should dissertation titles be capitalized

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What to Capitalize in a Title: APA Title Capitalization Rules

Which words do you capitalize in a title?

Have you ever been confused about which words to capitalize in the title of your manuscript ? You have probably seen titles where only the first word is capitalized (so-called “sentence case”), titles where all words seem to be capitalized (“title case”), and also titles that look like combinations of the two. And you might have wondered where there is any general rule to all this. 

The answer is that, no, there is not really one general capitalization rule, but there are several style-dependent capitalization guidelines you can rely on, and the journal you plan to submit to will tell you (in their author instructions ) which one they want you to apply to your manuscript before submission. Just like you format your manuscript and reference list following APA or MLA formatting rules, you apply the respective style guide to capitalize your title, headings, and subheadings . In this article, we will first explain the general rules on what types of words to capitalize (e.g., nouns, articles, and conjunctions) and then look at the APA and MLA style guides in particular and their specific variations of those rules.

Research Paper Title Capitalization Rules

According to most style guides, all proper nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in titles of books and articles are to be capitalized. Some elements of titles are, however, never capitalized, such as articles (except articles at the beginning of a title), and some, such as conjunctions, can or cannot be capitalized, depending on the specific style guide variation. In the following, we will outline the general rules for all the different words in your title so that you can orient yourself easily to the different style guides and adapt your title quickly when necessary. 

Capitalizing Nouns and Pronouns in Titles

Nouns (including formal names of people, organizations, and places) and pronouns are easy to format, as all style guides agree that they should always be capitalized using title case capitalization. 

Capitalizing Articles in Titles

The rules for articles are also simple, as all major style guides agree that articles should be lowercase in titles—unless they represent the first and/or last word in the title:

In the latter example, the first “the” is capitalized because it is the first word of the title, while the second “the” is lowercase as articles usually are. Note that the same rule regarding article capitalization applies to subtitles as well.

Capitalizing Conjunctions in Titles

Conjunctions are a slightly more complicated case, as style guides differ on whether to capitalize them or on which conjunctions to capitalize. According to some guides,  conjunctions of three letters or fewer are to be written in lowercase while longer ones should be capitalized. Other style guides, however, state to write all conjunctions in lowercase, or make exceptions for specific conjunctions such as “yet”, “so”, and “as”. It is therefore always necessary to look up the specific rules of the target journal before submitting a manuscript—and have a look at our sections on APA and MLA style below. The following examples are, however, fairly universal:

Capitalizing Prepositions in Titles

Capitalization rules for prepositions are equally ambiguous and depend on the specific style guide you follow. Prepositions of four letters or more are often capitalized, while according to some style guides, all prepositions are written in lowercase, no matter their length. Sometimes, for example, when following the Chicago Manual of Style , capitalization depends on how a preposition is used in a title and whether it does indeed function as a preposition. According to this rule, prepositions are capitalized when they are used “adverbially or adjectivally” in prepositional phrases (as in “How to Back Up a Computer”), but not when used otherwise.

Capitalizing Adjectives and Adverbs in Titles     

Rules for capitalizing adjectives and adverbs , like nouns, are unproblematic, as they are capitalized across style guides. 

Capitalizing Verbs in Titles      

Verbs are another easy case and are also always capitalized, according to all style guides. 

Title Case Rules by Style Guide

Apa title case rules   .

APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used for scholarly articles in the behavioral and social sciences. The APA guidelines on when to capitalize a title include the following rules:

MLA Title Case Rules  

The Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook , used primarily to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities, promotes the following rules for when to capitalize a title or header:

Additional Rules for Title Capitalization 

As we have stressed several times throughout this article, it is crucial to always check the specific rules of the target journal and/or the rules of the style guide the target journal wants you to follow—note that these can sometimes conflict with each other, in which case the journal rules override the style guide. Apart from the two common style guides we explained here, APA and MLA , there are several others that have their own rules, such as the Chicago Manual of Style , the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style , or the Associated Press Stylebook , an American English grammar style and usage guide originally developed for AP writers but now used widely across journalistic fields. There is even a specific set of rules for the capitalization of titles of Wikipedia articles !

One capitalization rule that might not necessarily be mentioned in such style guides but is relevant for some academic/scientific fields is that when the Latin name of a species is mentioned, the second portion of the name must be written in lowercase, even when the rest of the title follows title case rules.

Another capitalization rule you might need when describing research experiments is that both elements of spelled-out numbers or simple fractions should be capitalized in title case:

Lastly, no matter your personal preference, make sure you always write the titles of books and articles exactly as they are written on the original document/in the original version, even if they do not seem to follow common capitalization rules.

Correct Capitalization in Your Title with Professional Editing    

If you are even more unsure now how to capitalize your title or find the author instructions of your target journal confusing (which can happen, since those sets of rules have often grown organically over a long period of time and, as a result, can lack consistency), then you might want to make use of professional English proofreading services , including paper editing services —your professional academic editor will figure such details out for you and make sure your manuscript is in the correct format before submission.

If you need more input on how to write and perfect the other parts of your manuscript, then head over to the Wordvice academic resources website where we have many more resources for you.

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THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

• Academic Policies & Procedures
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Dissertation Title Best Practices

Dissertations are a valuable resource for other scholars, only if they can be easily located. Modern retrieval systems generally use the words in the title to locate a document. It is essential that the title be an accurate and meaningful description of the content and that obscure references be avoided. Please use these guidelines when formulating a dissertation title:

The first and last words and all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs (if, because, as, that, etc.) are capitalized. Articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor), and prepositions, regardless of length, are lowercased unless they are the first or last word of the title or subtitle. Only acronyms should be set in full capitals.

Examples:  

• Power and Consumer Behavior
• Outpatient Treatment for Children:  Organizational Practices as Predictors of Recovery
• A Comparison of the Methodologies for Determining Achievement in High School

Hyphenation

  Consult the dictionary as to whether a word is hyphenated. In general, do not hyphenate words beginning with the prefixes co, non, pre, post, or re unless there is a possibility of confusion (co-op, post-master's) or the root word begins with a capital letter (post-Renaissance). Hyphenate words beginning with the prefix self. Hyphenate compounds used as adjectives (decision-making) but not as nouns (decision maker). Part-time is always hyphenated. When more than one prefix is joined to a base word, hyphenate the prefixes standing alone (micro- and macroeconomics). Do not hyphenate fundraising, freelance, yearlong, health care, African American, Asian American.

