Here are the general rules of capitalisation.

1. Capitalise Proper Names, Place Names, and words used as names.

     I thought Kristy would be at Vicky’s party.

     Chicago is known as The Windy City.

2. Capitalise the first word of a sentence.

      The sand on the beach was white.

3. Capitalise Dates and Historical Events

Capitalise the names of the days of the week, months, holidays, and historical events and periods.  Do not capitalise the names of seasons

      Mother’s Day is always the 3^rd Sunday in the month of May

      Canada’s Confederation was obtained in 1867.

      Daylight Savings Time begins in the fall.

4. Capitalise the Points of the Compass

When the points of a compass are used to designate specific geographic regions, capitalise them; do not capitalise them when they are used to indicate direction.  Also capitalise words derived from points of the compass when they are used to designate people.

      Have you ever gone out West?

      The Northerners often go shopping down South.

      We are experiencing strong westerly winds.

5. Capitalise Artistic and Literary Works

Capitalise all “important” words in titles of books, magazines, newspapers, articles, reports, movies, programs, songs, plays, and so on.  Also Capitalise the first word, last word, and a word following a colon or dash.

      The Great Works of Edgar Allen Poe

      The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

      Fireman Saves Cat Caught in Tree

6. Capitalise Religious Titles and Supreme Beings

Capitalise religious titles such as holy days, names of saints and denominations, and references to supreme beings.  Do not capitalise words derived from religious works.

      The Bible

      God

      Saint Paul

      biblical

      saintly

7. Always Capitalise the Pronoun I.

     I love to stay up late, but I hate to get up in the morning.

8. Capitalise Races, Nationalities, and Languages

      The Chinese district of New York is known as Chinatown.

      You must always speak English in class.

Capitalisation Specifics In a Text

1. Direct Quotations

Capitalise the first word of a direct quotation that is a complete sentence.

      Cheryl asked, “Did you like Africa?”

2. Of Displayed Items

Capitalise the first word of each item displayed in a list or an outline.

      Your notebooks should contain the following:

            Grammar section

            Vocabulary

            Literature

            Tests

            Other miscellaneous work.

3. Of Sentences That Follow Colons

Capitalise the first word of a sentence that follows a colon.

  He gave me these directions: Turn right at the stop sign and continue straight for two kilometres.

4. Of Questions Within Sentences

Capitalise the first word of a question within a sentence.

   The biggest problem seems to be, When will the work be completed?