Compare all style guides
One title. Nine style guides. See exactly how APA, Chicago, AP, MLA, and more would capitalize your title — all at once.
How style guides differ
APA lowercases all prepositions regardless of length — "between", "through", "without" are all lowercase in the middle of a title. It is one of the most conservative title case styles.
Chicago lowercases only short prepositions (≤4 letters like "at", "by", "for", "in", "of", "on", "to"). Longer prepositions like "About", "Above", and "Between" are capitalized.
AP and NY Times capitalize words of 4 or more letters — a simple, consistent rule that is easy to apply across deadline-driven journalism.
MLA lowercases all prepositions regardless of length, like APA, but the rules for other minor words are defined slightly differently.
Bluebook follows a conservative approach similar to Chicago — it is used for legal citations and law review articles.
AMA capitalizes every word without exception — articles, prepositions, and conjunctions all get an uppercase first letter. Used in medicine and health sciences.
Wikipedia and Email both use sentence case — only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. All other words stay lowercase.
Why Comparing Styles Matters
Many writers work across multiple publication formats. A researcher might write journal articles following APA title capitalization rules, contribute to a book under Chicago guidelines, and maintain a blog where AP or sentence case is more appropriate. Rather than memorizing each set of rules separately, the comparison view lets you enter one title and immediately see every outcome.
The differences between styles are often subtle but visible. "How to Write About the World" in Chicago becomes "How to Write about the World" in APA (because "about" is a preposition) and "How to Write About the World" in AP (because "About" is 5 letters). AMA produces "How To Write About The World." Seeing these side by side makes the differences concrete.
Compare Specific Style Pairs
For a deeper look at two specific styles:
- APA vs Chicago title capitalization — the two most common academic styles compared rule by rule.
- APA vs MLA title capitalization — two styles that look similar but handle prepositions differently.
- Chicago vs MLA title capitalization — the key distinction is how each handles prepositions by length.
- APA vs AP title capitalization — academic style vs journalistic style compared directly.
To use a specific style with full word-level explanations, visit the title capitalizer and select your preferred style guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about comparing title capitalization styles.
APA lowercases all prepositions regardless of length. Chicago lowercases prepositions of 4 or fewer letters but capitalizes longer ones like "About," "Between," and "Through." Enter a title in the comparison tool above to see the difference instantly.
Use APA style for papers in psychology, education, and the social sciences. Use MLA for literature and language studies. Use Chicago for history and humanities. Use AMA for medicine and nursing. Check your institution's style guide to confirm.
Title case capitalizes most major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives) while lowercasing minor words. Sentence case only capitalizes the first word and proper nouns. Wikipedia and professional email subjects use sentence case; academic and journalistic publications typically use title case.
AMA (American Medical Association) 11th Edition is the only major style guide that capitalizes every word in a title, including articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.
Yes. Each row in the comparison table has a Copy button. Click it to copy that style's result directly to your clipboard.