Example: 

• Great Nonfiction Works of the Nineteenth Century (Instead of: Great Non-fiction Works of the 19th Century)

Spelling and Grammar

Dissertation titles should be spell-checked and dictionary spelling of words should be used.  Use “and” rather than “&,” and spell out names of centuries and other numbers usually spelled out in text.

• The Labour Party in Perspective and Twelve Years Later

Special Characters 

No special characters should appear in the dissertation title (SES/CAESAR cannot accommodate special characters).  Terms or phrases that include special characters should instead be written out.

• Evaluation of DNA Hybridization and Cleavage Capabilities of Peptide Nucleic Acid-Titanium Dioxide (instead of: Evaluation of DNA Hybridization and Cleavage Capabilities of PNA-TiO2)
• The Role of TGF-beta Variants in Cancer (instead of: The Role of TGF-β Variants in Cancer)

Italicization

Examples: 

• Techniques in Drosophila Circadian Biology
• Mechanisms of Differentiated Cell Function in vitro

Apostrophes

Do not use to form plurals (it should be 1940s, not 1940's) unless it would be confusing without (thus A's and B's, not As and Bs; p's, not ps). Possessives of singular nouns ending in s are formed by adding 's (e.g., Russ's dog).

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• Capitalization Rules in English | Quick Guide & Examples

Capitalization Rules in English | Quick Guide & Examples

Published on April 19, 2019 by Amy Luo . Revised on September 4, 2023.

In English, a capital letter is used for the first word of a sentence and for all proper nouns (words that name a specific person, place, organization, or thing).

In some cases, capitalization is also required for the first word in a quotation and the first word after a colon .

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Table of contents

Recognizing proper nouns, directions and regions, theories, models and disciplines, capitalization within quotations, capitalization after a colon, capitalizing titles.

A proper noun is the specific name of a person, place, organization, or thing. All proper nouns (as well as adjectives derived from them) should be capitalized.

Michelle Obama , the former first lady, was raised in Chicago and is a graduate of Harvard Law School .

A common noun , on the other hand, refers to a general, non-specific category or entity. Common nouns are not normally capitalized (unless they are the first word of a sentence or part of a title).

Monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy are forms of government classified according to which people have the authority to rule.

There are no proper nouns in the example above. Words like  democracy ,  government and  authority refer to general concepts and categories rather than specific names.

Common nouns often become proper nouns when used to name a specific entity:

Times and events

Specific periods and named events in history are proper nouns and thus capitalized. Centuries, however, stay in lowercase.

• The Middle Ages were dismissed as backward by Renaissance thinkers.
• The Paleozoic Era began 541 million years ago.
• The Great Depression affected virtually every country in the world.
• Impressionism was a pivotal artistic development in the nineteenth century .

Days of the week (e.g., Wednesday ), months of the year (e.g., August ), and holidays and festivals (e.g., Christmas , Ramadan ) are capitalized. However, the four seasons are common nouns and therefore not capitalized unless they appear as part of a proper noun.

• I plan on visiting New York in the summer .
• I plan on attending the Summer Olympics next year.

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North, east, south, and west are not capitalized when they refer to a direction or general area. This also applies to derivative adjectives and adverbs :

• I live five miles north of London.
• Warm, westerly winds passed through the city.
• The fire affected only the northern region of the forest.

However, capitalization is required for these words when they are part of a proper name or when they refer to a distinct region.

• The North Pole has a wider variety of animal life than the South Pole.
• The scope of the book is limited to the history of Western civilization.
• Cameroon’s East Region borders the Central African Republic.

Whether a geographical area is named as a distinct region can vary between countries.

• They took a road trip down the West Coast of the United States .
• We took a road trip up the west coast of Scotland .

If you’re unsure whether to capitalize the name of an area or region, check a dictionary or consult academic sources for common usage.

In academic writing, some types of nouns are often incorrectly capitalized. The table below shows academic terms that should not be capitalized. Note, though, that proper nouns within these terms are still capitalized as usual.

However, note that the names of existing tests, inventories and questionnaires should be capitalized.

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
• UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist

When the quote forms a complete sentence, capitalize the first word.

John asked, “Are these library books overdue?”

When the quote is a fragment incorporated into your own sentence, the first word is not capitalized.

She referred to him as “a plague sore.”

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When a colon introduces a list or any phrase that is not a complete sentence, do not capitalize the first word (unless it is a proper noun).

She filled the picnic basket with a variety of snacks: cookies, bread, dips, and fruits.

When a colon introduces a complete sentence, capitalization rules vary between style guides. According to APA style , the first word after the colon should be capitalized.

She had been up all night studying: She was determined to get the top grade in the class.

But according to Chicago style , the first word following the colon should be capitalized only if there is more than one complete explanatory sentence following the colon.

She had been up all night studying: she was determined to get the top grade in the class.

She had been up all night studying: She was determined to get the top grade in the class. It would guarantee her the prestigious scholarship.

The capitalization rules for the titles of books, articles, movies, art, and other works vary slightly between style guides. But in general, the following rules apply across major style guides, including APA , MLA , and Chicago .

• Capitalize the first word of the title and (if applicable) the subtitle
• Capitalize the last word
• Capitalize all nouns, verbs , adjectives , adverbs , pronouns , and subordinating conjunctions
• Use lowercase for articles (the, a, an), prepositions , and coordinating conjunctions

I prefer The Taming of the Shrew over Romeo and Juliet .

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the last in a trilogy.

Capitalizing headings in papers

When writing a paper or thesis, you have two options for capitalizing the headings of chapters and sections . You can use title case for all headings , as in the examples above.

3.1 Emerging Coffee Markets in North America

Alternatively, you can choose to use sentence case , which means you only capitalize the first word and proper nouns, as in a normal sentence.

3.1 Emerging coffee markets in North America

Some style guides have specific requirements for capitalizing headings (see, for example, how to format APA headings and subheadings ). Whichever approach you choose, make sure to be consistent: all headings at the same level should take the same capitalization style.

Sources in this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

Luo, A. (2023, September 04). Capitalization Rules in English | Quick Guide & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 29, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/language-rules/capitalization-rules/

Butterfield, J. (Ed.). (2015).  Fowler’s dictionary of modern English usage  (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Garner, B. A. (2016).  Garner’s modern English usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

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Capitalisation of "Section" and "Chapter" in a Ph.D. Thesis

I am submitting a Ph.D. thesis fairly soon and my supervisor has flagged my use of capitalisation in "Section" and "Chapter" as possibly incorrect. I have googled about a bit and I see mixed opinions.

So my question is, when writing a computer science Ph.D. thesis, what is the correct way to capitalise "Section", "Chapter", "Appendix", "Figure", "Table", ... ?

