Website Writing Guide
Punctuation
Capitals
Use capitals only for proper names and to begin a sentence. Do not use capitals to add emphasis.
Use sentence case for headings and menu items. That is, a capital for the first word and then lower case for all subsequent words, unless there is a proper noun. See Capitals in headings
A guide to the use of capitals:
- personal names - Anna, David
- nicknames – the Great White Shark
- nationalities, races, tribes – Australian, American, Sydneysider, Eskimo
- names of organisations and societies – World Health Organization, The Royal Society
- names of government departments – Health, Treasury
- a reference to a specific state or the Federal Government, but not when referring to government or governments in general
- names of ships, aircraft and trains – Queen Mary
- names of models, brands and types of vehicles – Ford, Audi
- formal titles – Governor General, Lord Mayor
- names of geographical places and areas, states, countries – New South Wales, Italy, Adelaide Hills, Whistler, Tiber River, South East Asia, North America
- names of public buildings and places – The Houses of Parliament, The Colosseum
- acts, treaties and government programs – Native Title Act, Goods and Services Tax
- holidays, days of the week – Christmas Day, Tuesday
- trademarks, brand names and proprietary names – Harrods, Microsoft, Coca-Cola
- a range of scientific terminology and computer terms - Internet, the Web
- newspapers – The Times, The Australian
- plays, films and television programs – A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Office
- musical compositions and song titles - The Marriage of Figaro
- paintings, drawings and sculpture – Mona Lisa, The Thinker.
Capitals for book titles and articles can be all capitals or just capitals for the first word. Check the original titles for usage.
See also: Use of italics
Other topics in this section
Home Guide | Basic punctuation rules | Lists - bullets, numbers, hyperlinks | Capitals |
Hyphens | Abbreviations | Web page addresses | Italics | Quotations | Numbers |
Dates and times | Citing references |
