Capitals in Titles and Headings

Capitalize the first and last word of any title.

How to Land Your Dream Job

Capitalize nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Visiting Beautiful Ruins (noun)
As She Ran Away (pronoun)
The Importance of Learning Fast (verb)
The Poky Little Puppy (adjective)
She Quietly Waits (adverb)

Do not capitalize articles, prepositions, or coordinating conjunctions.

To Catch a Thief (article)
One Year in Paris (preposition)
Magic and Daybreak (coordinating conjunction)

These parts of speech are capitalized in titles:

Nouns – man, bus, book
Adjectives – angry, lovely, small
Verbs – run, eat, sleep
Adverbs – slowly, quickly, quietly
Pronouns – he, she, it
Subordinating conjunctions – as, because, that

“Short” words, those with less than five letters, are lowercase in titles, unless they are the first or last words. Generally, we do not capitalize:

Articles – a, an, the
Coordinating Conjunctions (fewer than five letters) – and, but, or, for, nor, etc.
Prepositions (fewer than five letters) – on, at, to, from, by, etc.

Hyphenated Titles

Capitalize the first element.

Capitalize subsequent elements unless they are articles, prepositions, or coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor).

High-Quality Web Services
First-Rate U.S. Lawyers
Bed-and-Breakfast Options in Savannah

Capitalize the second element in a hyphenated spelled-out number.

Forty-Ninth Street Blues

Do not capitalize the second element if the first element is a prefix that could not stand alone by itself (anti or pre).

Anti-inflammatory Dieting

The First Word Following a Colon

Capitalize the first word after a colon.

Feminine Poetry: Ten Women Writers from Around the World

Capitalize the first word after a colon if it begins an independent clause.

I know who you are: You are my friend

Do not capitalize the first word after a colon if the clause cannot stand alone.

I know who you are: nobody

Prepositions That Belong to a Phrasal Verb

Prepositions often find themselves on the ‘do not capitalize’ list. However, when a preposition becomes an important part of a phrasal verb, it does need to be capitalized.

How to Back Up a Computer
Turn Down the Heat to Save You Money

 

References:

Rules for Capitalization in Titles of Articles