APA Title Capitalization Rules
APA 7 (§6.17) capitalizes major words — nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns — and every word of four letters or more, including prepositions such as "With," "From," "About," and "Between." Only articles and conjunctions or prepositions of three letters or fewer are lowercase, and never as the first or last word.
Word-by-word explanation
APA Capitalization Rules
- Capitalise all major words (nouns, verbs including linking verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns)
- Capitalise every word of four letters or more — including prepositions: "With", "From", "About", "Between", "Through", "Without"
- Lowercase: articles (a, an, the)
- Lowercase: conjunctions of three letters or fewer (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet)
- Lowercase: prepositions of three letters or fewer (of, on, in, to, at, by, up, as, via, off, out, per)
- Always capitalise first and last word
- Always capitalise the word after a colon
Source for These APA Rules
Primary source
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
- Edition
- 7th edition
- Year
- 2020
- Published by
- American Psychological Association
Title case is covered in the manual’s capitalization section (§6.17), which defines major words as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, "and all words of four letters or more," and minor words as "short (i.e., three letters or fewer) conjunctions, short prepositions, and all articles." The engine follows that four-letter line: only articles and conjunctions/prepositions of three letters or fewer are lowercased mid-title.
TitleCasePro is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a substitute for the publisher above. For how these rules were turned into code, which edge cases the engine decides for you, and how the results are tested, read the methodology. If you believe a rule here is wrong, tell us and cite the section you are reading.
Where APA Title Case Is Used
APA title capitalization is the standard for Psychology, Social Sciences, Education, Business writing. When your work will be reviewed, published, or cited within these fields, using the correct capitalization shows attention to detail and compliance with professional standards. If your publication specifies a house style, follow that preference over the base standard.
How APA Style Works in Practice
APA title case is defined by the American Psychological Association's Publication Manual, 7th edition (2020). It is the dominant style in psychology, education, social sciences, nursing, and business research journals. APA's rule is a length rule, not a grammar rule: §6.17 counts nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns — and all words of four letters or more — as major words, and only articles plus conjunctions and prepositions of three letters or fewer as minor words. That means long prepositions are capitalized in APA. "About," "Between," "Through," "Without," "With," and "From" all take a capital: "A Guide to Writing About the World," "Learning Without Fear," "Letters From Home During Wartime." Short prepositions still drop: "The Effects of Sleep on Memory in Adolescents," "How to Write a Book." If you have read elsewhere that APA lowercases every preposition, that is the common misreading this page corrects — the style that genuinely does that is MLA. APA also draws a line most writers miss: title case and sentence case are both part of APA, and which one you use depends on where the title sits. The title of your paper, your section headings, and the name of a work mentioned in running text all take APA title case. The titles of journal articles, book chapters, and books listed in the References section take sentence case instead — only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized. The same title can therefore be correct in two different forms inside one document, and reference lists are where most APA capitalization errors show up.
How the APA Capitalizer Works
Paste your title into the tool above. APA is already selected, so the result appears immediately. Click "Explain" to see the rule applied to each word. Use the copy button or press ⌘↵ to copy the output. Everything runs in the browser — no account, no signup, no data sent to a server.
To convert a list of titles at once, the batch capitalizer imports CSV and TXT files. To see one title in all nine styles simultaneously, use the style comparison tool.
APA Title Case Examples
These examples are generated in real time by the same engine that powers the tool above — every result is guaranteed to match the tool's output.
| Original (lowercase) | APA Style |
|---|---|
| the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog | The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog |
| a guide to writing about the world | A Guide to Writing About the World |
| why sleep is important for students | Why Sleep Is Important for Students |
| learning through failure and success | Learning Through Failure and Success |
| notes on the art of writing without fear | Notes on the Art of Writing Without Fear |
| how to capitalize titles in academic writing | How to Capitalize Titles in Academic Writing |
| the effects of social media on mental health | The Effects of Social Media on Mental Health |
| introduction to machine learning with python | Introduction to Machine Learning With Python |
APA in Context
Paper title, heading, or mentioned in running text — APA title case
The Effects of Sleep on Memory in Adolescents
Major words are capitalized; "of," "on," and "in" are prepositions of three letters or fewer, so they stay lowercase.
