OECD Style Guide (Fourth Edition)

3. Capitalisation

Abstract

Using capitalisation correctly is important for clarity and consistency, while excessive capitalisation distracts from readability. Correct usage allows the reader to distinguish between proper nouns and other words and to identify visually different content types as well as levels of hierarchy in text.

General rules

• Capitalise the first letter of a word that begins a sentence and all proper nouns (names of events, persons, places, organisations, nationalities and languages).

• For titles and subtitles of books, periodicals and series, use title case.

• For all other titles and subtitles, use sentence case. If a title includes a colon, capitalise the first word following the colon.

• In most cases, specific terms may be capitalised; general terms should never be capitalised.

See also: Abbreviations, acronyms and signs; Country and territory names, codes and currencies, and territorial disclaimers.

OECD Members and Partners

• Capitalise Member in “OECD Member”, “OECD Members”, “OECD Member country” and “OECD Member countries”, as well as in “non-Member”.

• Capitalise both words in Key Partners (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa).

• Do not capitalise accession or accession candidate country.

• Capitalise Associate, Participant and Invitee if the terms are being used in the context of non‑Member participation in the work of in OECD subsidiary bodies in line with the general principals set out in Revised Resolution of the Council on Partnerships in OECD Bodies [C(2012)100/REV2/FINAL].

• Do not capitalise these terms when they are used as common nouns.

• Do not capitalise the term observer.

See also: The OECD and other international organisations.

Publications

• Publication titles and subtitles use either title case or sentence case, depending on the content type (reports, papers, policy briefs, country notes and case studies).

• In title case, each word is capitalised except for co‑ordinating conjunctions, prepositions or articles.

• In sentence case, only the first word is capitalised, except for any proper nouns included.

Do

✔ Use title case for report titles and subtitles, the names of projects or initiatives, and country notes when referring to the name of the “parent” publication.

• If a title includes a colon, capitalise the first word following it.

• If a title includes a hyphenated adjectival phrase, capitalise both parts.

  The OECD has released a new report, Evidence-Based Decision Making in Health Policy.

✔ Use sentence case for the titles and subtitles of report chapters, papers and short content.

✔ For all other titles and subtitles (including those of boxes, figures, infographics and tables) use sentence case.

✔ Use sentence case references to specific components of a report (e.g. chapters, annexes, boxes, figures, infographics and tables).

Don’t

✘ Capitalise the letter after a hyphen within a single word, even in titles or subtitles.

🙁 OECD Development Co-Operation Peer Reviews

🙂 OECD Development Co-operation Peer Reviews

Capitalising titles and subtitles

 

Type	Example
Report (title case)	OECD Review of the Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises in Thailand Empowered Citizens, Informed Consumers and Skilled Workers: Designing Education and Skills Policies for a Sustainable Future
Working paper (sentence case)	AI skills and capabilities in Canada Pooling our strengths: The power of stakeholder engagement in education and skills policy
Policy paper (sentence case)	Transforming laws and norms to achieve universal sexual and reproductive health and rights Mind shift, green lift: Six behavioural science trends for environmental policy
Policy brief (sentence case)	Health care financing in times of high inflation Attracting talent: The (no longer) remote option for regions and cities
Case study (sentence case)	Ireland’s application of the OECD’s framework on masculinities Partnerships in sustainable finance: Luxembourg’s Green Exchange
Country note (title case)	OECD Services Trade Restrictiveness Index: Czechia Survey of Adults Skills 2023: Norway
Components (sentence case)	Chapter 3. Building a strategic vision for skills development for the green transition but A chapter discusses the green transition. Table 1.4. Size and sectoral distribution of Thailand’s central state-owned enterprise sector but The report included a table on Thai SOEs.

Other examples of capitalisation in titles

“e-words”, “i-words” and “m-words”	“e-commerce”, “m-government” but “E-commerce” and “M-government” when starting a sentence or in a title.
Definite articles that are not formally part of a name	the New York Times but The Economist
Names of seasons	Always lowercase, unless part of a title. The winter temperatures were extreme. but Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring was first performed in 1913.

Proper nouns and official titles

• Proper nouns include names of events, persons, places, things, nationalities, languages and the names of groups, organisations or institutions as well as official titles and roles if used to refer to a specific individual.

