1. Capitalization

2. When should we use a capital letter?

3. The first words of a sentence. Writing is so time consuming.

4. The pronoun “I” Man, am I tired of seeing this mistake.

5. Proper nouns (the names of specific people, places, organizations and sometimes things) Garnet Valley School District Thomas Jefferson Glen Mills, Pennsylvania Federal Bureau of Investigation Indian Removal Act

6. Family relationships (when used as a proper name) I went shopping for a birthday present for Aunt Sue. I went to tea with Mother.

7. The names of God, specific deities, religious figures, and holy books the Bible the Koran Zeus God the Father EXCEPTION: do not capitalize the nonspecific use of the “god” I worship one female god and one male god.

8. Titles proceeding names, but not titles that follow names Dr. Acker Principal Penning Ms. Papa, principal

9. Directions that are names (North, South, East, and West when used as sections of the country, but not as compass directions. The South lost the Civil War. Travel west and you will reach the Pacific Ocean.

10. The days of the week, the months of the year, and holidays (but not the seasons used generally) Flag Day April Tuesday Autumn EXCEPTION: Seasons are capitalized when used in a title Winter of 2015

11. The names of countries, nationalities and specific languages German Germany French Cherokee Native American

12. The first word in a sentence that is a direct quote “Success is not final, failure is into fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” William Churchill

13. The major words in the titles of books, articles, and songs but not short prepositions or the articles “the,” “a,” or “an,” if they are not the first word of the title)

14. Members of national, political, racial, social, civic, and athletic groups Republican Party Seminole Indians

15. Periods and events (but not century numbers) Jackson Era Jefferson Administration Great Depression

16. Trademarks McDonalds Wendy’s Chick-Fil-A Windows

17. Words and abbreviations of specific names