For example, what is the correct capitalisation for the following:

"In Chapter 3, it was shown that..."

"In the previous Section, a method was presented to..."

"The graph in Figure 3 shows..."

• 4 My flippant comment about this is to go with whatever your advisor tells you to do, assuming that s/he has given you an answer. ;) –  Irwin Commented Apr 18, 2013 at 23:42

3 Answers 3

This seems correct. "Chapter 3" is the name of the third chapter. Names are capitalised.

This seems wrong. "Section" is not referring to the previous section by name, therefore no capital.

Correct. Same as the first example.

So the rule (I use) is, if it is a proper name, then use a capital. This means, if it is of the form "Section $n$", where $n$ is a number, then it needs a capital.

• 4 Exactly. Section~3 (remember the ~!) is a proper noun, the same rule holds for all words like theorem, lemma, item, equation, section, table, algorithm, etc. The tilde makes sure that the line doesn't break between "Theorem" and "3" (it's a no-break space character). –  John Kemeny Commented Apr 17, 2013 at 20:03
• 6 (assuming the OP is using a TeX system) –  Federico Poloni Commented Apr 18, 2013 at 15:44
• 5 @Lii: Dave's answer follows standard English rules: proper nouns like "Section 3" are capitalized; common nouns like "the section" are not. This guidance is thus far from useless. –  aeismail Commented Sep 6, 2013 at 11:08
• 7 My source is "native English speaker". –  Dave Clarke Commented Sep 6, 2013 at 12:11
• 4 @GregKramida Why would that case be any different? I'd use the first version you propose. –  Dave Clarke Commented Apr 20, 2015 at 19:18

It is a question of style. The most accepted custom is that given by Dave: you capitalize logical divisions if you refer to them by number.

However, I've never believed that there is any real logic behind that rule, other than emphasis. Identifying things by a number doesn't make them proper nouns: as an example, you don't commonly capitalize “page” as “see Page 10”…

• 4 Interesting example with "page". I see a small distinction between pages and sections: sections are intentional divisions into conceptual units, while page boundaries are much less meaningful, so it's natural to conceive of a section as more of a "thing" than a page is. However, it's not clear-cut. –  Anonymous Mathematician Commented Apr 19, 2013 at 2:39

A search on Google Scholar reveals that both the forms

in chapter/section 3

in Chapter/Section 3

exist in published scientific articles.

For "chapter" the capitalised version seems to be a little more common. For "section" the capitalised version is much more common.

• 2 A lot of terrible/incorrect writing gets published and will be thrown up by Google. Doesn't mean it is correct! –  xadu Commented Dec 7, 2021 at 5:07
• @xadu: Note that this search was in Google Scholar, so it only includes published academic articles. That doesn't necessarily make the practice non-terrible, of course, but it does indicate the current usage. –  Lii Commented Dec 7, 2021 at 6:55
• 2 fair point about current usage. That said, Google Scholar does include material which has not been peer reviewed, such as arxiv postings etc. I'll argue that even published articles often have incorrect/inconsistent grammar. –  xadu Commented Dec 7, 2021 at 13:19

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Capitalization

APA Style is a “down” style, meaning that words are lowercase unless there is specific guidance to capitalize them. For example, capitalize the first word of a sentence, unless the sentence begins with the name of a person whose name starts with a lowercase letter.

The Publication Manual contains guidance on how to capitalize words beginning a sentence; proper nouns and trade names; job titles and positions; diseases, disorders, therapies, theories, and related terms; titles of works and headings within works; titles of tests and measures; nouns followed by numerals or letters; names of conditions or groups in an experiment; and names of study factors, variables, and effects. Only a subset of the guidance is presented on the website to answers users’ most common questions.

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A Little Help with Capitals

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This handout lists some guidelines for capitalization. If you have a question about whether a specific word should be capitalized that doesn't fit under one of these rules, try checking a dictionary to see if the word is capitalized there.

Use capital letters in the following ways:

The first words of a sentence

The pronoun "I"

Proper nouns (the names of specific people, places, organizations, and sometimes things)

Family relationships (when used as proper names)

The names of God, specific deities, religious figures, and holy books

Exception: Do not capitalize the nonspecific use of the word "god."

Titles preceding names, but not titles that follow names

Directions that are names (North, South, East, and West when used as sections of the country, but not as compass directions)

The days of the week, the months of the year, and holidays (but not the seasons used generally)

Exception: Seasons are capitalized when used in a title.

The names of countries, nationalities, and specific languages

The first word in a sentence that is a direct quote

The major words in the titles of books, articles, and songs (but not short prepositions or the articles "the," "a," or "an," if they are not the first word of the title)

Members of national, political, racial, social, civic, and athletic groups

Periods and events (but not century numbers)

Words and abbreviations of specific names (but not names of things that came from specific things but are now general types)

• Deutschland
• United Kingdom

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Capitalisation and Special Fonts in PhD Theses

Posted by Rene Tetzner | Nov 9, 2021 | PhD Success | 0 |

6.2 Capitalisation and Special Fonts: Order or Chaos?

It may seem incredible that something as simple as the use of capital letters and special fonts can so easily become complex and problematic when the primary purpose of both these features in academic and scientific writing tends to be clarification. The fact is, however, that capitalisation and special fonts can potentially cause as much confusion as they attempt to resolve, especially if they are used both extensively and inconsistently. Different disciplines and fields tend to employ capitalisation and special fonts in particular ways, some of them using these features far more than others, so do check university and department guidelines to see if any advice is offered regarding the use of capitalisation and special fonts in your thesis. Whatever guidelines you are following, however, it is essential to keep in mind that the overuse or unnecessary use of capitals and special fonts in any thesis can create an impression of clutter, become distracting for the reader and defeat the purpose of using these elements in the first place, and this is the case even when they are used consistently; when they are used inconsistently, chaos can be the most pronounced result. Generally speaking, keeping the use of capitalisation and special fonts to a minimum is good practice, then, as is using these features in a logical and organised fashion and with enough consistency to allow them to emphasise and distinguish precisely what they should.

