Overcapitalisation can make your text cluttered and harder to read, especially on screen.
When writing for the web, it is better not to use capital letters to give prominence to
A good rule of thumb when writing in English is that names and titles (proper nouns) are capitalised, whereas common nouns are not.
Instead of … | … write |
several Directorates-General are responsible for action on climate change | several directorates-general are responsible for action on climate change |
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) | common agricultural policy (CAP) |
Consumer Rights Directive | consumer rights directive |
Council Presidency BUT German presidency of the Council | Council presidency (general) German Presidency (initial capital for specific presidencies) |
Environment Summit | environment summit |
Environment White Paper | environment white paper |
European Year of Equal Opportunities | European year of equal opportunities |
the Directive on Consumer Rights | the directive on consumer rights |
Information Society Technologies | information society technologies |
Staff Regulations of Officials and Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities | Staff regulations of officials and conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities (Initial capital for titles of EU documents) |
Synopsis of the Work of the Court of Justice of the European Communities | Synopsis of the work of the Court of Justice of the European Communities |
If you require further assistance, please contact:
European Commission
DG Communication
Unit B.3
Europa Web Communication