Capitalisation is essential for maintaining consistency and readability in technical documentation. Incorrect capitalization can lead to confusion or misinterpretation of the content.
Title Case
Do:
- Use title case for headings and titles: Capitalise the first letter of each major word in headings, titles, and subheadings. Example: “Managing User Accounts.”
Dont:
- Do not capitalize conjunctions, prepositions, or articles: Words like “and,” “or,” “of,” “in,” “a,” and “the” should be in lowercase unless they are the first or last word in the title. Example: “A Guide to the Basics of API Design.”
Sentence Case
- Use sentence case for standard text: Capitalize only the first word of a sentence and any proper nouns. Example: “The system requires an update.”
- Use sentence case for bullet points and numbered lists: Unless the bullet point is a complete sentence, start with a lowercase letter. Example: “Use consistent formatting.”
Specific Terms
- Proper nouns and trademarks: Always capitalize proper nouns, trademarks, and specific names. Example: “Microsoft Windows.”
- Capitalisation in code: For coding languages, libraries, or commands, use the standard capitalisation as per the documentation of the language or tool. Example: “JavaScript,” “MySQL.”