6.2.1 Capitalisation for Names, Titles and Other Elements

The use of an initial capital letter on the first word of a sentence to indicate the beginning of the sentence is straightforward and rarely presents problems for authors. An initial capital is sometimes used after a colon as well, although, strictly speaking, a colon does not end a sentence or indicate a new one, so in British English a lowercase letter generally follows a colon, but in American English a capital can be used in this position if the colon introduces what can be read as a complete sentence. When a colon introduces a list, a quotation or similar material, a capital often follows in both kinds of English; the use of capitalisation in such situations tends to depend on the nature of the material and the preferences of the author (on punctuation in relation to lists, see Section 5.5.2, and in relation to quotations, Chapter 8). University and department guidelines rarely provide much detailed advice on the use of capitals, but when they do they will usually focus on two categories of titles: the titles and headings for the thesis itself, and the titles of any books, journals, essays, chapters, web sites, poems, plays and so on that are mentioned in the thesis. The first will usually be associated with the structure of a thesis, while the second will generally be treated in conjunction with the referencing style required. Sometimes one system of capitalisation will apply to both categories and all titles, but such uniform treatment is not the case as often as might be expected, so special care should always be taken to notice any different requirements for different types and locations of titles and headings.

With regard to the titles and headings of the thesis itself, capitals may be required, for instance, only for the initial letter of the thesis title and any proper nouns in the title – ‘A case study of Charlotte Smith: poet and novelist’ – or initial capitals may be needed on all main words in the title: ‘A Case Study of Charlotte Smith: Poet and Novelist.’ A capital may have to appear at the beginning of a subtitle following a colon, en dash or em dash – ‘A case study of Charlotte Smith: Poet and novelist’ – or the subtitle may not use capitals at all although the first part of the title uses them on all main words: ‘A Case Study of Charlotte Smith: poet and novelist.’ Occasionally, block capitals (with no lowercase letters at all) are used for the main title. The pattern of capitalisation used for the title of the thesis may also apply to some or all of the chapter titles and even to the headings and subheadings used to structure and divide the chapters. If a numbered system of headings is used, the same pattern of capitalisation might be used on all heading levels, but using different patterns of capitalisation for different heading levels is an effective way of distinguishing the levels of unnumbered headings as long as all headings of a single level use the exact same pattern of capitalisation and each level’s pattern is distinct from that of others (see also Section 6.1 above). The pattern(s) of capitalisation you choose for the titles and headings in your thesis should meet all university and department requirements and help clarify the structure of your thesis and its sections.

As I mentioned above, the pattern of capitalisation used for the title of a thesis can also apply to the titles of any sources cited in the thesis or a different pattern may be required for recording those sources. The capitalisation of book titles can vary from that of journal titles, and the capitalisation of article and chapter titles within the same style are often different again: initial capitalisation of all main words in a title is more common on journal and book titles, for instance, than on article and chapter titles, which often use an initial capital only on the first word and proper nouns. The pattern should always be consistent for each type of title, which means that the different patterns of capitalisation actually used in titles as they appear in the sources themselves should not be retained. Retaining the capitalisation of titles found in sources will result in variations in the capitalisation patterns of similar titles recorded in a thesis, and although this may be a sign of scrupulous attention to the originals, it will connect and distinguish titles inappropriately and come across as inconsistent to readers; it will, in short, undermine part of the reason for using distinct and consistent patterns of capitalisation in the first place. An exception is presented by titles in foreign languages: while they can observe the capitalisation patterns used for English titles in a thesis, different rules often apply (for more information on using foreign languages, see Butcher et al., 2006, Section 6.6, pp.246–247 and Appendices 5, 7, 9 and 10; the Chicago Manual of Style , 2003, Chapter 10; Ritter, 2005, Chapter 12). Whatever patterns of capitalisation you use for the titles of the sources you cite, they should effectively mark titles as titles, be consistent within each category (books, articles etc.) and, when necessary, consistently distinct between them.

Capitals are also used to distinguish and emphasise proper nouns or names, which can be straightforward, but such capitalisation often depends on a word’s role and position in a sentence, so the use of capitals can vary on that basis. It is usually simple to determine when to use initial capitals on personal names: ‘Tom Jones’ and ‘Sally Smith,’ for instance, should definitely bear initial capitals. However, certain proper nouns can present greater challenges because capitals are often used on them to distinguish the specific uses of such nouns from their more general uses, and the capitalisation of other words associated with proper nouns varies accordingly. It is therefore imperative that initial capitals be used appropriately and consistently, which can prove somewhat complicated at times. Personal titles and ranks should be capitalised if they accompany a name, for example, and especially when they appear immediately before the name, so the ‘king’ in ‘King George’ should bear a capital, but not the ‘king’ in ‘the king of England,’ and the same principle applies in the following cases: ‘Prime Minister Trudeau,’ but ‘the prime minister,’ ‘Professor Taylor,’ but ‘a professor of mathematics,’ ‘Earl Henry of Huntingdon,’ but ‘the earl of Huntington’ and ‘Pope Francis,’ but ‘the pope.’ When a rank or title is used alone as a name, it usually bears an initial capital – ‘Hello, Father’ and ‘Dear Pope’ – and initial capitals should also be used when referring to an honour, degree or award (‘the Scotiabank Giller Prize’ and ‘Bachelor of Arts’), though for degrees, abbreviations consisting of all capitals (BA) or a combination of capitals and lowercase letters (PhD) with or without full stops (‘B.A.’ and ‘Ph.D.’ are also acceptable) are often used (see Section 6.3).

Religious names and terminology are often capitalised, but not always, and you may choose for your own reasons (if your university, department and thesis committee allow it) to use lowercase letters for religious terms that are usually capitalised in English. Conventionally speaking, however, all references to a monotheistic deity should appear with an initial capital: ‘God,’ ‘Allah,’ ‘the Trinity’ and ‘the Lord.’ Although pronouns used for the deity can be capitalised (God in His wisdom), and in complex theological discussions this distinction can be helpful, this practice is not necessary, and in most cases the text is much tidier without it. For the gods and goddesses of polytheistic religions, only proper names should be capitalised: ‘the god of love’ and ‘Isis, protector of the dead.’ Capitalisation of sacred or religious rites is not uniform, so ‘compline’ is fine, but so is ‘Matins,’ and the same is the case with ‘a mass’ and ‘the Mass’; consistency in usage within your thesis is the goal in such instances. ‘Catholic,’ ‘Protestant,’ ‘Muslim’ and the like are normally capitalised, and so are ‘church’ and ‘cathedral’ when they refer to a specific church or church building – ‘the Catholic Church’ and ‘Worcester Cathedral’ – but not on their own (‘the church’ and ‘the cathedral’) except in specific historical contexts (‘the Church’ meaning ‘the Catholic Church’ in the Middle Ages, for instance). Similarly, ‘the Bible’ and ‘the Koran’ use capitals, but ‘biblical’ does not, and the word ‘prophet’ bears an initial capital when it refers to Muhammad (the Prophet), but not when it is used more generally (e.g., ‘a biblical prophet’).

