Punctuation
Correct: "The candidate's speech was a disaster", said the editor.
"The candidate's speech was a disaster," said the editor.
(Punctuation stays inside the quotes.)
Correct?: 5 students were present.
Five students were present.
(Spell out any number at the beginning of a sentence, unless it's a year.)
Correct?: The rally is on Oct. 12th.
Oct. 12.
(Dates should be written without ordinal suffixes like "th" or "st".)
Should you use "okay," "ok," or "OK"?
OK
Correct: He works for the EU. and the U.S.
He works for the EU and the U.S.
(No full stops for EU; use them for U.S.)
Does BPR use the Oxford Comma?
How should you write the age of a seven year old boy?
The 7-year-old boy.
(Ages are written in figures and hyphenated as a compound adjective.)
Which of these months can be abbreviated: March, April, May, June, July?
None.
(Months with five or fewer letters are never abbreviated.)
Correct: He walked towards the podium.
He walked toward the podium.
(BPR uses less 's'—among, toward, amid.)
Correct: The policy was changed by the Biden Administration.
the Biden administration.
(Administration should be lowercase.)
The vote was unanimous—though many stayed home—to pass the bill.
No: The vote was unanimous — though many stayed home — to pass the bill.
(Add spaces to both sides of the em dash.)
Correct?: The meeting is at 7:00 p.m.
7 p.m.
(Do not use :00 for on-the-hour times.)
Correct?: It was a month-long investigation.
monthlong (One word, no hyphen).
Fix the cause-and-effect: I am tired since I stayed up late.
I am tired because I stayed up late.
(Use because for cause and effect; since is for time.)
Fix this title: I spoke with the President today.
I spoke with the president today.
(Lowercase generic references/formal titles when they don't precede a name.)
Which is correct: "The octopus's garden" or "The octopus' garden"?
"The octopus's garden."
Correct?: There are 2 two-story buildings.
There are two 2-story buildings.
(If two numbers are consecutive, the second is used as a numeral.)
Correct: The event was held on Sept 5.
Sept. 5
(Abbreviated months require a full stop/period).
Correct the "estimate" word: Around 50 people attended.
About 50 people attended.
(Use about instead of around for estimates.)
What is the rule for acronyms with more than two letters (like CIA or NASA)?
Do not use full stops.
(e.g., CIA, not C.I.A.)
Correct the quotes: The senator said, 'I will not "forgo" my vote today.'
The senator said, "I will not 'forgo' my vote today."
(Use double quotes for the outside; single quotes only for quotes within quotes.)
BPR-approved way to say 12 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Midnight and noon
How should you format a duration lasting three years?
three-year-long
(Note the hyphens for multiple years).
Fill in the blanks with comprise or compose: "The committee ___ five members" and "Five members ___ the committee."
comprises; compose.
(The whole comprises the parts; the parts compose the whole.)
When using the acronym "WHO" for the first time in an article, how must it be written?
World Health Organization (WHO).
(Spell it out on first use, followed by the acronym in parentheses.)