Title Capitalizer
Type or paste a title and instantly convert it to APA, AP, Chicago, or MLA capitalization.
What is title case, and why does the style matter?
Title case is the capitalization style used for book titles, headlines, and academic references, where the main words are capitalized and small connecting words are lowercased. The exact rule for which words count as "small" differs from one style guide to the next, so the same title can come out slightly differently depending on whether you're formatting an APA reference list entry, a magazine headline, or an MLA works-cited page. This tool applies the APA, AP, Chicago, and MLA rules directly as you type — including the trickier cases, like short prepositions, hyphenated compounds, and subtitles after a colon — so you don't have to memorize each guide's exception list.
Worked examples
Formatting a memoir title for a reference list
A student citing a memoir in an APA reference list needs the title capitalized correctly, including a six-letter preposition that trips up most manual attempts.
- Input
- walking beyond the horizon: a memoir
- Style
- APA / AP
→ Walking Beyond the Horizon: A Memoir
The same title formatted for a Chicago-style bibliography
The same memoir title in a Chicago-style bibliography keeps the preposition lowercase, since Chicago and MLA lowercase prepositions no matter how long they are.
- Input
- walking beyond the horizon: a memoir
- Style
- Chicago / MLA
→ Walking beyond the Horizon: A Memoir
How each style capitalizes a title
| Style | Articles & conjunctions | Prepositions | Hyphenated compounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| APA | Lowercase (unless first/last word or after a colon) | Lowercase only if 3 letters or fewer — 4+ letters always capitalized | Every part capitalized |
| AP | Lowercase (unless first/last word or after a colon) | Lowercase only if 3 letters or fewer — 4+ letters always capitalized | First part capitalized; rest follow the minor-word rule |
| Chicago | Lowercase (unless first/last word or after a colon) | Always lowercase, regardless of length | First part capitalized; rest follow the minor-word rule |
| MLA | Lowercase (unless first/last word or after a colon) | Always lowercase, regardless of length | First part capitalized; rest follow the minor-word rule |
The first and last word of a title — and the first word of any subtitle after a colon — are always capitalized in every style, even if that word would otherwise be a minor word. Words typed in ALL CAPS (like acronyms) are left untouched.
Frequently asked questions
What's the real difference between APA and AP title case?
Both styles use the same length-based rule: capitalize any word of four letters or more, and lowercase articles, coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions of three letters or fewer — unless that word is the first or last word of the title, or the first word after a colon. Because the underlying rule is nearly identical, APA and AP usually produce the same capitalized title; the two guides mainly diverge on citation formatting elsewhere (author names, punctuation, italics), not on which words get capitalized.
Why does Chicago style lowercase words like 'between' or 'without', even though they're long?
The Chicago Manual of Style lowercases prepositions whenever they're functioning as a preposition, with no length exception — so 'between', 'without', and 'underneath' all stay lowercase in the middle of a title, unlike APA or AP, where any word of four or more letters is capitalized regardless of its part of speech. MLA follows the same length-independent rule, which is why Chicago and MLA output usually matches while differing from APA/AP on titles containing longer prepositions.
Does the tool capitalize the word right after a colon?
Yes. A colon that introduces a subtitle resets capitalization the same way the very start of the title does, so the first word after it is always capitalized — even if it's normally a lowercase word like 'a' or 'the'. This rule is shared by all four styles the tool supports.
How are hyphenated words like 'self-report' or 'run-of-the-mill' handled?
APA's own guidelines call for capitalizing every part of a hyphenated compound, so 'run-of-the-mill' becomes 'Run-Of-The-Mill' in APA even though 'of' and 'the' are normally lowercase. AP, Chicago, and MLA are less strict: they capitalize the first part and then apply the ordinary minor-word rule to whatever follows each hyphen, so the same phrase comes out as 'Run-of-the-Mill' in those styles.
Will it keep acronyms like NASA or USA capitalized?
Yes — any word you type entirely in capital letters with more than one letter (NASA, USA, DNA) is treated as an acronym and left exactly as typed, instead of being forced into the usual capitalize-first-letter-only pattern.
Is MLA title case really the same as Chicago style?
For capitalization purposes, yes — both lowercase articles, coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions regardless of length, and both always capitalize the first and last word plus the word after a colon. Where MLA and Chicago actually diverge is in citation mechanics outside the title itself, such as works-cited or footnote formatting, not in which words of the title get a capital letter.