What is sentence case?

The title of your thesis, dissertation, or report must be in sentence case. That is, capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the title, with the exception of proper nouns/terms, as you would when writing a sentence.

Three main points for sentence case are:

1. Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title/heading and of any subtitle/subheading;

2. Capitalize the first letter of any proper nouns and certain other types of words; and

3. Use lowercase for everything else.

Examples of titles written in sentence case

  • Effects of prescribed fire timing on vigor of sericea lespedeza in the Kansas Flint Hills
  • Using food science to enhance STEM education
  • The effects of financial strain on health, morale, and social functioning
  • Self-reported food safety behaviors in independent ethnic restaurants: An application of the Social Cognitive Theory
  • Variation in groundwater geochemistry and microbial communities in the High Plains aquifer system, south-central Kansas