Political terms such as ‘Democrat’ and ‘Republican’ or ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ have rather specific meanings when capitalised, while ‘Commons,’ ‘House’ and similar political words require capitalisation to avoid ambiguity, but there is no need to capitalise ‘parliament’ because there is very little potential for confusion. The names of other institutions and organisations should also bear initial capitals – ‘the World Health Organization,’ ‘the British Library’ and ‘the Ford Motor Company’ – as should trademark or proprietary names such as ‘Camaro,’ ‘Hoover’ and ‘Xerox,’ with which special care should be taken, as generic terms are often more appropriate (‘muscle car,’ for instance, ‘vacuum cleaner’ and ‘photocopier’). If a trade name is used as a verb, it should not be capitalised: ‘I hoovered the carpet.’ Finally, the names of schools, colleges, universities and movements should use initial capitals: ‘St Michael’s University School,’ ‘York University,’ ‘the Group of Seven’ and ‘Romanticism’ (with ‘Romantic’ referring to a movement in art and literature and thus conveying a meaning very different from that of ‘romantic’).

Geographical locations, if specific, should bear initial capitals, as should any generic terms that are actually part of the name – ‘Canada,’ ‘New York City’ (but ‘the city of St John’s’) and ‘Lake Huron and Lake Erie’ (but ‘the lakes Huron and Erie’). The capitalisation of compass directions varies, but these elements usually only bear capitals if they indicate a recognised entity, whether cultural or political: ‘Northern Ireland’ and ‘the Middle East’ but usually ‘the northern United States’ and ‘southern Canada.’ For postal codes including letters, capitals are used (A6J 3H8). The names for astronomical entities are a little different, with ‘the Milky Way’ using capitals, but not ‘sun’ and ‘moon’ except (especially in specifically astronomical contexts) to distinguish ‘the Sun and Moon’ of the earth’s solar system from other suns and moons. The names of days, months, festivals, holidays and historical and geological periods are generally capitalised – ‘Thursday,’ ‘November,’ ‘the Chinese New Year,’ ‘Thanksgiving,’ ‘Ramadan,’ ‘the Renaissance,’ ‘the Stone Age’ and ‘the Middle Ages’ – but not always (e.g., ‘the medieval period’). For eras such as AD ( Anno Domini ) and BC (Before Christ), capitals are used, as they are for similar abbreviations (see Section 6.3 below), but the names of modern periods, such as ‘the age of steam’ or ‘the space age’ often do not use capitals, and the same is the case with the names of seasons – ‘winter’ and ‘spring’ – unless they are personified (e.g., ‘the north wind is the breath of Winter’). When personified, many other words (‘Liberty’ is a good example) that would normally appear entirely in lowercase letters are also given an initial capital.

The names of major historical events (catastrophes, exhibitions, wars, treaties, councils etc.) should use initial capitals: ‘the Great Famine,’ ‘the First World War,’ ‘the Gunpowder Plot,’ ‘the Council of Nicaea,’ ‘the Reformation’ and ‘the Crucifixion,’ with the initial capitals distinguishing the last two, as instructive examples, from the common and more generic terms ‘reformation’ and ‘crucifixion.’ The names of people and languages and the adjectives derived from them are similarly capitalised in English – ‘Canadians,’ ‘a Torontonian,’ ‘Aboriginal’ and ‘Irish’ – but with considerably inconsistency: ‘Americanise’ is the standard form, for instance, but so is ‘anglicise,’ and ‘Roman’ is capitalised when referring to numerals, but not when referring to ‘roman font’ (the capital in such cases sometimes indicates a closer relationship with the originating nationality, but not always, as ‘Roman’ versus ‘roman’ in my last example demonstrates). The same is the case with words derived from personal names such as ‘Chaucerian,’ ‘Shakespearean’ or ‘Platonic,’ with capitalisation used frequently but not always and generally varying the meaning when it is: the adjective in ‘a Platonic dialogue’ means something very different from that in ‘platonic love.’ Scientific units derived from names do not use initial capitals – ‘a watt’ and ‘a joule’ – but compound terms for scientific laws, tests and names generally retain the initial capital(s) on the personal name part: ‘the Mann–Whitney test,’ ‘Murphy’s law’ and ‘Halley’s comet.’ In biological nomenclature, the Latin names of genera bear an initial capital, but species names do not, as in Thymus vulgaris (thyme).

Specific building names are capitalised – ‘the Eiffel Tower’ and ‘the Dominion Building’ – but not generic ones: ‘the tower’ and ‘a skyscraper.’ Similarly, ‘the ship’ and ‘an airplane’ do not use capitals, but the names of ships and planes should appear with initial capitals – ‘the Spirit of St Louis ,’ ‘a Cessna Skyhawk’ and ‘the Golden Hinde ’ (as these examples show, the individual names of ships and planes use italic font as well, on which see Section 6.2.2 below). Names including a number also tend to be capitalised (e.g., ‘Scene 2,’ ‘Flight 423’ and ‘Route 66’) and cross references can be as well, as those in this document are with an initial capital on ‘Chapter’ and ‘Section,’ or they can appear in block capitals (as in ‘CHAPTER 3’). Block capitals of this sort can be used for a number of other purposes as well: to emphasise words or short phrases, though this should be done very selectively to avoid overuse; to highlight one or more words at the beginning of chapters and, more rarely, sections; to transcribe material that is itself entirely in capitals (from Roman inscriptions or coins, for instance); to record manuscript sigla (London, British Library MS Royal 6.C.XIV) and other information including Roman numerals; and to indicate character names in passages quoted from a play or author surnames in a bibliography or reference list, in which case author–date parenthetical references are occasionally set in block capitals to match the format of the list.

A useful approach for avoiding the overuse of capitalisation and thus allowing it to achieve its purpose effectively is to use a lowercase initial letter instead when referring back to a compound proper name that was introduced in initial capitals: ‘the University of Toronto,’ for instance, might be referred to in the next sentence as ‘the university,’ ‘the Second World War’ in the next paragraph as ‘the war’ and ‘the Great Famine’ as ‘the famine’ in subsequent mentions. As long as there is no potential for ambiguity and this approach does not conflict with any guidelines you need to follow, it can work well, but if, for instance, two wars or two famines are discussed, it is best to use the full name in each instance for clarity or to devise a system of abbreviation that distinguishes the two (see Section 6.3 below). Generally speaking, any system of capitalisation devised for such purposes that is not cumbersome and serves to emphasise the words and concepts requiring emphasis is acceptable as long as it is used both logically and consistently throughout a thesis.

Why PhD Success?

