Problem: Several readers have asked recently about whether to capitalize particular words, ranging from job titles to seasons.
Lesson: Although some style guides differ, in general, few words other than proper nouns should appear in uppercase.
3 Official titles preceding a name, including executive, professional, civic, military and religious titles. Examples: Mayor Maggie Stewart and Chief Financial Officer Bert Jones.
3 Official names of divisions or departments of an organization, but not general references to those units. Examples: "General Motors' Parts Division," but "Please deliver that invoice to the accounting department."
3 Common nouns that stand in for a proper noun. Examples: "The Widgets Co.," but "the company." Note: Some style guides call for capitalizing high-ranking titles when used alone to replace the full name, such as "the President."
3 Common job titles. Example: "She gave the package to deliveryman Chris Marlin."
3 The word "city" or "state" unless it's part of the actual name or a well-known nickname. Examples: Kansas City, the city of Pittsburgh.
3 The word "the" unless it's part of an official name. Examples: "The Washington Post," but "the Washingtonian magazine."
3 Directions (north, south, east, west) unless they are part of a proper name or a well-known region. Examples: "Go north on 16th Street," but "Most of our customers live in the South."
3 The names of seasons (spring, summer, winter, autumn) when not part of an official name..