APA Title Case vs Sentence Case: When Should You Use Each?

APA Style uses both title case and sentence case. That simple fact explains a large share of capitalization mistakes in academic writing. Writers often learn one set of APA capitalization rules and apply it everywhere, but APA 7 changes the required case according to where the title appears.

The easiest way to understand APA capitalization is to separate two questions. First, what does title case capitalize? Second, where does APA require title case rather than sentence case?

What Is APA Title Case?

In APA title case, major words begin with capital letters. APA 7 treats nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, and words of four letters or more as major words. This means some words that look minor in other title styles are capitalized in APA because of their length.

Example:

Learning With Technology in the Classroom

“With” is capitalized because it has four letters. “in” and “the” remain lowercase in the middle because they are short minor words.

APA title case also capitalizes the first word of the title, the first word of a subtitle, and major parts of hyphenated major words.

What Is APA Sentence Case?

Sentence case looks more like normal prose. The first word is capitalized, along with proper nouns and other terms that normally require capitals. Most other words are lowercase.

Example:

Title case:

Learning With Technology in the Classroom

Sentence case:

Learning with technology in the classroom

Notice that “with” is lowercase in sentence case. Its four letter length matters in APA title case, not in ordinary sentence case.

When Does APA Use Title Case?

APA uses title case for several visible elements in a paper.

Common examples include:

• The title of your paper
• Headings within the paper
• Titles of tables, figures, and appendices
• Titles of works when they are mentioned in the text
• Titles of periodicals such as journals, magazines, and newspapers

For example, if you mention a journal by name in your paper, its title keeps title style capitalization.

The key point is that APA title case is often used when a title is functioning as a displayed title, heading, or formal name within the prose.

When Does APA Use Sentence Case?

APA uses sentence case for the titles of many works in the reference list.

This commonly includes:

• Journal article titles
• Book titles
• Book chapter titles
• Reports
• Webpage titles
• Many standalone works listed as references

Suppose the original article title is displayed by its publisher as:

The Effects of Social Media on Student Motivation

In an APA reference entry, the article title would generally be styled in sentence case:

The effects of social media on student motivation

The journal title that follows would retain title case because periodical names are treated differently.

This difference is one reason reference entries should not be formatted by copying the capitalization directly from a publisher's webpage.

APA Title Case Rules at a Glance

When title case is required, capitalize:

1. The first word of the title.
2. The first word of a subtitle.
3. Nouns.
4. Pronouns.
5. Verbs, including linking verbs.
6. Adjectives.
7. Adverbs.
8. Words of four letters or more.
9. Major parts of hyphenated major words.

Short articles, conjunctions, and prepositions of three letters or fewer are generally lowercase in the middle of a title.

Examples of common lowercase words include:

a

an

the

and

but

for

in

of

on

to

Position can override the minor word rule. “The” is capitalized if it begins a title or subtitle.

APA Sentence Case Rules at a Glance

In sentence case:

1. Capitalize the first word.
2. Capitalize the first word of a subtitle when required by the reference format.
3. Capitalize proper nouns.
4. Preserve acronyms and names that require capitals.
5. Lowercase most other words.

Example:

Understanding Decision Making: A Study of Online Choices

may appear in sentence case as:

Understanding decision making: A study of online choices

The exact punctuation and reference format still depend on the source type.

Paper Titles in APA

The title of an APA paper uses title case.

Example:

The Relationship Between Sleep Quality and Academic Performance

The title should not be converted to sentence case merely because APA uses sentence case elsewhere. This is one of the most common misunderstandings.

If the paper has a subtitle, capitalize the first word after the colon:

The Relationship Between Sleep Quality and Academic Performance: A Survey of University Students

APA Headings

APA headings also use title case. The formatting level determines features such as alignment, boldface, italics, and paragraph placement, but capitalization is still an important part of the heading system.

Example heading:

Effects of Social Support on Academic Stress

Do not write:

Effects of social support on academic stress

if the heading level requires APA title case.

Article Titles in APA References

Article titles in the reference list generally use sentence case.

Example structure:

Author. (Year). Title of article in sentence case. Journal Title in Title Case, volume.

The contrast is deliberate. The article title is sentence case, while the journal name remains in title case.

This makes journal names easy to identify as formal periodical titles.

Book Titles in APA References

Book titles in APA references generally use sentence case as well.

For example:

The psychology of everyday decision making

not:

The Psychology of Everyday Decision Making

assuming the first version matches the required reference capitalization and there are no additional proper nouns.

When the same book title is mentioned in the body of the paper, APA may use title case:

The Psychology of Everyday Decision Making

Context changes the case.

What Happens After a Colon?

In APA title case, capitalize the first word after a colon when it introduces a subtitle.

Example:

Writing for Research: A Practical Guide

In sentence case reference titles, the first word after a colon is also commonly capitalized because it begins the subtitle:

Writing for research: A practical guide

The rest of the subtitle follows sentence case unless proper nouns or other required capitals appear.

Hyphenated Words in APA Title Case

APA title case capitalizes the second part of a hyphenated major word.

Example:

Self-Report Measures in Clinical Research

A simple converter that produces Self-report can be wrong under APA title case.

Hyphenation itself is a separate editorial question. The capitalization tool should preserve the existing compound and apply case to its parts, not invent a hyphen based only on capitalization.

APA Title Case vs Sentence Case Table

A Simple Way to Remember the Difference

Think of APA title case as the style for displayed titles and formal headings, while APA sentence case is common for titles of works inside reference entries.

That shortcut is not a replacement for the APA manual, but it helps prevent the most common error: applying title case to every title simply because the document follows APA Style.

How CapitalizeText.live Can Help

Paste the title into the homepage tool and select APA. Use Title Case when the text is a paper title, heading, or another APA context that requires title case. Use Sentence case when you are formatting a reference title that requires sentence capitalization.

The converter handles case. You still choose the correct context.

Related Resources

• Use the Title Case Converter
• Chicago Title Case Rules: Complete Guide to the 18th Edition
• APA vs MLA vs Chicago vs AP Title Capitalization: What Is the Difference?

Helpful answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Does APA 7 capitalize all words with four or more letters in title case?

Yes. APA title case treats words of four letters or more as major words, including many prepositions that stay lowercase in other styles.

Are article titles in APA references title case?

Generally no. Titles of journal articles in APA reference entries use sentence case.

Are journal names sentence case in APA references?

No. Periodical titles such as journal names retain title case.

Should a word after a colon be capitalized in an APA title?

When the colon introduces a subtitle, capitalize the first word of that subtitle. The remaining capitalization depends on whether the title is being written in title case or sentence case.