Short answer: A title case converter in APA format capitalizes the first word, every major word (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns), and every word of four letters or more — while keeping short articles, conjunctions, and prepositions of three letters or fewer lowercase. So "the effects of climate change on coastal cities" becomes "The Effects of Climate Change on Coastal Cities". These are the APA 7 rules (§6.17), and this guide explains them with examples, a comparison with MLA and Chicago, and the mistakes students make most often.
If you have ever typed a paper title into a converter, copied the result, and then wondered whether your teacher will mark it wrong, you are not alone. Title case looks simple — capitalize the important words — but every style guide disagrees about which words count as important. APA has its own answer, and it is more precise than most converters. The good news: once you know the four-letter rule and the short list of words that stay lowercase, you can check any title in about ten seconds.
What Is APA Title Case?
Title case means giving most words in a title or heading a capital letter. Under APA 7, title case belongs on paper titles, headings, and the titles of works you mention in your text. Reference-list entries are the exception: they take sentence case, with a capital on the first word and on proper nouns only. Mixing those two up is the single most common APA capitalization mistake, and we will come back to it below.
APA defines title case in section 6.17 of the Publication Manual (7th edition). The rules sound technical, but they reduce to two lists: words that always get a capital, and words that stay lowercase. Learn both lists and you rarely need to look anything up.
How to Use a Title Case Converter for APA Format
A title case converter APA format search will show you dozens of free tools, including our own free Case Converter tool. Here is the honest part most tool pages skip: a basic converter's Title Case mode capitalizes every word, and that is not APA title case. APA keeps short minor words lowercase, so a converter's output is a starting point, not a finished title.
The workflow that actually works: paste your title into the converter and apply Title Case to fix the bulk of the capitalization in one click, then run through the short checklist below and lowercase the minor words by hand — of, in, on, the, and, a and the rest of the small list. It takes ten seconds, and the result follows APA properly. If you only need to convert uppercase to lowercase after a caps-lock accident, the same tool handles that too.
The 7 APA Title Case Rules
These are the rules from APA 7, §6.17, in plain language:
- Capitalize the first word of the title, even if it is a minor word like The or A.
- Capitalize the first word of a subtitle — the first word after a colon, an em dash, or end punctuation in a heading.
- Capitalize all major words: nouns, verbs (including short linking verbs like is and are), adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns.
- Capitalize every word of four letters or more — even prepositions. That is why With, From, Between, and About take capitals in APA.
- Lowercase articles: a, an, the.
- Lowercase short conjunctions and prepositions of three letters or fewer: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet, as, at, by, in, of, off, on, per, to, up, via.
- Capitalize both parts of a hyphenated major word: Self-Report, not Self-report; Meta-Analysis, not Meta-analysis.
One rule APA does not have: a last-word rule. Unlike Chicago and MLA, APA does not automatically capitalize the final word of a title. A short preposition at the end stays lowercase — "The Things We Depend on", not "Depend On". If your converter capitalizes that final on, it is following a different style guide.
Words That Stay Lowercase in APA Title Case
| Word type | Stays lowercase (in the middle of a title) |
|---|---|
| Articles | a, an, the |
| Coordinating conjunctions | and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet |
| Short prepositions (3 letters or fewer) | as, at, by, for, in, of, off, on, per, to, up, via |
Remember the exception that overrides the table: any of these words is capitalized when it is the first word of the title, the first word of a subtitle, or the first word after a colon. "A Study of Sleep" starts with a capital A because it opens the title, even though a is an article.
APA vs MLA vs Chicago Title Case
The three styles agree on most words and disagree on one thing: prepositions. APA and AP decide by word length; Chicago and MLA decide by part of speech.
| Rule | APA 7 | MLA 9 | Chicago 18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| First and last word | First word only; no last-word rule | Both capitalized | Both capitalized |
| Prepositions of 4+ letters (With, From) | Capitalized | Lowercase | Lowercase* |
| Short prepositions (of, in, on) | Lowercase | Lowercase | Lowercase |
| Word after a colon | Capitalized | Capitalized | Capitalized |
| Hyphenated major words | Both parts capitalized | Both parts capitalized | Both parts capitalized |
*Chicago 18 changed a rule that had stood since 1969: prepositions of five or more letters are now capitalized, so Through and Between take capitals in Chicago too. If your teacher still uses an older Chicago edition, check which rule they expect. The practical point is simple: never assume a title formatted for one style is correct for another. Pick the style your assignment asks for, then apply its rules.
