APA Style Capitalization

Of course, there will always be some confusion and disagreement when it comes to capitalization, because there is always some degree of disagreement when it comes to deciding what is important and what is not. APA style does offer the following guidelines.

You should capitalize:

First word of each sentence, and the first word after a colon, if it is an independent clause

Proper nouns, trade names (brand names of drugs, equipment, and food)

Names of university departments if they apply to a specific department at a specific university. For example, you can write, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, but do not capitalize "the first psychology course I took ..."

Nouns followed by numerals or letters, as in the case of denoting the days of an experiment, or the title of a table or figure (Day 1 of the experiment, Table 4, Figure B, etc.)

Titles of tests (Advanced Vocabulary Test, Scholastic Aptitude Test, etc.)

Names of factors, variables, and effects within your analysis of research

Again, if you are in doubt, consult a Webster's dictionary, APA style book, or ask your professor or advisor.