Many documents suffer from over-capitalisation. The writer sprinkles capitals everywhere in an attempt to make words stand out - with the result that nothing stands out. Here are some simple rules to help you avoid this capital offence.

Give an initial capital to words that are part of a proper name, like John, Whakatane, the Pacific Islands, the Treaty of Waitangi, Kodak, School Certificate or the Bible. This includes all of the significant words in the name of a corporation, government agency, division, department or organisation. The opposite of the proper name is a common name, that is, a name that can apply to a number of like items or objects. A common name for each of the examples given above would be: boy, town, country, treaty, film, qualification and book.

Give an initial capital to the titles and designations of people, when these are used with the person's name, and not otherwise. Sir John Smith, Chairman of the Board of Directors, opened the meeting, but The chairman opened the meeting. Titles and designations of nobility or respect, when used with a person's name or when used to refer to a specific person, are also given an initial capital. Thus, we would say, Her Honour, the Mayor, visited the gallery, but During the Council Convention, several mayors took the opportunity to view the art collection.

Don't use capitals for words that used to be a proper name but have lost that status and become part of the general language - like boycott, which comes from a person's name, and escalator, which was once a tradename.

The seasons don't have an initial capital unless personified ('the winter season', but 'ushering in the icy breath of Winter'), and compass directions are only capitalised if they form part of a proper name, as in the South Island.

If in doubt, check the section on capitals in a good style book, such as The Elements of Business Writing by Blake and Bly.