To Graduate Successfully

This article is part of a book called "PhD Success" which focuses on the writing process of a phd thesis, with its aim being to provide sound practices and principles for reporting and formatting in text the methods, results and discussion of even the most innovative and unique research in ways that are clear, correct, professional and persuasive.

The assumption of the book is that the doctoral candidate reading it is both eager to write and more than capable of doing so, but nonetheless requires information and guidance on exactly what he or she should be writing and how best to approach the task. The basic components of a doctoral thesis are outlined and described, as are the elements of complete and accurate scholarly references, and detailed descriptions of writing practices are clarified through the use of numerous examples.

The basic components of a doctoral thesis are outlined and described, as are the elements of complete and accurate scholarly references, and detailed descriptions of writing practices are clarified through the use of numerous examples. PhD Success provides guidance for students familiar with English and the procedures of English universities, but it also acknowledges that many theses in the English language are now written by candidates whose first language is not English, so it carefully explains the scholarly styles, conventions and standards expected of a successful doctoral thesis in the English language.

Individual chapters of this book address reflective and critical writing early in the thesis process; working successfully with thesis supervisors and benefiting from commentary and criticism; drafting and revising effective thesis chapters and developing an academic or scientific argument; writing and formatting a thesis in clear and correct scholarly English; citing, quoting and documenting sources thoroughly and accurately; and preparing for and excelling in thesis meetings and examinations. 

Completing a doctoral thesis successfully requires long and penetrating thought, intellectual rigour and creativity, original research and sound methods (whether established or innovative), precision in recording detail and a wide-ranging thoroughness, as much perseverance and mental toughness as insight and brilliance, and, no matter how many helpful writing guides are consulted, a great deal of hard work over a significant period of time. Writing a thesis can be an enjoyable as well as a challenging experience, however, and even if it is not always so, the personal and professional rewards of achieving such an enormous goal are considerable, as all doctoral candidates no doubt realise, and will last a great deal longer than any problems that may be encountered during the process.

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How to cite a dissertation in apa 7, published by steve tippins on june 25, 2020 june 25, 2020.

Last Updated on: 3rd June 2022, 04:25 am

The specific guidelines for how to cite a dissertation in APA style depend on a few factors. We’ll go over those below. However, no matter the specifics of the citation, the title of the dissertation is always written the same way.

The dissertation’s title should be written in sentence case and in italics. The first word of the title should be capitalized, and all other words should be in lower case, except for proper nouns.

With that in mind, let’s dive into the specifics of how to cite a dissertation in APA.

How to Cite a Dissertation in APA

In Text Citation

The guidelines for how to cite a dissertation in APA are the same for writing an in-text citation, paraphrase, and quotation; only the format for the reference list differs.  

(Name of Author, year)

(Stanford, 2016)

Horace Mann developed the common school, which was a free, non-sectarian, public institution (Stanford, 2016).  

According to Stanford (2016), “the common school was the best educational institution to help Americans achieve moral and socioeconomic uplift” (p. 46). 

Reference List

P ublished Dissertations

Published dissertations and theses are on databases, such as Pro-Quest Dissertations and Theses Globa, a university archive, or a website.

Author’s last name, initial of first name. (Year). Title of dissertation or thesis (Publication number). [Type of dissertation or thesis, Academic Institution]. Name of database.

Howard, B. (2017). The new media and literary structures . (Publication No. 1076483) [Doctoral dissertation or Master’s Thesis, University of Virginia]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Unpublished Dissertations

Unpublished dissertations and theses are usually only available in print form. 

Author’s last name, initial of first name. (Year). Title of dissertation or thesis (Unpublished doctoral or master’s thesis). Academic Institution.

Stanford, C. (2016). Horace Mann (1796–1859) and nineteenth-century educational reform . (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Ohio State University. 

Note: For dissertations and theses published or unpublished in countries other than the United States, you have to provide the location.  

Howard, B. (2017). The new media and literary structures . (Publication No. 1076483) [Doctoral dissertation or Master’s Thesis, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Dissertation From an Academic Institution’s Online Archive

There is only one difference in the guidelines for how to cite a dissertation from an online archive or repository and other ones. The name of the institution’s repository or archive and link needs to be provided. It should be written at the end of the other publication information.

In-text citation

Template (Name of Author, year) 

Example (Howard, 2017)

Paraphrase Literary structure is the arrangement of text elements, written in a way that ensures the author’s meaning is conveyed (Howard, 2017).  

Quotation  According to Howard (2016), “technological advances have resulted in a change in the paradigm regarding literature structures” (p. 46). 

Howard, B. (2017). The new media and literary structures . (Publication No. 1076483) [Doctoral dissertation or Master’s Thesis, University of Virginia]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. University of Virginia Archives. https://uovarchives.net/10389/11814

How to Cite a Dissertation Published Online (Not in a Database)

The guidelines for how to cite a dissertation or thesis published online are similar to those of published and unpublished ones, except for the format in the reference list.  

Reference list

Author’s last name, initial of first name. (Year). Title of dissertation or thesis (Publication number). [Type of dissertation or thesis, Academic Institution]. URL.

Howard, B. (2017). The new media and literary structures . (Publication No. 1076483) [Doctoral dissertation or Master’s Thesis, University of Virginia]. https://uv.edu/Howard /10288/

Note: You can find more information about how to cite a dissertation or thesis in APA 7th editionon pages 333-334.

How to Cite a Dissertation in APA Style: Final Thoughts

Citing a dissertation is relatively simple. As long as you adhere to the rules above, you should have no problem generating the correct citations.

If you need of assistance with APA style, feel free to take a look at our Dissertation Editing services.

Steve Tippins

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Capitalization Of Titles And Headings — The 3 Methods

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When crafting your dissertation , capitalizing chapter and section headings can be approached in three distinct ways: only the first word is capitalized, all words of significance are capitalized, or a blend of the two methods. The choice of method greatly impacts the presentation and readability of academic writing . This article is designed to guide you through these three capitalization strategies.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 Capitalization of Titles – In a Nutshell
• 2 Definition: Capitalization of titles and headings
• 3 Capitalization of titles and headings: The methods
• 4 Capitalization titles and headings: Proper nouns
• 5 Consistency is important
• 6 Why consistency is important

Capitalization of Titles – In a Nutshell

Depending on the style of capitalization of titles, you may capitalize all significant words or only the first word. If you choose the first option, then you should capitalize every word except the following:

• Articles – an, a, the, etc.
• Prepositions – of, in, on, etc.
• Coordinating conjunctions – but, or, and, etc.
• The word “to.”

Also, ensure you understand what the Style Guides, like APA style , MLA and Chicago style , s ay about capitalization before writing your paper.

