1. A capital ideaThe use of capital letter CAPITALIZE THIS! . . . a guide to the proper care and feeding of capital letters

2. Capitalize the first word of every sentence - unless that sentence is in parentheses incorporated within another sentence. Glacial till or debris (some geologists call this material “garbage”) is often deposited in formations called morains.

3. Capitalize the personal pronoun. Capitalize the names of family relations when they are used as substitutes for names: I went to visit my Uncle Ted and Aunt Margaret. Grandma and Grandpa live with Dad and Mom now. but... I went with my mom and dad to visit my aunt and uncle. p.s notice the role of the modifying pronoun here.

4. In titles, capitalize the first, last and all important word. Usually we don’t capitalize articles, prepositions and coordinating conjunctions. In the Lake of the Woods. War and Peace. I know This Much Is True.

5. and proper nouns... Capitalize names of specific persons, places and geographical locations. My brother Charlie, who used to live in the Middle East and write books about the Old West, now lives in Hartford, Connecticut. but... Don’t capitalize directions They moved up north to the southern shore of Lake Erie.

6. Capitalize names of days of the week, month and holidays. Valentine Day, which on February 14 fall on Tuesday this year. but... Don’t capitalize the names of seasons! Next fall, before the winter storms begin we’re heading south.

7. More on proper nouns... Capitalize the names of historical events. The Battle of Bulge was an important event in the World War II. The Reformation took place in the sixteenth century.

8. And... Capitalize the names of religion and religious terms God, Christ, Allah, Buddha, Christianity, Christians, Judaism, Jews, Islam, Muslim Capitalize the names of nations, nationalities, languages and words based on such words Albania, Albanian, Sweden, Swedish, English muffin, Irish stew

9. Capitalize the names of academic courses when they’re used as titles. He took Carpentry 101, but he did much better in his economics and English literature courses. And... Brand names Ford, Levi’s (not the jeans), Xerox on a Xerox copier, Advil (but aspirin)

10. The titles of people and office Capitalize titles when they precede names Dean Arrigton introduced President Carter to Secretary Bogglesworth. but...usually not after a name Joe Chuckles, who was chairman of the board of directors in 1996, has since retired.

11. And.... Remember to consult a good dictionary!