Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Writing Numbers

Most writers chose this profession because our word skills were greater than our mathematical abilities. Nevertheless, numbers in our business are important.


Here are some of the conventional guidelines:


1) Numbers nine and below are written in words: seven


2) Numbers 10 and above are written in figures: 17


3) The above two rules hold for cardinal (seven, 17), ordinal (seventh, 17th), and centuries (seventh century, 17th century).


4) The simplest way to express large numbers is best. Round numbers are usually spelled out. Be careful to be consistent within a sentence.


You can earn from one million to five million dollars.

You can earn from five hundred to five million dollars.


5) Money is preceded by a dollar sign even though it is read in a different order:


$17 million (17 million dollars)

You can earn from $5 hundred to $5 million.


6) Be consistent within a category. For example, if you choose numerals because one of the numbers you must deal with is greater than ten, you should use numerals for everything in that category.


Given the budget constraints, if all 30 history students attend the four plays, then the 7 math students will be able to attend only two plays.


(Students are represented with figures; plays are represented with words.)

My 10 cats fought with their 2 cats.

My ten cats fought with their two cats.


7) Always spell out simple fractions and use hyphens with them.


One-half of the pies have been eaten.

A two-thirds majority is required for amendments to the club constitution.


8) A mixed fraction can be expressed in figures unless it is the first word of a sentence.


We expect a 5 ½ per cent wage increase.

Five and one-half per cent was the maximum allowable interest.


9) With numbers of four or more digits, use commas. Commas are to the right of the thousands and millions places, continue placing commas after every three places.


465
1,465
11,465
111,465

10)Use noon and midnight rather than 12:00 P.M. and 12:00 A.M., no one knows what they mean.


11) Write out a number if it begins a sentence.


Seventeen blue jays baked in a cake.

Twenty-nine people won an award for helping their communities.


You can express decades in complete numerals and you don’t need an apostrophe between the year and the s.


The Canadian economy grew during the 1980s and 1990s.


Contact us at moorepartners@gmail.com if you have any questions.