Title Case Vs Sentence Case: Which One to Use?

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Title Case Vs Sentence Case blog post image

Sentence and title cases are the two primary styles for writing titles, headlines, and headings. While it seems like their usage is a matter of preference, there are debates about which is more appropriate and correct. Both styles have their merits, and the choice between them makes a subtle impact on your writing.

Title Case Vs Sentence Case

Choosing which style to use might seem simple but many writers, marketers, and advertisers struggle to choose between the two. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing headlines, copy, emails, newsletters, and social media content—this struggle is a long-argued debate.

Here’s a short description of each one, with examples.

In title casing, every important word is capitalized. Articles, conjunctions, and prepositions are lowercase unless they’re the first word in a sentence. 

  • How to Start Coding: What to Learn First as a Beginner
  • What Do Your Reading Habits Say About You?
  • Tourists Overwhelm Singapore as Taylor Swift Concert Draws Near

However, different style guides have different capitalization rules, though there is significant overlap. For example, the Chicago Manual of Style recommends lowercase for all prepositions regardless of length. AP Style recommends capitalizing prepositions with four letters and more. Both Chicago and MLA lowercase the infinitive form of “to” while AP style does not. 

  • What It Takes to Learn from Your Mistakes (Chicago and MLA)
  • What It Takes To Learn From Your Mistakes (AP)

In sentence casing, only the first word and any proper nouns are capitalized. This is you simply following the usual grammar rules. It’s seen mostly in prose but can be used in titles and headlines.

  • How to start coding: What to learn first as a beginner
  • What do your reading habits say about you?
  • Tourists overwhelm Singapore as Taylor Swift concert draws near

Rules on Title Casing

Most publications follow a particular style guide to keep their content consistent in both format and tone. Some adhere to these guides more strictly than others. 

As stated above, different style guides have different capitalization rules. Here’s a brief overview of the three most widely used ones.

Chicago Manual of Style

  • Do not capitalize the conjunctions and, but, for, or, and nor.
  • Do not capitalize to when used as an infinitive.
  • Do not capitalize as.
  • Do not capitalize articles the, a, and an.
  • Do not capitalize prepositions regardless of length unless they are used adverbially or adjectively.
  • In hyphenated compounds, capitalize the first and subsequent words that are not conjunctions, articles, or prepositions (All-Knowing Deity, Trans-Pacific Flight). Do not capitalize subsequent words if the first word is a prefix that can’t stand by itself (Ex-partner, Self-aware).
  • Capitalize major words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and some conjunctions).
  • Capitalize the first and last words of titles and subtitles. (Overrules all other rules)

MLA Style

  • Do not capitalize to when used as an infinitive.
  • Do not capitalize articles, prepositions (regardless of length), and coordinating conjunctions.
  • Do not capitalize the word that follows a hyphenated prefix if the said word is unhyphenated in the dictionary.
  • Capitalize principal words in hyphenated compounds. 
  • Capitalize the first and last words of titles and subtitles. (Overrules all other rules)
  • Capitalize nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions.

AP Style

  • Do not capitalize articles the, a, and an.
  • Do not capitalize articles, conjunctions, and prepositions of three letters or below.
  • Capitalize all words of four letters or more.
  • Capitalize all major words. 
  • Capitalize the first and last words of titles and subtitles. (Overrules all other rules)
  • Capitalize to when used as an infinitive.

Rules on Sentence Casing

Sentence casing is your most used option as it’s how you usually write a sentence. It only has a few, straightforward rules.

  • Capitalize the first word regardless of its grammatical function. In most cases, this is the only capitalized word in sentence casing.
  • Capitalize proper nouns.
  • Do not capitalize minor words, articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.

APA Style is the only style guide you need to pay attention to when using sentence case. 

  • While title case is used for titles of works that appear in the main text of a paper, sentence case is used for works that appear in reference lists that appear at the end.
  • APA Style uses five levels of headings. The first and second uses title case while the rest uses sentence case.

Which Case to Use

Aside from following a style guide, one more thing to consider is how you want your readers to perceive your writing.

Title case conveys formality and authority by capitalizing words, drawing attention, and creating a bold look for titles and headings. It also establishes a visual rhythm and enhances readability by distinguishing between words.

Conversely, sentence casing is more casual and approachable. Its lack of capitalization makes titles and headings easier to scan while highlighting important words. As the most common casing option, it helps maintain a natural and conversational tone.

If you’re unsure about which case to use or if you’re using it correctly, you can always consult your chosen style guide. You can also use online tools to automatically format your title to your preferred style guide, especially if you don’t have an editor or fellow writer to consult with.

What’s your go-to casing option? Share it in the comments below!

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