1. To use capital letters in business writing properly, capitalize “government” when you refer to the U.S. Government or any foreign nation.
Examples: the Mexican Government; Her Majesty’s Government
2. Capitalize “state” when used with a name or in place of the name, but use lower-case with a general term.
Examples: the State of Maine or State government; state law
3. Capitalize “the,” or its foreign equivalent, when it is the authorized part of a geographical name, of a book title or work of art, or when it’s part of a company’s or an institution’s legal name.
Examples:
- Geographical names: The South
- Art work titles: The Student Prince
- Company or institution names: The Hartford
Note: This rule is often disregarded in informal writing when referencing periodicals, ships, firm names, etc.
Examples: the National Review; the Enterprise; the Jones Company
4. Capitalize parts of a work when you refer to them in the same work.
Example: For more guidelines, read Appendix B.
5. Capitalize all names of celestial bodies except for the earth, moon, stars, and sun, unless they are personified or used in an astronomical context.
Examples: Jupiter; the Andromeda Galaxy; Sirius
Source: The Elements of Grammar by Margaret Shertzer
Advice from someone who knows how to use capital letters in business writing can help you improve your writing and make you look smarter and more skilled in your field.
The Classy Writing Blog: Capitalization Cheat Sheet
“How did business writing capitalization start? Why do we capitalize words?…” Read more.
Quotes
“Failure to use capitals properly will mark you as semi-literate just as quickly as mistakes in spelling or punctuation.” ~ Larry Trask, The Linguist List (History of Capitalization)
“One reason capitalization matters is that a word’s meaning can change depending on whether it’s uppercase or lowercase.” ~ Rob Reinalda, “When Should You Capitalize Words?” Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips.
