BP writing style guide

October 2017 edition

Introduction

Be consistent and engaging

The style guide is designed to make BP communications consistent,

engaging and easy to read. It gives advice for making writing interesting
and engaging for internal and external audiences and sets out the BP
house style for spelling, grammar, presentation and formatting.

BP’s writing style is an important part of the group’s identity and should
be applied to all written communications.

What’s new?

• Examples refreshed
• Abbreviations for thousands and millions updated
• Bullet points guidance clarified
• New additions to BP spellings

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 2

 Writing
Contentsstyle

Writing style 4 Presentation 15

4 Consistent editorial style 15 Abbreviations and acronyms

5 Tone of voice 16 BP group
6 Readability 16 Dates and times
17 e.g. and i.e.

BP style cheat sheet 17 Email addresses

9
17 Money
17 Numbers
BP use of English 10 19 People’s names
sheet 19 Website URLs
10 Typography
10 Accents
10 Ampersands Formatting 20
10 Apostrophes
10 Brackets 20 Bullet points
10 Colons 20 Data tables
11 Commas 20 Emphasis
11 Conjunctions 20 Footnotes
11 Contractions 21 References and citations
11 Hyphens and dashes
12 Quotation marks Writing for different channels 22
12 Semicolons
12 Trade marks and copyright 22 Online communications
13 Troublesome words 22 Infographics and animations
23 Social media
Capitalization 14
BP spellings and translations 24
14 A bias to lower case
14 BP’s businesses and functions 24 Frequently used words
14 BP – other nouns 26 British or American spelling
14 BP programmes 26 Translations
14 Compass points
14 Currencies
Contacts and downloads 27
14 Headings, subtitles and titles
14 Hemispheres
14 Job titles
14 Nouns in general context
14 Proper nouns
14 Seasons

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 3

 Writing style

Consistent editorial style

BP’s default language is English. BP Focus on the compelling issues
communications use an authentic, confident Don’t try to describe every detail – illustrate
tone of voice, supported by facts to give a primary themes with a balanced overview of
credible picture of the company. supporting statistics and evidence.

Writing for different channels Provide a short amount of detail and if needed
Writing should always be accurate, clear and provide links to further information – such as a
concise. But there are small differences in
style for different communication channels.
website or document.

 Corporate reports are written in chapters that
work through a topic in a logical order, starting
with an overview then covering the main
points.
 News stories are usually short and informal.
They start with the newest or most interesting
point, to capture the reader’s attention, then go
on to explain the background.
 Features are informal, and longer than news
stories, often focusing on a particular person,
team or activity in detail.
 Speeches and notes from executives are
written with very clear messages, backed by Use plain English
evidence. Write as you speak. Use everyday words to
make your writing accessible to a wide
Introduce the main point audience. Don’t use business-specific
Start with the most important point, not the phrases, jargon and expressions that may not
background or overall theme. Focus on be understood.
what’s interesting to your reader, not BP
messaging. Plain English is faster to write, read and
understand. Take a look at this example of
internal jargon over plain English. Can you
decipher it?

Say what?

“ Our people have stepped up to

unpack low-cost latent capacity and
achieve strong productivity gains
across our tier one assets.
”
Source: industry peer CEO quoted in social media

Associated Press stylebook

When writing for US only audiences

some people follow guidance from the
Associated Press stylebook.

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 4

Writing style

Tone of voice
Writing for external audiences Edit out clutter
Write from BP Don’t be repetitive
Refer to BP as a whole – don’t write external Avoid using the same phrases or rewording
communications from a specific part of the content that repeats the same thing. Always
business. review what you’ve written and delete anything
repetitive.
Use third person singular – ‘BP’ or ‘it’ – for news
stories to sound factual and objective. They are a Avoid reader instructions
source of information, not ‘the voice of They should be intuitive or made clear by the
management’. design of your communication. Do you really need
BP opened an upstream learning centre. to tell your reader?
In this section, you will find…
Corporate reports and communications such as In the graphic to the right…
speeches can also use ‘we’ or ‘us’ to refer to BP. In this website section…
We aim to create shareholder value across Active vs passive
the hydrocarbon value chain. Write objectively
It’s tempting to describe a project in a positive
Avoid reference to internal processes and
light. But by staying objective and letting the
functions
facts speak for themselves you reinforce BP’s
Only use them if they are familiar to the reader and
brand values of respect, excellence and courage.
it makes your communication more credible or
It also makes sure that the content is accurate,
understandable.
unbiased and not misleading.

For corporate reporting it is essential to remain

objective, as regulators and key opinion formers
require an unbiased, factual account of BP’s
activities, all of which must be supported with proof.

Don’t tell me, show me

Illustrate information with tangible examples like
case studies, interviews, and meaningful data to
bring it to life and increase its credibility.

Use comparative data

Facts and figures should tell the reader something
Use the active voice they didn’t know before. Everyday comparisons help
When possible write with the active voice to show to create a sense of scale.
ownership and confidence. A passive voice sounds The new supercomputer will have a total
too formal and indifferent. memory of 1,000 terabytes – the equivalent of
more than 40,000 average laptop computers.

Active vs passive
.
Passive: The proposal was accepted. by the
committee.

Active: The committee accepted the proposal.
Passive: The matter will be considered by us.
Active: We will consider the matter.

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 5

 Writing style

Readability
Be concise Referencing dates
Write short sentences Where possible avoid starting a sentence with a
Aim for around 10-25 words per sentence. Use date (e.g. In 2015 BP made a new discovery).
en dashes, not a longer em dash or shorter This is report-like and quickly becomes dull and
hyphen, to split up longer sentences. Limit use repetitive.
of brackets as they break a reader’s flow.
Every day Air BP fuels around 6,000 If needed, present historical data in brackets
flights – that’s around four a minute. after the current year’s figures.
The improvement continued in 2015 with a
Paragraphs – not too long, not too short score of 72% (2014 71%, 2013 67%).
Avoid large blocks of text and one-sentence
paragraphs where possible. Particularly online Don’t use date references like today, now,
where short lines of text look too spaced out.
recently if your communication will last more
than a day or so (reports, web pages) –
Use headings and subheadings
Break up text and guide readers through your otherwise it will become inaccurate.
communication with short, clear headlines and
subheadings. Readers should be able to get a
high-level overview of what’s in the communication
from the headings and subheadings alone.

