PrepTest 129

Incorrect. Almost! However, if that preposition or conjunction is 5+ letters long, then the second rule doesn't preclude capitalizing it, so a particularly long preposition/conjunction in the middle of a title might be capitalized.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Msut Be True

Stimulus Summary:
Rules of title capitalization:
(1) Always capitalize first, last, and main words
(2) Never capitalize articles, and prepositions/conjunctions under 5 letters (when not first/last words)

Answer Anticipation:
Fun with grammar! This stimulus presents two rules about title capitalization. It's important to know what should and shouldn't be capitalized—as we noted in our Summary—and then head to the answers ASAP and find the one that lines up with these rules.

One note on the second rule—be sure to clearly delineate between articles and prepositions/conjunctions. The ", or" between those two words tells us that the qualifier "fewer than five letters" applies only to prepositions/conjunctions, not articles.

And one general note—the two rules don't cover all situations! There are some words that don't always need to be capitalized, but they also don't fall into the category of words that can't be capitalized. This is mainly prepositions/conjunctions that are in the middle of the title and are at least 5 letters long. They might not be a main word, so they don't need to be capitalized; but they also don't fit into the rule that prevents them from being capitalized. These words could or could not be capitalized, and that ambiguity will probably be relied on to make a few of the answers incorrect.

Answer Explanation:
The second rule tells us that we should "never" capitalize an article, or a conjunction shorter than five letters, in the middle of a title. Therefore, if a word in the middle of a title should be capitalized, it can't fall into either of these two categories, so this answer is correct.

Key Takeaway:
When a stimulus presents rules that cover certain possibilities, take a second to figure out if they're comprehensive—if they cover all possibilities. Here, there were words that weren't covered by the rules, so it was uncertain whether they should or shouldn't be capitalized. And those words showed up in several incorrect answers. Noticing things that fall through the cracks of the rules can be helpful in eliminating these answers which try to apply the rules to those cases.

Incorrect. If those words are the first or last words, then they should "always" be capitalized.

Incorrect. Such a word shouldn't always be capitalized according to the first rule, but that doesn't mean it should never be capitalized. For example, a preposition/conjunction that's 5+ letters long could be capitalized despite being in the middle of the title and not a main word, as there's nothing precluding that from happening.

Incorrect. These categories of words aren't precluded from being capitalized, but that's not the same as saying that they should be capitalized. The first rule doesn't apply to these words, so they fall into the grey area where they could or could not be capitalized based on the rules.