Capitalization: races, nationalities, and

speciesMini-Lesson # 26

From the UWF Writing Lab’s

101 Grammar Mini-Lessons Series

Capitalize nationalities (including nationality-related words such as languages)

My brother likes cheddar, but he prefers Swiss cheese on his hamburgers.

Capitalize species’ names that include proper nouns

The veterinarian told us he’d never been bitten by a German shepherd, but he’d lost his leg to a Doberman pinscher.

Capitalize racesThe scientific study included Asian men and women as well as Caucasians.

The terms black and white are usually not capitalized; however, if you capitalize these terms when referring to races, you need to be consistent throughout your document.

More Examples

• The French bakery makes the best pastry in the world.

• Fred found his art class on the Italian Renaissance to be as dull as dishwater.

• I thought it strange that my American literature professor earned his doctorate at a Polish university.