Example: engage your audience

Bring information to life with stories and examples. Case studies in BP’s annual report show
BP’s strategic priorities in action.

BP supplies fuel for more than 6,000 flights a day

and we work to help our aviation customers reduce
their emissions in a number of ways. At
Oslo airport in Norway we helped to make biojet
available through its normal supply infrastructure.
As a result of Air BP’s collaboration, the airport
won the 2016 Eco-Innovation environment award
from Airport Carbon Accreditation.

We also invested in Fulcrum BioEnergy® – a

company that produces sustainable jet fuel from
household waste. Our strategic partnership aims to
help the company bring biojet to the market at scale.
But our commitment doesn’t end there – in 2016 we achieved carbon neutrality for our into-plane
fuelling services across a network of more than 200 Air BP-operated facilities. And we have made a
10-year commitment to retain our carbon neutral accreditation and aim to reduce emissions by 5%
over this period.

All of these changes contribute to the International Air Transport Association’s aim to achieve carbon
neutral growth by 2020 and a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050.

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 6

 Writing style
Avoid jargon
Write with clear, simple words
Where there is a choice of words with the same
meaning, aim to use the plainest English version Formal Plain English
to give your writing pace and energy. Acquire Get
They crop up everywhere, but try to avoid Arduous Difficult
using vague words and make your writing Donation Gift
more understandable: Expedient Quick
Address or speaks to (as in said/spoke) Fortitude Strength
Capability (as in skills) Leverage Use
Capacity (as in space) Location Place
Critical (as in important) Maintain Keep
Deploy (as in use) Require Need
Feedstock (as in raw materials)
Remain Stay
Framework (as in structure)
Implement (as in put in place)
Impacted (as in has an effect on)
Learnings (as in knowledge) Legal terminology
Material (as in essential, relevant) The legal profession uses an amount of archaic
Standards (as in expectations) English vocabulary. It also uses Latin and French.
Step change (as in a significant change) Try to avoid this language in BP communications.
User (as in person)
Utilize (as in use)

Oil industry specific jargon

Think before using industry jargon.
Alpha-olefins
Barriers to risk
Blowout
Production tree
Wellhead

Will your audience know what these terms

mean? If the answer is no, either don’t use
them or explain what they mean.

Local expressions
Certain local terms and colloquialisms are not
easily understood or translated.

Avoid using expressions like:

Knowledge base
Lend a hand
Line up your ducks
Over the moon
Think outside the box

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 7

Writing style

Visual interest
Photography
Add captions to describe photos and include
additional points of interest. Keep them brief
and include a full stop at the end of the
sentence.

If you are listing the names of people in a

photo, write them as they appear from left to
right. If you know the name of the photographer
or agency that supplied the photo, consider
adding those details in your document.

Graphics
Use self-explanatory graphics to help explain
complex concepts. Make sure readers don’t
have to search through text to understand it.

Don’t repeat the graphic information in

the narrative – expand on it with additional
information.

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 8

 BP style cheat sheet

Writing style Times

Write from BP as a group. Use plain English, avoid Use figures (except for noon and midnight) and
jargon and keep sentences short. no spaces: 10am, 10.30pm

A bias to lower case Time ranges

In BP we don’t capitalize: Only use am or pm once: 9-10am, 9.30-11am
• Internal job titles: Bob Dudley, group chief
executive. Hyphenation
• External job titles, unless used as part of a title: If you use two or more adjectives together before
 The president of the US was in town. a noun, hyphenate them to avoid confusion
 President Lincoln was in town. (except when the adjective ends ‘ly’).
 Abraham Lincoln, president of the US, was  the long-term plan
in town.  state-of-the-art design
• BP businesses (except for Upstream and  third-party spend
Downstream): group legal, safety and  high-value upstream portfolio
operational risk, BP biofuels.
• BP nouns, such as refineries, committees, If the adjectives come after the noun, they don’t
projects: Whiting refinery. need a hyphen.
 Our plan lasts into the long term.
• Currencies: sterling, dollar.
 We spent the money on a third party.
• Events, training and courses: online learning
solutions, inclusive leadership.
Numbers
Words or figures
Abbreviations  All numbers for money, weights and
Only abbreviate a word if it is used more than twice measures as figures: 5 metres, £4.
in a section or on a page and try not to start a  Numbers up to nine as words: one, three.
sentence with an abbreviation. Write the word out
 Numbers beyond nine as figures: 10, 41.
in full in the first instance and follow it with the
abbreviation in brackets: BP’s operating Use commas in numbers higher than 1,000:
management system (OMS)
3,300,000
Don’t use apostrophes in plural abbreviations: KPIs Ordinal numbers follow this style and should use
(not KPI’s) normal text not superscript: fourth, 24th, 32nd

BP spelling Units
We use the Americanized ‘z’ version Spell out units that your audience would not
for ‘ise’: authorize, organization, maximize widely recognize in the first instance and follow
with the abbreviation in brackets:
But we use British spelling for all other words: $6.50 million British thermal units (mmBtu)
colour, centre, programme, favourable
Don’t insert a space between the figure and
For a list of examples and BP spellings see page 26. abbreviated unit; do if it is not abbreviated: 78km,
78 kilometres, 81MW, 18%, 3.2mmboe/d
Dates and times
Use the format ‘day month year’, omit all Quotation marks
commas and always write the month in words: Use single quotation marks for unfamiliar words
10 June 2015 or Wednesday 10 June 2015 and only use double quotes for speech.

