One of the most important rules that you must remember when writing an essay is capitalising titles and headings. Many students make the mistake of not capitalising correctly, which can lead to a lower grade. Writers of academic paperwork usually face problems choosing the right title style and heading for their work. This becomes more difficult when you have to deal with an essay or research paper whose headings include titles and subtitles. When it comes to writing essays, the title and heading are two of the most important aspects. You want your title to be catchy and interesting so that readers will want to read more, while your heading should concisely state the main points of your essay. In order to capitalise on titles and headings correctly, you need to follow a few simple rules.
Which is Better
Title: Case or Sentence Case?
Title case is better for printed newspapers and headlines. But, for writing for the web, sentence case is more appropriate because of how people read online and it’s more conversational manner. The most important thing to remember is consistency.
Capitalisation of Title: Basics
Unfortunately, some students believe it is okay not to
capitalise the first word in a title and start writing words after it with
lowercase letters. As a result, we get such texts as: "An investigation
into the phenomena", "A study of juvenile delinquency", etc.,
which look bad and inappropriate. This mistake happens because of the lack of
knowledge on how to write titles properly, so let's highlight some main rules
you should know about capitalising them.
The first thing you need to know is that all words in a
title are always capitalised except articles (i.e., "a",
"an", "the"), prepositions (e.g., "of",
"from"), etc.
E.g. How to Write Essay Introductions: 6 Tips
However, there are several types of titles, which differ
according to their capitalisation forms. For instance, if the title has got its
own subtitle or it includes another heading inside while being divided into two
lines, then capitalises only the first letter of the first word and proper
nouns:
E.g. How to Write Essay Introductions: 6 Tips on Writing an
Effective Introduction"
If a title is divided into two lines, then capitalise all
words but the first letters of every word after the dividing line:
E:g The Complications and Joys of Being a Teenager.
Besides, if titles include some dates or numbers, do not
forget about capitalising them as well. For example: "Year 2012",
"Fifth Grade", etc. However, it would help if you kept in mind that
such cases are valid only when these details appear at the beginning of a title
(before any comma). If they indicate some period (usually following colon),
then do not capitalise on them: "From 1913-1945: The Great War".
E.g. How to Write Essay Heading: Formatting and
Capitalisation
Now, let's see how a heading should look like properly.
Unfortunately, there is no specific rule on headings capitalisation for essays
or research papers, which means that writers can choose any style they want
from below proposed by SMEs [Subject Matter Experts]: E:g "Writing an
Argumentative Essay - Step By Step Guide or "Writing An Argumentative
Essay - Step By Step Guide", etc. At the same time, you don't need to make
a choice between these three styles right now, as all of them are correct and
acceptable for academic paper writing. However, it is extremely important to pick
the one which is used in your University or College for its students' work.
Considering these Expert’s Recommendations
1.
Capitalise all words and leave no space between
them: "How to Write Essay Introductions: 6 Tips on Writing an Effective
Introduction". At the same time, there must not be any punctuation signs
at the end of a title (e.g., '.', '?' etc.).
2.
If titles are divided into two lines without any
logical connections, then capitalise all words after the first line ending with
comma except articles ("a", "an", "the"),
prepositions ("of", "from"), etc. In this case, there
should not be any punctuation marks at the end of a heading: E:gThe
Complications and Joys of Being a Teenager.”
3.
If titles include some date or numbers, don't
forget to capitalise them as well: "Year 2012", "Fifth
Grade", etc.: "From 1913-1945: The Great War".
4.
Write only one space before the first letter in
each word after a title ending with a colon or semicolon: E:gWriting an
Argumentative Essay - Step By Step Guide; Writing An Essay Introduction."
5.
If you need to put commas inside your headings
(mainly for titles divided into two lines or a line with two parts), then
separate them from each other with a space. In fact, you can place commas
wherever you want inside your headings but it is not recommended to do so as
this might alter the readability of this part: "How to Write Essay
Introductions - 6 Tips on Writing an Effective Introduction".
6.
You can also leave Headings without any
punctuation marks at all:"Writing an Argumentative Essay - Step By Step
Guide". However, the latter method is not preferable to use for academic
works and has been used in old-fashioned publications only. Otherwise, don't
forget that if your article includes some proper nouns (names of writers,
books' titles etc.), then they must be capitalised according to the general
rules of English language. For example: "Poe's Manuscript Clarissa".
How to Write Essay Headings in APA Style?
Now, let's take a look at how an essay or research paper
heading should be written in American Psychological Association (APA) format.
This is another common style that can be used for different academic works. If
you are not sure whether your professor requires using this citation style,
then visit APA Formatting and Style Guide by Modern Language Association (MLA).
As for APA headings, they must include all crucial elements of a heading except
numbers which are usually followed by full-stops, question marks etc.:
1.
Capitalise only the first letter of the first
word.
2.
Leave no space between words, but if titles are
divided into two lines, then there should be one space before the first letter
after a title ending with colon or semicolon: "Writing an Argumentative
Essay - Step By Step Guide; Writing An Essay Introduction".
3.
If you need to subdivide headings into several
paragraphs, then leave these paragraphs without any indentations. However, you
can use hanging indentations for different parts inside the article's main part
(i.e., instead of the indented first line).
4.
Always put commas between headings and text they
refer to: "How to Write Essay Introductions 6 Tips on Writing an Effective
Introduction".
5.
If titles include some data, then they should be
written in the form of a number followed by the abbreviated word
"No.": 4th Grade, No. 1 (first) etc.: "From 1913-1945: The Great
War".
6.
There is no need to use capital letters at all
if you don't want to emphasise any word of the heading or its part. In this
case, headings will look like bullet points divided into lines without any
indentations and spaces between words: E:g How To Write Essay Introductions 6
Tips On Writing An Effective Introduction".
7.
Moreover, there must not be anything else but
commas after each heading except for a special case when a heading of the last
part of the text will be followed by a question mark or full-stop: "How To
Write Essay Introductions? 6 Tips on Writing an Effective Introduction".
8.
Don't forget to include all important components
of a heading in case your thesis includes some headings with multiple parts,
divisions etc. Therefore, every component should be present except hanging
indentations, which is rare nowadays.
9.
You can also use hanging indentations for
different sections and subsections inside the main part of the work (without
numbering): "Writing An Argumentative Essay - Step By Step Guide; Writing
An Essay Introduction".
If you need to subdivide Headings into several paragraphs,
don't worry about it and indent the first line as you do it for other
paragraphs.
Get 1:1 Assistance for All Essay Queries
So, now you know that all headings (part and subheadings)
must be numbered and written in a certain style, depending on the format your
teacher requires. However, if you are unsure about correct formatting, ask your
professor for help. Capitalising on titles and headings for essays is important
to make your writing more commanding. Capitalising words also helps you write
faster by giving the reader a visual cue that this is an important sentence or
point in the paper.
This post hopes you will be able to take what it has given
you to help your essay come alive. It is here to help you with your essay
writing.
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