When to capitalize seasons

Comments

• LSAT_Wrecker Member ⭐

  December 2018 4850 karma

  "In the fall of 2017" - fall is not capitalized, nor should it be.
• 1 Like

  AudaciousRed Alum Member

  December 2018 2689 karma

  Fall 2017, as in the semester? Capitalized. Because semesters like Fall18, or Spring 2005 are like proper names. Otherwise, I think @LSAT_Wrecker is correct. Seasons, in and of themselves, are not proper nouns, so aren't capitalized.
• _oshun1_ Alum Member

  December 2018 3652 karma

  This could have been googled. I remember seeing a university website explaining exactly how to write out names of semesters in essays.
• _oshun1_ Alum Member

  December 2018 3652 karma

  “SEASONS

  Seasons of the year are not capitalized except when they title a particular semester that includes the year.

  Examples:

  The course is only offered in the fall semester.
  She must register for Spring Semester 1996.

  She came to Regent fall 2001.

  SEMESTERS

  Fall semester, spring semester, summer session, etc., may be capitalized when referring to a specific semester. General references to semesters should be lowercased. Seasons of the year are not capitalized.

  Examples:

  Registration for Fall Semester 1996 will begin tomorrow.
  Students may begin in the spring semester.
  Students returning in the fall are encouraged to enroll early.

  Note that semesters are properly titled as follows: Fall Semester 1999, Spring Semester 2000.”
• Overcomer Free Trial Member

  December 2018 96 karma

  @oshun1 I did google it, however there wasn't much of a consensus that I found. However, thank you this was very helpful
• 1 Like

  akistotle Member ⭐ 🍌🍌

  December 2018 9377 karma

  @"David.Busis" and @"selene.steelman" (former admissions officer) talk about it in the podcast:
  
  (29:44-)

  https://7sage.com/lesson/9-admissions-behind-the-scenes-david-busis-and-selene-steelman/
  David: I'm also wondering about small questions of style. For example, I see a lot of applicants who capitalize fall semester or spring or something like that. Seasons don't actually have to be capitalized. It is a mistake but it's not a very big one, and it probably passes under the radar of a lot of people. Do stuff like that matter?

  Selene: Like if you say I'm applying for fall 2019?

  David: Yeah.

  Selene: I would capitalize the F.

  David: Oh, really?

  Selene: And capitalize the S. Why is that? Well, at least in our office, we used to have people who apply for fall, spring, and May. So for us, Fall 2019 or Spring 2019 is a thing.

  David: It's a proper noun.

  Selene: Yeah. So I would just instinctively capitalized them.