5.21.A*

Capitalization of Organizations

The first, last, and all important words of the names of specific organizations are capitalized.

organization: An organization is an organized group of people who have a particular purpose.

An organization could be a governmental organization, a business, a school, a charity, a museum, or even a club.

Capitalization of Initials and Acronyms

Organizations, places, people's names, and other terms are often abbreviated, or made shorter, by their initials.

initials: Initials are the first letters of names or words.

Abbreviations are sometimes made from the initials of famous people.

"Unimportant" words are ignored when making abbreviations by initials.

When abbreviations are formed from initials, they sometimes make their own words, with their own pronunciations. These are called acronyms.

Sometimes, acronyms and other abbreviations that have all capital letters
are made from initials of terms that are not capitalized when spelled out.

Capitalization of Abbreviations

While the acronyms discussed on the previous page are an exception, abbreviations usually follow a general rule:

If a word or term is capitalized when it's fully
spelled out, its abbreviation will also be capitalized.

People's official titles are usually capitalized when they are used as
parts of people's names, so their abbreviations are capitalized, too.

Names of streets and roads are normally capitalized, so their abbreviations are, too.

People's names are capitalized, so their initials are, too.

The names of countries and cities are capitalized, so their abbreviations are, too.

States have some special rules for capitalization of their abbreviations.

In postal addresses, each state has a two-letter abbreviation, with both capital letters:

Texas = TX
Pennsylvania = PA
Virginia = VA
California = CA
Oklahoma = OK

When a state name's abbreviation is not part of an address, usually only the first letter is capitalized, unless the name has two words.

Arizona = Ariz.
Arkansas = Ark.
Colorado = Colo.
West Virginia = W. Va.
North Carolina = N.C.

Days of the week and months of the year are normally
capitalized, so their abbreviations are capitalized, too.

Quick Review of Capitalization Rules

1. Capitalize the first, last, and all important words of organizations. (e.g., American Cancer Society)

2. Capitalize abbreviations of words that are capitalized when fully spelled out.
(e.g., Second Ave., St. Louis, MO)

3. Capitalize initials of proper names.
(e.g., J. J. Abrams)

4. Some abbreviations formed from initials of words that are not capitalized when spelled out are capitalized in their abbreviated forms. (e.g., UFO, ATM)

5. Acronyms are abbreviations made from initials that form words with their own pronunciations.
(e.g., PIN, NASA).

Capitalization

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS): 5.21.A*

use capitalization for:

abbreviations;
initials and acronyms; and
organizations;

Processing Request...

Capitalization

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS): 5.21.A*

use capitalization for: abbreviations;initials and acronyms; andorganizations;

Processing Request...

use capitalization for:

abbreviations;
initials and acronyms; and
organizations;