Capitalization and Punctuation
Critical Question: What are the rules of capitalization and punctuation in writing?
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Capitalzation
The following should always be capitalized:
1. the first word in every sentence
2. the first word in a direct quotation
3. all proper nouns and adjectives (names, places, etc.)
4. the first word of the greeting and closing of a letter
5. names of people, places, months, days, countries, races, languages, nationalities, documents, holidays, historical events, oragnizations, and businesses
6. the first letter of all words in a title except articles and prepositions
Punctuation
1. at the end of all sentences
2. seperating items in a list
3. following initials and abbreviations with a period
4. using commas to seperate words in dates and addresses
5. using an apostrophe to form the possessive of a noun
6. using an apostrophe to show where letters are missing in a contraction
7. using quotation marks around the words being said in a direct quotation
8. underline or italicize titles of magazines, books, movies, and plays