Other Capitalization and Spelling Rules: First, consult The Redbook: A Manual of Legal Style. We'd cite the Bluebook directly, but it's behind a pay wall. The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications does not capitalize four-letter prepositions. Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage 133–34, 203, 209, 354 (3d ed. Capitalizing Court. Writing Tips contains concise observations on and examples of English grammar, usage and style problems encountered daily by writers. Capitalize proper nouns—and adjectives derived from proper nouns. Examples: the Mexican Government; Her Majesty’s Government. The following are capitalization rules for words frequently used in legal writing. This is my biggest writing demon. According to Denver Law's Legal Writing Clinic, which cites Rules B7.3.1 and 8, there are three instances where capitalization is called for: When "naming any court in full." 2011). U.S. accounting guidelines known as generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, permit businesses to capitalize certain costs related to intangible assets, such as patents, copyrights, trademarks and goodwill. Capitalization of Titles. Capitalization rules. Capitalization (North American English) or capitalisation (British English) is writing a word with its first letter as a capital letter (uppercase letter) and the remaining letters in lower case, in writing systems with a case distinction.The term also may refer to the choice of the casing applied to text. FROM THE LEGAL WRITING CLINIC WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK CAPITALIZING “COURT” Rules B7.3.1 and 8 of the Bluebook explain when practitioners should capitalize the word “court” in court documents and legal memoranda. Have you ever wondered if the word "president" should be capitalized? Citation Rule Categories. Those are the simple rules I follow, and The Gregg Reference Manual backs me up.. Not all reference manuals agree with Gregg, however.Other manuals make the rules a bit more complex. Capitalize the first word of a document and the first word after a period. 2013). Capitalization Rules 1. When writing a paper or thesis, you have two options for capitalizing the headings of chapters and sections. This goes for pleadings, discovery, requests, briefs, contracts, you name it. 3. 1.1 Particular Persons, Places, or Things. The practice of using capital letters in writing or printing is called capitalization. Thanks for these tips. In legal writing, there is an unfortunate tendency toward contagious capitalization. The problem is that, there are a lot of articles out there that focus on capitalization from a grammatical standpoint, but when it comes to technical writing, the information is rather lacking. Published on December 22, 2015 by Sarah Vinz. This simple guide will help you capitalize words in titles and headings correctly. of the Legal Writing Institute. Maybe it’s time to update my thinking on that. State law; Uniform laws; Federal law; World law; Lawyer directory; Legal encyclopedia. Use the "Government Printing Office Style Manual" as a guide to punctuation, capitalization, and typography. My co-author Laurel Oates and I have seen the article included and deleted in the writing of many attorneys and judges. That problem is discussed in the section "Principles of Clear Writing," convention 20. Correct capitalization is important because it shows a certain level of education and understanding. Find out in which cases we do and do not capitalize this title. As part of our effort to help agencies produce clear, enforceable regulatory documents, the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, presents this guide to legal writing. Example – He said, “Treat her as you would your own daughter.” 2. 3. One of the things that lawyers love is capitalization. And signifies that every element of the test matters. Let’s review proper and common nouns briefly to avoid confusion. This list is not exclusive, and reference to Bluebook Rule 8, the Government Printing Office Style Manual, or The Gregg Reference Manual is helpful. It is true that it is common to see those terms capitalized and used without articles in many examples of legal writing, and the Bluebook example does seem to endorse that approach. Skip the trap of making grammar errors for the world to see by reviewing these capitalization rules: 1. 61-94): Style rules, including typeface, capitalization, abbreviation, quotations, and cross references. 1. Rule 1. 2009). There are three main options for capitalizing chapter and section headings within your dissertation: capitalizing all significant words, capitalizing only the first word, and a combination of the two. Rules for citing primary sources: Rule 10 (p. 95): Cases Experienced writers are stingy with capitals. There are several contexts in which we can examine capitalization. Do not capitalize when the title is acting as a description following the name. That's it. Rules for Title Case capitalization Before discussing the rules for title case capitalization, we shall clarify the difference between a title and a heading. Example – Chairperson Petrov b. In general, use capitalization rules whenever possible – for example, common nouns are usually all lowercase and proper nouns are always capitalized. Capitalize a person’s title when it precedes the name. Capitalize “government” when you refer to the U.S. Government or any foreign nation. Capitalize the word ―Justice‖ in textual material when referring to a Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Costs that are capitalized are amortized or expensed throughout the asset’s economic life or the period of time the business derives benefits from the asset’s use. Check your understanding of the rules of capitalization in writing with this interactive quiz and printable worksheet. However, certain conventions for capitalizing words, names, and titles vary from one style guide to … Proper nouns , key words in titles , the pronoun I , and beginnings of sentences are generally capitalized. Capitalization in titles and headings. Capitalization is the writing of a word with its first letter in uppercase and the remaining letters in lowercase. I wonder if the title-case method is older than the sentence-case method, since that’s the way we were taught about 100 years ago, right along with two spaces after a period. Published on April 19, 2019 by Amy Luo. Under these rules, capitalize “court” in the following three situations: 1. Rules 1-8 (pp. The three major style guides, The Chicago Manual of Style, The Associated Press Stylebook, and the MLA Handbook have the same guidelines, with two exceptions. 