EditFast Grammar Resource: Capitalization: Miscellaneous

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Capitalization

Miscellaneous

Though governmental departments, organizations, and educational institutions are capitalized, the names of the people who work in or represent those groups are not, unless that person's position in the group is used as a title in front of the person's name (Senator Bob Kerry).

Examples:

Wrong: Philip is the Treasurer of our chapter of Amnesty International.
Right: Philip is the treasurer of our chapter of Amnesty International.

Wrong: To discuss environmental issues, the Secretary held a press conference.
Right: To discuss environmental issues, the secretary held a press conference.

Note: It is only acceptable to capitalize the word "president" when speaking about the President of the United States (and, even then, it is the writer's choice). Do not capitalize it when referring to presidents of universities and organizations.

Note: Do not capitalize common nouns to make them seem important or to make them stand out, because you will likely confuse the reader. Use boldface or italics instead.