Questions tagged [capitalization]

This tag should be used for questions about when to capitalize words, such as trademarks or as a stylistic device, for example in character speech.

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How do I prevent forced capitalization after a period in Scrivener?

Scrivener forces a capitalization after a period when used in initials when possessive such as J.D.’S coat. It should be J.D.’s coat. How do I change it?
0 votes
2 answers
176 views

Proper capitalization of the term "software as a service"

I need to use the term "software as a service", which is abbreviated as SaaS. (There are other ancillary terms as well like Platform as a Service, Functions as a Service, Infrastructure as a ...
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1 vote
1 answer
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Should the Table of Contents be title case?

I did read Which words in a title should be capitalized? Now I'm asking myself when creating the "Table of Contents" for a book should I apply there the same rules for capitalization in the ...
2 votes
2 answers
82 views

Capital letter after colon, in list? [duplicate]

So I'm going through a list of reasons to choose something, followed by a semicolon and then an explanation. Aerodynamic resistance: The reason that this is important is bla bla bla... vs ...
2 votes
1 answer
63 views

Should a common noun which has a specific word in a different language be capitalised?

The setting is that there is a celebration underway where people of different species (lets say, humans and elves) are attending. In the elves' language they call any celebration "Jashnak". ...
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2 answers
73 views

When should we use capitalization when writing research papers?

I am wondering how many cases we should notice when using capitalization (except the word standing at the beginning of the sentences, place name) in an academic paper. For example: "Days of ...
0 votes
2 answers
95 views

Capitalization of Section Titles

How to capitalize the words of a section title? In particular, when Should I capitalize the word "to?" Sometimes I see it capitalized and sometimes not.
0 votes
1 answer
327 views

Capitalization for a thought mid-sentence [duplicate]

This is an example of something I've run into: I felt my excitement grow at the view, with “now THIS is a true alien world!” running through my mind. Should the "n" in "now" be ...
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2 votes
2 answers
27 views

Scientific report and capitalization

I'm writing a master's thesis in English, which is my second language. I have understood that I should capitalize Section, Chapter, Figure, etc., but should I also capitalize other elements that refer ...
6 votes
3 answers
178 views

Is it acceptable to punctuate and capitalize a dialogue tag like a separate sentence?

When a piece of writing has a quoted sentence followed by a dialogue tag, the sentence is usually ended with a comma (inside the quotation marks) and the dialogue tag is in sentence case, like this: &...
2 votes
1 answer
169 views

What are the rules for beginning a block quotation halfway into a quoted sentence?

I'm interested in the rules set by the Chicago Manual of Style. If I take a block quotation that starts with the following sentence: "To simplify: math and geometry are such and such" And if I ...
2 votes
1 answer
96 views

Autocapitalize/correct two connected words?

Let's say I have a character in my story simply called "Slime Monster". With every instance of these two words, I want both words to be capitalized and to be corrected as a pair, so if I mistype it to ...
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5 votes
1 answer
534 views

Capitlization of A Named Experiment

I have an experiment which we call 'the krypton experiment'. In referring to the krypton experiment, should it be capitalized? e.g. The Krypton Experiment was used as a source of benchmark data. or ...
8 votes
2 answers
3k views

Other than trademarked names, should recipe ingredients in a cookbook be capitalized?

Re: editing a cookbook Other than trademarked names, should ingredients in the recipe lists be capitalized? Thank you in advance.
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8 votes
4 answers
387 views

Capitalization after use of colon?

This is a sentence from a current writing project detailing how people in jail feel about reading. It provides an escape from the reality of what lies before them: time. Should "time" be capitalized?...
1 vote
1 answer
518 views

Would I use a capitalization for vampire?

I have been writing a fantasy story, but I am not sure if I should use capitalization on "vampire" or not. In the first example it's talking about a single vampire, but not specific one. Example: "...
2 votes
3 answers
233 views

Are human sounds capitalized like other sounds in the action line?

Such as: Bathsheba SNEEZES. Margaret SNORES loudly. Katrina SIGHS
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1 vote
1 answer
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Capitalization: Taylor guitar

If you refer to a Steinway piano or a Taylor guitar, do you capitalize piano and guitar? I couldn't think how to word a search for this information.
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2 votes
3 answers
201 views

Should capitalization be used for emphasis for a character's tone?

Capitalization in a text has been something heavily debated in the writing community due to its nature as being preference based, and finding a hard set answer is fairly difficult. However, should ...
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1 vote
2 answers
627 views

Capitalization after interrupted dialogue

I'm confused about proper punctuation, spacing, and capitalization when a character is speaking and is interrupted by actions without continuing dialogue. "Maybe we could—" My phone rang. "Maybe we ...
5 votes
3 answers
299 views

Capitalize 'it' when referring to a strange being?

I have a being with a name. I capitalize its name when I mention it. But mostly, I refer to it as "it". I use "it" a lot in dialogue, as characters talk about this being. Should I capitalize "it", ...
7 votes
2 answers
6k views

Dialogue interruptions — using em dashes

This is my first time in writers, so I apologise if I make a mistake. I've searched for this, but I can't find a concrete and complete answer. Please forgive me if I've somehow missed it and it had ...
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2 votes
1 answer
477 views

Capitalisation after punctuation in dialogue

I've seemed to have a problem with getting this right and doubting myself. In regards to writing dialogue, do you follow up with capitalisation after punctuation marks? Can someone tell me which is ...
4 votes
2 answers
538 views

in English, is it necessary to capitalize after a colon?

I've seen that each language has its own rules when using the colon. In Spanish, it's not needed to capitalize: Los elementos incluyen: secado, lavado, etc. In French is the same, and even they put ...
0 votes
1 answer
62 views

Capitalize and/or hyphenate "the Start Your Own Business project"?

I have come across a situation which drives me mad, and I cannot find any satisfying answer in the Oxford Guide to Style, which I tend to follow. The problem concerns the phrase "Start Your Own ...
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33 votes
4 answers
49k views

Referencing figure in text - capitalize the word "Figure" or not? Why?

I see it quite a lot. It looks a bit like this: It can be seen in Figure 3 that... My gut feeling is that there is no reason to scream in the middle of a perfectly calm sentence. I would like to ...
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1 vote
3 answers
4k views

It is unprofessional to use double exclamation marks and CAPS in a product or service?

I'm developing a website: http://alexchen.info/brianfunshine/ My customer wrote the following in the front page: Hi, I’m Brian “Funshine” Alexander. I offer professional Music, Voices, and ...