Q. What is the difference between sentence case and mixed case?
In APA style, sentence case and mixed case (or title case) refer to which words you capitalize in a reference when writing the title of a work (e.g. an article) and the name of the container in which a work is published (e.g. a newspaper).
Sentence case is used for titles. It means you capitalize:
- The first word of the title.
- The first word of a subtitle (i.e., when a ":" is written before an additional title).
- Proper nouns (a specific, not generic, name for a particular person, place, or thing).
For example:
An ebook: | Working people in Alberta: A history. |
An article: | Labour market impacts of COVID-19 on Indigenous people: March to August 2020. |
A photograph: | Climate march in Toronto, Canada. |
Title case is used for containers because they are names, which are proper nouns. This means you capitalize:
- The first word; and
- The major words in the name that are four letters or longer.
And you do NOT capitalize the minor words like:
- Conjunctions that are three letters or fewer (and; but; for; nor; or; so; yet);
- Propositions that are three letters or fewer (at; around; by; after; along; for; from; of; on; to; with; without); and
- Articles (the; a; an).
For example:
A newspaper: | The Globe and Mail |
An academic journal: | Journal of Organizational Behavior |
A television show: | Game of Thrones |
Tips:
- "Title" and "Container" tabs on the References page in the library's APA guide
- Sentence Case Capitalization on the APA style website