Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Capitalize Posts
• Method 2 of 3: Lowercase Posts
• Method 3 of 3: Capitalized Positions in Job Submissions
• Tips
• Warnings

The rules of grammar are not easy to master, especially since there are so many of them and it seems that they all have a huge number of exceptions. Like the rest of English grammar, the capitalization rules for job titles can often be confusing. However, in most cases, capital letters are not required. There are only a few use cases for capital letters - take a little time to study them, and you can write correctly any position or profession.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Capitalize Posts

1. 1 Capitalize proper names. This is the most general rule. It means that the unique names of specific subjects (such as "Paris", "Saturn", "Alex" or "Green Peace") should be written with a capital letter, and with a lowercase letter - common nouns that refer to a group or type of subjects ( for example, "city", "planet", "baseball player" or "environmental organization"). In the case of professions, this suggests that most of them are written with a lowercase letter.
   • However, if the position is official and one of a kind, for example, "Queen of England", then it is written with a capital letter.
2. 2 Capitalize the positions that appear before the person's name. If a certain position is indicated right before a name and refers to a specific person, as a rule, it is a proper name, and therefore it is usually written with a capital letter. That is, “reverend James” should be “Reverend James,” and “doctor Smith” should be “Doctor Smith” or “Dr. Smith ".
   • Please note that this rule only applies for titles that have been officially awarded or awarded. For example, you can capitalize "Professor Anita Brown", "Judge Regina Blake" and "President Flora Barnum", but you cannot do the same with professions such as "artist", "race car driver" or "musician" for example: "This song is performed by musician Louis Armstrong".
   • Another way to determine if a title should be capitalized in front of a person's name is to think about whether it is a title or a description. That is, the "Director of Marketing Joanna Russell" option will be correct, since this is the official title of Joanna's position. If you are just describing the essence of her position, you should not use capital letters: "marketing chief Joanna Russell".
3. 3 Capitalize the title in your name signature. At the end of a letter (regular or email) or other message, the title should be indicated with a capital letter. Instead of the signature “John Smith, editor in chief”, it should be “John Smith, Editor in Chief”.
4. 4 Capitalize the titles that are used instead of the name. If you use the title of the person instead of their name, especially when addressing directly, you should use capital letters.
   • For example: "Can you make it to my graduation, Dad?" - or: “With all due respect, General, I disagree”, - or: “I saw the Queen of England ride by today”.
   • This also applies to expressions of respect such as “Your Honor” or “Your Highness”.
5. 5 Use capital letters with the positions you give people. Some titles, such as professor or research assistant / councilor, are proper names as they are one of a kind. Therefore, in this case, be sure to write the position with a capital letter, even if it is indicated after the person's name.
   • For example: "Georgina Bourassa, the Barnaby G. Gray Professor of Circuses, taught for five years."
6. 6 Remember to capitalize all words in the sentence. That is, always capitalize the first, last and main word in the position, but this does not apply to insignificant words, for example, prepositions ("of", "about" or "with"), conjunctions ("and", "but" or "or") or articles ("a", "an" or "the").
   • So, the position "associate director of research and development for the cancer unit at Pharmacon" should be written: "Associate Director of Research and Development for the Cancer Unit at Pharmacon".
   • Television networks (such as ESPN) or journalistic media (such as CNN) are excellent sources for determining which words in posts should be capitalized and which should not.
   • Alternatively, you can use the layout guides or enter text on a dedicated website (for example, http://titlecapitalization.com/) and choose a style that suits you.

Method 2 of 3: Lowercase Posts

1. 1 Don't capitalize informal titles or common nouns. If the title refers to a profession or activity and not to a specific or official title, capital letters are not required.
   • For example: "Janice Buckley is a microbiologist", - or: "Here are some tips from painter John Green". In both cases, titles describe a profession, not an official title, so they do not need to be capitalized.
2. 2 Do not capitalize a stand-alone position. If the title is not listed next to the title, and it is used as an independent noun, capital letters are not required. This is the most common use case for posts, and most often they do not need to be capitalized.
   • For example: “John, who is a salesperson, works at the dealership”, - or: “The clerk helped us with the documents”.
3. 3 Use a lowercase letter if the title in the sentence appears after the person's name. This rule applies regardless of whether the title is special or general, official or unofficial.
   • For example: "Jesse Roberts, editor in chief at Grammar Central, hates typos", - or: "Helena Briggs, social worker with the NHS, is a handling the case."

Method 3 of 3: Capitalized Positions in Job Submissions

1. 1 Capitalize on positions that act as headings on your resume. When specifying an official position in the section with work experience, write it with a capital letter. For example: "Director of Human Resources (2011 - Present)".
2. 2 Do not capitalize positions that are in the main body of your resume. If the title is part of a sentence or paragraph on a resume, such as a synopsis or job description, do not use capital letters. For example: "As director of human resources, I upped recruitment and decreased time-to-hire."
3. 3 Stick to the same order when heading official titles in your cover letters. There is no consensus and clear opinion on whether or not to capitalize the special, official positions that are indicated in the cover letter. The main thing is to decide which option you will use and stick to it throughout the text.
   • If you are applying for a specific position, you can follow the lead of most people and capitalize it in your cover letter: "I am writing to apply for the Assistant Professor of American Literature post at Bard College." If so, make sure to capitalize and other specific positions in your letter.
   • The best way to determine is to look at the list of vacancies on the company's website to see if they capitalize on the specific positions that appear in the offers or not. If so, then you should.
   • In any case, remember that general job titles are never capitalized in a sentence. For example: “I have more than twenty years of experiences as a director of human resources”, - or: “I am looking for a position as a campaign manager in the nonprofit sector”.

Tips

• When in doubt, do not capitalize the title. This is generally not necessary, and most style guides tend to use less capitalization.

Warnings

• Generally accepted regulations may differ depending on geographic location or even industry. For example, there is a difference between American and British norms, as well as between the norms used by biologists and journalists. Be sure to keep this in mind when writing for a specific audience.
• If you are writing for work, check to see if the company or organization has a manual where you can find out their capitalization preferences.