Use cardinal: 10 June, not ordinal numbers:

10th June

Date ranges
In headings: 2011-2012
In body text: 2011-12
In sentences with ‘from’ or ‘between’ write out in
full: from 2017 to 2020, between 2005 and 2006

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 9

BP use of English

Typography
Accents Brackets
Use accents Parentheses – curved brackets
In words that normally take them. Unless brackets contain a full sentence
Rosé, résumé put the punctuation outside them.
Both entities were included as part of the
Where names require them. sale (as outlined in the case file).
Bogotá, Castellón, Hüls (LoSal is part of BP’s suite of designer water
technologies.)
Ampersands (&)
Use an ampersand Keep use of brackets to a minimum and avoid
Only when it’s part of a proper name. placing them in the middle of a sentence as it can
BP Exploration & Production Inc. break its flow.
Marks & Spencer
Trinidad & Tobago Square brackets
In draft communications use square brackets
Don’t use an ampersand to denote incomplete content. They can be
As a substitute for the word ‘and’ in any used with XXs to show where facts or figures
other context. are missing. These characters are easily
searchable for updating before publication.
Health and safety performance (not We drilled [XX] wells in 2015.
health & safety performance)
Square brackets can also be used to add words to
Apostrophes a person’s quote to help the reader understand it.
Use apostrophes Tom said: “I’ve read lots about it [Madrid] but
When omitting one or more letters. I’ve never been.”
She’ll be late to the meeting.
It’s on the desk.
Colons
For direct quotes use a colon and double quotation
To show possession. marks.
The chief executive’s letter The chief executive said: “This has been
Jane’s desk another good quarter and a strong financial
St James’s Square result.”

For things belonging to a period of time. For lists use a colon and continue the sentence
Five years’ experience using lower case.
Six months’ statements Security of energy supply is really about three
things: access, trading and distribution.
Don’t use an apostrophe for
For the possessive ‘its’.
Look at its new features. In a sentence or a heading, only follow a colon with
a capital letter if the first word is a proper noun.
For dates. BP is involved in three oil sands lease areas:
1900s (not: 1900’s) Sunrise, Pike and Terre de Grace.

For plurals and acronym plurals.

KPIs
Dos and don’ts
MBEs

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 10

 BP use of English

Commas
Use commas to separate items in a list. To hyphenate words with prefixes where the
BP provides customers with fuel for same vowel is repeated.
transportation, energy for heat and light, re-examine
lubricants to keep engines moving and co-operate
petrochemicals products used to make
everyday items. To hyphenate words that might otherwise be
difficult to recognize.
See Semicolons on page 12 for guidance on pre-agreed
longer lists. pre-tax
re-joined
Don’t use commas
After the penultimate item in a list (i.e. an For phrases using adverbs like well or ill.
Oxford comma). an ill-chosen example
We had two facilities in Trinidad, three a well-known book
in the US and one in Europe (not: We
had two facilities in Trinidad, three in Don’t use hyphens
the US, and one in Europe). Where a preposition defines a verb.
The pipeline will start up next year.
After an introductory place or time (and The project will roll out across the region.
avoid starting a sentence with a date
when possible). For a word qualified by an adverb ending in ‘ly’.
In Alaska BP operated nine oilfields. a politically correct statement
an unusually long sunset
Conjunctions
To join words with prefixes where there are
Use conjunctions sparingly at the start of a
sentence to add punch and pace to your different vowels.
writing. proactive
The energy landscape is developing at reinstate
pace. But the long-term supply challenge reinvest
has not gone away.
For a simple adjective defining a noun.
Contractions a third party
Use contractions such as ‘don’t’ and ‘can’t’ – in the long term
but only sparingly. If you’re not sure when to one third was based on returns
contract, say it with the words in full out loud
– if it sounds unnatural, try it with a In reference to low carbon or lower carbon in any
contraction instead. context.
a lower carbon initiative
Hyphens and dashes investments in low carbon technology
Use hyphens
To join words that describe a noun. En and em dashes
a $10-million project When adding an aside or additional piece of
day-to-day management information to your writing, use an en dash,
start-up company which is slightly longer than a hyphen.
long-term plan We don’t use the longer em dash in
BP communications.
To join words to create a noun. We will focus on the major growth engines
The roll-out began this year. that capitalize on our strengths – deepwater,
PSVM in Angola was a major project gas value chains and giant fields.
start-up for BP in 2012.

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 11

 BP use of English

Quotation marks 
Don’t use quotations marks for emphasis or to
Trade marks and copyright
BP trade marks
give a negative connotation. Trade mark symbols (i.e. trade mark™ and
registered trade mark®), are not generally used
Use single quotation marks for trade marks of the BP group.
To enclose an unfamiliar word or phrase.
This technology uses multiple ‘source’ In corporate reports use italics for trade marks, so
boats to send seismic signals. they stand out.

If you are writing a short phrase in quotation There’s more information on BP’s trade mark policy
marks, keep the punctuation outside. on OneBP – https://intranet.bp.com/en_gb/
The report concluded that BP was ‘a leader in functions/legal/group-resources/group-trade-
its field’. marks.html or contact the trade mark team.

Use double quotation marks BP trade marks include:

For direct speech only. Aral
“This has been another good quarter and a ARCO
strong financial result,” said the chief executive. BP
John considered the award as “great recognition Castrol
and a real surprise.” EDGE
GTX
If you are writing a full sentence within am:pm
quotation marks, place the final punctuation Wild Bean Café
mark inside the closing quotation mark. PTAir
Chris Jones constantly asks: “What more
could we be?” Third party trade marks
Follow the third party’s approach.
Semicolons Permasense is a trade mark of Permasense
Mark a pause between two parts of a sentence if Limited.
either part could stand as sentences on its own. Pick n Pay is a registered trademark of Pick n
It was the best of times; it was the worst of Pay Stores Limited.
times.
Copyright
Separate items in a long list, if commas To show copyright, use the © symbol.
are insufficiently clear.
The committees are: the Gulf of Mexico BP copyright
committee; the safety, ethics and We use:
environment assurance committee; the audit © BP p.l.c. 2017
committee; the remuneration committee;
the nomination committee; and the
chairman’s committee.

