Q&A for How to Use Proper Capitalization

Margherita is a type of pizza derived from a proper name, so it should be capitalized. It would also be capitalized If it were considered a brand name.

No, that's a common noun, not the name of a specific place or thing.

Always capitalize specific months. August, September, October, etc. should always be capitalized.

If it's the name of something, it should always be capitalized ("Knock It out of the Park" or "Knock It Out Of The Park" are both acceptable ways to capitalize titles). If it's just a slogan/catchphrase associated with the event and not a name, then it should just be "Knock it out of the park".

Capitalize it only if it's an official title.

If you mean you thought the "proper" and "common" were capitalized, no, they are not.

When referring to the department by name, capitalizing is appropriate. In making a general reference to "the department," capitalizing is really a matter of personal preference.

If you're using this as a salutation, either is acceptable, with a comma at the end (the "Good Afternoon" format is a bit more popular just because it looks better). If you're using it as a normal sentence, you'd write "Good afternoon, Kate." (Or replace the period with an exclamation point if you want.) However, if you're sending someone a letter, it usually doesn't make much sense to specify the time of day, since who knows what time they might read it.

Yes, that would be appropriate for purposes of specification.

No. "Members" is a common noun and is not capitalized. The exception would be if you were trying to make the members feel important by capitalizing the word. Rules are broken lots of times for special purposes.

Capitalization implies significance. If you want to lend importance to a document or a work, you are free to capitalize its title.

Use the capital C to lend formality to the reference.

Capitalization implies significance. If you want to lend importance to a series of photographs, you can certainly choose to capitalize the word "photo."

It's okay. Often capitalization is an attempt to bestow honor or prestige on certain people.

No, it would only be capitalized when the title is in front of her name.

Use the capital R. That serves notice that you're linking to a formal list of references.

Capitalize "Mexican," because it's an indirect reference to a specific country.

No. All three are common names for plants.

Capitalize a specific committee's name, especially if it is unique and has importance.

Not unless they are part of the name of a specific dish or recipe.

Wine, pizza, and roast dinner are all common nouns and don't need capitalization.

Yes, if you're giving Sally a nickname, capitalize that nickname.

Use the rules that apply to book titles.

It makes sense to capitalize those words if they're intended as customized names of races. As adjectives they need not be capitalized.

No. "University" would only be capitalized as part of the title of the particular institution. In a generic context, as you've given, it isn't capitalized.

No, don't capitalize it, because it's just a common noun, even though it happens to be adjacent to a proper name ("Neighborhood Watch").

This sounds like an informal invitation, so you could do it either way. Strictly speaking, "family" does not need to be capitalized.

Probably yes. It's hard to say without seeing the article.