Chapter 13staff without background... · Chapter 13 Capitalization ... profession, company position, military rank, religious station, political office, ... •Oil of Olay lotion

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Chapter 13

Capitalization

Sentence Beginnings

Capitalize the first letter of a word beginning a sentence.

13-2

• The Web has changed the way we do business.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Business English, 11e, by Mary Ellen Guffey and Carolyn Seefer

The Pronoun I

Capitalize the pronoun I, no matter where it appears or how it is used in a sentence.

13-3

• If I were you, I’daccept the position.

• I’m surprised that I’ve never heard of that website.


Proper Nouns

Capitalize proper nouns, including the specific names of:

—Persons ― Months and Days

—Places ― Nicknames

—Schools ― Agreements

—Streets ― Websites

—Parks ― Software Programs

—Buildings ― Computer Games

—Holidays and Events ― Historical Periods

13-4© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Business English, 11e, by Mary Ellen Guffey and Carolyn Seefer

Do NOT capitalize common nouns that make general reference.

• Gulf Oil Company

• Gulf gasoline

• Amazon.com site

• PowerPoint slides

13-5

Proper Nouns


Proper Adjectives

Capitalize most adjectives that are derived from proper nouns.

• European economy

• Japanese imports

• Victorian attitudes

• Boston baked beans

• Internet legislation

• French doors


But do NOT capitalize those adjectives that have become so common that they have lost their original meanings.

• manila folders

• french fries

• india ink

• china dishes

• charley horse

• diesel engine

13-7

Proper Adjectives


How can you

tell which

proper

adjectives are

no longer

capitalized?

13-8

When indoubt, consult a dictionary or

reference manual.


Geographic Locations

Capitalize the names of specific geographic locations.

• Washington, DC

• Los Angeles County

• Kansas City

• Mediterranean Sea

• Mount St. Helens

• Mount Vernon


Do NOT capitalize words such as city of, state of, or county of when they come before the geographic locations they are describing.

• city of San Francisco

• state of Florida

13-10

Geographic Locations


Organization Names

Capitalize the principal words in the names of business, civic, educational, governmental, labor, military, philanthropic, political, professional, religious, sports, and social organizations.

• Society for Technical

Communication

• College of the Redwoods

• United States Navy


Generally, do NOT capitalize committee, company, association, board, etc., when these words replace organization names.

If these shortened forms, however, are used in legal or formal documents and are preceded by the word the, they may be capitalized.

13-12

Organization Names


• It appears that the

company is

making a profit.

(Informal document)

• As legal agent of the

Company, I am

authorized to make

purchases. (Formal

document)

13-13

Organization Names


Academic Courses and Degrees

Capitalize only specific academic courses and degrees.

• Paige Baker, who holds a master’s degree,

teaches business English.

• Janet G. Adams, EdD, is a professor at

Minnesota State University.

• Have you taken Accounting I or

Business Communications 250?


Seasons

Do not capitalize the names of seasons.

• We hire clerks in the fall and winter

only.


Exception to Seasons Rule

• Schools capitalize Fall, Spring, and Summer when referring to their class terms.

Try Your Skill

1. The university of Georgia

is offering full

Scholarships.

13-17

Make any needed corrections to capitalization. The University of

Georgia is offering full

scholarships.


Try Your Skill

2. Brooke and i saw many

victorian homes in

Alameda county.

13-18

Brooke and I saw many

Victorian homes in

Alameda County.

Make any needed corrections to capitalization.


Try Your Skill

3. Located north of san

francisco is the County of

Marin.

13-19

Located north of San

Francisco is the county

of Marin.



Try Your Skill

4. Last Spring they installed

italian marble in the

entry.

13-20

Last spring they

installed Italian marble

in the entry.



Try Your Skill

5. Do you want French fries

or chinese chicken salad?

13-21

Do you want french fries

or Chinese chicken

salad?



You just have to memorize these.

Try Your Skill

6. The united states postal

service offers Online bill

paying.