See Commas on page 11.

Don’t use semicolons

For short lists or at the end of items in a
bulleted list.

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 12

 BP use of English

Troublesome words
Fewer or less
A or an Use ‘fewer’ if you are referring to countable
Use ‘an’ before words pronounced with a vowel people or things in plural.
sound, including a silent ‘h’ (hour, heir, honest People are buying fewer newspapers.
and their derivatives). Use ‘a’ with consonant
sounds, including those pronounced ‘h’. Use ‘less’ when you are referring to something
that can’t be counted or doesn’t have a plural (e.g.
Affect or effect time, music).
Affect is always a verb, effect is usually a noun. People are listening to less music on the radio.
Increases in production were affected by
the effects of severe weather. Formulas or formulae
BP uses ‘formulas’ as the plural for formula.
Align with or align to Our suppliers own the chemical formulas.
Use ‘align with’ in all cases.
Last or past
Amount or number ‘Last’ is used for finality.
Use ‘number’ with countable nouns. This is our last goodbye.
The number of hours spent.
Use ‘amount’ with uncountable nouns. Use ‘past’ to contrast between present or future.
The amount of time spent. In the past year, sales have risen by 10%.
And/or Be careful about using ‘past’ if time frame isn’t
Avoid using and/or. Use one or the other where clear, especially online and in documents with a
possible and if not, add ‘or both’ at the end. longer shelf life.
Reset your username or password or both.
More than or over
As at or as of Use ‘more than’ for all amounts, figures and
Use ‘as at’ when referring to a time or date. countable numbers.
BP’s board of directors, as at end 2016. BP has employees in more than 70 countries.

Compared with or compared to Use ‘over’ for spatial references that are non-specific.
Use ‘compared with’. He was over six-foot tall.
This figure, compared with last year’s,
indicates new growth in the country. None
None means ‘not one’ so takes a singular verb.
Comprises or is comprised of None of the projects is going ahead.
BP uses ‘comprises’.
The region comprises seven key areas. Of
‘Of’ often occurs in phrases where it adds nothing
Data is or data are to the meaning, so it is better to omit it.
BP uses ‘data is’. The process removed all the left-over waste.
The data is in an easy-to-read format.
Per or a
Different from or different to BP uses ‘per’.
Always use ‘different from’. $70 per barrel
This project is different from the rest.
That or which
Enquiry or inquiry ‘That’ conveys essential information.
Use ‘enquiry’ as you would query or question. The taxes that are reasonable should be paid.
‘Inquiry’ refers to an investigation.
‘Which’ conveys non-essential information,
usually preceded by a comma.
The taxes, which are reasonable, should be paid.

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 13

Capitalization
A bias to lower case
Headings, subheadings and document titles
BP uses lower case for communications, with Capitalize the first word, unless the title
only a few exceptions. Writing in lower case contains a proper noun.
improves flow to make reading easier. Measuring our progress
Our code of conduct
Capitalization can trip a reader’s eye, making
sentences harder to read. The BBC, Financial In print, italicize full document titles.
Times and CNN also apply this rule. BP Annual Report and Accounts 2016

Never use full capitals, they are difficult to read Hemispheres

and can be viewed as shouting. Use lower case in all instances.
southern hemisphere
BP’s businesses and functions
BP’s two businesses Job titles
Capitalize when written as nouns. Use lower case.
Downstream The chief executive
Upstream Jane Jones, group finance manager

Use lower case if referring to their activities Legal acts, laws, legislations, sections
(adjectival) rather than the actual segment. and statutes
A quality downstream portfolio Upper case throughout.
A programme of 47 upstream turnarounds Articles of Association Memorandum of
Association
For all other businesses, functions, teams Section 163(3) of the Companies Act 1985
etc. use lower case. US Securities Exchange Act of 1934

All other BP nouns Nouns in general context

Use lower case. Use lower case.
Our alternative energy business It happened at the annual general meeting.
BP biofuels This was BP’s total shareholder return.
Cherry Point refinery The annual report is also available online.
North Slope pipelines
The remuneration committee Proper nouns
Capitalize people’s names, companies, places
BP programmes and proprietary trade names.
Avoid using internal programme names in Joe Bloggs
external communications. Where they are Levi’s
needed, use lower case and single quotes to Pizza Express
help distinguish the programme name. Switzerland
‘operating essentials’
‘discovery days’ Use lower case when the compass point
doesn’t form part of the proper name.
Compass points He is BP’s regional president for the eastern US.
Capitalize when it forms part of a proper name. It can be found in south-west England.
BP’s North West Hutton platform Travel along the country’s south coast western
South America US.
South-East Asia
Seasons
Currencies Use lower case in all instances.
Use lower case in all instances. Things get busier in the winter.
dollar
sterling Consider global differences when referring to
seasons, try to use months for accuracy.

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 14

Presentation
Abbreviations and acronyms
Always capitalize acronyms. But words Team, group, board and committee names
written out in full should follow the BP style Omit ‘the’ before an abbreviated name.
for capitalization (see page 14).
The audit and SEEAC met jointly.
When to abbreviate
Only use an abbreviation if the term is repeated Always follow a consistent style for how you
more than twice within a communication, abbreviate acronyms.
otherwise write it out in full in both instances. The audit and SEEAC met jointly (not: The audit
If readers are unfamiliar with a term, consider and SEEA committees met jointly).
if it will be easier to understand written it out
Shortening words
in full throughout.
BP doesn’t abbreviate to shorten words, so
always write them out in full.
Don’t use abbreviations in headings. Abbreviate
August (not: Aug)
once per article, document section or spread –
Communications (not: comms)
depending on what will be easiest for the
reader to understand. Don’t continue to use an Lubricants (not: lubes)
abbreviation across various different sections, Monday (not : Mon)
unless it is very clear to the reader what it
means. If in doubt, write it out in full again and
then abbreviate in each section. Use full stops Don’t use full stops

For longer documents like the annual report, Latin writing Country names:
consider adding frequently used abbreviations references: UK, US
to a glossary or definitions list. e.g., i.e., etc.