21 Responses to “Rules for Capitalization in Titles” Cindy Bidar on December 29, 2010 9:57 am. It is best not to use them if there is any doubt. This is often a mistake, although, based on the number of rules and exceptions, the confusion is defensible, with legal convention confounding the problem. Together, we'll address proper nouns, quotations, letter signatures, and more. The Associated Press style is the go-to style for journalism and news writing. The elements of good writing are simple: grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Most of the grammar rules are explicit about which words should be capitalized. Examples: the State of Maine or State government; state law. Revised on October 8, 2020. Law by jurisdiction. Writing Tips explains modern-day Canadian usage in a straightforward and uncluttered manner. Since law school work focuses on academic writing, this guide describes and explains the rules in the Whitepages section. Punctuation, Capitalization, Typography and Spelling. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure; Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ; Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; Federal Rules of Evidence; Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure; U.C.C. Capitalization Rules . 2. The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style § 2, at 61–77 (3d ed. Capitalize the words ―Judge‖ and ―Justice‖ when those words are followed by the name of a specific judge or justice. This chapter gives rules to define which words require capitals, but editorial practice varies considerably on this subject, depending on the desired degree of formality, the intended readership and the organization’s house style. Never use all uppercase letters for emphasis. It covers magazine writing, too. You can use title case for all headings, as in the examples above. The most frequent problem in drafting is punctuation for a list. G oogle, G eneral M otors, W estminster A bbey, T rump W orld T ower, B eauxbatons A cademy of M agic, the S alvation A rmy, O xfam I nternational, the G irl S couts, the L eague of W omen V oters Likewise, capitalize the official names of rooms and offices: the O val O ffice, the S ituation R oom . Capitalizing headings in papers. The AP style (as it's known in the trade) is quite different from The New York Times style or Chicago Manual of Style. It’s an honor that must be warranted, and in writing, capitalization is reserved only for special words. The issue may seem trivial, but it is not. 3.1 Emerging Coffee Markets in North America . Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence. In legal writing, the words and or or are often the most important part of the subparagraph, so be sure that you use them correctly. Capitalize a proper noun. Capitalize the names of particular businesses, buildings, schools, and organizations. At the time of this publication, the Bluebook and the ALWD are the primary sources for rules on citation used by law and paralegal schools. Capitalization Rules for Writing General Information Capitalization refers to the use of capital (upper case) letters at the beginning of certain words. By mastering the rules and conventions, you will make your writing easier to … Example – Golden Gate Bridge 3. The examples used to illustrate these language problems … providing a single set of rules for all forms of legal writing. Knowing when to capitalize the “c” in court and when to leave it in lower case is a matter of legal literacy.. Rule 7.3.1. and Rule 8 of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation instructs us to capitalize the word, “court,” in all written briefing and other legal documents filed in federal courts in these instances: 2. Here are 8 rules of capitalization to lay a fabulous foundation for all your future writings. This guide explains the common rules and those that differ among the stylebooks. The Dangerous Waters of Capitalization and Punctuation Rules. When do you capitalize "court"? Nouns refer to people, places, or things. Lawyers have a unique and highly technical manner of writing, one that differs significantly from standard English. However, there are some cases (like title case) in which the rules are vague. But it’s a curable condition. An article on the use of capitalization in the titles of legal documents and with certain legal terms. Further reading: Garner’s Modern American Usage 131–32, 186, 193 (3d ed. Do capitalize proper nouns. 5 Rules of Capitalization (Again) 1. Australia: The ABCs of legal writing, and the use of capitalisation 17 September 2017 . Rule 2. a. Follow the capitalization rules of software as necessary, as in case-sensitive keywords. a. a. Guide to Capitalizing Words in Titles and Headings. Within three months of its publication, the manual was adopted by 80 law schools and over 35 paralegal schools. Some user guides capitalize each word within a title, some leave out the preposition, and others go for the classic: capitalize the first word and the proper nouns. Capitalize “state” when used with a name or in place of the name, but use lower-case with a general term.