13-22

The United States

Postal Service offers

online bill paying.



Try Your Skill

7. She plans to take Math and

Psychology courses next

Semester.

13-23

She plans to take math

and psychology courses

next semester.



Try Your Skill

8. Old Navy usually earns its

greatest profits in the

Summer.

13-24

Old Navy usually earns

its greatest profits in the

summer.



Capitalize specific words in business correspondence components that are included in letters, memos, and e-mail messages.

• RE: Sales Meeting on Friday

(Subject line)

• Dear Dr. Thorogood (Salutation)

• Yours truly, (Complimentary close)

13-25

Business Correspondence

Components


Titles of People

Capitalize courtesy titles (such as Mr.

Mrs., Ms., Miss, and Dr.) when they

precede names.

These titles may represent a person’s

profession, company position, military

rank, religious station, political office,

family relationship, or nobility.


• Ms. Ann Rivers and Mr. Scott Hammond were

promoted.

• Vice President Wilson and Marketing

Manager Callahan signed the contract.

• We invited Rabbi Mintz, Archbishop

Timm, and Reverend Curran.

13-27

Titles of PeopleCourtesy Titles

Company Titles

Religious Titles


• Voters favored Mayor Richard Peters

and Senator Paul Smith in the last

election.

• We hope Aunt Rita and Uncle Larry

will travel with us. (Family titles)

13-28

Titles of People

Political Titles

Family Titles


When NOT to Capitalize Titles

• Maria Cruz, supervisor of Marketing, was promoted.

• Our vice president met with the office manager and human

resources director today.

• The president conferred with the secretary of state before addressing Congress.

13-29

Titles Following Names

Titles Appearing Alone


• Count Dracula is the nickname given to Vlad the Impaler.

13-30

Nobility


When NOT to Capitalize Titles

• Our vice president, Mr. Harrison, reported on income.

• My sister and my cousin

will visit Grandmother next week.

13-31

Titles Followed By Appositives

Family titles Used With Possessive Pronouns


Numbered and Lettered Items

Capitalize nouns followed by numbers or letters (except in page, paragraph, line, size, verse, and vitamin references).

• The meeting is in Room 102, Building

11, at 9 a.m.

• Please consult page 15 in Volume II of Appendix C.

• On Channel 13 I saw size 16 shoes advertised.


Points of the Compass

• Before you came to the West

Coast, did you spend much time in the East?

• In the winter many Midwesterners travel south to Florida.

13-33

Capitalize points of the compass when they refer to specific regions.


You have to know which are recognized regions. If in doubt, consult a dictionary.

Departments, Divisions, Offices,

Agencies, and Committees

Capitalize the names of departments, divisions, or committees. If you don’t know the official name, don’t capitalize it.

• Our Quality Control Department inspects every product.

• Have you written to that company’s employment

division?

• The Committee on Equal Opportunities

meets Tuesday.

• An investigation committee may be

appointed.

Chapter 17, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved 13-34

Governmental Titles

Capitalize the words federal, government, national, or state only when they are part of a specific title.

• federal holidays

• a national law

• Federal Trade Commission

• National Defense Act


Product Names

Capitalize product names only when they

represent trademarked items. Except in

advertising, common names following

manufacturers’ names are not capitalized.

• Pepsi-Cola drink

• Big Mac hamburger

• DuPont pan

• Whirlpool washer

• Range Rover truck

• Oil of Olay lotion


Published and Artistic TitlesCapitalize the principal words in titles of:

—Books, magazines, newspapers, articles—Movies, plays, albums, songs, poems—Websites, reports

Do NOT capitalize (unless they begin or end a title):

—Conjunctions of three or fewer letters (such as and, or, nor, but)

—The articles a, an, the—Prepositions of three or fewer letters (such as

in, to, by, for)


13-38

• The Last of the Mohicans

• “English As It Is Spoken”

• From Russia With Love

• Meet and Grow Rich

• Something to Hope For

Published and Artistic Titles


Try Your Skill

2. She ordered a new

hewlett-packard printer

for her home office.