Where full stops are Names of well-known

How to abbreviate essential for sense: organizations:
In the first instance where the term appears, No. (number) UN, EU
write it out in full followed by the abbreviation in
brackets, and use the abbreviation thereafter.
Operating management system (OMS) Abbreviations with a Abbreviations ending
different l a s t letter with the same letter
that the word in full: as the word:
If an abbreviation is already well known you can
Inc. (Incorporated) Dr (Doctor), Ltd
use it in the first instance without writing it out
in full. (Limited), Jr (Junior).
NASA, OFCOM

Companies
If a company uses an abbreviation in its
name, follow the style exactly.
BP p.l.c. (not: PLC or plc)
SABMiller plc
Unilever PLC

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 15

 Presentation
BP group
When writing about BP use BP, the BP group If you are writing for an entirely US audience, you
(group is always lower case), BP p.l.c. or it. can use the US date format.
BP announced that it is a main sponsor of the July 4, 2016
event.
Use cardinal, not ordinal, numbers in dates.
Corporate reports and speeches also use 25 September (not: 25th September)
‘our’ and ‘we’.
The Upstream business is responsible for our Don’t use a comma anywhere within the date.
activities in oil and natural gas exploration. Thursday 22 September 2015 (not: Thursday,
22 September, 2015)
BP always takes a singular verb.
BP is planning to open 100 new service Always write months or days of the week out in
stations. full, never abbreviate them.

BP entities Centuries should be lower case, written with

Other BP entities should take a singular verb. numbers and should not use superscript.
Other business and corporate is responsible 19th century
for BP’s biofuels business.
Date ranges
BP’s auditors In headings, write year ranges in full, joined by
Ernst & Young – BP’s auditors – are treated as a a hyphen without a space.
plural pronoun in corporate reporting 2010-2016 (not: 2010 to 2015)
documents, except in the auditor’s report
where they sign off as the ‘registered auditor’. But in body text, contract year spans and join with
a hyphen without a space.
BP uses ‘auditor’ when referring to BP’s lead 2010-16
audit partner and ‘auditors’ for the wider
activities of Ernst & Young. In sentences using ‘from’ or ‘between’ write
the dates out in full:
We are changing auditors to Deloitte in 2017. from 2017 to 2020, between 2005 and 2006

BP official address Times

BP p.l.c. For report writing use:
1 St James’s Square 10am and 2.30pm
London For news writing, use either a colon or full stop:
SW1Y 4PD 2.30pm or 2:30pm
UK
Use figures except for noon and midnight.
BP values
Always write the BP values in this order: If you are writing for an entirely US audience,
safety, respect, excellence, courage, one team you can use the US convention of AM and
PM with a space.
Dates and times The meeting takes place at 11:30 AM.
Dates
Use the ‘day month year’ format and always Time ranges
write the month out in words. Only use am or pm once.
4 July 2016 (not: 04.07.16 – which could be 9-10am (not: 9am-10am)
interpreted as 7 April in the US)

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 16

Presentation

e.g. and i.e. Numbers

Provide an example by placing e.g. inside brackets. Decimals
Various types of refined products (e.g. gasoline Add a zero if there is no digit before a decimal point.
and lubricants), revenues, costs and capital 0.2 (not: .2)
expenditure. 0.575 (not: .575)

Clarify a point by using i.e. inside brackets. Use a decimal, not a fraction or words to show
The interest rate represents the real rate (i.e. half years, unless you are starting a sentence
excluding the effects of inflation) on long- with it.
dated government bonds. It took 3.5 years (not: 3½ years).
Three-and-a-half-years later
Email addresses
In print In your writing
Write the address out in lower case and Don’t start a sentence or heading with a digit or
italicize. If the URL appears at the end of the date – even when writing about a year in which
sentence apply punctuation as normal. something occurred. Always write it out, or better
Email the corporate reporting team at still, re-arrange your sentence.
corporatereporting@bp.com. Drilling began in 2015 (not: In 2015 drilling began)

Online Add ‘A total of’ to the start of sentences with

Write the address out in lower case. If the URL large numbers such as ‘356,654 customers’.
appears at the end of the sentence omit
A total of 356,654 customers rang us last year.
punctuation.
Email the corporate reporting team
Large numbers
at corporatereporting@bp.com
Use commas in large numbers.
Money 2,000
Amounts 2,790,456
Hyphenate when used as an adjective.
Percentages
it was a £2-million offer
Use the % symbol and don’t put a space between
Abridge when talking about the same unit. the number and the symbol.
18% (not: 18 %)
a range of $1-2 billion (not: $1 billion – 2 billion)

Currencies Don’t use % at the starts of a sentence, use per cent.

Use the monetary symbol followed by Forty per cent are yet to be built.
the number – with no spaces in We estimate 40% are yet to be built.
between.
euro – €10 Use a hyphen to show a percentage range.
sterling – £10 10-15% (not: 10% to 15%)
US dollar – $10

All other currencies are written in full.

