How Humanizer Handles Title Case in Headings: Pattern I7 Explained

Humanizer converts title-case headings to sentence case and strips decorative symbols as part of its "decorative headings" pattern (Pattern 20, originally I7).

When you run the Humanizer tool on markdown documents, it detects headings where every word is capitalized or where emojis and arrows appear. The tool normalizes these to plain sentence case, producing cleaner, more natural prose. This behavior is defined in the blader/humanizer repository's core pattern system.

What Is Title Case in Headings?

In markdown documentation, title case refers to headings like ## Strategic Negotiations And Global Partnerships where major words are capitalized. Many writers use this style believing it looks more professional or prominent. Humanizer identifies this as a decorative heading tell — a signal that the text prioritizes visual style over readability.

The pattern also catches headings containing emojis, arrows, or other decorative symbols. Examples include 🚀 Launch Phase or ▶️ Getting Started.

How Pattern I7 Works in the Humanizer Pipeline

Humanizer processes documents through a three-stage pipeline: mark the tells → draft rewrite → final rewrite. Pattern 20 (the current designation for original pattern I7) applies during the mark the tells stage.

According to the source code in SKILL.md, the pattern description explicitly calls out title-casing as a symptom of decorative headings:

• Lines 91-99 define the "20. Decorative headings" rule
• The README table mirrors this at lines 19-21

When triggered, the rewrite engine:

1. Converts the heading to sentence case (first word capitalized, rest lowercase)
2. Removes decorative symbols (emojis, arrows, extra horizontal rules)
3. Eliminates redundancy if the heading repeats information from the first sentence

Code Examples: Before and After

Here are practical examples of how Humanizer transforms title-case and decorative headings:

Title case normalization:

## Strategic Negotiations And Global Partnerships

Becomes:

## Strategic negotiations and global partnerships

Emoji and symbol stripping:

🚀 **Launch Phase:** The product launches in Q3

Becomes:

The product launches in Q3.

Redundancy removal with case fix:

## Performance

Speed matters.

Becomes:

## Performance

Speed matters.

(The heading remains, but if the first sentence had repeated "Performance," that redundant sentence would be removed.)

Why Sentence Case Wins

Humanizer enforces sentence case for readability and consistency. Title case demands cognitive effort to parse — readers must mentally decode which words are "important" versus functional. Sentence case flows naturally with body text and reduces visual noise.

The decorative headings pattern sits within a broader formatting taxonomy in SKILL.md. Grouping related patterns allows the rewrite engine to apply consistent, predictable transformations across document types.

Key Source Files

Two files define and document this behavior:

File	Purpose	Key Lines
SKILL.md	Full pattern definitions and detailed rules	Lines 91-99 (Pattern 20: Decorative headings)
README.md	Concise pattern table for quick reference	Lines 19-21

Both files are available in the blader/humanizer repository on GitHub.

Summary

• Humanizer detects title case and decorative symbols in headings as Pattern 20 (originally I7)
• The tool rewrites to sentence case and strips emojis/arrows automatically
• Transformations occur in the "mark the tells → draft rewrite → final rewrite" pipeline
• Source definitions live in SKILL.md and README.md

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Pattern I7 and Pattern 20?

Pattern I7 was the original designation for what is now Pattern 20: Decorative headings. The numbering changed as Humanizer's pattern taxonomy evolved, but the behavior remains identical — detecting and rewriting title-case and symbol-heavy headings.

Does Humanizer remove all capitalization from headings?

No. Humanizer preserves the first word capitalized (sentence case). It removes the excessive capitalization of title case where most words start with capital letters. Acronyms and proper nouns generally remain intact through context-aware processing.

Can I disable the title-case heading rule?

The source analysis does not indicate configuration options for individual patterns. Humanizer applies pattern rules as part of its core pipeline. For customization, you would need to modify the pattern definitions in SKILL.md or fork the repository.

What other patterns does Humanizer detect in markdown?

Humanizer identifies 20+ patterns spanning formatting, structure, and prose quality. These include excessive bolding, list abuse, passive voice, and corporate jargon. The complete list appears in SKILL.md with summaries in README.md.

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