The same title in the References list — APA sentence case
The effects of sleep on memory in adolescents
Article and chapter titles in references drop to sentence case: only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized.
A phrasal verb in APA title case
How to Look up a Source in the Archive
"Up" belongs to the verb "look up," but APA treats it as a two-letter preposition, so it stays lowercase — as does the infinitive "to."
Long prepositions in APA title case
Writing About Anxiety Without Fear
"About" and "Without" are four letters or more, so APA capitalizes both. MLA would render the same title "Writing about Anxiety without Fear."
Common Edge Cases in APA Style
- "to" is two letters, so it stays lowercase in infinitives: "How to Write a Paper," not "How To Write a Paper."
- "Is," "are," "be," and other short verbs are always capitalized — APA counts linking verbs as major words, and the three-letter rule applies only to conjunctions and prepositions.
- The first word after a colon or em dash is always capitalized, even if it is an article or a short preposition.
- Hyphenated compounds: capitalize both parts if both are major words (e.g., "Self-Report," not "Self-report").
- Proper nouns within a title retain their original capitalization regardless of position.
- Frequently confused words: "up," "on," "off," and "out" stay lowercase in the middle of a title even when they belong to a phrasal verb — they are prepositions of three letters or fewer, so "How to Look up a Source in the Archive" keeps "up" down.
- Prepositions of four letters or more ARE capitalized in APA — this is the rule most often reported wrongly online. "Writing About Anxiety Without Fear" capitalizes both "About" and "Without," and "Living With Uncertainty" capitalizes "With." MLA, not APA, is the style that lowercases prepositions of any length.
- Sentence case in the References list does not mean lowercase everything: the first word, the first word after a colon or em dash, and every proper noun are still capitalized. Journal names themselves stay in title case.
How APA Differs From AP
APA and AP are the closest pair in this collection: they draw the identical line at four letters, so they produce the same title case output. APA §6.17 treats "all words of four letters or more" as major and lowercases only articles plus conjunctions and prepositions of three letters or fewer; AP capitalizes words of four or more letters and lowercases shorter articles, conjunctions, and prepositions. Both give "Learning Without Fear," "Letters From Home During Wartime," and "How to Write a Book." Where they genuinely diverge is jurisdiction, not letters: APA also governs reference lists, where article, chapter, and book titles drop to sentence case, while AP governs news headlines and formal composition titles and has no reference-list rule at all. Note that MLA — long described as APA's twin — is the style that actually lowercases prepositions of any length, and so differs from APA on any title containing a long preposition.
APA Title Capitalization FAQ
Common questions about APA title case rules and the APA capitalizer.
APA title capitalization follows the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition. It capitalizes the first word, the first word after a colon or em dash, and all principal words — nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns — plus every word of four letters or more (APA §6.17). Only articles (a, an, the) and conjunctions or prepositions of three letters or fewer are lowercase, so "Between," "Without," and "From" stay capitalized.
Use APA title case for papers, articles, and headings in psychology, education, sociology, political science, and most social and behavioral sciences. Also used in nursing and public health. Always check your specific journal's or institution's style sheet, as some may vary.
The first word, the first word after a colon or em dash, nouns, pronouns, verbs (including "is," "are," "was"), adjectives, and adverbs. Words like "Be," "Do," "Have," "Make," and "Know" are always capitalized in APA title case.
In APA title case, articles (a, an, the) and conjunctions or prepositions of three letters or fewer (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet, of, on, in, to, at, by, up, via) are lowercase in the middle of a title. Longer prepositions are not: "between," "through," "without," "about," and "against" are all four letters or more, so APA capitalizes them.
