“Can I use all capital letters in Listening?” This is a question I get asked a lot, so I thought I might as well write a blog post about it since so many of you are interested in this. The short answer to this question is: “Yes, you can,” but let’s look at it a little bit further.
First of all, this is the official answer taken from the British Council IELTS website:
“As you listen, write your answer on the question paper. At the end of the test you will have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet in pencil. You may write your answers in lower case or capital letters.”
So, you can write your answer in all capitals if you wish, no problem. If you choose to write in lower case letters you can still write everything in lower case for example, “europe,” “london”, or “john”. However, if you use them in Writing you should follow the spelling and grammar rules. For example, if you have to write the name of a person or the name of a place the first letter should be capitalised: “John”, “Europe”. So, you still need to know the rules.
More specifically, let’s have a look at some rules that will be helpful not only regarding Writing but also with your studies afterwards!
When do we have to use a capital letter?
1.) Never use a lower case with the personal pronoun “I”. “I” is always in capitals no matter where it is located in the sentence. For example,
“How can I help you?”
2.) We use a capital letter in the beginning of a sentence; after a full stop; or to imitate oral speech. For example,
He achieved the IELTS band he needed. Therefore, he’s really happy. He said loudly: “This is great!”
3.) We use capital letters for abbreviations. For example,
U.S.A. – U.A.E. – IELTS – TOEFL – TOEIC etc.
4.) We use a capital letter for holidays and for months and days of the weeks. For example,
Christmas, Sunday, Saturday, May, July.
5.) We use a capital letter for countries of cities, towns, regions, and landmarks. For example,
France, Milan, Europe, the Thames, the Eiffel Tower etc.
6.) We use a capital letter for people’s names. For example,
John Smith
7.) We use capital letters for nationalities. For example
Japanese, Irish, Canadian
8.) We use capital letters for religions. For examples,
Christianity, Buddhism etc.
9.) We use capital letters when we refer to famous companies. For example,
Apple, Microsoft, Hyundai, Amazon etc.
10.) We use capital letters for titles or professions. For example,
Sir Harold Pinter, Dr. John Smith, Professor Williams
11.) Last but not least, we also use capital letters for titles or headings. For example:
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyefski
Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare
Yellow Submarine by Beatles
So, that’s pretty much all you need to know regarding the use of capital letters. You can also watch the video lesson if you like:
I really hope it helps!
What do you find difficult concerning capital letters? Let me know in the comments below!