How to use capital letters

We’re often being asked about when to use capital letters.

Why is it so confusing? The answer lies somewhere between what we’re used to seeing (beginning, as ever, with our school habits) and the seeming inconsistencies of best practice.

As a general rule, capitals are for specific and formal; lower-case for unspecific and informal.

Capital offence

Avoid using all capital letters. It’s very heavy on the eye; and the lack of differentiation in height and shape (compared with lower-case lettering) actually makes it more difficult to read. Also, the consensus – particularly in the virtual world – is that it appears as ‘shouting’, so you’ll come across as aggressive and alienate your reader.

Initial capitals

You might think the rules get murkier here. Certainly, it may come down to an issue of style within your workplace, but always bear in mind that it’s very easy to overdo these.

Typically, use initial capitals for:

•      proper nouns – places, people’s names, company names

Mr Jones, formerly of Emphasis Training Ltd, went to Swansea.

•      official job titles

Mr Jones’ new position was Chief Executive of Capital Placement.

•      trade names or brands

I like to have a cup of Ovaltine and read the Write Away e-bulletin on my Mac.

But, generally, don’t use them for:

•         every first letter in a heading or sub-heading (check your company style on this one): it’s An exploration of capital letters, not An Exploration of Capital Letters

•      compass points, unless they are part of a definable region/area/country

Should we head north or north-east now?

I’m either moving to South Korea or the Middle East.

•      Subsequent words (beyond the first) in a sign-off

Yours sincerely

Best regards

Lots of love

Clarifying apparent contradictions

Sporadically sprinkling this or that word with a capital can lend undeserved import to certain concepts, which, in turn, implies a kind of inferiority in others. While we may be used to seeing ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’ capitalised (or ‘Doctor’ if we are one, ‘President’ if we are Barack Obama and so on), that doesn’t mean those words should always be capitalised.

•      Where a noun stands in for a proper noun (like a name), it is capitalised; if not, it isn’t.

Hello Mother, hello Father.

Is that my mother with your father? What are you doing, Mum?

•      Job titles and ranks used in conjunction with the holder’s name are capitalised; if the title is used alone, they aren’t.

Have you met Mr Jones, Chief Executive of Capital Placement?

Yes, but I’ve met many chief executives.

Who is the president?

Do you live under a rock? You must recognise President Obama.

•       For governments, use lowercase unless you’re referring to a particular administration.

The Government announced the abolition of the 10p tax band.

Representatives from governments across Europe were united in their disgust.

•      Institutions and organisations will be capitalised when their name is used in full; on subsequent references to it, when the name is shortened, use lowercase.

I’ll have to refer you to the Central Committee of Capital Measures.

What was the name of that committee?

The exception to this rule is when the shortened reference word might be mistaken for a regular noun.

The National Trust is fantastic.

Yes, it’s the best kind of Trust.

Have you heard of the African National Congress?

I’m well aware of that Congress.

So, just remember with capitals: less is more. Exceptions that may seem inconsistent and confusing are only for clarity.

If you have any more queries about capital letters – or anything else – leave a comment and we’ll get back to you.

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Author: Catie Holdridge

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Catie joined Emphasis with an English literature and creative writing degree and a keen interest in what makes language work. Having researched, written, commissioned and edited dozens of articles for the Emphasis blog, she now knows more about the intricacies of effective professional writing than she ever thought possible.

She produced and co-wrote our online training programme, The Complete Business Writer, and these days oversees all the Emphasis marketing efforts. And she keeps office repartee at a suitably literary level.