13-39

She ordered a new

Hewlett-Packard printer

for her home office.



Try Your Skill

3. You need to drive South

from Columbus to reach

Cincinnati.

13-40

You need to drive south

from Columbus to reach

Cincinnati.



Try Your Skill

4. Her favorite film is The

Sound Of Music.

13-41

Her favorite film is The

Sound of Music.



Try Your Skill

5. He would love to get a job

with the Government.

13-42

He would love to get a job

with the government.



Try Your Skill

6. SUBJECT: Sign medical

release form by friday

13-43

SUBJECT: Sign Medical

Release Form by Friday



Try Your Skill

7. The department of

homeland security issued

a statement.

13-44

The Department of

Homeland Security

issued a statement.



Beginning Words

Capitalize the first words in quoted sentences, independent phrases, enumerated items, formal rules or principles following colons.

• Mario Fernandez said, “Rise above

the storm and you will find the

sunshine.”

13-45

Quotation


• Would you like a cup of tea? Yes, for a change. (Independent phrase)

• Depreciation on assets may be calculated as follows:1. Straight-line method2. Sum-of-the-years-digits method3. Declining-balance method

13-46

Beginning Words

Independent Phrase

Enumerated Items


Laws, Bills, Acts, Treaties, and

Amendments

Capitalize the official names of government laws, bills, acts, treaties, and amendments.

• The Fair Labor Standards

Act established minimum wage and

overtime laws.


Celestial Bodies

Capitalize the names of celestial bodies— Planets, planet satellites

— Stars, constellations, and asteroids)

Do NOT capitalize the terms earth, sun, or moon unless they appear with other celestial bodies.


Ethnic References

Capitalize terms that relate to a particular culture, language, or race.

• Both Persian and Hebrew

traditions were respected.


13-50

Words Following Marked and

Stamped

Capitalize words that follow marked or stamped.

The box of bottles was stamped “Handle With

Care.”


Titles in Official Documents

The title of an official may be capitalized if it appears within an official document.

• The Human Resources

Director shall be our representative in collective bargaining. (Appearing in company bylaws)


Ex, Elect, Late, and Former

The words ex, elect, late, and former are not capitalized when used with titles.

• She read the memoirs of ex-President Johnson.

• Senator-elect Hollings is to be the speaker.

• We think that former Vice President Searle will be named CFO.


Try Your Skill

1. Kim Hunter, mba,

received her Bachelor’s

degree from ohio

university in athens.

13-53


Kim Hunter, MBA,

received her bachelor’s

degree from Ohio

University in Athens.


Try Your Skill

2. Your reservations are for flight 32 on americanairlines leaving from gate 14.

13-54

Your reservations are for

Flight 32 on American

Airlines leaving from

Gate 14.



Try Your Skill

3. In the Fall Matt enrolled

in history, spanish, and

business marketing.

13-55

In the fall Matt enrolled

in history, Spanish, and

business marketing.



Try Your Skill

4. Either the President or the

Vice President must make

the decision about

purchasing Dell Computers.

13-56

Either the president or the

vice president must make

the decision about

purchasing Dell computers.



Try Your Skill

5. Before moving to the

west coast, our manager

lived in the south.

13-57

Before moving to the

West Coast, our

manager lived in the

South.



Try Your Skill

6. In our engineering department, we need special keyboards with greek symbols.

13-58

In our Engineering

Department, we need

special keyboards with

Greek symbols.



Try Your Skill

7. To reach austin, drive

South on highway 81 until

you reach exit 5.

13-59

To reach Austin, drive

south on Highway 81

until you reach Exit 5.



Try Your Skill

8. The civil rights act of 1964

prohibited Employment

Discrimination.

13-60

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

prohibited employment

discrimination.



Try Your Skill

9. How in the World did you

miss chart 4 that

appeared in diagram 21

of appendix B?

13-61

How in the world did

you miss Chart 4 that

appeared in Diagram 21

of Appendix B?

