Free ATI TEAS 7 English & Language Usage guide
October 2026 - The Rules of Capitalization Study Guide for nursing students in
Capitalise the first word of a sentence, proper nouns, titles used before a name, days, months and the significant words in titles. Seasons and general job descriptions stay lower case — and those two exceptions are where most of the marks are won or lost.
What always takes a capital
- The first word of a sentence, and the first word of a direct quotation that is a full sentence.
- Proper nouns — specific people, places, organisations, brands:
Dr Reyes,St Thomas' Hospital,Manchester. - Days and months —
Tuesday,November. - Nationalities and languages —
Spanish,Nigerian. - The pronoun I, wherever it appears.
- Historical periods and events —
the Second World War.
The distinctions that get tested
In each pair, the specific version takes a capital and the general one does not.
| Capital | Lower case | Why |
|---|---|---|
Professor Adeyemi |
the professor | A title before a name is part of it |
Nursing 210 |
a nursing course | A named course is a proper noun |
Aunt Miriam |
my aunt | The title replaces or precedes the name |
the South |
drive south | A region is a place; a direction is not |
Parkinson's disease |
heart disease | Only the proper noun within the name |
the Royal College of Nursing |
the college | A specific institution against a general one |
Seasons are lower case: spring, summer, autumn, winter. Days and months take capitals and seasons do not, which looks inconsistent and is the single most frequent capitalisation question on the exam.
Titles of works
Capitalise the significant words. The exception is a short word in the middle.
- Always capitalise the first and last words, whatever they are.
- Capitalise nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and pronouns.
- Leave short articles, conjunctions and prepositions in lower case when they fall in the middle: a, an, the, and, but, of, in, on.
- So:
The Care of the Older Patient in Acute Settings.
Deciding on a title
Worked example
Which is correct: I spoke to Doctor Vaughan or I spoke to the Doctor?
- Ask whether the title is attached to a name. In the first, "Doctor" comes directly before "Vaughan".
- A title used with a name is part of that name, so it takes a capital.
- In the second, "the doctor" is a general description with no name attached.
- A general job description is a common noun.
I spoke to Doctor Vaughan and I spoke to the doctor. The test is whether a name follows: if it does, capitalise; if the word could be swapped for "a person who does that job", do not.
Terms to know
- Proper noun
- The name of a specific person, place, organisation or thing. Always capitalised.
- Common noun
- A general name for a category of thing. Lower case.
- Title case
- The capitalisation pattern used for titles of works.
- Direct quotation
- Someone's exact words. Capitalised when a full sentence.
- Region
- A named area, treated as a place and capitalised — unlike a compass direction.
What the TEAS asks most
The same core ideas appear in different wording. If you can answer these without stopping to think, you have what this section requires.
Which sentence is capitalised correctly?
Check seasons, job titles without names, and directions first — the three usual traps.
Which word in this sentence should be capitalised?
Ask whether it names something specific. If it could be replaced by "one of those", it stays lower case.
How should this title be written?
First word, last word and all significant words. Short prepositions and articles in the middle stay lower case.
Key points
- Capitalise proper nouns, sentence openings, days, months, nationalities and the pronoun I.
- Seasons are lower case.
- A title takes a capital when it is attached to a name, not when it stands alone.
- A region is capitalised; a compass direction is not.
- In titles, capitalise the first, the last, and every significant word.
Review quiz
4 questions on this topic, each with the reasoning worked through. Pick an answer to see how it went, or open the explanation straight away.
-
Question 1 of 4
Which sentence is capitalised correctly?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. The clinic is busiest in the autumn, especially on Mondays.
Days of the week are capitalised and seasons are not — the inconsistency the exam tests most often. "Clinic" here is a common noun, so it takes no capital either.
-
Question 2 of 4
Which sentence uses titles correctly?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. I asked Doctor Nwosu to review the chart, then spoke to the nurse.
"Doctor" is attached to a name, so it is part of that name and takes a capital, while "the nurse" is a general description that does not. The surname always keeps its capital regardless.
-
Question 3 of 4
Which sentence is correct?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. She moved to the South to take a post in a hospital.
As a named region "the South" is a place and takes a capital, while "a hospital" is a general noun. In the third choice "south" is a direction of travel rather than a region, so it should be lower case.
-
Question 4 of 4
How should this title be capitalised?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. A Guide to the Care of Older Patients
The first and last words are capitalised along with every significant word, while the short preposition "of" and the article "the" stay lower case in the middle. Capitalising every word without exception is the most common overcorrection.
Put this TEAS topic into practice
Build a set on the rules of capitalization and use the rationale on every question to reinforce what you just reviewed.
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