# Blog heading-case style card

Original teaching example for Balcony Notes, a fictional blog. No real publisher edit, SEO result or reader test is represented.

## Filled house decision

- Teaching blog: Balcony Notes (fictional).
- Chosen style: sentence case.
- Scope: article-section headings; declare other fields separately.
- First word and word after a colon: capitalize.
- Names and acronyms: retain checked spelling, including OneNote, July and CSV.
- Title-case comparison: first/last and major words capitalized; interior articles, short prepositions and listed conjunctions lowercase. Use the full reference for other cases.
- Reference: [Microsoft capitalization guide](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/capitalization), checked 8 October 2026. This is one explicit reference, not universal publisher policy.

## Completed heading entries

### Entry 1

- Original heading: How To Choose A Pot
- Sentence-case example: How to choose a pot
- Title-case example: How to Choose a Pot
- Chosen heading: How to choose a pot
- Proper name preserved: None in this heading
- Colon handling: No colon
- Acronym handling: No acronym
- Reason: Apply the selected convention to an ordinary heading.
- Exception to check: Check that pot is the intended subject; capitalization cannot repair a different meaning.

### Entry 2

- Original heading: watering in July: when to check the soil
- Sentence-case example: Watering in July: When to check the soil
- Title-case example: Watering in July: When to Check the Soil
- Chosen heading: Watering in July: When to check the soil
- Proper name preserved: July
- Colon handling: Capitalize When after the colon
- Acronym handling: No acronym
- Reason: Keep the month name and apply the declared colon handling.
- Exception to check: Do not leave the post-colon rule implicit or lower July during a case edit.

### Entry 3

- Original heading: Keep Garden Notes in OneNote
- Sentence-case example: Keep garden notes in OneNote
- Title-case example: Keep Garden Notes in OneNote
- Chosen heading: Keep garden notes in OneNote
- Proper name preserved: OneNote
- Colon handling: No colon
- Acronym handling: No acronym
- Reason: Preserve the checked product-name spelling in either convention.
- Exception to check: Do not change OneNote to Onenote or ONENOTE. No product workflow is demonstrated.

### Entry 4

- Original heading: what to include in a CSV export
- Sentence-case example: What to include in a CSV export
- Title-case example: What to Include in a CSV Export
- Chosen heading: What to include in a CSV export
- Proper name preserved: None in this heading
- Colon handling: No colon
- Acronym handling: Preserve CSV uppercase
- Reason: Retain the declared acronym spelling while applying the selected style.
- Exception to check: Confirm that CSV is the intended term before changing any letter. No import/export procedure is demonstrated.

### Entry 5

- Original heading: A Shelf To Grow On
- Sentence-case example: A shelf to grow on
- Title-case example: A Shelf to Grow On
- Chosen heading: A shelf to grow on
- Proper name preserved: None in this heading
- Colon handling: No colon
- Acronym handling: No acronym
- Reason: The chosen sentence version differs from the title version at the final On.
- Exception to check: Under the comparison title rule the final On is capitalized; interior to stays lowercase.

### Entry 6

- Original heading: When a pot is too small
- Sentence-case example: When a pot is too small
- Title-case example: When a Pot Is Too Small
- Chosen heading: When a pot is too small
- Proper name preserved: None in this heading
- Colon handling: No colon
- Acronym handling: No acronym
- Reason: Keep ordinary sentence words lowercase in the chosen version.
- Exception to check: Word length alone does not decide title case: Is and Too are capitalized in this comparison.

## Reuse with your own draft

Replace the teaching blog and reference with your own declared choices. Set the style and scope before editing. Add an actual draft heading, complete both versions and record the chosen version. Preserve the words while making a case-only edit; treat any wording repair as a separate decision. Verify unfamiliar names rather than guessing.

Copy this entry for each new heading:

- Original heading:
- Sentence-case example:
- Title-case example:
- Chosen heading:
- Proper name preserved:
- Colon handling:
- Acronym handling:
- Reason:
- Exception to check:

A heading-case convention does not determine semantic heading level. No ranking or comprehension result follows from this card.