Transcript Numbers
Created by Hunter Brown
Summer 2013
What is a Number?
A number is a mathematical idea used to count, label, and measure.
Numbers can be represented by numerals or words.
Numerals or figures
Words
1/2
One third
√5
Five
3
Thirteen
π
Forty-six
25
Ninety-nine
XLI
One hundred
101
Twelve hundred
1,492
Eight thousand
MCM
Twenty thousand
500,000
Three million
General Rules
In ordinary writing and MLA format
Spell out numbers which can be expressed as one or two words (one, thirty-six, ninetynine, one hundred, fifteen hundred, two thousand, three million).
Use numerals for numbers with more than two words (2½, 101, 137, 1,275).
In technical writing and APA format
Spell out numbers from one to nine (one, two, three, etc.).
Use numerals for 10 and above (10, 11, 12, etc.).
In all contexts and formats
If you must begin a sentence with a number, spell the number out.
NOT: 1994 was my birth year.
BUT: Nineteen ninety-four was my birth year.
OR: My birth year was 1994 (preferred).
There is often more than one acceptable way to write a number; once you choose a usage,
stay consistent.
Commas in Numbers
Use commas between groups of three digits in most figures of 1,000 or
more.
1,000
20,000
7,654,321
Following are some exceptions:
Page and lines numbers (page 1014)
Addresses (4132 Broadway)
Four-digit year numbers (1999)
Degrees of temperature (3071 °F)
Dates
For dates, use cardinal numbers (1, 2, 3), not ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd,
3rd).
NOT: My birthday is March 24th.
BUT: My birthday is March 24.
For three-part dates, you can use either of the forms below:
March 3, 1847 (month-day-year)
3 March 1847 (day-month-year)
If you use the month-day-year format in the middle of a sentence, place a
comma after the day and the year. If you use the day-month-year format,
no commas are necessary.
Alexander Graham Bell was born March 3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Alexander Graham Bell was born 3 March 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Dates Continued
Centuries
Spell out centuries in lowercase letters:
the twentieth century
the mid-nineteenth century
Hyphenate centuries when they are used as adjectives before nouns:
eighteenth-century thought
first-century Christianity
Decades
Decades are usually written out in lowercase letters (the twenties), unless they are part of special expressions
(the Roaring Twenties).
Decades can also be expressed in numerals (the 1920s, the ‘20s).
Whichever form you use to express decades, be consistent.
Year Designation
The abbreviation BC follows the year, but AD precedes it.
19 BC
AD 565
Some writers prefer to use BCE and CE, both of which follow the year.
Times
When clock times precede a.m. or p.m., use numerals:
NOT: ten-twenty a.m.
BUT: 10:20 a.m.
NOT: eight p.m.
BUT: 8:00 p.m.
Spell out hours expressed in quarter and half hours and hours followed by
o’clock:
NOT: 6:00 o’clock
BUT: six o’clock
NOT: a quarter to 12
BUT: a quarter to twelve
NOT: half-past 10
BUT: half-past ten
Decimals
Use numerals for numbers containing decimals:
98.7 degrees
5.5 million
0.23 cm
99.99%
$77.77 (Money amounts containing dollars and cents may be
spelled out in rare situations, for example, in legal
documents.)
Percentages
Use numerals to express percentages (75%, 9 percent).
Most style guides suggest that you
use the percent symbol (100%) in technical or scientific
writing;
use the word percent (100 percent) in writing that requires
numbers less frequently.
Once you choose a usage, stay consistent.
Units of Measurement
Use numerals with units of measurement expressed as abbreviations or symbols.
515 lbs
0.45 cm
20 Hz
6’ 2”
212 °F
70 mph
¥88,909
$500
If the context is not technical, if the number is not a decimal and is below 9 (for
APA) or can be spelled in two words or fewer (for MLA), and if the unit of
measurement is spelled out, you may express the number in words:
The average U.S. resident eats almost four pounds of meat per day.
My brother is six feet two inches tall.
The temperature was a bone-numbing five degrees Fahrenheit.
The freight train crept along at eight miles per hour.
I bought this fine-looking truck for a mere five hundred dollars.
Roman Numerals
Use Roman numerals
to differentiate popes, kings, emperors, queens, etc. with the
same name (Henry I, Pope Benedict XVI);
to differentiate male members of the same family with identical
names (Martin Luther King III);
to number the major sections of an outline or the acts in a play
(Act I, Scene III);
to conform to an established terminology (Type II error);
to cite pages of a book that are numbered with Roman numerals
(xxv-xxvi).
References
American Psychological Association. Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th
ed. Washington, DC: APA, 2010. Print.
Hixon, Mamie Webb. Real Good Grammar, Too. 2nd ed.
Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 1997. Print.
Modern Language Association. The MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: MLA,
2009. Print.