You're Not All That

Contrary to popular belief (or, rather, the belief of folks who attempt to assert their exaggerated sense of self-importance through incorrect capitalization!), formal titles are not always written with a capital letter. The rules are pretty cut-and-dried:

CAPITALIZE when a title directly precedes a person's name

* Mayor Jon Alton is speaking at tomorrow's commencement.

* We are happy to welcome President Alice Noble to our home office facility.

* You will get a call from Doctor Mojo when he has decided on your prescription.

* Professor Utonium will be presenting his new theory this morning.

--> However, if there is punctuation between the title and the name, DO NOT CAPITALIZE:

* Our mayor, Jon Alton, is speaking at tomorrow's commencement.

* We are happy to welcome the company president, Alice Noble, to our home office facility.

* You will get a call from your doctor, Joseph Mojo, when he has decided on your prescription.

* This morning's class will be conducted by a new professor, Alan Utonium.

DO NOT CAPITALIZE when the title comes after the name.

* Jon Alton, mayor of Townsville, is speaking at tomorrow's commencement.

* We are happy to welcome Alice Noble, the president of XYZ Chemicals, to our home office facility.

* You will get a call from Joseph Mojo, the doctor on call, when he has decided on your prescription.

* Alan Utonium, the newest professor at our university, will be presenting his new theory this morning.

DO NOT CAPITALIZE when the title stands alone.

* Our mayor is speaking at tomorrow's commencement.

* We are happy to welcome our company president to our home office facility.

* You will get a call from your doctor when he has decided on your prescription.

* This morning's class will be conducted by a new professor.

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