The word “and” is normally lowercase in the middle of a title because it is a coordinating conjunction, but first-word, last-word, and style-specific rules can change the answer.
ReviewedEvidence3 sourcesSectionWriting & Style
Quick answer
Usually no in the middle of a title. APA treats “and” as a short minor conjunction, while Chicago 18 lowercases “and” as one of its named coordinating conjunctions. MLA title style capitalizes the first and last words and principal words, so “and” is normally lowercase in an ordinary mid-title position.
Key details
APA 7Lowercase as a short conjunction in ordinary mid-title position
Chicago 18Lowercase as a named coordinating conjunction in ordinary mid-title position
MLA 9Normally lowercase mid-title; first and last words are capitalized
Normal Mid Title Formand
Termand
Word Classcoordinating conjunction
Further guidance
Decision Rule
First identify the style guide. If “and” is in the middle, lowercase is the normal result in APA, Chicago, and MLA title-style contexts. If it is at an edge position, apply that style’s first- or last-word rule rather than assuming every guide treats the edge the same way.
Examples
Typical mid-title form: “Research and Practice.” A title beginning with the word uses “And” because the first word is capitalized: “And Then We Left.”
Style By Style
APA 7: lowercase “and” in an ordinary mid-title position because it is a short conjunction. Chicago 18: lowercase “and” as one of the common coordinating conjunctions named by the title-case rule. MLA 9: capitalize the first word, last word, and principal words; “and” is therefore normally lowercase in the middle.
Position matters. Chicago and MLA explicitly capitalize the last word of a title. APA does not use a blanket last-word rule, so do not transfer a Chicago or MLA exception into APA automatically.
Why And Is Usually Lowercase
“And” is a coordinating conjunction. Major title-capitalization systems generally distinguish principal or major words from minor function words, and “and” normally falls into the lowercase group when it appears inside a title.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
APA title case capitalizes the first word, the first word of a subtitle, major words, and words of four letters or more while keeping short minor words lowercase in ordinary mid-title positions.
Chicago 18 uses title case for titles of works and changed a long-standing rule: prepositions of five letters or more are now capitalized. Shorter prepositions generally remain lowercase internally, while first and last words are capitalized and “to” remains lowercase as an infinitive marker in ordinary mid-title use.
Coordinating conjunctions are a major source of title-case differences: APA lowercases short conjunctions, while current Chicago names a narrower lowercase set and capitalizes “so” and “yet.”
MLA 9 describes title style as capitalizing the first word, last word, and all principal words. MLA’s public Style Center also documents the traditional lowercase treatment of internal prepositions, but its detailed preposition article is edition-labeled for MLA 8, so this engine does not yet treat the full MLA 9 converter profile as complete.
Usually no in the middle of a title. APA lowercases short conjunctions such as “but,” Chicago 18 explicitly lowercases “but” among its common coordinating conjunctions, and MLA title style normally leaves coordinating conjunctions lowercase unless a boundary rule applies. The answer depends on the style guide and position, so this page separates APA 7, Chicago 18, and MLA guidance instead of applying one generic title-case list.
Usually no in the middle of a title. APA treats the short conjunction “nor” as a minor word, Chicago 18 names “nor” among the coordinating conjunctions it lowercases, and MLA title style normally leaves coordinating conjunctions lowercase internally. The answer depends on the style guide and position, so this page separates APA 7, Chicago 18, and MLA guidance instead of applying one generic title-case list.
Usually no in the middle of a title. APA lowercases the short conjunction “or,” Chicago 18 explicitly includes “or” in its lowercase coordinating-conjunction set, and MLA title style normally keeps coordinating conjunctions lowercase internally. The answer depends on the style guide and position, so this page separates APA 7, Chicago 18, and MLA guidance instead of applying one generic title-case list.
APA capitalizes “About” internally because it has at least four letters. Chicago 18 also capitalizes it when used as a preposition because current Chicago capitalizes prepositions of five letters or more. MLA treatment still depends on grammatical function, so prepositional and principal-word uses should not be collapsed into one rule.
