APA Capitalization Conundrum
![APA Capitalization Conundrum](/content/images/size/w1200/2024/01/DALL-E-2024-01-27-18.54.48---A-wide--colorful-comical-illustration-of-a-confused-person-looking-at-an-empty-comic-style-speech-balloon.-The-person-s-expression-is-one-of-bewilderm.png)
When I embarked on my master's degree, the intricacies of APA title capitalization were like those tiny print disclaimers at the bottom of an ad - easily overlooked. It wasn't until my doctoral journey, under the watchful eyes of a more meticulous faculty, that these peculiar rules came into sharp focus. Suddenly, what once seemed like mere trifles in academic writing began to resemble a cryptic code, decipherable only by the initiated.
As a novice researcher, I find myself perplexed by the non-standardized capitalization schemes APA insists upon. Why, oh why, must we capitalize every major word in a journal or newspaper title, yet revert to a more demure style with just the first word and proper nouns in a book or article title? Is there a secret society of scholars somewhere, chuckling over their cleverly crafted conundrum of capitalization?
![A strip of papyrus crossing the frame, adorned with strange, ancient-looking script.](https://gerrypedraza.com/content/images/2024/01/DALL-E-2024-01-27-18.59.11---A-strip-of-papyrus-going-across-a-1000x400-image--with-strange-and-ancient-looking-writing-on-it.-The-background-should-have-a-subtle--aged-texture-to.png)
The advantage of such varied capitalization escapes me. In my humble opinion, it adds unnecessary complexity to an already arduous process. It's like being asked to do a waltz and a tango simultaneously – while balancing a book on your head. Does this capricious capitalization contribute to the clarity or scholarly gravitas of our work? Or is it merely an academic hoop through which we must jump, a rite of passage into the esoteric world of scholarly writing?
Imagine a world where title capitalization followed a universal standard across all sources – a utopia of uniformity! Alas, for now, we must navigate these waters with a mix of resignation and bemusement, ensuring our titles conform to the whims of APA style, while secretly wondering if this is all just an elaborate academic prank.
- Book and Article Titles:
- Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle, as well as any proper nouns.
- Example: "The art of war: The oldest military treatise in the world."
- Journal and Newspaper Titles:
- Capitalize all major words in the title.
- Do not capitalize articles (like "a," "an," "the"), conjunctions (like "and," "but," "or"), or prepositions (like "in," "on," "at") unless they are the first word of the title or subtitle.
- Example: "The Journal of Higher Education."
- Subtitles:
- If there is a subtitle (separated by a colon), capitalize the first word of the subtitle following the same rules as the main title.
- Italicization:
- Italicize the titles of longer works like books and periodicals.
- Do not italicize titles of shorter works like articles and essays.