In the reference list, use the same rule for journals only. The Journey Toward Reconciliation (“toward” is capitalized even though it’s a preposition because it has more than three letters) In the text (the body of a paper), capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, and all major words (not “a,” “an,” “the,” or prepositions or conjunctions of 3 or fewer letters).Įx.
a department of linguistics.Ĭapitalize the names of specific courses (exact titles) not uses that are more general, for example, Linear Algebra 1 vs. In names of health conditions, only capitalize people words, for example, Crohn’s disease and diabetes.Ĭapitalize the names of specific departments within specific universities or companies not uses that are more general, for example, Cornell University’s Department of Linguistics vs. For example, you do not capitalize sertraline (the generic name), but you do capitalize Zoloft (the brand name for that generic). Only capitalize brand names, not generics.
trial n (where n is a variable indicating how many trials there are). Big Five personality factors and Trial 2 vs. The only time you do capitalize is if you assigned them letters or numbers (e.g., Groups 1 and 2 and Conditions A and B).Ĭapitalize factors, components, trials, and items when they precede a number or letter (not a variable) but not otherwise, for example, Factors 1 and 2 vs. Do not capitalize the words “test” or “scale” if they refer to subsections of tests but do capitalize the actual name of the scale, for example, the MMPI Aggressiveness scale and the MVPI Aversions scale. Many tests in the social sciences contain subsections called scales. Note: You should always capitalize place and people names (when they appear in names of theories, tests, or anything else). the Minnesota inventory and the Stroop Color-Word Interference Test vs. Do NOT capitalize shortened or inexact forms, for example, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory vs. The survey was conducted online among adults 18+ living in. Capitalize only people's names, for example, Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences and the cognitive learning theory.Ĭapitalize only exact, complete titles of tests. Comment: WASHINGTON Facing one of the most adversarial contests in recent history and daily coverage of the presidential election that dominates every form of mass media, 52 percent of American adults report that the 2016 election is a very or somewhat significant source of stress. In general, do not capitalize the words in names of theories. Here’s a brief guide to capitalization in APA. Your first impulse might be to capitalize everything because you will use specific names, but capitalization is not always acceptable. In APA style, you will most likely need to describe a number of tests, measures, and theories, among other things.