Should Civil War Be Capitalized

When to Capitalize North, South, East and West

When to Capitalize North, South, East and Due west

Should compass directions (i.east., north, south, e, and west) ever be capitalized? And if and so, when? To find out when to capitalize "North," "South," "East," and "West," read our guide to capitalizing directions below.

N, South, East and West every bit Directions

When "northward," "due south," "e," and "west" refer to generic directions (i.e., the points of the compass), they are not capitalized:

Scotland is to the north of England.

We walked south for three miles.

The dominicus always sets in the west.

The master bedchamber is in the east wing of the mansion.

The same applies for related adjectives and other compass directions:

There will be a northerly current of air tomorrow.

We live in the eastern part of the land.

The castle lies to the southward-westward.

The key factor here is that we're using these words descriptively (i.east., to specify the management or location of something), non to name something.

North, South, Due east and West as Proper Nouns

You should capitalize "North," "South," "Eastward," and "West" when they're part of a name (i.east., the name of a unique thing). The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas:

We study the history of Eastern Europe.

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I'thou visiting S Africa next year.

He comes from N Dakota.

Westward Ho! is a village in the Britain.

However, some people also advise capitalizing the names of:

Broad geographical regions (e.g., "the Due north" or "the Far East")
People from a specific region (e.chiliad., "Northerners," "Southerners")
Cultures or movements related to a region (due east.k., "Western philosophy")

The uniting theme here is the idea of naming a well-known or well-defined region. In some cases, like country and city names, this is clear. But in other cases, it is more a matter of convention and habit.

For example, nigh people would capitalize "S London" because South London is a well-known part of a famous city. But it would exist unusual to do this for a less well-known location, such every bit "south Coventry."

View of Coventry City Centre from One Friargate, Friargate Boulevard, Coventry, England, United Kingdom (October 2019) showing the three spires of the city plus The Wave waterpark. — Not equally famous every bit London, perchance, simply it has its moments. (Photograph: Si Chun Lam/wikimedia)

There is room for variation here: if you live in Coventry and you're writing for other Coventry residents, then peradventure writing "South Coventry" would make sense. But, generally, you simply demand to capitalize a direction in a place name if the direction is a standard function of the identify's proper noun.

Summary, Fashion Guides and Proofreading

To summarize the communication higher up, nosotros suggest:

Capitalizing "North," "Southward," "Due east," and "Due west" when they're part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a specific geographical region or culture).
Not capitalizing when referring to a full general direction.

Yet, capitalization may depend on the mode guide you lot're using. The Chicago Transmission of Manner and the MLA Handbook, for instance, say to just capitalize "Southern" when referring to the American Civil State of war. But the AP Stylebook says to ever capitalize "Southern" when referring to "the South" in the United States, regardless of whether you're discussing the Civil War.

In other words, directions tin be tricky! In all cases, though, yous should:

Check your manner guide (if applicable) for advice on specific terms.
Be consistent (e.g., don't use "due south England" in i part of a document and "Southward England" in another if you lot're referring to the same place).

And if you need aid, our skilful proofreaders are gear up! Y'all tin can fifty-fifty submit a sample document for free to see how our services work.