How to use capital letters - Emphasis

How to use capital letters How to use capital letters Were often being asked about when to use capital letters. Why is it so confusing? The answer lies somewhere between what were used to seeing (beginning, as ever, with our school habits) and the seeming inconsistencies of best practice. As a general rule, capitals are for specific and formal; lower-case for unspecific and informal. Capital offence Avoid using all capital letters. Its very heavy on the eye; and the lack of differentiation in height and shape (compared with lower-case lettering) actually makes it more difficult to read. Also, the consensus particularly in the virtual world is that it appears as shouting, so youll come across as aggressive and alienate your reader. Initial capitals You might think the rules get murkier here. Certainly, it may come down to an issue of style within your workplace, but always bear in mind that its very easy to overdo these. Typically, use initial capitals for: proper nouns places, peoples names, company names Mr Jones, formerly of Emphasis Training Ltd, went to Swansea. official job titles Mr Jones new position was Chief Executive of Capital Placement. trade names or brands I like to have a cup of Ovaltine and read the Write Away e-bulletin on my Mac. But, generally, dont use them for: every first letter in a heading or sub-heading (check your company style on this one): its An exploration of capital letters, not An Exploration of Capital Letters compass points, unless they are part of a definable region/area/country Should we head north or north-east now? Im either moving to South Korea or the Middle East. Subsequent words (beyond the first) in a sign-off Yours sincerely Best regards Lots of love Clarifying apparent contradictions Sporadically sprinkling this or that word with a capital can lend undeserved import to certain concepts, which, in turn, implies a kind of inferiority in others. While we may be used to seeing Mum and Dad capitalised (or Doctor if we are one, President if we are Barack Obama and so on), that doesnt mean those words should always be capitalised. Where a noun stands in for a proper noun (like a name), it is capitalised; if not, it isnt. Hello Mother, hello Father. Is that my mother with your father? What are you doing, Mum? Job titles and ranks used in conjunction with the holders name are capitalised; if the title is used alone, they arent. Have you met Mr Jones, Chief Executive of Capital Placement? Yes, but Ive met many chief executives. Who is the president? Do you live under a rock? You must recognise President Obama. For governments, use lowercase unless youre referring to a particular administration. The Government announced the abolition of the 10p tax band. Representatives from governments across Europe were united in their disgust. Institutions and organisations will be capitalised when their name is used in full; on subsequent references to it, when the name is shortened, use lowercase. Ill have to refer you to the Central Committee of Capital Measures. What was the name of that committee? The exception to this rule is when the shortened reference word might be mistaken for a regular noun. The National Trust is fantastic. Yes, its the best kind of Trust. Have you heard of the African National Congress? Im well aware of that Congress. So, just remember with capitals: less is more. Exceptions that may seem inconsistent and confusing are only for clarity. If you have any more queries about capital letters or anything else leave a comment and well get back to you.