capitalization - Correct form of a chapter reference
If I have the following sentences, which version is correct:
- This chapter provides.... or
- This Chapter provides....
Note the capitalisation of 'c'.
- Chapter 1 provides....
- Chapter One provides...
Note the use of numbers
- This model was discussed in Chapter One
- This model was discussed in chapter one
- This model was discussed in Chapter 1
- This model was discussed in chapter 1
Note the use of capitalisation and numbers in the last part of the sentence.
Many thanks.
Answer
Here is what I do:
When referring to a chapter generically, do not capitalize it:
This chapter talks about the exciting lives of carrier pigeons.
Refer to the chapter about carrier pigeons for more information.
When referring to a specific chapter, capitalize it:
The exciting lives of carrier pigeons are addressed in Chapter 5.
There are other purported "style guides" and grammar advice available via web search saying the same thing, but notably the Chicago Manual of Style disagrees:
Chicago prefers to lowercase the parts of a book, even if they’re titled generically, so in running text we would refer to “appendix A.”
Comments
Post a Comment