Title case converter & headline checkers

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Title case converter

Title case for AP, APA, Chicago and MLA, side by side

Type a headline once and get six versions, each with the rule behind every capital. Words the style guides disagree on are marked with the highlighter.

One headline per line. Acronyms (NASA), brand names (iPhone), numbers and web addresses are kept exactly as you typed them.

Highlighted words are capitalized differently by AP, APA, Chicago and MLA. Under each version: the rules that shaped it.

APAssociated Press Stylebook

How to Work With a Team You Can't See: A Step-by-Step Guide to Remote Meetings

News sites, blogs, press releases

  • The first word is always capitalized. How
  • First word of a subtitle capitalized. AP's stylebook doesn't cover subtitles; this is the usual practice. A
  • The last word before a colon or dash ends the main title, so it is capitalized. See
  • The last word is always capitalized. Meetings
  • Lowercase: articles, and conjunctions and prepositions of three letters or fewer. to a
  • Capitalized: prepositions of four or more letters. With
  • Hyphenated words: each part is treated as a word of its own, so short minor words inside stay lowercase. Step-by-Step
  • Capitalized: major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns). Work Team You Can't Guide Remote

APAAPA Publication Manual, 7th ed.

How to Work With a Team You Can't See: A Step-by-Step Guide to Remote Meetings

Headings in academic papers

  • The first word is always capitalized. How
  • APA capitalizes the first word after a colon, em dash or end punctuation. A
  • The last word before a colon or dash ends the main title, so it is capitalized. See
  • Last word capitalized. APA's rules don't mention it, but a short word at the end works as an adverb, which APA counts as a major word. Meetings
  • Lowercase: minor words of three letters or fewer (articles, short conjunctions, short prepositions). to a
  • Capitalized: APA capitalizes every word of four letters or more, prepositions included. With
  • Hyphenated words: APA capitalizes the part after the hyphen when it is a major word (Self-Report). Step-by-Step
  • Capitalized: major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns). Work Team You Can't Guide Remote

ChicagoChicago Manual of Style, 17th ed.

How to Work with a Team You Can't See: A Step-by-Step Guide to Remote Meetings

Books and magazines

  • The first word is always capitalized. How
  • Chicago capitalizes the first word of a subtitle. A
  • Chicago capitalizes the last word of the main title, before the colon. See
  • The last word is always capitalized. Meetings
  • Lowercase: the articles a, an and the. a
  • Lowercase: prepositions, whatever their length. with
  • Lowercase: to and as, in every use, including to before a verb. to
  • Hyphenated words: the first part is always capitalized, later parts too unless they are articles, prepositions or coordinating conjunctions. Step-by-Step
  • Capitalized: major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns). Work Team You Can't Guide Remote

MLAMLA Handbook, 9th ed.

How to Work with a Team You Can't See: A Step-by-Step Guide to Remote Meetings

Essays and humanities papers

  • The first word is always capitalized. How
  • MLA capitalizes the first word of a subtitle. A
  • MLA capitalizes the last word of the main title, before the colon. See
  • The last word is always capitalized. Meetings
  • Lowercase: the articles a, an and the. a
  • Lowercase: prepositions, whatever their length. with
  • Lowercase: to, as a preposition and before a verb. to
  • Hyphenated words: MLA capitalizes principal words after a hyphen (Self-Portrait). Step-by-Step
  • Capitalized: major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns). Work Team You Can't Guide Remote

Sentence caseFirst word and names only

How to work with a team you can't see: A step-by-step guide to remote meetings

AP news headlines, many websites

  • Sentence case capitalizes the first word. How
  • The first word after a colon is capitalized, as in APA sentence case. AP capitalizes it only when a full sentence follows. A

Start caseEvery word capitalized

How To Work With A Team You Can't See: A Step-By-Step Guide To Remote Meetings

Video titles, buttons

  • Every word capitalized, including a, of and the. No style guide asks for this, but it is common for video titles and buttons. How To Work With A Team You Can't +5 more

Where the four style guides part ways

Same headline, four rulebooks.

All four styles agree on most of a headline. They capitalize the first and last word, and every noun, verb, adjective, adverb and pronoun, short verbs like Is and Be included. They lowercase the articles a, an and the. The arguments are about the small words that join the rest together.

Prepositions: length or job?

AP and APA go by length: prepositions of three letters or fewer (of, in, on, to, by) stay lowercase and longer ones are capitalized, so With, From and About. Chicago and MLA go by job: a preposition stays lowercase however long it is, so with, between and without.

Conjunctions and the word to

Everyone lowercases and, but, or, nor and for. AP and APA also lowercase so, yet, if and as, being three letters or fewer. MLA lowercases so and yet; Chicago capitalizes them, but keeps to and as lowercase in every use.

Colons, hyphens and phrasal verbs

The first word after a colon starts a subtitle and is capitalized. Hyphenated words get a capital after the hyphen (Self-Driving), except that Chicago keeps the part after a prefix lowercase (Re-election). A short word in a phrasal verb, as in Set Up or Log In, is an adverb, so every style capitalizes it; the converter knows the common ones.

Sentence case capitalizes only the first word and names; it is what AP uses for its own news headlines. The full comparison is on the capitalization rules page.

Inside this edition

More checks for the line that sells the story.

Questions

Which title case style should I use?

The one your publication, client or teacher uses. As a rough guide: AP for news sites, blogs and press releases; APA for headings in psychology and social-science papers; Chicago for books and many magazines; MLA for essays in literature and the humanities. If nobody has decided, pick one and use it for every headline.

Why is “with” capitalized in AP but not in Chicago?

AP and APA decide by length: prepositions of four letters or more are capitalized. Chicago and MLA decide by the word's job: a preposition stays lowercase however long it is. The highlighted words in the results are exactly where the styles part ways.

Does the converter know names and brands?

It keeps any word you typed with unusual capitals exactly as it is: acronyms such as NASA, brands such as iPhone or eBay, numbers and web addresses. It cannot tell that “paris” is a city, so in sentence case check names yourself. If your whole headline is in capitals, it is lowercased first and acronyms need fixing by hand.

What is the difference between title case and start case?

Title case follows a style guide, so small words such as of, a and the stay lowercase in the middle. Start case capitalizes every word. No style guide asks for it, but many video titles, buttons and menus use it.

Is my headline sent anywhere?

No. The conversion happens in your browser, and nothing you type is uploaded or saved. Reloading the page brings back the example.