Japanese yen

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Presentation

Use words Use figures Units

Don’t insert a space between a figure and an
Cardinal and ordinal Cardinal and ordinal
abbreviation or symbol, but add a space if the
single-digit numbers numbers greater
unit is written out in full.
to nine/ninth: than nine:
78km or 78 kilometres
one, three, sixth, 10, 11, 10th 65th
18%
first
Very large numbers Money: 1,047MW
made up of a single £4 2oC (not: 2 degrees Celsius)
digit plus: $20
million, billion If it’s not a widely recognized unit of measure,
Simple fractions: Weights and spell it out in the first instance and use the
Two fifths measures: abbreviation in brackets after it.
5 meters million British thermal units (mmBtu)
One third
1,047MW
BP uses ‘m’ to represent a thousand and ‘mm’ or
9 million barrels
‘M’ for a million. To avoid confusion don’t use ‘k’ to
represent a thousand or ‘m’ to represent a million.
Ratios
2,147mb/d (thousand barrels a day)
Use a colon to denote ratios.
3.3mmboe (million barrels of oil equivalent)
50:50 joint arrangement

Telephone numbers Weights and measures

International telephone numbers are displayed When possible use the UK style for lengths and
with a + symbol and the international country areas. If needed add the metric conversion in
code. Don’t separate with hyphens. brackets.
US: +1 630 821 3456 A total area of 130 square miles (337 square
Azerbaijan: +994 12 4980335 kilometres).
Brazil: +55 11 51 803 804
If not possible (e.g. data is only available in
In local format, London telephone numbers kilometres) make sure the unit is consistent
are displayed as: throughout the document. The km2 symbol can
020 7496 4000 (not: 0207 496 4000) also be used.
BP gained access to deepwater exploration and
In international format, London numbers production blocks covering 71,000km2.
are displayed as:
+44 (0)20 7496 4000

If a zero should be dropped when dialing from

outside the country, place that zero in brackets.

Times
See Dates and times on page 17.

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Presentation

People’s names Website URLs

News writing and online In print, write out the URL in lower case italics
Use the full name in the first instance and and omit www. Try to avoid URLs at the end
the surname thereafter. Don’t use Mr, Mrs of a sentence, where they do appear apply
or Miss. punctuation as normal.
John Smith and then Smith Visit the press centre at bp.com/press for
copies of all BP’s press releases.
This follows the US press convention and helps
Online, try to use hyperlinked text instead of
retain objectivity.
website URLs. If a URL is needed, write it out in
Corporate reporting lower case and omit www. but don’t italicize. If
When referring to BP people, use their full name the URL appears at the end of the sentence
first and their first name thereafter, unless there omit the final punctuation.
is a possibility of confusion. This helps to provide Shareholders may obtain a copy of the BP
more confidence and familiarity with the person. Annual Report and 20-F 2014 on request, free
Bob Dudley became group chief executive of charge from bp.com/papercopies
on 1 October 2010. Bob joined Amoco
Corporation in 1979. See Hyperlinks on page 25.

Titles
Knighthoods
Sir Mark Allen then abbreviated to Sir Mark
(not: Sir Allen)

Junior, senior
Capitalize and abbreviate.
The committee is pleased to welcome John
Smith Jr to the role.

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Formatting

Bullet points
Lists with sentence fragments Text that supports the data should explain the
If your bullets read as one sentence with short reason for the numbers or variance in them if
fragments for each point, add a colon and begin possible and not just repeat the data.
each bullet with a lower case letter. Don’t use any
punctuation after each bullet, but add a full stop
References to a table from body text should say
after the last point.
Lists with fragments should: ‘the following table’ rather than ‘the table below’
• follow a colon or ‘table on the left’, particularly if your communication
• use lower case could be amended in a way that affects the layout.
• be punctuated with just one full stop after
the final bullet. Consider whether a graphic could communicate more
clearly than content in a table.
Lists using full sentences
If all your bullets are an entire sentence or more, Emphasis
precede them with a colon and begin each one Don’t underline text and only use italics and bold
with a capital letter and use a full stop at the end. sparingly in print for emphasis – too many italicized
Tips for preparing your report: words can make text difficult to read.
• Use a spell checker to check your spelling.
• Make sure that you save the document in
the correct location. Contact the Don’t use underlining or italics online.
administrator if you aren’t sure where to
save it. Footnotes
• Share your document with to your Footnotes should always start with a capital letter
colleagues to review. and end with a full stop, regardless of the length
or grammatical construction of the note.
Bullet points that follow a heading a
More than 100 years.
If your bullets follow a heading, don’t
precede them with a colon and start each The superscript reference in the main text should
one with a capital letter and use a full stop be placed next to the key word or phrase. If the
at the end. reference relates to the full sentence place it
Requirements outside the full stop.
• Write your report in plain English. BP intends to focus on growing sustainable free
• Ensure there are no spelling mistakes. cash flowa.
• Keep your report short. a
Free cash flow is operating cash flow less net cash used in
For sub-lists, use an indented dash instead of investing activities.

a bullet point and follow the guidance above

Formatting footnotes
for the main bullets.
Footnote references in body text should be a
superscript version of the size and format of the
Avoid using roman numerals for bullets or lists.
text you’re footnoting. The footnote explanation
should be the same size and format throughout
Data tables the document. Try to avoid footnotes in headings
Use tables to show complicated or numerical and titles.
data when possible. It’s clearer than packing it
into sentences. Always include a source, where
applicable.

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 20

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Formatting

References and citations

BP publications
When referenced in full, italicize the publication Books and publications
name, if abbreviated use normal font. Use footnotes to provide sources for
 Full title: BP Statistical Review of World documents. When indicating a source, show
Energy 2017 the source in normal type, but italicize any
 Abbreviated title: BP’s Statistical Review publication title. Quotation marks are not
needed. End the sentence with a full stop.
Use the full title including appropriate year in Source: BP Annual Report and Form 20-F 2015.
headings and for the first mention in body text.
You can then go on to use the abbreviation Article and essay titles
throughout the body text. Use single quotation around articles and essay
titles.
Cross references Taken from Orwell’s 1946 essay ‘Politics and
Refer readers to a page or section of another the English Language’.
document by capitalizing the first letter of the
section you’re referring to and providing the first
page number for that section.
See Legal proceedings on page 133.

Sources
Sourcing allows you to tell the reader where facts
or information originated. Citing a source properly
strengthens the credibility of your writing. It also
makes sure that you integrate information clearly
without plagiarizing.

