Chicago Style Workout 29: Titles in Running Text

/ August 28, 2018

Sprint!

This month’s workout, “Titles in Running Text,” is taken from CMOS 17, sections 8.157–67. Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study sections 8.157–67 of the Manual before answering the questions.

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Note: Style guides sometimes disagree. These questions are designed to test knowledge of The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition.

Chicago Style Workout 29: Titles in Running Text (CMOS 8.157–67)

1. Chicago style prefers that titles mentioned or cited in text or notes be capitalized headline-style rather than sentence-style.
a.
b.
2. Most titles of works from languages other than English use sentence-style capitalization.
a.
b.
3. Chicago style for headline capitalization uppercases prepositions of five letters or more.
a.
b.
4. Chicago’s headline style uppercases prepositions when they are used adverbially or adjectivally {The On Button} {Turn On, Tune In, and Enjoy}.
a.
b.
5. The second element in a hyphenated spelled-out number or fraction is lowercased in headline style {Twenty-one Today} {Two-thirds There}.
a.
b.
6. In headline style, if the first element in a hyphenated compound is merely a prefix or combining form that could not stand by itself as a word (anti, pre, etc.), the second element is lowercased unless it is a proper noun or proper adjective {E-books} {Anti-intellectual Pursuits}.
a.
b.
7. When a direct quotation of a sentence or an independent clause is used in a title, the quotation part of the title always uses sentence-style capitalization {“‘We all live more like brutes than like humans’: Labor and Capital in the Gold Rush”}.
a.
b.
8. When an em dash rather than a colon is used in a title, what follows the em dash is not normally considered to be a subtitle, and the first word is not necessarily capitalized {Chicago—a Metropolitan Smorgasbord}.
a.
b.
9. When a title is referred to in text or notes or listed in a bibliography or reference list, its original spelling and hyphenation should be preserved, but capitalization may be changed to headline style (8.159) or sentence style (8.158), as applicable.
a.
b.
10. A dash between an original title and subtitle should be retained in running text; however, a semicolon between title and subtitle may usually be changed to a colon.
a.
b.

 

Photo: Eileen Wearne training at Manual Arts High School, Los Angeles, 1932, photographer unknown. Courtesy Flickr.

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P.S. We welcome discussion! Please use the comments feature below.
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Previous Chicago Style Workouts

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New! 

Chicago style for writing papers made clear, in free, downloadable tip sheets:

  1. Margins and Page Numbers
  2. Title Page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. List of Tables and Figures
  5. Introduction or Conclusion
  6. Main Text
  7. Sections and Subheads
  8. Chapter Opening Page
  9. Figure and Figure Caption
  10. Bibliography
  11. Endnotes
  12. Footnotes
  13. Parenthetical Citations
  14. Reference List

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3 thoughts on “Chicago Style Workout 29: Titles in Running Text”

    • Paul, I think it is because the first part, “Self,” actually can stand alone–it is a word. The rule is to lowercase the second part of the compound when the first part cannot stand alone (like pre-, anti-, etc.).

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