Title Case Converter
Convert text to proper title case. Capitalises major words and keeps short articles, conjunctions, and prepositions lowercase — the way style guides require.
A title case converter capitalises the first letter of every major word in a headline while leaving short words such as "a", "and", "of", and "the" in lowercase. The first and last words are always capitalised, regardless of length.
Examples
| Input | Output |
|---|---|
| the lord of the rings | The Lord of the Rings |
| a tale of two cities | A Tale of Two Cities |
| what to look for in a winter coat | What to Look for in a Winter Coat |
When to use the title case converter
Title case is not one rule — it is a family of rules, and the major style guides disagree. This converter follows the common core: capitalise everything except articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet), and short prepositions (at, by, in, of, on, to, up, via), and always capitalise the first and last word.
Where the guides diverge:
- Chicago Manual of Style lowercases all prepositions regardless of length, so it writes "The Question Concerning Technology" as "The Question concerning Technology" — an outcome most people find surprising.
- APA (7th edition) capitalises any word of four letters or more, so "with" and "from" are capitalised but "of" and "the" are not.
- AP Stylebook capitalises prepositions of four letters or more, matching APA in practice for most headlines.
Use title case for book, article, and film titles, and for headlines in publications that call for it. Note that many modern digital style guides — including those of Google, Apple, and Mailchimp — prefer sentence case for headings and buttons, because it reads faster and handles product names more gracefully.
Frequently asked questions
Which style guide does this title case converter follow?
It applies the rules common to Chicago, APA, and AP: major words capitalised, short articles, conjunctions, and prepositions lowercase, first and last words always capitalised. For strict APA compliance, manually capitalise any remaining word of four letters or more.
Why is "of" lowercase but "Is" capitalised?
"Of" is a preposition and "is" is a verb. Title case lowercases only articles, coordinating conjunctions, and short prepositions — verbs are always capitalised, even short ones.
Does it capitalise the first word even if it is "the"?
Yes. The first and last words of a title are always capitalised, which is why "the lord of the rings" becomes "The Lord of the Rings".
What is the difference between title case and capitalized case?
Capitalized case uppercases the first letter of every single word without exception. Title case is smarter: it leaves minor words lowercase, which is what publishers actually require.