Capitals in titles

[nyggus]

Hi, is there any rule of starting all words in titles, e.g., of books, articles, sections, etc., with a capital letter? It's easy to notice that some journals provide titles with such a rule, and others not. So, is it just a free decision?

Best,
Nyggus

[rewboss]

The rule -- which is not always obeyed -- is to use a capital letter for every word, except for words which have a grammatical function. And, of course, you must capitalise the first word.

Here are some examples of book and movie titles:

Pride and Prejudice ("and" has a grammatical function)
The Colour of Magic ("of" has a grammatical function -- get the idea?)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Once Upon a Time in America
Shaun of the Dead
The Curse of the Wererabbit
An American Werewolf in London

Note the capitalisation in this title -- it's a children's book:

Five Children and It

"It" is a pronoun, and normally has a grammatical function. In this case, however, "It" refers to a strange creature that grants the children one wish per day, and has a central role in the book. So in just this one case, because "It" is so important to the story, "It" is capitalised.

[joenuts]

Originally Posted by rewboss

The rule -- which is not always obeyed -- is to use a capital letter for every word, except for words which have a grammatical function. And, of course, you must capitalise the first word.
Here are some examples of book and movie titles:
Pride and Prejudice ("and" has a grammatical function)
The Colour of Magic ("of" has a grammatical function -- get the idea?)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Once Upon a Time in America
Shaun of the Dead
The Curse of the Wererabbit
An American Werewolf in London
Note the capitalisation in this title -- it's a children's book:
Five Children and It
"It" is a pronoun, and normally has a grammatical function. In this case, however, "It" refers to a strange creature that grants the children one wish per day, and has a central role in the book. So in just this one case, because "It" is so important to the story, "It" is capitalised.

When do we capitalize 'the', aside from when it's the first word in the title?