Worked Examples
Four titles, converted step by step:
- Original: the effects of climate change on coastal cities
APA: The Effects of Climate Change on Coastal Cities — on is two letters, so it stays lowercase; Coastal and Cities are major words. - Original: a study of sleep and memory in college students
APA: A Study of Sleep and Memory in College Students — A is capitalized because it opens the title; of and in stay lowercase. - Original: why the electoral college still matters: a debate over reform since 2000
APA: Why the Electoral College Still Matters: A Debate Over Reform Since 2000 — A after the colon is capitalized; Over and Since have four or more letters, so they take capitals. - Original: self-report measures of anxiety in teenagers
APA: Self-Report Measures of Anxiety in Teenagers — both parts of the hyphenated word are capitalized; of and in stay lowercase.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Capitalizing every word. "The Effects Of Climate Change On Coastal Cities" is wrong in APA — Of and On should be lowercase. This is exactly what a basic converter produces, so always check the small words.
- Putting title case in the reference list. APA reference entries use sentence case: "The effects of climate change on coastal cities." Only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. Titles inside your text use title case; titles in your references use sentence case.
- Lowercasing short verbs. Is, Are, Be, and It look small, but they are verbs and pronouns — major words — so they are always capitalized: "What It Is All About".
- Forgetting the word after a colon. The first word of a subtitle is always capitalized, even if it is an article: "Sleep and Memory: A Study of College Students".
- Guessing with "to" in infinitives. APA treats to as a short preposition and keeps it lowercase: "How to Write a Research Paper". Some other styles capitalize it; APA does not.
Quick Checklist Before You Submit
Run through these five checks on every title. It takes less than a minute, and it catches nearly every APA capitalization error:
- Is the first word capitalized — even if it is The or A?
- Are all nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns capitalized, however short?
- Are all words of four letters or more capitalized — including With, From, and Between?
- Do the small words — articles, short conjunctions, short prepositions — stay lowercase in the middle of the title?
- Is the first word after any colon capitalized, and are both halves of hyphenated major words capitalized?
If your title also needs to fit a word limit — an essay with a 500-word cap, for example — paste your draft into a free word counter before submitting. And if you are writing the title for a blog post or a meta description, a character counter without spaces helps you keep it inside the length Google displays.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a title case converter do APA format automatically?
Most free converters cannot do APA format perfectly on their own. Their Title Case mode usually capitalizes every word, while APA keeps short articles, conjunctions, and prepositions lowercase. Use the converter for the bulk of the work, then lowercase the minor words using the checklist above — or pick a converter that lets you choose APA 7 as its style.
Does APA capitalize "is" in a title?
Yes. The word is is a verb, and APA capitalizes all verbs, however short. The same applies to Are, Be, Was, and It (a pronoun). A short word keeps its lowercase only when it is an article, a conjunction, or a preposition of three letters or fewer.
Which words does APA leave lowercase in a title?
Mid-title, keep these lowercase: the articles a, an, and the; short conjunctions such as and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet; and short prepositions like as, at, by, for, in, of, off, on, per, to, up, via. Each of them takes a capital, though, when it opens the title or a subtitle, or comes right after a colon.
Should "with" get a capital in APA title case?
Yes — with is four letters long, and APA gives a capital to every word of four letters or more, prepositions included. The same rule covers From, About, Between, Through, and Over. A preposition stays lowercase only if it has three letters or fewer.
In the reference list, does APA want title case or sentence case?
Sentence case. A reference entry capitalizes just three things in a title: its first word, its subtitle's first word, and proper nouns. Save title case for paper titles, headings, and works you name inside your text — reference entries follow the other style.
Where do APA and MLA title case part ways?
The main difference is prepositions. APA capitalizes prepositions of four or more letters (With, From), while MLA lowercases all prepositions whatever their length. MLA also capitalizes the last word of a title; APA has no last-word rule. Major words take capitals in both styles, and so does the word after a colon.
APA title case comes down to a short list of rules, not guesswork. Capitalize the first word, the major words, and anything with four letters or more; keep the short articles, conjunctions, and prepositions lowercase; and remember that your reference list plays by different rules. Use a free Case Converter tool to do the heavy lifting, check the small words by hand, and your titles will match APA 7 every time. AIToolsForBloggers publishes free tools and guides like this one for bloggers, students, and developers — no sign-up needed.
