Correcting Capitalization — Correct capitalization in a...

SECTION 1

Why Capitalization Rules Exist

Have you ever read a text message where nothing was capitalized? It can be confusing! Capitalization (using uppercase letters in certain places) is one of the oldest tools in writing. It helps readers know when a sentence starts, what words are names, and which words carry special importance.

English capitalization rules developed over many centuries. Early writing systems didn't even have separate uppercase and lowercase letters. Let's look at how these rules came to be.

700s

Birth of Two Letter Sizes

Monks copying manuscripts by hand began using two different letter sizes. Large letters marked the start of important sections.

1400s

The Printing Press

Johannes Gutenberg's printing press made books widely available. Printers needed consistent rules, so capitalization at the start of sentences became standard.

1600s

Proper Nouns Get Capitals

Writers in the English-speaking world began to consistently capitalize names of people, places, and titles. Grammarians wrote down rules for the first time.

1700s–1800s

Modern Rules Take Shape

Dictionaries and grammar textbooks, such as those by Samuel Johnson and Lindley Murray, standardized the capitalization rules we still follow today.

Today

Standardized Tests & Formal Writing

The SHSAT tests your ability to spot capitalization errors. Knowing the rules helps you communicate clearly in school and beyond.

So, the big question is: which words need a capital letter, and which ones don't? That's exactly what this lesson will teach you.

SECTION 2

Core Capitalization Rules

There are a handful of key rules that cover almost every capitalization question you'll see on the SHSAT. Think of them as a checklist you can run through every time you see a sentence.

First Word of a Sentence

Always capitalize the very first word of every sentence. Example: The museum opens at nine.

Proper Nouns

Proper nouns (specific names of people, places, and things) are always capitalized. Example: Central Park is in New York City.

Titles of People & Works

Capitalize titles before a name (President Lincoln) and major words in the titles of books, movies, and songs.

Days, Months & Holidays

Days of the week, months, and holidays are capitalized. Example: We celebrate Thanksgiving in November.

Do NOT Capitalize These

Seasons (winter, spring), common nouns (city, school), and small words in titles (of, the, and) are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence.

✦ KEY TAKEAWAY

Think of capital letters like name tags. When a word is specific and unique — a person's name, a city, a holiday — it wears a name tag (capital letter). When it's general and ordinary — a boy, a city, a holiday — it doesn't need one.

SECTION 3

Capitalization Decision Flowchart

When you're not sure whether a word should be capitalized, follow this decision flowchart. Start at the top and answer each question until you reach a result.

Follow the arrows from top to bottom. Each diamond-shaped question tests one capitalization rule. If you answer YES at any step, the word should be capitalized.

Notice how the flowchart moves from the most common rule (first word of a sentence) down to more specific ones. On the SHSAT, you can quickly run through these steps in your head when you spot a potential error.

SECTION 4

How Capitalization Errors Appear on the SHSAT

On the SHSAT's Revising and Editing Part B, you'll read a passage with numbered sentences. Some sentences contain errors, and one common error type is incorrect capitalization. There are two kinds of mistakes to look for.

Error Type 1: Missing Capital (Under-Capitalization)

A word that should be capitalized is written in lowercase. For example: "My family visited the grand canyon last july." Both Grand Canyon (a specific place) and July (a month) need capital letters.

Error Type 2: Unnecessary Capital (Over-Capitalization)

A common noun is incorrectly capitalized. For example: "The Doctor told me to drink more water." Since doctor is not used as a title before a name here, it should be lowercase: "The doctor told me to drink more water."

💡 SHSAT Tip

When reading an SHSAT passage, scan for words that look "off." A lowercase letter after a period or a capitalized word in the middle of a sentence (that isn't a name) are red flags. Trust your instincts, then check against the rules.

Tricky Proper Nouns vs. Common Nouns

Proper nouns name something specific; common nouns name something general.

Proper Noun (Capitalize)	Common Noun (Lowercase)
Statue of Liberty	the statue in the park
Atlantic Ocean	the ocean
Dr. Patel	the doctor
Spanish (a language)	math class
the Brooklyn Bridge	the bridge near my house

SECTION 5

The Complete Capitalization Cheat Sheet

Let's organize every rule into clear categories. The diagram below shows which types of words get capitalized and which stay lowercase.

This chart splits capitalization rules into two columns. Use the left column for words that need capitals and the right column for words that stay lowercase.

⚠️ Regions vs. Directions

This one trips up many students! When "south" or "east" names a region (the South, the East Coast), capitalize it. When it's just a direction (drive south, face east), keep it lowercase.

SECTION 6

Worked Example: Finding and Fixing Errors

Let's walk through a sample sentence the way you would on the SHSAT. We'll identify each error and explain the fix step by step.

📝 ORIGINAL SENTENCE

"last saturday, aunt Rosa and i visited the metropolitan museum of art in new york city to see an exhibit on ancient greek sculpture."

Correcting the Sentence

Step 1 — First Word of SentenceThe sentence begins with "last." The first word of any sentence must be capitalized.

