A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, 7th edition - Kate L. Turabian 2007

Titles of works - Capitalization
Names, special terms, and titles of works
Part III. Style 20 spelling

When you cite a written, artistic, or broadcast work, present its title exactly as it appears in the original work or, if the original is unavailable, in a reliable authority.

Always preserve the original spelling (including hyphenation) in such titles, even if it does not conform to current American usage as described in chapter 20. See 17.1.2 for some permissible changes to the punctuation of titles, such as the use of a colon between a title and a subtitle, and the addition of a comma before dates.

Academic convention prescribes that titles follow specific patterns of capitalization and typography (italics, quotation marks, or neither), regardless of how they appear in the original. The principles vary somewhat for titles used in text and those used in citations.

22.3.1 Capitalization

Titles have two patterns of capitalization: headline style and sentence style. Present most titles mentioned in the text in headline style. For foreign language titles, use sentence style.

In citations, the choice depends on the citation style you are using: generally, headline style for bibliography-style citations, and sentence style for reference list—style citations. (There are some exceptions; see chapters 17 and 19 respectively.)

Use headline-style capitalization for the title of your paper and the titles of any parts or chapters within it unless your discipline prefers sentence style (see A.1.5).

HEADLINE-STYLE CAPITALIZATION. Headline-style capitalization is intended to distinguish titles clearly from surrounding text. In this style, capitalize the first letter of the first and last words of the title and subtitle and all other words, except as follows:

Do not capitalize articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet), or the words to and as unless such a word is the first or last word in the title or subtitle.

Do not capitalize prepositions (of, in, at, above, under, and so forth) unless they are emphasized (through in A River Runs Through It) or used as adverbs (up in Look Up), adjectives (on in The On Button), or conjunctions (before in Look Before You Leap).

Do not capitalize the second part (or subsequent parts) of a hyphenated compound unless it is a proper noun or adjective. (Remember to follow the original hyphenation of titles even if it differs from the principles discussed in 20.3.)

Do not capitalize parts of proper nouns that are normally in lowercase, as described in 22.1.1 (van in Ludwig van Beethoven).

The Economic Effects of the Civil War in the Mid-Atlantic States

To Have and to Hold: A Twenty-first-century View of Marriage

All That Is True: The Life of Vincent van Gogh, 1853—90

Four Readings of the Gospel according to Matthew

Self-government and the Re-establishment of a New World Order

Global Warming: What We Are Doing about It Today

Still Life with Oranges

E-flat Concerto

Although many short words are lowercase in this style, length does not determine capitalization. You must capitalize short verbs (is, are), adjectives (new), personal pronouns (it, we), and relative pronouns (that), because they are not among the exceptions listed above. Use lowercase for long prepositions (according) since they are among the exceptions.

Two kinds of titles should not be presented in headline style even if you use it for all other titles:

For titles in languages other than English, use sentence-style capitalization (see below).

For titles of works published in the eighteenth century or earlier, retain the original capitalization (and spelling), except that words spelled out in all capital letters should be given with an initial capital only.

A Treatise of morall philosophy Contaynyge the sayings of the wyse

SENTENCE-STYLE CAPITALIZATION. Sentence-style capitalization is a simpler, though less distinct, way of presenting titles than headline style. In this style, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the title and subtitle and any proper nouns and proper adjectives thereafter.

Seeing and selling late-nineteenth-century Japan

Natural crisis: Symbol and imagination in the mid-American farm crisis

Religious feminism: A challenge from the National Organization for Women

The last supper

Sentence style is also used for titles of works in foreign languages. Foreign languages have capitalization principles different from English, so if you are uncertain about these principles in a particular language, consult a reliable authority.

Speculum Romanae magnificentiae

Historia de la Orden de San Gerónimo

Reallexikon zur deutschen Kunstgeschichte

Phénoménologie et religion: Structures de l'institution chrétienne