summer, fall Do not capitalize words such as “mom” and “dad” when they are used to talk about someone as opposed to when used as a name: Capitalize: “What did you say, Mom?” Don’t capitalize: “My mom and dad came with me.” Do not capitalize words that are often used as part of a name when they are used in other ways: “My family tree includes a general, a US president, and a princess.” Only capitalize direction words that designate a specific location: Capitalize: “I live out West.” Don’t capitalize: “I live west of Nebraska.” You can choose to capitalize a word for emphasis, but avoid overusing this technique since it will lessen the effect. Entire words and sentences written in capital letters are hard to read. Also, in online situations, this type of typing is referred to as shouting. So except in very rare situations, avoid typing in all capitals. KEY TAKEAWAYS Capitalize proper nouns, trade names, the word “I,” and the interjection “O.” Capitalize the first word in a sentence and key words in titles and subtitles. Capitalize abbreviations of proper nouns and the first word of items in a bulleted list. EXERCISES Write a (short) short story that uses five capitalization rules in this section. Use a color-coded key and word highlighting to identify where the capitalization rules are satisfied. Make a copy of a page from a textbook. Assign each capital letter on the page to one of the capitalization rules by placing a letter from a through f (representing Section 2.1 through Section 2.6) next to each capital letter. Make sure to use a color of ink that will stand out. Circle any missing or misused capitalization. 19.3 Abbreviating Words and Using Acronyms LEARNING OBJECTIVES
summer, fall Do not capitalize words such as “mom” and “dad” when they are used to talk about someone as opposed to when used as a name: Capitalize: “What did you say, Mom?” Don’t capitalize: “My mom and dad came with me.” Do not capitalize words that are often used as part of a name when they are used in other ways: “My family tree includes a general, a US president, and a princess.” Only capitalize direction words that designate a specific location: Capitalize: “I live out West.” Don’t capitalize: “I live west of Nebraska.” You can choose to capitalize a word for emphasis, but avoid overusing this technique since it will lessen the effect. Entire words and sentences written in capital letters are hard to read. Also, in online situations, this type of typing is referred to as shouting. So except in very rare situations, avoid typing in all capitals. KEY TAKEAWAYS Capitalize proper nouns, trade names, the word “I,” and the interjection “O.” Capitalize the first word in a sentence and key words in titles and subtitles. Capitalize abbreviations of proper nouns and the first word of items in a bulleted list. EXERCISES Write a (short) short story that uses five capitalization rules in this section. Use a color-coded key and word highlighting to identify where the capitalization rules are satisfied. Make a copy of a page from a textbook. Assign each capital letter on the page to one of the capitalization rules by placing a letter from a through f (representing Section 2.1 through Section 2.6) next to each capital letter. Make sure to use a color of ink that will stand out. Circle any missing or misused capitalization. 19.3 Abbreviating Words and Using Acronyms LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Handbook%20for%20Writers.docx