OST164 Text Editing Applications

1
OST164 Text Editing Applications

• Section 3 Capitalization
• Part II Paragraphs 318-345

2
Family Titles 318

• Capitalize words such as mother, father, aunt,
  and uncle when they stand alone or are followed
  by a personal name.
• Let me ask Mother and Dad whether
• Well be glad to put up Aunt Peg and
• I hear Brother Bobby has gone
• Do you think Grandmother Harvey will

3
Family Titles 319

• Do not capitalize family titles when they are
  preceded by possessives (such as my, your, his,
  her, and their) and simply describe a family
  relationship.
• Let me ask my mother and dad whether
• Do you think your brother Bobby would
• Joseph told his uncle to come to.
• If the word aunt, uncle, or cousin form a unit
  when used together with a first name, capitalize
  these titles, even when they are preceded by a
  possessive.
• Frank wants us to meet his Uncle John.
• I hope you can meet my Cousin May.

4
Family Titles 319

• Family titles introduced by the prefix grand
  are written solid. grandmother grandson
• Those introduced by the prefix great are
  hyphenated. great-grandmother great-granddaughte
  r
• Family titles that include terms like once
  removed require not special treatment. Phyllis
  and I are first cousins. Melonie is my first
  cousin twice removed.

5
Names of Organizations 320

• Capitalize the names of companies, unions,
  associations, societies, independent committees
  and boards, schools, political parties, clubs,
  religious bodies, and teams.
• Carteret Co. Board of Health Democratic
  party
• Future Business Leaders of America
  Baptists, Methodists
• Teachers Association Phi Kappa Beta
• Environmental Protection Agency
  the Carolina Panthers
• Try to follow the style established by the
  organization itself, as shown in the letterhead.
• Capitalize imaginative names used to refer to
  specific organizations. Big Blue (for IBM) Ma
  Bell (for ATT) The Big Eight (large accounting
  companies)

6
Names of Organizations 322

• Common organizational terms such as advertising
  department, manufacturing division, finance
  committee, and board of directors are capitalized
  when they are the actual names of units.
• The actual organizational name should be modified
  by the word the if it is to be
  capitalized. The Board of Directors will
  meet Jane has been elected to the Board of
  Directors I work in the Advertising Department
  at
• Do not capitalize these organizational names when
  they are modified by a word other than the.
  The efficiency of your accounting
  department. Ill send a copy to their research
  division.
• I like working for our business department
  because

NOTE The book says something a little different,
but we will go with this rule.
7
Names of Government Bodies 325-326

• Capitalize the names of countries and
  international organizations, as well as national,
  state, county, and city bodies and their
  subdivisions.
• the United Nations
• the Boston City Council
• the Peoples Republic of China
• Wisconsin Court of Appeals
• the New York State Board of Education
• Capitalize short forms of names of national and
  international bodies and their major divisions.
• the House (referring to the House of
  Representatives)
• the Department (example to the Department of
  Justice)
• the Bureau (example Federal Bureau of
  Investigation)
• the Commission (example Federal Trade Commission)

8
Names of Government Bodies 327

• Common terms such as police department, board of
  education, county court house, need not be
  capitalized since they are terms of general
  classification.
• However, capitalize these terms when they are
  specific
• Carteret County Board of Education
• Morehead City Police Department
• Carteret County Court House

9
Names of Government Bodies 328-329

• Capitalize federal only when it is part of the
  official name of a federal agency, a federal act,
  or some other proper noun.
• the Federal Reserve Board
• the Federal Insurance Contributions Act
• The terms federal government and government
  are now commonly written in lowercase because
  they are considered terms of general
  classification
• However, in government documents, and other types
  of official documents, they are capitalized.

10
Names of Places 331-332

• Capitalize the names of places, such as streets,
  buildings, parks, mountains, rivers, oceans, and
  mountains.
• Do not capitalize short forms used in place of
  the full name.
• street - Arendell Street
• falls - Niagara Falls
• the mall - Nicollet Mall
• A few short terms are capitalized because of
  clear association with one place.
• the Coast (the West Coast)
• the Channel (English Channel)
• the Hill (Capitol Hill)

11
Names of Places 333

• Capitalize imaginative names that designate
  specific places or areas.
• Down East (coastal Maine)
• the Lower East Side (Manhattan)
• the Outer Banks (of North Carolina)
• Tinseltown (Los Angeles)
• the French Quarter (in New Orleans)
• the South Lawn (of the White House)
• the Big D (Dallas)
• the Big Apple (New York)
• SoHo (in New York) Soho (in London)
• Silicon Valley (high-tech industries in San
  Francisco)
• Wall Street (the financial industry)

12
Names of Places 334-335

• Capitalize the word city only when it is part
  of the corporate name of the city or part of an
  imaginative name.
• Kansas City
• Morehead City
• the Windy City (Chicago)
• Capitalize state only when it follows the name
  of a state or is part of an imaginative name.
• New York State
• The state of Alaska
• The States (meaning the United States)
• Do not capitalize state when it is used in
  place of the actual state name.
• He is an employee of the state.
• He is moving to another state.

13
Names of Places 337

• Capitalize the only when it is part of the
  official name of the place. The Dalles
  v/s the Bronx
• Capitalize the words upper and lower only
  when they are part of an actual place name or a
  well-established imaginative name. Upper
  Peninsula - Lower East Side
• Capitalize the word greater when it precedes a
  city name, referring to the city plus the
  outlying suburbs. Greater Atlanta

14
Points of the Compass 338-339

• Capitalize north, south, east, west, and
  derivative words when they designate definite
  regions or are an integral part of a proper name.
• in the North the Far North
• down South the Deep South
• out West the South Side
• Eastern Seaboard the North Pole
• Do not capitalize these words when they merely
  indicate direction or general location. south of
  France west side of town
• Capitalize such words as Northerner, Southerner,
  and Midwesterner.

15
Points of Compass 340-341

• Capitalize such words as northern, southern,
  etc., when they refer to the people in a region
  or their political, social, or cultural
  activities.
• Southern hospitality - Western civilization
• Do not capitalize these words when they merely
  indicate general location or refer to the
  geography or climate of the region.
• southern temperatures - westerly winds
• When words like northern, southern, etc., precede
  a place name, they are ordinarily not
  capitalized however, they are capitalized if
  they are actually a part of the place name.
• northern New Jersey Northern Ireland

16
Days, Months, Holidays, Religious Days, and
Seasons 342-343

• Capitalize the names of days, months, holidays,
  and religious days.
• Tuesday
• New Years Eve
• the Fourth of July
• Election Day
• Good Friday
• Do not capitalize the names of the seasons unless
  they are personified.
• Note Some companies sometimes capitalize the
  names of seasons in promotional materials.

17
Historical Events 344 a and b

• Capitalize the names of historical events and
  imaginative names given to historical periods.
• the Renaissance
• the Great Depression
• the Industrial Revolution
• Capitalize references to cultural ages
• the Bronze Age the Dark Ages
• Contemporary references are not usually
  capitalized unless they appear together with a
  capitalized reference.
• the space age the atomic age the digital age

18
Historical Events 344 and 345

• References to cultural eras are usually
  capitalized, but references to cultural periods
  are usually not.
• the Common Era the romantic period
• the Victorian Era the colonial period
• Capitalize the names of sporting events.
• the Super Bowl
• the Masters
• the U.S. Open
• the World Series (or Series)
• the Kentucky Derby (or Derby)
• Do not capitalize the names of decades and
  centuries.
• During the fifties In the
  nineteen-nineties
• The twenty-first century During the
  nineteen hundreds..