Comments on: Sentence case v title case

By: Title case versus sentence case « In Repair

Title case versus sentence case « In Repair — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:51:58 +0000

[...] (typeof(addthis_share) == "undefined"){ addthis_share = [];}This is why I edited almost every single post title on this blog a few weeks ago. Sentence case [...]

By: Abraham

Abraham — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 03:50:04 +0000

thanks Snappy, thats an excellent informative reference material..

By: Snappy Sentences

Snappy Sentences — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:40:59 +0000

Actually, that isn't set in stone. I've seen title case rules which have all words start with a capital, and some which don't capitalise prepositions. That's why it's such a hard guideline to follow. There's a good breakdown of different variations of title case at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_case#Headings_and_publication_titles

By: Star

Star — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:34:03 +0000

Abraham, the prepositions need to be in small letters.

By: Abraham

Abraham — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:34:42 +0000

i wanted to know whether prepositions in title case need to be in capital letters or small letters.

for example:
As of Date / As Of Date
Engagement as of Date / Engagement As Of Date

By: Snappy Sentences

Snappy Sentences — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:09:01 +0000

Hi Brian

It’s an interesting topic for sure. When I first wrote this post, the general consensus was that capital letters did slow down reading. Since then I’ve read that ALL CAPS slows down reading, but title case doesn’t (or it’s such a small reduction that it’s hardly worth mentioning). The human brain still recognises the shapes of the words.

Susan Weinschenk has an article about it on her website: It’s a Myth That All Capital Letters Are Inherently Harder to Read.

Even so, I still prefer sentence case, and advocate it for my clients. From a consistency point of view it’s much easier to manage, and I personally think it looks better.

Cheers

By: Brian Bozic

Brian Bozic — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:54:54 +0000

You’ll probably find that most US newspapers also use sentence case for headings too.

Check out the following:
San Diego Union-Tribune
San Francisco Chronicle
Boston Globe
USA Today
Philadelphia Inquirer
Los Angeles Times
Dallas Morning News
Denver Post

I’d be very interested to know if there is peer-reviewed research on the topic. I remember reading once (but not sure where) that capital letters do interrupt the flow as they are signifiers of importance, and the eye pauses to allow the brain to focus on what that importance is.

I also find it aesthetically more pleasing to use sentence case

By: Piero

Piero — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:03:28 +0000

Agree totally with your points re sentence case.

One other benefit is that capitalised brand names and proper nouns are more prominent in sentence case headings, which I think makes it easier for the reader to glean meaning from the sentence (especially with the scanning/skimming habits of online reading).

Note: UK and Australian news sites typically use sentence case headlines

By: Boštjan Mejak

Boštjan Mejak — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:38:07 +0000

Title case is very ackward. You said that proper nouns also have a capital in the title case. But there’s more to it. Words like ‘for’ and ‘by’ and ‘a’ and ‘an’ and ‘the’ and such have to be written lowercase in a title case.

Example of a correct title case: Young Girl Attacked by a Ferocious Dog

I agree with you and prefer sentence case myself as well.

By: Snappy Sentences

Snappy Sentences — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:50:18 +0000

Hi Miranda

I have to say this is one of my most popular posts. We also continued the discussion over at http://www.snobs.com.au/2009/08/03/punctuation101-title-or-sentence-case/#comments.

Thanks for stopping by