization rules of that language
• Subtitles: Always capitalize the first word after a colon
• Series titles: Apply the same rules consistently throughout

Chicago vs Other Title Capitalization Styles

• Chicago vs AP: Chicago lowercases all prepositions; AP capitalizes prepositions of 4+ letters
• Chicago vs MLA: Very similar rules, both lowercase all prepositions
• Chicago vs APA: Chicago uses headline-style; APA primarily uses sentence case

Quick Chicago Title Capitalization Tips

• Remember: major words = capitalize, minor words = lowercase
• All prepositions are lowercase (regardless of length)
• Always capitalize the first and last words
• Be consistent with your chosen style throughout the document
• Use our free Chicago title capitalization tool above for instant results

Need perfect Chicago title capitalization?
Use our free Chicago title capitalization tool to instantly format your titles according to Chicago Manual of Style guidelines.

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