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Title Case Converter

This title case converter capitalizes headlines using the rules of AP, APA, Chicago, MLA, Bluebook, AMA or the New York Times, or Wikipedia-style sentence case. The small words your guide keeps lowercase, such as a, the, and, of or to, stay lowercase, while the first word, the last word and any word after a colon get a capital. Verbs like is are always capitalized. Paste several headlines, one per line, and each is converted on its own, with changed words highlighted. Acronyms like NASA and names like iPhone stay as typed, and you can add your own word list. You can also switch to sentence case, UPPERCASE and other cases, choose straight or curly quotes and download the result.

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Kept lowercase in AP unless first, last or after a colon: a, an, and, as, at, but, by, for, in, nor, of, on, or, per, so, the, to, via, yet.

How to use

01

Paste your headlines

Type or paste into the Headlines box, one per line, or press Open file. Press Try sample to load three example headlines that show acronyms, a colon and a brand name.

02

Pick a style guide

Choose a style in the Style guide menu. The Result box updates straight away and Changed words highlights every word the tool altered, so you can compare styles quickly. Use Convert to for sentence case or other cases.

03

Copy the converted titles

Click Copy above the Result box to copy every converted line, or .txt to download them. Tick Copy result after paste to skip that click next time.

Why Title Case Converter

Which words stay lowercase in AP, APA, Chicago and MLA

This table shows how the tool treats each kind of word in the middle of a title. The first word, the last word and the word after a colon are always capitalized in every style.

Style guides have more detailed rules than any tool can apply, for example for words used as different parts of speech. Treat the output as a first draft and check anything unusual against your guide.

Word typeAPAPAChicagoMLA
Articles: a, an, thelowerlowerlowerlower
and, but, or, nor, forlowerlowerlowerlower
yet, solowerlowerCapitallower
ifCapitallowerCapitalCapital
Short prepositions: at, by, in, of, on, tolowerlowerlowerlower
Long prepositions: about, from, with, betweenCapitalCapitallowerlower
Verbs: is, are, be, wasCapitalCapitalCapitalCapital
Nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbsCapitalCapitalCapitalCapital

Bluebook, AMA, New York Times and Wikipedia rules

The four extra styles follow the same first word, last word and after-a-colon rule, except Wikipedia, which uses sentence case and only capitalizes the first word, I and words you typed with a capital.

The table shows how each treats the words that differ most between guides.

Word typeBluebookAMANew York TimesWikipedia
Articles: a, an, thelowerlowerlowerlower
and, but, or, nor, forlowerlowerlower (nor Capital)lower
yet, solowerCapitalCapitallower
iflowerCapitallowerlower
Short prepositions: at, by, in, of, on, tolowerlowerlowerlower
Four-letter prepositions: from, into, withlowerCapitalCapitallower
Long prepositions: about, betweenCapitalCapitalCapitallower

Common questions

What words should not be capitalized in a title?
In every major style, articles (a, an, the) and short coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor) stay lowercase unless they are the first or last word. Prepositions depend on the guide: AP and APA only lowercase those of three letters or fewer, while Chicago and MLA lowercase all prepositions. Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and pronouns are always capitalized.
Is the word is capitalized in a title?
Yes. Is, are, be and was are verbs, and every major style guide capitalizes verbs however short they are. The tool always capitalizes them, so How to Write a Headline That Is Easy to Read is correct.
What is the difference between AP and Chicago title case?
The main difference is prepositions. AP capitalizes any word of four or more letters, so From, With and About get capitals. Chicago lowercases prepositions of any length, so from, with and about stay lowercase. Chicago also capitalizes yet and so, which AP lowercases.
Do you capitalize prepositions in titles?
It depends on the style. AP and APA capitalize prepositions of four letters or more (About, Between) and lowercase shorter ones (in, on, of). Chicago and MLA lowercase all prepositions. Any preposition that is the first or last word gets a capital.
What is title case vs sentence case?
Title case capitalizes most words in a headline. Sentence case capitalizes only the first word and proper nouns, like a normal sentence. APA uses sentence case for article titles in reference lists, and Wikipedia uses it for headings. Choose Sentence case in Convert to, or the Wikipedia style, and words you typed with a capital stay capitalized.
How does the title case tool handle acronyms and brand names?
A word with capitals after its first letter, such as NASA, SEO or iPhone, is left exactly as typed. If the whole headline is in capitals, it is treated as normal text and converted, because the tool cannot tell acronyms apart. Add words like eBay or NASA to Always write these words as typed to fix them every time.
How are hyphenated words handled in title case?
Each part of a hyphenated word follows the normal rules, so state-of-the-art becomes State-of-the-Art in every style. Some guides capitalize the second part of a compound differently in special cases, which the tool does not attempt.
Why is a word like up or out capitalized in my title?
Words like up, out, off and over are often part of a verb, as in Sign Up or Log Out, where every guide capitalizes them. The tool cannot tell a verb particle from a preposition, so it always capitalizes these words. Lowercase them by hand when they are used as prepositions.
Can I convert many titles at once with title case?
Yes. Put one title on each line and each line is converted as a separate headline, with its own first and last word capitalized. Blank lines are kept, so the output lines up with your input row for row.
How do Bluebook, AMA and New York Times title case differ?
Bluebook, used for legal writing, lowercases articles, conjunctions and prepositions of four letters or fewer, so from and with stay lowercase. AMA, used in medicine, lowercases articles, and, but, for, nor, or and prepositions of three letters or fewer. The New York Times keeps a short fixed list lowercase and capitalizes everything else, including yet, so and from.

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