Charts, graphs or other graphics

Position the reference as a footnote to the
page or add it at the very bottom of the graphic
using ‘Source:’

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Writing for different channels

Online communications
Write for scan reading Search engines
People scan online content, so use headlines, Include common terms in your headline and
subheadings, bulleted lists and captions to aid introduction to increase the chance of search
your audience in doing this. engines picking up your communication.

Don’t use italics or underline Use hyphens

Italics are difficult to read online and underlining Use normal hyphens online as the longer
is reserved for hyperlinks, so if you need to en dash creates formatting problems online.
indicate a document title, use single quotes. See Hyphens and dashes page 11.

Hyperlinks Left align

Don’t use actions and instructions such as click Make sure your document is formatted to
here for hyperlinks, use the name or a description left align, not justified – which can affect
of what you are linking to. formatting on the page.
Find out more about BP and sustainability.
PDFs
For bulleted lists of hyperlinks don’t use Help your audience and search engines find your
punctuation. PDF by adding properties and keywords to the file
Popular links before you upload it.
• Change my benefits
• Model my bonus Infographics and animations
• Request vacation
For print and online infographics use standard
Website URLs and email addresses sentence grammar (e.g. sentence case, commas)
Use hyperlinks instead of URLs and email but exclude punctuation from the end of each line
addresses. If they do appear in your text try to of text, unless it’s a question mark.
include them within a sentence, but if the URL
or email is at the end of the sentence don’t use If a sentence runs over multiple screens, use
sentence case across them and don’t use a capital
a full stop.
letter just because it’s a new screen.
Headings and introductions
Abbreviations
Avoid abbreviations in headings, unless you are
short of space.

Character limits
Headings and introductions are restricted to
specific character limits. Keep them short and
anticipate further editing from the website owner.

Punctuation
Don’t use a full stop at the end of web
page introductions.

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Writing for different channels

Social media
BP group
Tone Use BP not ‘BP p.l.c.’ or ‘BP group’.
BP social channels use a relaxed conversational
style while maintaining professionalism on Hashtags
behalf of the company. Hashtags make content easier to find. Look for
popular hashtags to use and join in with other
Sparing use of humour or popular expressions ‘trending’ conversations taking place to gain wider
audience reach. Go to hashtagify.me for help
can help connect you with your audience,
picking a hashtag.
creating a local voice rather than the corporate
voice from head office. Common BP hashtags themes
#BP or $BP in the financial community
Calls to action Industry terms (e.g. #oil #technology)
Audience engagement with social media is vital Regions (e.g. #Australia, #India)
to its success – whether it’s likes, comments or BP specific hashtags (e.g. #BPtechnology,
shares. Calls to action help drive engagement. #BPstats)
This can be asking a question about the content
or getting readers to tell you what they think Full stops
about it. Don’t use full stops at the end of social media
communications.
Character limits and text restrictions
Posts should be short and get to the point Responses
quickly so that readers capture key messages Social media creates a direct dialogue that almost
as they scroll through their news feeds. You anyone with internet access can interact with.
can provide a hyperlink to more information to
take readers to the full story elsewhere. If you Social channels should allow free speech in the
type the URL into bitly.com the site will shorten comments, but we have clear guidelines on what
it for you and save you characters in your post. we do and don't accept. Social media users within
BP should join the Yammer social media group
(search on Yammer) for tips, advice and support.
Social media style for BP
Due to character limits on social media, adapt the
Try to respond to as many sensible comments as
BP style to suit the channel.
quickly as possible, even if your first response is
just an acknowledgement and commitment to
Keeping it brief
help. Use common sense when deciding which
Abbreviate and use understandable acronyms
comments and messages need responses. The
to make the best use of the space available. best responses are written as if you were talking
Join the conversation on Mon 3 Oct. to the person asking the question, so not in
ICYMI (In case you missed it) company jargon or press release language. Try to
#BP chief exec Bob Dudley (not: Bob make them polite, clear and friendly.
Dudley, BP group chief executive)
$1bn (not: $1 billion) BP channels
Use ampersands instead of ‘and’ BP has a global presence on each of the major social
Get the facts & figures media channels:
Twitter twitter.com/BP_plc
Use emojis selectively to convey simple words,
feelings and ideas. Search getemoji.com for Facebook facebook.com/BP
emojis you can copy and paste into your content. LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/BP
These will be converted to a graphic for each YouTube youtube.com/bp
channel. Make sure you read your content back Instagram instagram.com/bp
to be sure that it is easy to understand. Slideshare slideshare.net/BP_plc
Around the people are using more low-
carbon fuels

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 22

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 BP spelling and translations

Frequently used words

The following words use the agreed BP spelling.

Use the term exactly as it’s defined, noting
whether it is hyphenated and lower or upper case.

$20-billion Trust (capital T used for legal reasons)

adviser (not: advisor)
alpha-olefins (with hyphen)
ampm (trade mark, in italics)
end use (no hyphen)
baseline (no hyphen)
Energy Sustainability Challenge (capitalize as
benefited/benefiting (single t) external programme)
biodiesel (no hyphen) eurozone (one word, lower case)
biofuels (no hyphen) ex gratia (two words)
biolubricants (no hyphen) factsheet
blowout (one word) fair value (not: fair-value, even when adjectival)
bp.com (no capitals) feedstock (no hyphen)
BP Well Advisor breakthrough (no hyphen) Field of the Future (trade mark, initial capitals,
Bright Water (trade mark, initial capitals and italics) italics)
bullet point (two words) focused (single s)
buyback (no hyphen) focusing (single s)
CDs (not: CD’s) forums (not: fora)
coalbed (one word) fulfil (not fulfill)
code of conduct (no capitals) fresh water (two words)
co-generation (not: cogeneration) freshwater (adjective, one word)
committed (double t) front line (two words)
co-operate (with hyphen) gas field (two words)
co-ordinate (with hyphen) gas-fired (with hyphen)
cyber security (two words) global wells organization (lower case)
cyber attack (two words) government (lower case)
database (one word) guidebook (no hyphen)
healthcare (no hyphen)
data set (two words)
homepage (no hyphen)
deepwater (adjective, no hyphen e.g. deepwater infographic (one word)
drilling)
in-house (hyphen, adjective and adverb)
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust, or the Trust
ingrained (not: engrained)
(capitalize for legal reasons)
in situ (two words, not italicized)
depositary shares (not depository)
instalment (single l)
diagram
internet (lower case i)
dispatch (not: despatch)
intranet (lower case i)
dos and don’ts (not: do’s and dont’s)
judgement (not: judgment, except in a legal
double-check (hyphen)
context e.g. a judge’s formal ruling)
downstream (no hyphen, adjectival)
know-how (hyphen)
drill rig (two words)
learned (not: learnt)
drill ship (two words)
life cycle (two words, no hyphen)
due diligence (two words)
lifestyle (no hyphen)
elearning (not: e-learning)
LoSal (trade mark, no space, italics)
email (not: e-mail)
end-user or end-consumer (with hyphen)

