Title Case vs Sentence case
Understanding when to capitalize and when not to
Quick Answer:
Title Case: Major words capitalized. Example: The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over
Sentence case: Only first word capitalized. Example: The quick brown fox jumps over
What is Title Case?
Title Case is a capitalization style where the first letter of most words is capitalized. Small words like articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or), and short prepositions (in, on, at) are typically lowercase unless they're the first or last word.
Examples of Title Case:
- The Art of Writing Clean Code
- How to Build a Successful Business
- Learning Python in 30 Days
- A Guide to Web Development
What is Sentence case?
Sentence case follows standard sentence capitalization rules: only the first letter of the first word is capitalized, along with proper nouns and acronyms.
Examples of Sentence case:
- The art of writing clean code
- How to build a successful business
- Learning Python in 30 days
- A guide to web development
Key Differences
| Aspect | Title Case | Sentence case |
|---|---|---|
| Capitalization | Most major words | Only first word |
| Formality | More formal | More casual |
| Common Use | Book titles, headlines | Modern web content |
| Example | The Power of Habit | The power of habit |
When to Use Title Case
Use Title Case for:
- Book titles: To Kill a Mockingbird
- Headlines (traditional media): Congress Passes New Healthcare Bill
- Movie and TV show titles: The Lord of the Rings
- Song titles: Bohemian Rhapsody
- Academic papers: The Effects of Climate Change on Biodiversity
- Business documents: Annual Financial Report for 2024
When to Use Sentence case
Use Sentence case for:
- Blog post titles: How to learn Python in 2025
- Email subject lines: Meeting reminder for tomorrow
- Social media posts: Just launched our new product
- UI button text: Submit form
- List items: Add new user
- Modern web articles: The best practices for web development
Title Case Rules
According to the Chicago Manual of Style and AP Stylebook:
- Always capitalize:
- First and last words
- Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs
- Subordinating conjunctions (as, because, if)
- Keep lowercase:
- Articles: a, an, the
- Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, yet, so, for
- Short prepositions: in, on, at, to, by, for (under 4 letters)
Title Case Examples:
- ✅ The Art of War
- ✅ Gone with the Wind
- ✅ A Tale of Two Cities
- ✅ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Modern Trends
In recent years, sentence case has become increasingly popular, especially in digital content:
- Medium: Uses sentence case for article titles
- Google: Prefers sentence case in UI
- Apple: Uses sentence case in product descriptions
- Many startups: Choose sentence case for a friendlier tone
SEO Considerations
For SEO, both work equally well. However:
- Sentence case may appear more natural in search results
- Title Case can make headlines stand out
- Consistency matters more than the style itself
- Focus on clarity and keywords rather than capitalization
Accessibility
Screen readers treat both styles the same, but consider:
- ALL CAPS is harder to read (avoid this)
- Sentence case is faster to scan
- Title Case can help distinguish headers from body text
Best Practices
- Be consistent: Choose one style per content type
- Consider your audience: Academic? Use Title Case. Tech startup? Sentence case might fit better
- Follow style guides: AP Style, Chicago Manual, or your company's guide
- Test readability: Ask others which feels more natural
Quick Conversion
Need to convert between Title Case and Sentence case? Use our free tool:
Conclusion
Title Case is traditional and formal, ideal for book titles and formal documents. Sentence case is modern and casual, perfect for web content and UI text. Choose based on your context, audience, and brand voice. When in doubt, follow established style guides or opt for consistency within your content.