Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

UFC _ Laghouat
Department of English
Level: Licence _ S2

Dr. M Gasmi
Writing
LESSON ONE (01)

Capitalization
The Learning Objectives: at the end of the lesson, Students will be able to

• Be acquainted with the conventions of English Capitalization

• Apply its rules

Introduction:

Capitalization is the practice of writing certain letters in a word. Its proper conventions can

vary somewhat by language, writing style and context. However, following standard rules

help ensure writing is clear, consistent and easy for readers to comprehend. Mastering

capitalization is an essential skill for effective written communication. On this basis, the

current lesson deals with its focal rules.

Prerequisites:

Prior Knowledge:

As students start to deal with the module of Written Expression, they have to be aware

of the features of the English language such as capitalization and punctuation. They have to

be able to master the rules

-They should have prior knowledge about how to capitalize a sentence, a paragraph and a text.

-They should have prior knowledge about the process of learning how to be a good reader for

the sake of writing correctly.

Pretest:

Use your previous knowledge to identify where capital letters should be used in the

following sentences.

1. last Saturday I went shopping in london.

2. Have you read “billionaire boy” by david williams?

3. anna and sandra play basketball on Tuesdays.

4. may is in spring. september is in fall.

5. my dad speaks english and hebrew.

6. on sunday, i will see the movie star wars and eat at taco bell.

7. In 1610, german astronomer johannes kepler observed that two moons orbit

the planet mars.

8. In the spring of 2012, I graduated from hollywood high school in los angeles,

california.

9. people that live in the arctic are called inuit.

Content:

o What is capitalization?

Capitalization is the writing of a word with its first letter in uppercase and the remaining

letters in lowercase.

Capitalization is a good place to start when you study writing.

1. Capitalize the names of people

Ben Johnson Tom Clinton Ahmed

2. Capitalize the first word of every sentence.

A sentence can be a statement, command, question or an exclamation.

• Statement: My brother is at home.

• Command: Close the door.
• Question: Are you a student?
• Exclamation: Look out!
3. Capitalize the names of cities, countries, and continents

Moscow London Algiers

Algeria England Ireland

Europe Asia Africa

4. Capitalize the days of the week

Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

5. Capitalize the months of the year, but not the seasons

July February summer spring

6. Capitalize the names of streets, lanes, roads, avenues and highways

Emir Abdelkader Street Third Avenue

7. Capitalize brand names, but don’t capitalize the names of the product.

A Samsung television A Lotte hamburger

8. Always capitalize the subject pronoun « I »

Ali and I went to the stadium.

9. Capitalize place names such as hospitals, hotels, buildings, companies, and schools

Elbadr Bank Mercure Hotel Seoul National University

10. Capitalize Acronyms

Acronyms use capital letters from the first letters of a name to make an abbreviation. We
write and say the short form. These acronyms are spoken as letters:

• the UN the United Nations

• the USA the United States of America
• the UK the United Kingdom
• the UAE the United Arab Emirates
• the WTO World Trade Organization
• OPEC the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

Exercise 1

Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with the correct form of be. Then write the sentences
with correct capitalization and punctuation on the lines below.

1. seoul national university ________ near subway stop number 238

2. the silla hotel ___________ near the Hilton hotel

3. kaist ___________in daejon

4. you can buy tortillas at the supermarket in the hanam building

o Importance of the use of capital letters:

It is important to use capital letters in writing because it helps us understand what we are

writing and help readers understand our writing.

o Purposes of the use of capital letters:

Capital letters are useful signals for a reader. They have three main purposes:

➢ To let the reader know a sentence is beginning

➢ To show important words in a title

➢ To signal proper names and official titles.

Exit Activities:

A. Choose the word that should be capitalized in each sentence.

1. My friend arthur was in big trouble.

a. friend c. trouble

b. arthur d. big

2. The evening of october 11 passed.

a. evening c. october

b. passed d. of

3. His fleet navigated the waters around the bahamas.

a. bahamas c. waters

b. fleet d. navigated

4. The muppets have been a big success in America.

a. success c. muppets

b. have been d. big

5. The lovable puppets have made a movie in london .

 a. london c. movie

b. puppets d. have made

6. My dog rascal just loves ice cream on a hot day.

a. dog c. day

b. loves d, rascal

7. On monument avenue are statues of great heroes.

a. great heroes b. statues

b. monument avenue d. monument

8. The famous ship titanic rammed an iceberg in 1912.

a. ship c. titanic

b. ship titanic d. iceberg

9. pigeons have served as messengers throughout history.

a. pigeons c. history

b. messengers d, have served

10. Balboa’s triumph was to reach the pacific ocean.

a. pacific ocean c. triumph

b. pacific d. to reach

11. Warm boots and parkas protect eskimos

a. boots c. eskimos

b. parkas d. protect

12. Our train leaves Warsaw on thursday.

a. train c. leaves

b. thursday d. on

B. Choose the sentence that is capitalized correctly.

1) a. The mail man went to diego’s house.

 b. The mail man went to Diego’s house.

c. the mail man went to Diego’s house.

d. The Mail Man went to Diego’s house.

2) a. Joseph and I went to the store.

b. Joseph and i went to the store.

c. Joseph and I went to the Store.

d. joseph and i went to the store.

3) a. I love the movie Napoleon dynamite.

b. I love the movie napoleon Dynamite.

c. I love the Movie Napoleon Dynamite.

d. I love the movie Napoleon Dynamite.

4) a. “But,” said the child, “it’s only saturday!”

b. “But,” said the child, “It’s only Saturday!”

c. “But,” said the child, “it’s only Saturday!”

d. “but,” said the child, “it’s only Saturday!”

5) a. Last Spring, I visited Paris.

b. Last spring, I visited Paris.

c. Last spring, I visited paris.

d. last spring, I visited paris.

6) a. Every thursday I watch the series The Walking Dead.

b. Every Thursday I watch the series the Walking dead.

c. Every Thursday I watch the series The Walking Dead.

d. Every thursday i watch the series The Walking Dead.

7) a. Have you ever been to Yellowstone National Park?

b. have You ever been to Yellowstone National Park?

 c. Have you ever been to yellowstone national park?

d. Have you ever been to Yellowstone national park?

8) a. you can see the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

b. You can see the eiffel tower in Paris.

c. You can see the Eiffel Tower in paris.

d. You can see the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

9) a. There are lots of shops on Oxford Street in London.

b. There are lots of shops on oxford street in London.

c. there are lots of shops on Oxford Street in London.

d. There are lots of Shops on Oxford Street in London.

10) a. During the civil war, Abraham Lincoln was the president of the united states.

b. During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States.

c. During the Civil War, abraham lincoln was the president of the United States.

d. During the civil war, abraham lincoln was the President of the united states.

11) a. I want to read the book Fools rush in.

b. i want to read the book Fools Rush In.

c. I want to read the book fools Rush in.

d. I want to read the book Fools Rush In

Conclusion:

Capitalization is an important aspect of written language that helps to convey meaning and

structure. Proper capitalization makes writing clearer and more readable. It aids in

comprehension by signaling the start of new sentences, identifying key words and names, and

highlighting important information. While there are some exceptions and stylistic variations,

following standard capitalization conventions is an essential part of effective written

communication.
References:

https://irsc.libguides.com/APA/Title

Capitalization and Punctuation. Capitalization and Punctuation. Saddleback: Educational

Publishing, 2011.