Editorial Standards

Our editorial standards address frequently asked questions about style, rules specific to Bellevue College, and common errors. In cases where a topic is not specifically covered here, refer to AP Style or Merriam-Webster for guidance.

Bellevue College Naming Preferences

Correct

First reference

• Bellevue College

Second reference (recommended)

• The college*

*If you’re writing an email to Bellevue College staff, faculty, or students, or writing casually on social media or certain marketing materials, you can use BC on second reference.

Incorrect

• Bellevue
• BCC

Departments and Offices

Departments and offices should be listed with their official title first whenever possible. However, referring to offices as “President’s Office” instead of “Office of the President” is preferred for accessibility, ease of understanding, and functionality in dropdown menus on the website.

Building Names

Capitalize the building letter with title case on “building.” Do not uppercase the word “the.”

• A Building, U Building, etc.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Use acronyms and abbreviations sparingly; include only if necessary to clarify multiple references in copy or if the organization or program is more commonly known by an acronym. If the abbreviation or] acronym is so common that it’s part of standard English, use it and don’t worry about spelling it out. 

• PDF document
• DIY project

If you must use an acronym or the program or department is more widely known by its acronym, spell out the first citation and follow with the abbreviation or acronym in parentheses. Abbreviations for laws (FERPA, HIPAA) and financial aid programs (FAFSA) may be used, but only after the full name has been introduced.

• The Health Sciences, Education, and Wellness Institute (HSEWI) adopted new procedures. HSEWI houses many different programs… 
• Associated Student Government (ASG) participation provides leadership skills. ASG has been active at the college since its inception. 

Academic Degrees 

Bachelor’s and Applied Bachelor’s Degrees

If referring to a group of Bellevue College bachelor’s degrees and it includes the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and/or the Registered Nursing to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) degrees, you can say “bachelor’s degrees.” However, if you do not include one of those two degrees, refer to the group as applied bachelor’s degrees. 

Abbreviations 

If mentioning an academic degree is necessary to establish a person’s credentials, try to avoid abbreviations and use the full degree title.  

• John Jones earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of North Carolina. 

Abbreviate degrees when the need to identify many individuals by degree would make the sentence cumbersome.  

• Vasili Pentorov earned a BA in history, Emilia Adjibly an AA in Radiology, and Mintri Der Hacopian a Ph.D. in accounting.   

An academic abbreviation is set off by a comma after the full name. Use either a courtesy title (such as Dr.) before a person’s name or follow the name with the academic degree abbreviation; it is not correct to use both.

• Malhar Bakshi, Ph.D., not Dr. Malhar Bakshi, Ph.D.  

Except for Ph.D. and similar compound abbreviations, all degree abbreviations should be written without periods.

• Associate in Science (AS)  
• Associate in Arts (AA)  
• Associate of Applied Science (AAS)  
• Associate in Arts and Sciences – Direct Transfer Agreement (AAS-DTA)  
• Associate of Applied Science – Transfer (AAS-T)  
• Associate in Business – Direct Transfer Agreement/ Major Related Programs (AB-DTA/MRP)  
• Associate in Math Education – Direct Transfer Agreement/ Major Related Programs (AME-DTA/MRP)  
• Associate of Science – Transfer (AS-T)  
• Bachelor of Applied Arts (BAA) 
• Bachelor of Science (BS)  
• Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS)  
• Baccalaureate Certificate 
• Certificate of Accomplishment  
• Certificate of Achievement  
• Certificate of Completion 
• Master of Science (MS)  
• Master of Arts (MA)  
• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)  

Apostrophes and Capitalization

The terms “bachelor’s degree” and “master’s degree” require apostrophes.   

The term “associate degree” does not. If plural, simply write associate degrees. 

The terms “certificates of accomplishments (etc.)” are lowercase in prose unless they include the certificate’s subject area.  

Academic degrees are capitalized only when the full name of the degree is used. If the subject area is a language, the language is capitalized. General references to degrees are not capitalized. 

• He earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts in 1988.  
• She’s pursuing an associate degree in English.  

Capitalization

Bellevue College style follows the basic rules of Merriam-Webster dictionary for capitalization.  

For college offices and departments, capitalize when the complete office and official designation is used. When referring to just an academic subject, and not the department, it is lowercase. 

• She worked in the Sociology department.  
• She studied sociology.

Capitalize the following when the complete name or title is used, and use lowercase on second reference: 

• Agencies (Environmental Protection Agency on first reference, the agency on second)
• Boards and committees (Bellevue College Board of Trustees on first reference, the board on second)
• Course titles 
• Named awards 
• Official names of organizations and major historical events 
• Programs

Capitalize all words in a heading or title except words of three or fewer letters—unless any of those start or end the title.  

• Of Mice and Men 
• Across the River and Into the Trees 

Use lowercase when referring to a quarter at Bellevue College in narrative. If it is a header or title, it should be capitalized.  

• spring quarter 
• fall 2024

Curriculum-related Content 

Descriptions or lists of required classes or any other aspect of curriculum, whether in print or on the website, must conform in all details to the information presented in the current version of the Bellevue College catalog.

This means titles must be exactly as named when created, with no abbreviations, truncated or dropped words. Do not use “Intro” instead of “Introduction” unless that is the name filed with the state and listed in our catalog.

The department abbreviation in the title must be capitalized and, if appropriate, the common course identifier (&) must be included to indicate a transferable course. 

• ELIUP 84  
• MATH 301 
• ACCT& 201

If naming the course in a publication, it must include the department abbreviation and course number in addition to the title.  

• ACCT& 201 Principles of Accounting I  

Healthcare

The term healthcare is one word. Additionally, it should not be capitalized unless it is part of a proper name or official program name. 

