Capitalization
In this lesson, you will learn about capitalization of organizations, initials and acronyms, and abbreviations. |
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.
They include the words of, for, a, an, the, by, with, and and.
They are not capitalized unless they come at the beginning or end of an organization's name.
The Foundation for a Better Life
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.
ABC
Did you see that great new show on ABC last night?
All of the initials of this abbreviated name are capitalized, and it is pronounced as the three letters in succession, A, B, C.
| Abbreviations are sometimes made from the initials of famous people. |
LBJ
From 1963 to 1969, LBJ was the president.
GSA
Sara attended GSA to study musical theater.
When abbreviations are formed from initials, they sometimes make their own words, with their own pronunciations. These are called acronyms.
CRISP
We used CRISP to get the data we needed.
Sometimes, acronyms and other abbreviations made from initials are capitalized even when the original terms were not capitalized. |
RAM
I upgraded my computer by adding more RAM.
Other Examples:
- automated teller machine = ATM
- unidentified flying object = UFO
- personal identification number = PIN
❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ | Go to the next page to learn more about capitalization of abbreviations. |
5th Grade Writing - Capitalization Lesson