RULES FOR CAPITALIZATION
1)
General Classifications:
Do
not capitalize common nouns the represent general classifications.
Example:
We want to deal with a good company.
Note: Many companies
capitalize the word “company” in their in-house materials when they are
referring to their own company. If
you work for that company, you will, of course, follow the company protocol.
Do
not capitalize general occupational titles not used with names.
Example:
He is a lawyer.
2)
Personal Names and Titles:
Use
the following forms for titles in the inside address, salutation, and body of a
business letter. Capitalize the
first letter of each title.
Examples:
Mr.
Lopez
Miss
Carson
Dr.
Smith
Other
titles such as professor or senator are spelled in full within
narrative.
Capitalize
titles when they are used with names.
Examples:
Professor
Jane Pulaski
Senator
Jenkins, but the professor
3)
Company Names
Capitalize
company names.
Example: I work for the
Central Corporation.
Capitalize
“the” at the beginning of a company name only if it is actually part
of the name.
Example: We will visit The
First National Bank.
Such
words as for or and are not capitalized within a company name.
Example:
I applied for the job at the Jones and Smith Company.
4)
Days, Months, Holidays.
Capitalize the names of
days of the week, months, and holidays.
Example:
We will arrive on Monday.
5)
Compass Points
Do not capitalize north,
southeast, western, etc., when they simply indicate directions.
Example:
We drove south several times.
Capitalize such words when they represent definite
geographic regions.
Example:
There are many farms in the West.
Capitalize directions when
they are actual parts of geographic names.
Examples:
His
home is in Northern Ireland.
He drove through southern Maine.
| 