Definition: Capitalization of titles and headings

The three main methods of capitalizing headings include sentence case, title case, and a combination of both sentence and title case.  All three have specific guidelines you should follow when using them.

It is essential to look out for any inconsistencies while using the different styles of capitalization of titles for your academic writing. Hence, always remain consistent to ensure your audience can easily follow through with your content. You must also understand that all proper nouns appearing in any headings should be capitalized.

Capitalization of titles and headings: The methods

Here is an in-depth look at the capitalization of titles methods you can use:

Method 1 – Title case

When using the title Case, you capitalize every significant word. This capitalization of titles style helps you understand what a powerful word is and what is not.

Generally, significant words are pronouns , nouns, adjectives , adverbs, and verbs; therefore, do not capitalize any prepositions , articles , or conjunctions .

Here is a table that gives examples of this method of capitalization of titles:

Method 2 – Sentence case

If you choose to use the sentence case, you only capitalize the first words. The table below shows examples of this capitalization of titles method:

Method 3 – Capitalization varies by methods

You can combine the two methods above in this capitalization of titles method. Here, you choose when to use a title case and when to format it with the sentence case. For example, you can use method 1 for chapter headings and 2 for lower-level headings and titles.

The table below shows examples of this method of capitalization of titles:

Capitalization titles and headings: Proper nouns

However, theories, models or schools of thought are not proper nouns, so you should not capitalize them in any of the styles of capitalization of titles. It would help if you only capitalized the scholar’s name when necessary.

Wrong: The Realist School

Correct: the realist school

Despite the capitalization of titles style, ensure you follow the grammar rules for using proper nouns. These constitute the name of organizations, people, and places and are always capitalized in headings, regardless of the writing style. For example, when writing the names of a country, like England, you must capitalize it regardless of your writing style.

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Consistency is important

If you are wondering which option you should use for the capitalization of titles, we recommend using the title or sentence case for your headings. Both, title and sentence cases, are easier to follow and would not require you to make many choices of the words you should capitalize and those you should not. Additionally, using many capital letters may make it difficult to read the texts and follow through, especially when your headings are longer.

You should also remember the specific requirements for writing headings for the APA, MLA , and Chicago styles. This will ensure you use the method of capitalization of titles as required.

Why consistency is important

Whatever option you choose for capitalization of titles and headings, remember that consistency throughout your document matters. This applies to your main chapter headings and the supporting materials, including appendices , acknowledgements, abstracts, figures and tables, reference lists, or table of contents.

To remove any inconsistency that might result from your preferred capitalization of titles style, carefully analyze your take on the contents. You can use Microsoft Word to automatically generate your list and see all your headings in a list. Looking through headings together without any distractions will pinpoint any anomalies. Also, ensure that other components of your dissertation format and layout are consistent and relate to your headings.

What words should you capitalize when writing a thesis title?

Because a thesis statement is an argument or claims you write to defend your research, do not capitalize it. Only capitalize the words you should capitalize according to the English Grammar.

What can you capitalize on an MLA paper?

All the first words of titles and subtitles are capitalized in MLA format. For example, The Future Fair: A Fair for Everybody.

What is the difference in capitalization of titles and headings between APA, MLA, and Chicago?

In Chicago and MLA, all prepositions appear lowercase, regardless of length. However, in APA style, capitalize all four letters and longer words, even if they are prepositions.

How do you capitalize headings in the AP Stylebook?

Most people use the AP Stylebook to write media, journalism, and corporate communication content. In this capitalization of titles method, capitalize all words of four and more letters, even when they are prepositions.

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Modern Languages Association (MLA) style, 7th edition

To our knowledge, the MLA style does not distinguish between titles for articles as a whole and dissertations. As such, we have based this style guide on the requirements for titles set out by the MLA style guide, 7th edition. The main considerations when writing your dissertation title from a style perspective are: (a) capitalisation in titles and subtitles; (b) when not to capitalise in titles and subtitles; (c) italics; (d) quotation marks; and (e) hyphenated compounds. Each of these considerations is present below with associated examples:

Capitalisation in titles and subtitles

The first letter of a title and subtitle should be capitalised. A subtitle should be separated using a colon or hyphen and then a single space (i.e., Title: Subtitle OR Title — Subtitle). If a subtitle follows a title that ends with a question mark, a colon should not follow the colon (i.e., Title? Subtitle NOT Title?: Subtitle). Also, the last word of the title and subtitle should be capitalised [examples in bold below]

M odernisms and Medievalisms, Old and N ew

B lue O rder: W allace Stevens's Jazz E xperiments

R eading R enunciation: L aura Riding and the End of P oetry

P rivate Worlds, Public M inds: W oolf, Russell and Photographic V ision

Subordinating conjunctions (e.g., after, although, because, before, until, when, where) [bold below] :

The Eight Animals in Shakespeare; or, Before the Human

All adjectives , adverbs , nouns , pronouns , and verbs should be capitalized, in addition to all words that have four letters or more.

When not to capitalise in titles and subtitles

Do not capitalise articles (i.e., a, an, the) unless they are the first letter of a title or subtitle [bold below] :

"Vertebrae on Which a Seraph Might Make Music"

Rich Woman, Poor Woman: Toward an Anthropology of the Nineteenth-Century Marriage Plot

Reading Renunciation: Laura Riding and the End of Poetry

Do not capitalise prepositions (e.g., as, at, by, in, of, off, on, to, up) [bold below] :

Eliot's Last Laugh: The Dissolution of Satire in The Waste Land

The Enfreakment of America's Jeune Fille � Marier : Lily Bart to Carrie Bradshaw

Do not capitalise coordinating conjunctions (e.g., and, but, or, for, nor) [bold below] :

Modernisms and Medievalisms, Old and New

Math for Math's Sake: Non-Euclidean Geometry, Aestheticism, and Flatland

Do not capitalise the word to in infinitives (e.g., to Interpret, to Provide)

Italics should be used for names of books, poems that are published as books, journals, magazines, newspapers, operas, paintings, plays, sculptures, and Web sites (for a complete list, refer to 3.6.2 (p.88) of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , 7th edition) [bold below] :

On Homelands and Home-Making: Rebecca Goldstein's Mazel

Stumbling into Crossfire: William Carlos Williams, Partisan Review , and the Left in the 1930s

Trauma and Cure in Rebecca West's The Return of the Soldier

Quotation marks

Quotation marks should be used for the titles of articles (i.e. articles of encyclopaedias, journals, and magazines), chapters and essays in books, lectures, poems, radio and television episodes, songs, stories, and Web pages. Quotations marks should be double (i.e., "..." ), not single (i.e., '...' ) [bold below] :

" A Few Cool Years after These " : Midlife at Midcentury in Niedecker's Lyrics

Bottomless Surfaces: Saul Bellow's " Refreshed Phrenology "

Hyphenated compounds

When hyphenated compounds capitalised in titles, both words should be capitalised (e.g., Time-Based, Self-Regulation, Short-Term).

