Rulebase

Capitalize Names of Awards, Citations, and Honors

Capitalization

Rulebase Summary

Capitalize the names of awards, citations, honors, and medals — Rhodes scholar, Olympic gold medalist, Nobel Prize, Congressional Medal of Honor, Purple Heart. These are proper nouns naming specific distinctions.

Morson's Rule 246 · p.143

Examples

A. She won the nobel prize in Chemistry.

A. She won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Nobel Prize is the proper name of a specific award — capitalize it.

A. He received the congressional medal of honor for his service.

A. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service.

The full name of an award or medal is always capitalized.

Transcript Notes

Capitalize the names of awards, citations, honors, and medals (Rhodes scholar, Olympic gold medalist, Most Valuable Player of the Year, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, Congressional Medal of Honor). Some writers and speakers vary the word order of these awards, so the court reporter should follow the principles of capitalization as much as possible.

Style Guide References (1)

Morson's

Rule 246 Page 143
See also (2)