How to Determine Title Case vs. Sentence Case on the University of Maine System Website

The University of Maine System website follows the Associated Press Online Stylebook (External Site). Because the University of Maine System is an institution of higher learning and an institution that prioritizes accessible web content, consistency and accuracy are important. Please review your web content for errors in style, spelling and grammar.

Instructions for determining whether to use title case or sentence case for headings are below.

Title Case

In title case, every word in a sentence except for titles of works, conjunctions and (short) prepositions are capitalized. Please review the University of Maine System guidance on titles and conjunctions (in the reference guide).

Example of Title Case: “The University of Maine System Benefits Policies and Plans Provided by Human Resources”

When to use Title Case

Please review guidance on how to use headings on the University of Maine System website.

  • Page titles should be in the title case
  • H2s should be written as title case

Sentence case

In sentence case only the first word of the sentence and all proper nouns are capitalized.

Example: “The University of Maine System benefits policies and plans provided by Human Resources ”

When to use sentence case

Please review guidance on how to use headings on the University of Maine System website.

  • H3s, H4s and H5s should be written as sentence-case.
  • H3s and H4s should have end-sentence punctuation when written as a sentence (including questions).
  • H5s should use sentence punctuation when using them on a FAQ page in accordion structure (e.g. questions should have question marks at the end of the sentence: “How do I sign up for a class?” not “How do I sign up for a class:”).