Sentence case converters are the easiest way to make your text look professional and readable by capitalizing only the first word and proper nouns. If you’ve ever found yourself staring at a block of ALL-CAPS from a data export or a MesSy hEAdLiNE, you know how frustrating manual editing can be.
In this guide, we’ll explore the fascinating world of orthography and show you how to master professional writing. Here’s a quick peek at what we’ll cover:
- The meaning of sentence case;
- How to convert sentence case for academic reference lists;
- Why you should change to sentence case to make your website more accessible; and
- How to use this sentence case converter.
What is sentence case?
The meaning of sentence case refers to the practice of capitalizing only the first letter of the first word in a sentence, heading, or any piece of text. Aside from that, within the sentence case format, we only capitalize proper nouns (like Omni Calculator or Eiffel Tower) and adjectives (such as English or American), as well as any other word that is capitalized by default.
In comparison to title case, capital case, or all-caps, when you change to sentence case, you are opting for a style that feels approachable, conversational, and easy on the eyes.
Capitalization style | How it looks |
|---|---|
Sentence case | The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog |
Title case | The Quick Brown Fox Jumps over the Lazy Dog |
All-caps (uppercase) | THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG |
Lowercase | the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog |
💡 If you want to learn more about the difference between title case and sentence case, read our dedicated article: “Title Case vs. Sentence Case”.
What does sentence case mean for accessibility?
If you’re asking yourself, “What is sentence case good for?”, it’s perfectly normal. Title case can sometimes look majestic, while uppercase provides the ultimate layer of emphasis. But when it comes to accessibility, it’s always better to opt for sentence case, and here’s why:
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Dyslexia:
Cognitive scientists have found that we don’t actually read letter by letter. Instead, our brains recognize the shape of a word. If you use all-caps or title case unnecessarily, you will distort the appearance of words, making the text more challenging to read for some.
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Cognitive load
Sentence case reduces cognitive load because it signals that the text is a continuous flow of information. Title case, with its constant interruptions, can actually slow down reading speed because the brain has to process the importance of every single word.
💡 Pro-tip
While a sentence case generator is good for increasing reading speed, title case is often more effective for short attention-grabbers, such as ads! Use our title case converter to reach your audience more efficiently.
Alternatively, you can use our capital case converter to capitalize every word of your text.
How to convert sentence case for professional styles
Different fields have their own rules. If you are a student, you’ve likely encountered the “sentence case rule” in the APA guidelines. This differs from the Chicago style, which formats titles within the reference list in title case.
In the 7th edition of APA Style, you are required to use sentence case for the titles of books, articles, and webpages within your reference list. Even if the book’s cover uses title case, your reference list must follow the sentence case standard.
For a deeper dive into these academic quirks, see our dedicated guide on APA sentence case.
In a reference list following the APA style, you must capitalize:
- The first word of the title and the first word of the subtitle (after a colon);
- All proper nouns (names of people, places, etc.);
- Nouns followed by a numeral or letter (e.g., “Experiment 2”); and
- Any other words that are capitalized by default.
The journalistic style
News outlets like the BBC or the Associated Press (AP) love sentence case for headlines. They call it the down style because it makes the news feel like a conversation rather than a formal proclamation.
How to use our sentence case generator
We’ve made our sentence case converter as simple as possible. Just follow these steps:
- Write or paste your text in the converter field.
- The tool will automatically convert the whole text into sentence case.
- Review the output. 🙋
The tool converts intro sentence case by default, but you can select Choose a different case type if you wish to convert into title, capital, lower- or uppercase instead!
FAQs
What does sentence case mean?
The sentence case format capitalizes only the first word, aside from proper nouns and adjectives, in a given text. For comparison, title case enforces the capitalization of all major words (those that carry meaning), usually leaving all prepositions, conjunctions, and articles in lowercase.
How does capitalization differ between different languages?
Capitalization rules are far from universal. In German, for instance, every single noun is capitalized, which helps readers identify nouns in a sentence. Conversely, Spanish and French use a lighter style, keeping days of the week, months, and even some titles in lowercase.
What’s “he’s working on Monday” in sentence case?
“He’s working on Monday.” This is because sentence case enforces the capitalization of the first word, as well as any other word that would be capitalized by default, such as proper nouns and adjectives, days of the week, months, etc.
How do I manually convert sentence case?
If you aren‘t using an automated tool to convert your text into sentence case, you can handle it manually by following this checklist:
- Ensure the very first letter of your title or sentence is uppercase.
- Scan for proper nouns, dates, and holidays that require capitalization.
- Check for punctuation like colons or em dashes, and check how your style guide handles them.
- Leave acronyms, such as NASA or UNESCO, in uppercase.