Questions tagged [capitalization]

This tag should be used for questions about when to capitalize words, such as trademarks or as a stylistic device, for example in character speech.

This tag should be used for questions about when to capitalize words, such as trademarks or as a stylistic device, for example in character speech.

31 questions
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Referencing figure in text - capitalize the word "Figure" or not? Why?

I see it quite a lot. It looks a bit like this: It can be seen in Figure 3 that... My gut feeling is that there is no reason to scream in the middle of a perfectly calm sentence. I would like to write it like: It can be seen in figure 3…
jonalv
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8
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Other than trademarked names, should recipe ingredients in a cookbook be capitalized?

Re: editing a cookbook Other than trademarked names, should ingredients in the recipe lists be capitalized? Thank you in advance.
user29286
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8
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Capitalization after use of colon?

This is a sentence from a current writing project detailing how people in jail feel about reading. It provides an escape from the reality of what lies before them: time. Should "time" be capitalized? I've seen published examples of both upper and…
TribeOfOne
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7
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Dialogue interruptions — using em dashes

This is my first time in writers, so I apologise if I make a mistake. I've searched for this, but I can't find a concrete and complete answer. Please forgive me if I've somehow missed it and it had already been answered. What I'm dealing with right…
Emmie
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6
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Is it acceptable to punctuate and capitalize a dialogue tag like a separate sentence?

When a piece of writing has a quoted sentence followed by a dialogue tag, the sentence is usually ended with a comma (inside the quotation marks) and the dialogue tag is in sentence case, like this: "Look," said Hermione. "I never pegged you for a…
Sophie Swett
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5
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Capitlization of A Named Experiment

I have an experiment which we call 'the krypton experiment'. In referring to the krypton experiment, should it be capitalized? e.g. The Krypton Experiment was used as a source of benchmark data. or The krypton experiment was used as a source of…
Terry Price
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5
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Capitalize 'it' when referring to a strange being?

I have a being with a name. I capitalize its name when I mention it. But mostly, I refer to it as "it". I use "it" a lot in dialogue, as characters talk about this being. Should I capitalize "it", in these cases?
4
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2 answers

in English, is it necessary to capitalize after a colon?

I've seen that each language has its own rules when using the colon. In Spanish, it's not needed to capitalize: Los elementos incluyen: secado, lavado, etc. In French is the same, and even they put the colon with an extra space: Ces éléments…
2
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1 answer

Should I italicize brand names and song titles?

I'm doing the final edits to my book. I often refer to music and brand names of clothing worn to set the tone. My question is when mentioning a brand name or song and artist can I italicize the brand or artist's name? Example: She was wearing Louis…
2
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2 answers

Capital letter after colon, in list?

So I'm going through a list of reasons to choose something, followed by a semicolon and then an explanation. Aerodynamic resistance: The reason that this is important is bla bla bla... vs Aerodynamic resistance: the reason that this is important…
2
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1 answer

Should a common noun which has a specific word in a different language be capitalised?

The setting is that there is a celebration underway where people of different species (lets say, humans and elves) are attending. In the elves' language they call any celebration "Jashnak". So, if they are welcoming someone they would say "Welcome…
user96551
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Scientific report and capitalization

I'm writing a master's thesis in English, which is my second language. I have understood that I should capitalize Section, Chapter, Figure, etc., but should I also capitalize other elements that refer to specific items? For instance, in which of the…
2
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1 answer

What are the rules for beginning a block quotation halfway into a quoted sentence?

I'm interested in the rules set by the Chicago Manual of Style. If I take a block quotation that starts with the following sentence: "To simplify: math and geometry are such and such" And if I leave out "To Simplify:" and start with the word math…
2
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1 answer

Autocapitalize/correct two connected words?

Let's say I have a character in my story simply called "Slime Monster". With every instance of these two words, I want both words to be capitalized and to be corrected as a pair, so if I mistype it to something like "Silme Mosnter" it will recognize…
user23083
2
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3 answers

Are human sounds capitalized like other sounds in the action line?

Such as: Bathsheba SNEEZES. Margaret SNORES loudly. Katrina SIGHS
Matt
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