Commas 

Federal and state “plain language” initiatives now recommend using the Oxford (or serial) comma because it tends to reduce ambiguity and confusion. What is the Oxford comma? It’s the comma used before the final conjunction in a list of three or more items. Common phrases that include a conjunction should not be separated with a comma.  

• an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect 
• The names of the Three Little Pigs are Heimlich, Dieter, and Horst. 
• I had orange juice, toast, and ham and eggs for breakfast.  

Dates and Years

Spell out the name of a month when it stands alone or with the year only.   

• January is always a busy month. 
• August 2023 
• When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only the months with six or more letters Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Whenever space permits, spell out the entire month instead of abbreviating, it makes the text more accessible. 
• Jan. 15, 2024 
• April 14, 2021 

Spell out the names of the days of week, unless space is limited, as in a table. 

Put a comma before and after the year when used with a specific date, but do not use any comma when a time period is expressed with month and year.  

• The celebration will be held in March.  
• We met in December 2015.  
• The celebration on Dec. 31, 2015, will be exciting.  

For academic and fiscal years, use a hyphen with no spaces between years. Additionally, use the full year followed by the last two digits of a year or decade. 

• Use 2015-16; not 2015–2016 or 2015 – 16. 

Use Arabic numerals, without “st,” “nd,” “rd,” or “th.”  

• “The event will be held April 15,” not “The event will be held April 15th.”  
• May 3 is celebrated as National Chocolate Custard Day.  

When writing about decades, do not use a possessive apostrophe before the “s.” Do use an apostrophe to indicate when numerals are left out.  

• 1950s and the ’80s 

Digital Communications 

When using a URL or email address in a sentence, drop the “http://www.” If a sentence ends with the URL, add a period to the end.  

• Check us out at bellevuecollege.edu. 

As technology has rapidly changed in recent years, guidelines on how to communicate about it have adapted. No doubt this will continue; consult [The Dictionary] for further guidance. Current guidelines include: 

• login, noun or adjective, (one word, not capitalized) 
• log in, verb, (two words, no hyphen, not capitalized) 
• NetID  
• website (one word, not capitalized)  
• webcam (one word, not capitalized)  
• Wi-Fi (not Wifi or WiFi)] 

Hyphenation

For thorough guidance on how to use hyphens, please consult AP style. Here is some guidance for frequently asked questions. 

Use a hyphen to connect two or more words used as a modifier to describe a noun:  

• They have a full-time job.  
• They work full time.

When a hyphen changes the meaning of a word, use the meaning as your guide. 

• Recover (to regain) or re-cover (to cover again) 
• Resign (to quit) or re-sign (to sign again) 

Contemporary writing generally omits a hyphen with most prefixes, including in double-e combinations. Use AP Style or Merriam-Webster for additional information on prefixes and suffixes. 

• Coworker, cofounder 
• Reelect, reemerge, reexamine 
• Predetermine, preestablish 
• Nontoxic, nonbinding 
• Campuswide, collegewide 

Numbers 

Spell out numbers zero through nine; use numerals for 10 and higher.   

Spell out numbers when they begin a sentence or rewrite the sentence to avoid having to spell out a large or hyphenated number, a monetary figure or a percentage.  

Correct:

• Grisham sold 400,000 copies of his new book the first day. 
• All it would take to repaint the car is $500. 

Incorrect:

• 400,000 copies of Grisham’s new book sold the first day.  
• $500 is all it would take to repaint the car. 

Spell out fractional amounts that are less than one in text copy; using hyphens between the words. 

• two-thirds 
• three-sixteenths  

Ages, large numbers, and monetary figures should be noted with numerals. 

• 22 years old, a 40-year-old man  
• This will cost $10 billion 

The percentage symbol is acceptable when paired with a numeral in most cases.

State Names

State names should be spelled out in the body of stories or long-form copy.  

Use “state of Washington” or “Washington state” when needed to distinguish the state from the District of Columbia.  

• Only use a postal code abbreviation if it’s part of an address.

Titles 

Capitalize a title when it appears before a person’s name.   

• President Jane Smith visited the campus Friday.  

Lowercase a title after a person’s name, or when it stands without a name.  

• Juan Gonzalez, president of Bellevue College, visited the campus Friday.  
• The president visited the campus Friday.  

It’s preferred for the title to follow the name, but especially if the title consists of more than one word.  

• Manon Marquax, director of marketing and alumni relations, designed the poster.  

Use abbreviations for Dr., Gov., Lt. Gov., Rep., the Rev., Sen., and certain military designations when used before a full name. 

Faculty

When referring to an academic body, treat faculty as a collective noun taking a singular verb.

• Bellevue College’s faculty teach a variety of students each quarter. 

Use faculty members with a plural verb when referring to several individuals.

• Faculty members in Interior Design are organizing a gallery viewing. 

Composition Titles

Use quotation marks to designate titles of books, movies, songs, shows and works of art. Exceptions, which don’t use quotation marks (or any other punctuation), include holy books, such as the Bible, the Quran, and the Torah; reference books, such as dictionaries, software and video game titles; sculptures.

• Your assignment is to read “The Tell-Tale Heart” tonight.
• You may refer to The Merriam-Webster Dictionary for additional information.

Time of Day 

Capitalize AM and PM. Do not use periods after each letter. Try not to use AM or PM at the end of a sentence. Listing an event’s time, date, and place (in that order) is a good solution. For a span of time, either 5-7 PM using a hyphen, or 6 AM to 7 PM is acceptable. Use lowercase noon and midnight, not 12 AM or 12 PM. 

• 5 AM, not 5:00 AM 

For further tips on how to write for your audience, Bellevue College’s voice and tone, and how to write on-brand, visit Writing for the Web.