Change "last" → "Last"

Step 2 — Day of the Week"saturday" is a day of the week. Days are always capitalized.

Change "saturday" → "Saturday"

Step 3 — Pronoun "I"The pronoun "i" must always be capitalized, no matter where it appears in the sentence.

Change "i" → "I"

Step 4 — Proper Noun (Name of a Place)"the metropolitan museum of art" is the specific name of a museum. Each major word in its official name must be capitalized. Small words like "of" stay lowercase.

Change to "the Metropolitan Museum of Art"

Step 5 — Proper Noun (Name of a City)"new york city" is the official name of a city. Each word in its name is capitalized.

Change to "New York City"

Step 6 — Nationality / Cultural Origin"greek" refers to the culture and people of Greece. Nationalities and words that come from the names of countries are always capitalized.

Change "greek" → "Greek"

Step 7 — Check for Over-Capitalization"aunt Rosa" is correct — "Aunt" would be capitalized if used as a name ("I told Aunt Rosa"), but here "aunt" follows "my" so it acts as a common noun. However, in this sentence "aunt" starts after a comma with no article, so it is used as a title before the name. Capitalize it.

Change "aunt Rosa" → "Aunt Rosa"

✅ CORRECTED SENTENCE

"Last Saturday, Aunt Rosa and I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to see an exhibit on ancient Greek sculpture."

SECTION 7

Common Traps and How to Avoid Them

Certain capitalization mistakes show up again and again — both in student writing and on standardized tests. Here's a quick guide to the most common traps.

Six common capitalization traps you may see on the SHSAT

Trap	Wrong ✗	Right ✓
Seasons	I love Fall weather.	I love fall weather.
School subjects	She excels at History and Science.	She excels at history and science.
Directions vs. regions	Drive South on the highway.	Drive south on the highway.
Titles without names	The President spoke today.	The president spoke today.
Family titles after possessives	My Uncle is visiting.	My uncle is visiting.
Languages (always capitalize!)	She is studying spanish.	She is studying Spanish.

✦ KEY TAKEAWAY

Here's a simple way to remember: If you can replace the word with a specific name and it still makes sense, capitalize it. For example, "I asked Mom" works because you could say "I asked Sarah." But "I asked my mom" doesn't use it as a name — "mom" just describes a family role.

SECTION 8

Connecting to Titles and Advanced Rules

Once you've mastered the basic rules, you can handle trickier scenarios, like capitalizing the titles of books, movies, and essays. These rules come up on the SHSAT and also in your own writing.

Title capitalization rules for books, movies, and essays

Rule	Details
Capitalize the first and last word	Always capitalize the first and last word of a title, no matter what part of speech they are.
Capitalize major words	Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are always capitalized in titles.
Lowercase small words	Short prepositions (of, in, at, to), articles (a, an, the), and conjunctions (and, but, or) stay lowercase unless they are the first or last word.
Example	The Catcher in the Rye

In high school, you'll dive even deeper into style guides like MLA and APA. These guides have slightly different rules for titles. For now, the table above covers what you need for the SHSAT.

🚀 Looking Ahead

As you prepare for high school English, you'll also learn about capitalizing words in outlines, after colons, and in quotations. Nailing the basics now will make those advanced rules much easier.

SECTION 9

Practice Problems

Try these five problems on your own. Each one gets a little harder. After you decide on your answer, check the explanation below.

PROBLEM 1 — CONCEPTUAL

Which word in the following sentence has a capitalization error? "My family moved from texas to California last year."

PROBLEM 2 — BASIC

Rewrite the sentence with correct capitalization: "on wednesday, professor chen will teach a class about the civil war."

PROBLEM 3 — INTERMEDIATE

Which sentence is capitalized correctly? A) My Mom drove us to Lake Michigan during the Summer. B) My mom drove us to Lake Michigan during the summer. C) My Mom drove us to lake Michigan during the summer. D) My mom drove us to Lake michigan during the Summer.

PROBLEM 4 — APPLIED

Read this SHSAT-style passage excerpt and identify ALL capitalization errors: "The Students at kennedy middle school organized a food drive for thanksgiving. Their Principal, mrs. Lopez, said the event was the most successful in the school's History."

PROBLEM 5 — CRITICAL THINKING

Explain why the word "south" is capitalized in Sentence A but not in Sentence B: A) "Many people in the South enjoy warm weather year-round." B) "The park is two miles south of the school."

SUMMARY

Capitalization Review

Capitalization tells readers that a word is special. Always capitalize the first word of a sentence, proper nouns (names of specific people, places, and things), days, months, and holidays, languages and nationalities, titles used before a name, regions used as names, and the pronoun "I".

Do not capitalize seasons, general school subjects, compass directions, or titles used without a name. On the SHSAT, watch for both under-capitalized proper nouns and over-capitalized common nouns. Use the simple test: Is this word naming something specific? If yes, capitalize it. If it's general, leave it lowercase.