1. The structure of the journal

•  The Theme: Each issue of TDJ will carry a theme that is contemporary, relevant, and important for Bhutan and Bhutanese society. It will be a journal of analytical, thought-provoking articles (between 1,500 and 3,000 words) looking at the theme from different perspectives. The length of research articles can be longer and determined in consultation with the editor.
• Each issue will contain a mix of approaches to the theme: a section of serious articles on the theme; articles looking at similar issues in other countries; interviews and book reviews on the theme.

2. Writing style

The style and tone of the articles will be a blend of news features and academic papers. The articles will be readable, with the content reflecting research and analysis.

3. Abbreviations, contractions, acronyms and initials

• Do not use a full stop after any abbreviation, contraction, acronym and initial such as am, pm, etc, eg, ie, Mr, Dr, St, BBC, MA, Prof. This helps avoid punctuation clutter. But avoid etc, eg, ie, nb and other abbreviations of Latin words or phrases.
• Unless an abbreviation or acronym is so familiar that it is used more often than its full form (eg, BBC, AIDS, UNESCO), use the full form on first appearance. After the first mention, try not to repeat the abbreviation too often to avoid capital letter clutter. So, after the first mention, write the ministry instead of the MOIC and the party instead of the PDP.

4. Non-English words and terms

• Italicise non-English words and terms unless they are nouns or part of proper nouns. Use a Bhutanese word or a term first followed by its English meaning or explanation in brackets. Example: lhakhang (monastery). Nouns like Gyalyong Tshokhang ( National Assembly), Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogdu, Gewog Yargay Tshogchung are non –italised. Examples of proper names and nouns include chathrim, thromde, gewog and dzongkhag. 
• Official titles are non-italicised such as Lyonchhen, Lyonpo, Tshogpon.
• Dzongkha phrases and terms should be italicised such as “tha damtsi”, “sampa-semkay”.
• Use the following spellings for Bhutan’s dzongkhags and dungkhags. 

Dzongkhags

• Bumthang
• Chukha
• Dagana
• Gasa
• Haa
• Lhuntse
• Mongar
• Paro
• Pemagatshel
• Punakha
• Samdrup Jongkhar
• Samtse
• Sarpang
• Thimphu
• Trashigang
• Trashiyangtsi
• Trongsa
• Tsirang
• Wangdue Phodrang
• Zhemgang

Dungkhags

• Dorokha
• Gelephu
• Jomotsangkha
• Lhamoizingkha
• Lingzhi
• Nganglam
• Panbang
• Phuntsholing
• Sakteng
• Samdrupcholig
• Sangbaykha
• Sibsu
• Thrimshing
• Wamrong
• Weringla

5. Spellings

• Use British English spelling conventions.
• Examples: colour, not color; programme, not program; honour, not honor; humour, not humor; labour, not labor; glamour, not glamor. Use British spellings unless American spellings appear as part of names of books, organisations or buildings. Examples: Labor Party, Defense Department.
• Use the suffixes -ise/-yse/-isation, not -ize/-yze/-ization. Examples: realise, not realize; analyse, not analyze; democratisation, not democratization.
• Use foreign (particularly ancient Greek and Latin) plural forms where still in common usage.
• nucleus – nuclei
• stratum – strata
• genus – genera
• analysis – analyses
• basis – bases
• crisis – crises
• phenomenon – phenomena
• bacterium – bacteria
• millennium – millennia
• curriculum – curricula
• forum – fora

 Spell the following words differently in noun and verb forms

Noun

• advice
• licence
• practice

Verb

• advise
• license
• practise

Date and Time

• Use am and pm following time with a space between them. Example: 3 pm. Do not add morning or afternoon after the time in this way: 11 am in the morning.
• Always use numerals to write time: example: 10 pm, not ten pm; and not 10:00 pm unless the time is specified in this way 10:13 pm.
• Write dates in the order of month (spell), day, year. Example: November 11, 2014
• Do not use ordinals like this: 12th November. Instead write November 12, 2018.
• Do not abbreviate days of the week or months. Example: Monday, not Mon, and February, not Feb.

