Chapter 2 Part 1在线视频

Hello everyone

I am Tao Xin from Capital Medical University

Now we are going to talk about Chapter Two

Capitalization

Part 1 Introduction

Unlike Chinese

the English language uses capitalizations

Capitalization mainly serves

to grab readers’ attention

on certain information

either to signal the beginning of a new sentence

or to highlight particular elements

within a group of people, places or things

In this lecture you are expected to

know capitalization principles

in writing SCI papers

and apply capitalization principles in your writing

Part 2 Guiding principles

A general rule is to capitalize a word

only when a dictionary or convention says so

Using a grammar checker for example

Microsoft Office to help you spot overused

and missing capitals

is the most convenient way

Specifically capitalization is applied

in the first word of every sentence

main words in the title

acronyms and proper nouns

The first word of every sentence

Let's find out capitalization errors

in the following sentences

Neither of the first words in the above

two examples is capitalized

Actually every sentence

begins with a capital letter

So we should revise the two sentences as

If the sentence begins with numerals

how should we apply capitalization?

Let's look at two more examples

Both of the above two example

sentences begin with numerals

which could cause confusions

Then how should we appropriately use numbers

Here are examples of appropriate

uses of capitalization

with numbers in sentences

Examples five and six

add either a prepositional phrase

or a proposition in front of the number

While Example 7

spells out the number 36

As we can see

for clarity

we'd better spell out

any number that begins a sentence

or if the number is expressed

in more than two words

we can either rephrase

by adding introductory phrases

or by putting the numbers

in the middle of the sentence

Thus we can revise Example 3

in the following three ways

Spell out 1000 in words

or add a propositional phrase that sets the context

"In our study"

or change the passive voice into the active one

How can we revise Example 4

113 participates’ breakfast conditions

did not change significantly in any weather

We can revise this sentence

by changing the subject into "we"

Or by adding a transition adverb "also"

Now can you summarize

the general principles of capitalization

Every sentence begins with a capital letter

numerals cannot be used

at the beginning of a sentence

then how

We can begin a sentence

with numerals by writing out numbers

or by adding introductory phrases

or by rearranging sentence structures

main words in a title

Next let's move to capitalization principles in titles

first find out capitalization errors

in the following titles

The first word in a title should always be capitalized

no matter whether it is a main word

denoting concrete meaning

or a small word serving grammatical function

Other small words do not need to be capitalized

Rules for capitalization of other main words

vary according to different journals

For example article titles in NEJM

and JAMA

require capitalizing all main words

while those in Lancet

and BMJ only capitalize the first word

Let's look at titles from the above four journals

Note that both words in the hyphenated word

‘coronavirus-infected’ in Example 12 are capitalized

the preposition ‘with’ is capitalized in Example 12

but not in Example 11

So it’s very important

to consult the target journals

before formulating your titles

I believe now you may know how

to revise Examples 8-10

So can you summarize the principles

of capitalization in titles?

Capitalize the first word in a title

including these small words

articles 'a' 'an' 'the'

coordinating conjunctions 'and' 'but' etc

prepositions 'in' 'for' etc

If necessary as required by the journal

capitalize all words in a title

except the above small words

Journals may differ in their capitalization rules

so refer to target journals

whenever you are uncertain

Acronyms

Acronyms are words formed from the initial letters

of each or major parts of compound terms

Now we're going to discuss capitalization

principles in acronyms

Let’s find out capitalization errors

in the following sentences

We should spell out the full term

at the first appearance

and give the abbreviation in parentheses

as in Example 18

But if the acronym is better known

such as 'HIV' in the following example

we can use the acronym at first mention

So how should we revise Examples 16 and 17

In Example 16

The full term should be given in front of the acronym

so we should revise the sentence as

In Example17 the full tern for CSF should be given

Now let’s summarize the principles of capitalization

in acronyms

Every letter should be capitalized in acronyms

Write out the full form

at first mention

and place the acronym in parentheses

unless the acronym is better known

Proper nouns

Name specific persons, places and things

Lastly

with proper nouns let's see whether you can spot

capitalization errors in the following sentences

Names should be capitalized

For two word Chinese names

we need to capitalize both words

while for three word Chinese names

only the first two are capitalized

And titles are capitalized

when they precede the name

rather than after it

such as Academician Zhong Nanshan

So with professor Wang Liliang

in the following example

the third word does not need to be capitalized

For proper nouns of places

we should capitalize all main words

but not the articles

if they only introduce these names

rather than form an essential part

of the proper noun

as in "the Respiratory Department of

Ditan Hospital, Beijing, China"

So Examples 21-24 should be revised as

For medications, manufacturers

or brand names should be capitalized

but not chemical names

In this example

acridine orange is the chemical name

and does not need to be capitalized

For time reference,

capitalize days, months and holidays

but not seasons

Now it's time for us to summarize

capitalization principles for proper nouns

Capitalize names of persons

use small letters if the specific name is not given

capitalize the title if it is followed by a name

Capitalize places, geographical regions

names of organizations, institutions,

associations and funding sources

use small letters if the specific name is not given

do not capitalize the article

'a' 'an' 'the' if it introduces these names

Capitalize manufacturers

or brand names of medications

Do not capitalize chemical names of medications

Capitalize names of days of the week, months

and holidays; use small letter for the seasons