Capitalization is the writing of a word with its first letter in uppercase and the remaining letters in lowercase. Experienced writers are stingy with capitals. It is best not to use them if there is any doubt.
| Rule | Examples |
| Capitalize the first word in a sentence. | Another dog ran by the boy. |
| Capitalize proper nouns. | Billy, New York City, Miami Dolphins |
| Capitalize geographic names. | Indian Ocean, Hawaii, Empire State Building |
| Capitalize the pronoun I. | He asked if I wanted to read next. |
| Capitalize the names of days and months. | Tuesday, October |
| Capitalize the names of national, religious, and local holidays. | Memorial Day, Easter, Founder's Day |
| Capitalize proper adjectives. | French, Chinese |
| Capitalize words used as names. | Do you need help, Mother? |
| Capitalize titles used with names. | General Bradshaw, Mrs. Key, Chief Dann |
| Capitalize the first word in the greeting or closing of a letter. | Dear friends, Yours truly |
| Capitalize the first, last, and all the main words in the title of a book, movie, song, magazine, play, newspaper, or television show. | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, "The National Anthem" |
| Capitalize the names of organizations, associations, or teams and their members. | American Red Cross, Parent-Teacher Association, Miami Heat |
| Capitalize the names of businesses and the official names of their products. | McDonald's hamburgers, Colgate toothpaste |
| Capitalize historical events, documents, and periods of time. | Boston Tea Party, Declaration of Independence, Stone Age |
| Capitalize initials or abbreviations that stand for names and also abbreviations of titles and organizations. | Richard T. Smith, M.D. (Doctor of Medicine), PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) |