Do

✔ Capitalise official titles and roles when used as part of a proper noun or title (“Secretary‑General”, “Minister of Finance”).

France’s Minister of Finance announced the new budget to the National Assembly.

✔ Capitalise the names of groups, organisations and institutions if they are proper nouns or if the reference is specific (“the OECD”, “the Working Party on Countering Illicit Trade”).

The Secretary-General addressed the OECD Working Party on Pesticides.

Don’t

✘ Capitalise generic references to roles, organisations, institutions, bodies or documents.

🙁 Several Ministers and Deputy-Ministers participated in the Conference.

🙂 Several ministers and deputy-ministers participated in the conference.

🙁 The Government proposed a Referendum.

🙂 The government proposed a referendum.

Compass points

• The cardinal directions are North, South, East and West. The intercardinal directions are Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Northwest.

• Compass points may be capitalised in some circumstances, in order to clarify whether the term refers to a specific or a general direction.

Do

✔ Capitalise compass points as appropriate when part of a title.

✔ Capitalise compass points when referring to specific regions or when part of a proper noun.

✔ Use lowercase when referring to a compass point generically to describe direction.

Providence, Rhode Island, is located on the East Coast.

Take the next left and head south on Route 12.

Don’t

✘ Hyphenate intercardinal directions (Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Northwest).

🙁 The North-West Passage is a sea lane in the Arctic Ocean.

🙂 The Northwest Passage is a sea lane in the Arctic Ocean.

✘ Use the term “Eastern European” when referring to any OECD Member country. Instead use “Central and Eastern European”.

Capitalisation for specific versus generic terms

• Generally, specific terms may be capitalised while generic references never should be.

When to capitalise… or not

 

Examples	Specific vs. generic
Historical periods	the Renaissance, the French Revolution, World War II but the past decade, for a century
Internet terms	the Internet, the OECD Intranet but a web page, a website, a web manager
Acts, directives, legislation	The 1965 Road Act but The act was passed by simple majority The Open Government Directive establishes deadlines for action but A directive is a legislative act of the European Union The Privatisation Bill but Congress is debating a bill
Decisions, declarations, resolutions	The OECD Council Decision on... but Their decision was unanimous The Ministerial Declaration on the Protection of Privacy of Global Networks but The group adopted a declaration The Resolution of the Council on the Draft Convention on the Protection of Foreign Property was adopted in 1967 but Council will review two resolutions
Guidelines	OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy but OECD Members called for new guidelines
Ministerial meetings	The last Ministerial Council Meeting ended in agreement but The OECD Council meets at ministerial level once a year

Key differences between English and French

 

English	French
Day and month
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.	lundi, mardi, mercredi, etc.
January, February, March, etc.	janvier, février, mars, etc.
Nationality as adjective and noun
the French language	la langue française
the French people	les Français
a French woman, a French man	une française, un français
Publication titles
Anti-Corruption and Integrity Outlook 2024 (report title)	Perspectives de l’OCDE sur la lutte contre la corruption et l’intégrité 2024
How’s Life? 2024: Well-being and Resilience in Times of Crisis (report title and subtitle)	Comment va la vie ? 2024 : Bien-être et résilience en temps de crise
Chapter titles
1. Fertility trends across the OECD: Underlying drivers and the role for policy	1. Évolution de la fécondité dans la zone OCDE : déterminants sous‑jacents et rôle de l’action publique
OECD titles and terms
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development	Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques
The Permanent Representative of France to the OECD	le Représentant permanent de la France auprès de l’OCDE
The Council Secretariat and the Committee Secretariat	le Secrétariat du Conseil et le secrétariat du comité
the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretaries-General	le Secrétaire général, les Secrétaires généraux adjoints
the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs	la Direction des affaires financières et des entreprises
the Division for Communications Impact, Standards and Capacity Building (but also Communications Impact, Standards and Capacity Building division)	la Division de l’évaluation de la communication, des standards et du développement des expertises
the Service for Translation (but also the Translation service)	le service de traduction
the Steel Committee, the Working Group on Bribery	le Comité de l’acier, le Groupe de travail sur la corruption
the draft Recommendation, the draft Declaration, the draft Decision	le projet de recommandation, le projet de déclaration, le projet de décision