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23
 BP spelling and translations

Lower 48
man-hours (with hyphen) south-east (with hyphen)
manmade (no hyphen) spot-charter (with hyphen)
marketplace (no hyphen) start-up (with hyphen, noun)
maximum (not: maxima, regardless of standalone (no hyphen)
singular or plural) sub-contractors (hyphen)
midstream (no hyphen) subsea (no hyphen)
multilingual (no hyphen) subsurface (no hyphen)
multimedia (no hyphen) sugar cane (two words)
multinational (no hyphen) reinjected (no hyphen)
occurring (double r) sulphur (ph not f)
offshore (no hyphen) supermajor (no hyphen)
oilfield (one word) supply chain (two words)
on to (two words) targeting and targeted (single t)
operating management system (lower case, tight gas (no hyphen)
abbreviate to OMS) time-charter (with hyphen)
on-site (with hyphen) towards (not: toward)
on board (two words, no hyphen) town hall (not: townhall, Town Hall or town-hall)
one-off (with hyphen) trade mark (two words)
ongoing (no hyphen) trade-off (with hyphen)
online (no hyphen) Trans-Adriatic Pipeline
onstation (one word, no hyphen) Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
onshore (no hyphen) transatlantic (one word, all lower case)
onstream (no hyphen) Trinidad & Tobago (use an ampersand to
on-target (hyphen, adjective and adverb) indicate one country, rather than two)
OpenTalk (one word, capital T) UK Corporate Governance Code
panellist (double l) Ukraine (not: The Ukraine)
petrotechnical under way (two words)
post-holder (with hyphen) upstream (no hyphen, adjectival)
powertrain (one word) proactive US (not: USA or U.S.)
(no hyphen) programme (UK US Coast Guard (capitalized, two words)
spelling) US Gulf Coast (capitalized)
real time (two words) US Lower 48 states
real-time data (hyphen, adjectival) vice chairman (no hyphen, lower case)
refuelling (double l) vice president (no hyphen, lower case)
reinvestment (one word) wastewater (one word)
reshape (one word) website (no hyphen)
rest of world wind farm (two words)
reuse (one word, no hyphen) worker-hours (with hyphen)
safety and operational risk (lower case, no worldwide (no hyphen)
ampersand unless abbreviated to S&OR)
write-back (finance term, with hyphen)
self verification (two words)
write-down (finance term, with hyphen)
setback (no hyphen)
write-off (finance term, with hyphen)
shutdown (one word)
written off (two words, no hyphen)

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BP spelling and translations

British or American spelling

Unless you’re using one of the words outlined Using the ‘ise’ spelling
as always being spelled with ‘ise’, use the Examples
Americanized ‘z’ version. This is in line with advertise
Oxford English Dictionary advice and is normal advise
style in the US, where many BP employees and
analyse
external audiences live.
arise
catalyse
American spelling comprise
Examples compromise
authorize enterprise
categorize exercise
carbonize expertise
criticize franchise
emphasize hydrolyse
finalize merchandise
incentivize revise
maximize supervise
minimize surprise
optimize
organization British spelling
prioritize Use British spelling for all other words, including:
realize colour
recognize centre
specialize defence
standardize fibre
utilize licence (noun)
license (verb)
If the name of a body is spelt with an ‘s’, or you metre
are quoting directly from a source, retain that programme (except when talking about
spelling. computer programs)
International Labour Organisation practice (noun)
practise (verb)

Translations
In BP the decision whether to translate group-wide communications should be made
locally within your business area in consultation with the country communications
team. Common languages we translate into are: French, Spanish, German,
Portuguese and Mandarin. Certain communications are legally required to be
translated, others are optional, so you are advised to consult with your local HR and
legal contacts to determine how to proceed. You should seek local legal review for
translations as required.

It is advised that you include a translation of the following disclaimer and at the end of
your communication: ‘This [document name] has been prepared and written in [original
language] and translated into [translation language]. In case of any inconsistency or
discrepancy between the [translation language] and [original language] versions, the
[original language] text shall be referred to as the definitive and prevailing document.’

If you are using a third-party translator, search for ‘translation’ at ineed.bpglobal.com for
contact information and advice on BP’s preferred suppliers.

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Contacts and downloads

Contacts If in
We welcome your suggestions, comments and
questions – please get in touch.
dou
bt
Laura Turvey
Financial reporting adviser
Group communications
07824365937
laura.turvey@uk.bp.com

Ione Minett
Financial reporting manager
Group communications
020 7496 4033
ione.minett@uk.bp.com

Downloads
This guide is updated annually and is available to download from:

BP brand centre
brand.bp.com/brand-guide/look-and-feel/writing-style
BPMessageBank
bpmessagebank.com
Communications website
groupcommunications.bpweb.bp.com/en/homepage.aspx

© BP p.l.c. 2017

October 2017 BP writing style guide 2017 27