Numbers

• Write numbers from zero to nine in words and numbers above nine in numerals. Example: The Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy invited 19 people to the meeting but only nine showed up.
•  Spell out a number in the beginning of a sentence, however big it is. Example: One hundred people came to the meeting.
•  Use figures for all numerals that include a decimal point. Example: 6.85
•  Use a comma for numbers in the thousands, three digits from the left. Example: 3,150, not 3150.
•  Use numerals for units of measurement. Example: 1.45 kg, or 0.75 g.
•  Do not use an apostrophe for decades: The 1990s, not the 1990’s
•  Money: Use numerals for numbers that are not exact millions or billions. Example: Nu 10,000 and Nu 3,150,650, but Nu 3 million (M) and Nu 3.75 million. Do not use or punctuate lakhs. Use only M after having spelt out once.
• Spell out words like kilogrammes, centimetres, and litres with an abbreviation within bracket when used for the first time. Example: Five kilogrammes (kg) of potato. Two litres (l) of milk.
• Percentages: Use numerals: 5 percent, not 5 %.
• Temperatures: Use numerals: 5 ˚C or 5˚
•  Addresses: Use numerals: 56 Norzin Lam.

Punctuation marks

• Use double inverted commas for full quotes or partial quotes and single inverted commas for quotes within quotes. Example: “If the amendment is unconstitutional, there are ‘other places’ for you to go to,” Lyonpo Namgay Dorji said. He said there was no use repeating the word “unconstitutional”.
• Use a colon to introduce a complete one-sentence quotation within a paragraph. Example: Tshering said: “The paddy fields are our source of income and we fear the quarry might affect them.”
• To introduce quotations of more than one sentence, name the speaker after the first sentence. “I shall return,” said President Obama. “And then we shall see what can be done.”
• Always make sure if the words like long-term, short-term, well-being and far-fetched, among many, are spelt correctly using hyphen.
• Avoid using hyphen in words without it such as subtropics and multimedia, among others.

Diagrams and tables

All tables and diagrams should be provided in black and white. Do not insert tables into the manuscript as images. Create tables within the word document to enable editing, if needed, during production. All tables are numbered and include a brief caption (definitive title) at the top. Each table must be cited in the text in numerical order. Check that acronyms or abbreviations used in tables are consistent with those used in the text.

For diagrams, provide an additional high resolution diagram with the text at the end for production clarity.

Referencing:

Follow the APA 7th Edition for referencing.

When you reference another source use an in-text citation in the body of your paper.

Basic Format:
(Author’s Last Name(s) or Organisation, Year).

Example:

Direct Quote

If you’re quoting the exact words of someone else, introduce the quote with an in-text citation in parentheses. Any sentence punctuation goes after the closing parenthesis.

• According to Wangchuk (2019), “Direct quote” (p. 1021).
• Wangchuk (2019) found that “Direct quote” (p. 1021).
• [Some other introduction] “Direct quote” (Wangchuk, 2019, p. 1021).

Summarising or rephrasing

 Paraphrasing or summarising the main findings or takeaways from a research article is the preferred method of citing sources in an APA paper. Always include the last name of the author(s) and the year of the publication, so your reader can find the full citation in the reference list.

Example:

According to Shavers (2007), limitations of studying socioeconomic status in research on health disparities include difficulties in collecting data on socioeconomic status and the complications of classifying women, children, and employment status.

Include the complete citation at the end of your paper in a references section. References are organised by the author’s last name in alphabetic (A-Z) order.

Basic Format:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date). Title of the work. Source where you can retrieve the work. URL or DOI if available

Example:

Penjore. Dorji. (2024). A Case for Humanising Bhutanese Higher Education System. https://drukjournal.bt/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Bhutanese-Higher-Edu-System_DorjiPenjore.pdf