• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

  • Microsoft Word
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • PowerPoint
  • Writing
  • Editing

How to Capitalize Hyphenated Words in Titles and Headings

By Erin Wright

Stack of newspapers with overlay title: How to Capitalize Hyphenated Words in Titles and HeadingsMost titles and headings are formatted with headline-style capitalization, which means that the first and last words and all the main words in between are capitalized (as demonstrated in the title of this blog post). But how should you capitalize hyphenated words in titles and headings using headline-style capitalization?

The general guideline is to capitalize all the main words in hyphenated words in titles and headings.

Do We Go through a Drive-Thru or Drive-Through?

A Brief Overview of Adobe Acrobat’s Spell-Check Tool

This guideline is supported by three of our primary style guides:1

The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago style)2

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style)3

MLA Handbook from the Modern Language Association (MLA style)4

Exceptions

However, there are several exceptions to this guideline. Let’s look at three of the most common exceptions you may run into in your own writing:

1. Hyphenated words with prefixes

2. Hyphenated words beginning with single letters

3. Hyphenated articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions

See the References section at the bottom of this post for information about these exceptions in relation to the style guides mentioned above.

Exception 1: Hyphenated Words with Prefixes in Titles and Headings

If the hyphenated word in your title or heading starts with a prefix that isn’t a standalone word (e.g., pre, non, de), lowercase the second word.5

Anti-trash and Pro-turtle Alliances Worked Together to Clean the Park

How to De-stress in Five Steps

Style Guide Alert

The MLA Handbook (MLA style) capitalizes the second word if the whole word is hyphenated in your dictionary. (MLA style recommends following Merriam-Webster.)6

Exception 2: Hyphenated Words Beginning with Single Letters in Titles and Headings

If the hyphenated word in your title or heading starts with a single letter that isn’t a standalone word, lowercase the second word.7

E-commerce Tricks and Tips

T-shirt Sales Slowed in the First Quarter

Exception 3: Hyphenated Articles, Prepositions, and Coordinating Conjunctions in Titles and Headings

In headline-style capitalization, the following parts of speech are lowercased if they follow a hyphen in a compound:

  • Articles (i.e., a, an, the)
  • Prepositions (e.g., above, under, behind)*
  • Coordinating conjunctions (i.e., for, and, or, but, so, yet, and nor).8

The Breaking-and-Entering Suspect Pled Guilty

Step-by-Step Guide to Growing Cacti

*Note that in some cases, words that normally function as prepositions can instead function as adjectives or adverbs, such as the words thru and through in drive-thru and drive-through shown in the first example in this post. Adjectives and adverbs are capitalized in hyphenated compounds in headline-style capitalization.

Style Guide Alert

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style) recommends lowercasing prepositions and coordinating conjunctions that are three letters or less when using headline-style capitalization. However, all prepositions and coordinating conjunctions over three letters should be capitalized.

Related Resources

Polish Your Headings with Parallel Structure

How to Create and Customize Headings in Microsoft Word

References

1. The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) isn’t included in this post because it doesn’t use headline-style capitalization. The Associated Press Stylebook 2022–2024 (New York: Associated Press, 2022), 135.

2. The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 8.161.

3. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed. (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2020), 6.17.

4. MLA Handbook, 9th ed. (New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2021), 1.5, 2.90.

Hyphenated Words with Prefixes

5. The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 8.161.

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association doesn’t address hyphenated prefixes directly. However, one of its manuscript editors confirmed in a comment on the APA Style Blog that hyphenated words after prefixes should be lowercased in titles and headings. “Title Case and Sentence Case Capitalization in APA Style,” APA Style Blog, accessed June 20, 2020; See the comment from Chelsea Lee dated March 09, 2017 at 12:20 PM.

6. MLA Handbook, 9th ed. (New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2021), 1.5, 2.1, 2.90.

Hyphenated Words Beginning with Single Letters

7. The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 8.161.

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style) doesn’t address words beginning with single letters directly. However, hyphenated single letters are commonly considered prefixes, so APA followers can safely assume that they should lowercase the word after a hyphenated single letter in titles and headings, as explained in note 5 above. In addition, the APA Style Blog lowercased the word book in e-book in one of its own titles. “The Publication Manual Is Available as an E-book,” APA Style Blog, accessed June 20, 2020.

The MLA Handbook (MLA style) doesn’t cover words beginning with single letters, so MLA followers should adapt the general recommendations for headline-style capitalization to work with hyphenated compounds.

Hyphenated Articles, Prepositions, and Coordinating Conjunctions

8. The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 8.161.

MLA Handbook, 9th ed. (New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2021), 1.5, 2.90.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed. (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association), 6.17.

Updated July 08, 2022

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: AP style, APA style, Chicago style, formatting, headings, MLA style

Home » How to Capitalize Hyphenated Words in Titles and Headings

Primary Sidebar

Meet the Author

Technical Writer and Editor Erin Wright

Hello! My name is Erin. I am a technical writer and editor who shares writing-related software tutorials on this website and on YouTube.

Recent Tutorials

How to Create Run-In Headings in Microsoft Word (Indented & Left-Aligned)

How to Insert Text into Shapes in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)

How to Export PDF Tables from Adobe Acrobat to Excel (PC & Mac)

How to Insert Images into Shapes in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)

How to Align the Periods in Numbered Lists in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)

Explore More Tutorials

  • Microsoft Word
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • PowerPoint
  • Writing
  • Editing

Footer

  • Microsoft Word Tutorials
  • Adobe Acrobat Tutorials
  • PowerPoint Tutorials
  • Writing Tips
  • Editing Tips
  • Writing-Related Resources
  • About Me
  • Contact
Email: erinwrightwriting@gmail.com
Phone: 708-669-9503

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

© Erin Wright, 2012–2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this website’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Erin Wright with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.