No. Articles (a, an, the) are lowercase in the middle of an APA title. The exception: if "A," "An," or "The" is the first word of the title, it is capitalized. Example: "The Effects of Sleep on Memory" — "The" is first, so it is capitalized; "on" stays lowercase.
No. Coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) are lowercase in APA title case. Subordinating conjunctions (because, although, while, when, since, unless) are considered principal words and are capitalized.
The long ones are. APA lowercases prepositions of three letters or fewer — "of," "in," "at" — but capitalizes any preposition of four letters or more, so "Between," "Through," "Without," and "Concerning" all take a capital in the middle of a title. MLA, not APA, is the style that lowercases every preposition.
Yes. The first word of any APA title is always capitalized, regardless of its part of speech. Even an article ("A," "An," "The") or a preposition ("Of," "In") is capitalized if it opens the title.
Yes. APA capitalizes the last word of a title regardless of its part of speech. A preposition, article, or conjunction at the end of a title is capitalized in APA.
APA draws its line by length: every word of four letters or more is capitalized. That makes it identical to AP in practice — "From" and "With" are uppercase in both. Chicago lowercases prepositions of four or fewer letters, so Chicago keeps "with" and "from" down where APA capitalizes them. MLA differs the most, lowercasing prepositions of any length.
Yes. Use the APA title capitalizer to convert any title instantly. Click "Explain" to see a word-by-word breakdown of every rule applied.
Yes. The Compare Styles tool shows your title formatted in all 9 style guides simultaneously — including APA, Chicago, AP, and MLA — in a single table.
Yes. TitleCasePro's APA mode follows the 7th Edition rules and formats your title correctly. Use the Title Capitalizer for single titles or the Batch Capitalizer for large lists.
The APA title capitalizer converts any title into correct APA 7th Edition capitalization automatically. Paste your title, select APA, and the result appears instantly. Click "Explain" to see a word-by-word breakdown of every capitalization decision.
APA capitalizes the first word, the first word after a colon, all major words — nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns — and any word of four letters or more, including prepositions like "With" and "Between." Articles (a, an, the) and conjunctions or prepositions of three letters or fewer stay lowercase unless they are the first or last word.
Yes. TitleCasePro follows APA Publication Manual, 7th Edition (2020) title case rules, including §6.17's four-letter line: "between," "through," "without," and "about" are capitalized, while prepositions of three letters or fewer stay lowercase. Results match what the APA manual specifies.
The tool capitalizes nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, every word of four letters or more, and the first and last word of the title. It lowercases articles and conjunctions or prepositions of three letters or fewer (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet, of, in, to, up) in the middle of the title.
Yes. Click "Explain" after the conversion to see a word-by-word table. Each word shows its part of speech and the exact rule applied — for example, "of — preposition of three letters or fewer, lowercase per APA 7th Edition."
Yes. Use the Copy button next to the output or press ⌘↵ (Mac) / Ctrl+↵ (Windows) to copy the result to your clipboard. No signup or account is required.
Yes. Use the Compare Styles tool to see your title in all 9 styles simultaneously — APA, Chicago, AP, MLA, Bluebook, AMA, NY Times, Wikipedia, and Email side by side.
Yes. APA title case is used for article titles in the text of academic papers. Paste your article title, select APA, and copy the formatted result.
Yes. For academic essays and research papers in APA format, paste your title and the tool applies the correct APA capitalization rules automatically.
Yes. APA is used for book titles in some academic contexts. Paste the book title and select APA to see the correctly formatted result.
Yes. APA uses title case for Level 1 and Level 2 headings in manuscripts. Paste your heading text and the capitalizer formats it to APA standards.
Yes. The APA title capitalizer is completely free. No account, no signup, and no usage limit.
Yes. The tool runs entirely in your browser. No text is sent to a server and nothing is stored externally. Works on any modern desktop or mobile browser.