CaPitaliZe THIS??

An assignment that we as students are also required to complete on a weekly basis is the dreaded grammar assignment. In this task we must focus on a grammar issue that we struggle with. The response must include information on how we struggle with it, what the correct rule is and a link to a site with some compelling information on the topic.
The grammar issue I have chosen for this week is that I do not always know when to capitalize a piece of information. I struggle in knowing if it is important enough to be capalized and I get completely turned around when dealing with book titles or words that seem like they should be capitalized like American… or it is American!
I looked up the proper rule or rules for this topic and realized a new reason why I am confused. There are as many as 17 different rules for this grammar topic. The rules listed in this response are courtesy of www.grammerbook.com and are the ones I have found to be at least the best in terms of brevity for each rule. Of the 17 listed on their site, 3 offer an encapsulation of this week’s issue.
1. Capitalize points of the compass only when they refer to specific regions.
2. Always capitalize the first and last words of titles of publications regardless of their parts of speech. Capitalize other words within titles, including the short verb forms Is, Are, and Be.
3. Capitalize federal or state when used as part of an official agency name or in government documents where these terms represent an official name. If they are being used as general terms, you may use lowercase letters.
Of the 315,000 sites on Google that claim to have knowledge on this topic there is one that stands out and may become a resource for future articles. The site is called adminssecret.com and their approach seems softer and simpler than some of the other powerhouse alternatives. The information is presented as if one admin was secretly sharing some tips over coffee with a friend who is in the same spot. I think it’s a great site and I encourage others to tap its resources. The specific topic can be found by clicking HERE.