If the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , 7th edition, is not in your university library, it can be purchased on Amazon for around £15/US$12/CDN$26. It is a comprehensive guide to the MLA style.

Clements, J. (2009) Bottomless Surfaces: Saul Bellow's "Refreshed Phrenology", Journal of Modern Literature , 33(1): 75-91

Cohen, M.A. (2009) Stumbling into Crossfire: William Carlos Williams, Partisan Review, and the Left in the 1930s, Journal of Modern Literature , 32(2): 143-158.

Fisher, T. (2010) Reading Renunciation: Laura Riding and the End of Poetry, Journal of Modern Literature , 33(3): 1-19.

Savage, E. (2010) "A Few Cool Years after These": Midlife at Midcentury in Niedecker's Lyrics, Journal of Modern Literature , 33(3): 20-37.

DiCicco, L. (2010) The Enfreakment of America's Jeune Fille à Marier: Lily Bart to Carrie Bradshaw, Journal of Modern Literature , 33(3): 78-98.

Henderson, A. (2010) Math for Math's Sake: Non-Euclidean Geometry, Aestheticism, and Flatland, PMLA , 124(2): 455-471.

Hoffman, K.A. (2010) ?Vertebrae on Which a Seraph Might Make Music?, PMLA , 125(1): 152-160.

Keane, D. (2009) Modernisms and Medievalisms, Old and New, Journal of Modern Literature , 32(2): 185-192.

Lehman, R.S. (2009) Eliot's Last Laugh: The Dissolution of Satire in The Waste Land, Journal of Modern Literature , 32(2): 65-79.

Mackin, T. (2010) Private Worlds, Public Minds: Woolf, Russell and Photographic Vision, Journal of Modern Literature , 33(3): 112-130.

Meyers, H. (2010) On Homelands and Home-Making: Rebecca Goldstein's Mazel, Journal of Modern Literature , 33(3): 131-141.

Michie, E.B. (2009) Rich Woman, Poor Woman: Toward an Anthropology of the Nineteenth-Century Marriage Plot, PMLA , 124(2): 421-436.

Pinkerton, S. (2008) Trauma and Cure in Rebecca West's The Return of the Soldier, Journal of Modern Literature , 32(1): 1-12.

Shannon, L. (2009) The Eight Animals in Shakespeare; or, Before the Human, PMLA , 124(2): 472-479.

Taylor, C.M. (2009) Blue Order: Wallace Stevens's Jazz Experiments, Journal of Modern Literature , 32(2): 100-117.

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Referencing figures, tables, sections and chapters: When to capitalize and when to use lower case letters

I know this question has been asked before, but I am still confused. That’s why I am asking again, but in a detailed way.

In a scientific work, a master’s thesis for example, you will insert figures and tables. Each figure and each table should be given a caption. For example:

Figure 1.1: This is my first figure in my first chapter.

Table 2.1: This is my first table in my second chapter.

When I am referencing Figure 1.1, I think I have to capitalize it, as it is considered a name:

In Figure 1.1 it can be seen that ...

The same holds for Table 2.1. But how do I reference multiple figures? I’d suggest:

In Figures 1.1 – 1.4 it can be seen that ...

And what about equations, sections and chapters? Let’s say there is an equation:

x + y = z (1)

Personally, I would reference this equation as follows:

In equation (1) it can be seen that ...

I am also not sure whether to use (1) or just 1. I am using lower case letters for everything but figures and tables. So, when referencing a section, I would say:

In section 1.1, it is stated that ...

I am not sure, if this is correct though. I have seen capital letters as well. I have seen abbreviations, such as Fig., Figs., Sec., Chp., Eq., Eqs. and so on. I am an engineer, so the recommended citing style is IEEE. Now, can anyone give me some insight into this trickery?

• technical-writing
• academic-writing

• A note from a guy who started a bounty. To put the Luk's question in different words, we want to know whether we should use the upper-case letter when referencing multiple figures (or tables, or examples). Whether we should use "For ..., see Tables 5A and 5B" or, instead, "For ..., see tables 5A and 5B". –  john c. j. Commented Oct 21, 2020 at 23:48
• The part about equations is actually a different question and should be asked separately. Although suggestions regarding equations are still welcome, of course. –  john c. j. Commented Oct 21, 2020 at 23:53

3 Answers 3

Absent guidance from a style guide, the best rule of thumb I can think of would be to use the same capitalization in the text as appears in the caption of the figure: Figures 1 to 3; Figure 5, etc. In this way, you are treating the caption of the figure as you would the title of a book or even a chapter in a book, and thus you maintain consistency.

You are going to have to check the style that is used by your university for your subject. Normally, a particular standard that many institutions use is the one you need. Then check the style manual that is relevant, e.g. Chicago.

• In my country, it is not easy to buy Chicago Manual of Style. And there is no guarantee that it really answers this question. –  john c. j. Commented Oct 23, 2020 at 13:55
• 2 The IEEE Editorial Style Manual (available to download) is silent about captions and capitalisation. However, on re-reading your question, I would capitalise words like 'section' and 'figure' when you are using them to talk about a particular one e.g. In Equation 1 it is clear ... I wouldn't put brackets around the numbers. –  S. Mitchell Commented Oct 23, 2020 at 15:27
• If you want to down vote an answer, indicate in a comment why. –  S. Mitchell Commented Oct 27, 2020 at 19:42
• As far as I remember, if a user don't award a bounty manually, it will be awarded automatically. There are no really great answers here, but I like this one answer more than the others. So to avoid automatic awarding to someone else, I award it to S. Mitchell. –  john c. j. Commented Oct 29, 2020 at 1:59

I am an engineer in a similar situation as well. I was quite confused about formatting and capitalization as well. My advisor suggested that I follow formatting rules based on the thesis of one of the previous students who graduated from my research group. Hopefully, my committee won't ask me to change any of it.

Having said that, I personally agree with all the formatting suggestions you have except the following:

I would just write

In equation 1 it can be seen that ... without the parenthesis and since you are capitalizing many nouns, for the sake of consistency, I would also write In Section 1.1 / Chapter 3, it is stated that ...

At least based on my conversation with my advisor, it seems like the thesis committee is more concerned with consistency than with a particular type of formatting.

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