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University of Wisconsin–Madison

Browse the editorial styleguide A–Z

Babcock ice cream
the brand name is Babcock Hall ice cream because it’s made by the Babcock Hall Dairy Plant, but an acceptable nickname is Babcock ice cream
Badger Herald, the
although The is in its official name, use lowercase roman type for “the”; see CMS 8.170
BADGER HUDDLE®
Use the registered mark; write the phrase in all caps; including the is acceptable. Sometimes context calls for usage such as the Purdue BADGER HUDDLE®. Never say just HUDDLES, but BADGER HUDDLE® tailgates is acceptable. Use the initial-capped (but not all-capped) Huddle on subsequent references to a BADGER HUDDLE®. Periods and commas go after the ®. The word huddle is lowercase when referring to a literal football huddle or a gathering that’s figuratively called a huddle.
Badger Insider magazine (BI)
WAA’s magazine for its members; “magazine” is lowercase roman
Badger State
initial caps
Badger Talks
formerly speakers bureau
Badger yearbook
do not use The or Yearbook as part of the title
Badgers
the official team name of UW–Madison men’s and women’s athletics teams; acceptable as a substitute for the UW for teams and athletes on second reference; synonymous with graduates, fans, and friends of the university
Badgerwear
for references to clothing products that Badgers wear
band
see UW Marching Band, UW Varsity Band
BC
means before Christ; do not use periods; BC follows the year; see also CMS 9.34, 10.38
Below Alumni Center
see Martin and Florence Below Alumni Center, the
biannual, biennial, semiannual
biannual means twice a year and is a synonym for semiannual; biennial means every two years
Big Red
capitalize
Big Ten
not Big 10; UW–Madison is one of 14 institutions in the Big Ten Conference; the others are Indiana University, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, University of Illinois, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Nebraska, University of Maryland, and Rutgers University
bimonthly, biweekly, semimonthly, semiweekly
bimonthly means every other month; biweekly means every other week; semimonthly means twice a month; semiweekly means twice a week
BIPOC
An emerging acronym that stands for Black, Indigenous, People of Color. Some feel the term is more appropriate than people of color because it acknowledges the varying levels of injustice experienced by different groups. In these instances, be sure to ask individuals or groups how they prefer to be identified. (Source: University of Iowa Style Race and Ethnicity Guide)
birth/former names
see names and degrees
bisexual
Describes people attracted to more than one gender. Some people prefer pansexual, which describes people attracted to others regardless of their gender. (Source: AP Stylebook)
Black
Use the capitalized term as an adjective in a racial, ethnic, or cultural sense: Black people, Black culture, Black literature, Black studies, Black colleges. African American is not necessarily interchangeable. Americans of Caribbean heritage, for example, generally refer to themselves as Caribbean American. Follow an individual’s preference if known, and be specific when possible and relevant. Minneapolis has a large Somali American population because of refugee resettlement. The author is Senegalese American. Use of the capitalized Black recognizes that language has evolved, along with the common understanding that especially in the United States, the term reflects a shared identity and culture rather than a skin color alone. (Source: AP Stylebook)
blind
Use blind only when the person has complete loss of sight and legally blind when the person has almost complete loss of sight. Other terms also may be acceptable. It is best to ask your sources what terms they prefer and take that into consideration. Commonly used terms include: limited vision, low vision, and visually impaired (but similar to the term hearing impaired, some may object to it because it describes the condition in terms of a deficiency). (Source: Disability Language Style Guide, National Center on Disability and Journalism)
board of directors, board of regents, board of visitors
lowercase when generic, but uppercase when the term is included as part of the formal name of a group; see also regent, regents and CMS 8.68
boys, men, girls, women
people who are of high school age or younger are boys and girls; people who are of college age or older are men and women
buildings
capitalize official names of campus facilities; on second reference, lowercase if a proper name is not used: the Mosse Humanities Building, the building, construction on Vilas; the word building may be used to prevent confusion with the academic department of the same name, but do not capitalize building in these cases: the Law School, the Law School building; in most cases, building names can stand alone: Grainger Hall, Nancy Nicholas Hall
bulleted information
Regardless of the style chosen for a document — complete sentences or not, end punctuation or not, an initial cap on the first word of each bulleted item or not, and the like — remain consistent throughout that particular document. If a second sentence is added to an item — which drives end punctuation on the first sentence — then all items in the bulleted list should have end punctuation.
bylines
Use graduation year(s) if the writer is a graduate; use birth/former name(s) unless the writer does not wish to include it/them. If a writer has more than one byline within a section of a publication, use the full name and graduation year(s) (if applicable) on the first reference and initials with no graduation year(s) on subsequent references. This does not apply to photo credits.