
Using Numbers and Numerals
Amy Addison, UR Writing Center Tutor (WC '93)
Spell out as words:
- Numbers that begin a sentence. ex.: Three years ago
I moved to Virginia.
- Numbers that can be spelled out in one or two words. ex.:
ten, twenty, and eighty (a hyphenated number like thirty-six
equals one word).
- Numbers that are used as compound adjectives. ex.:
A twenty-mile hike.
Express as numerals:
- Numbers that can not be written in one or two words. ex.:
153, 2001, and 8,000,000.
- Numbers representing dates, although the day of month may
be written out if the year is not included. ex.: July
4, 1776, December Seventh (or December 7).
- Numbers in addresses.
- Numbers expressing exact amounts: percentages, fractions,
decimals, statistics, scores, or specific sums of money.
- Numbers representing pages, acts, or scenes in plays and
literature. ex.: page 10, Act III, but "third scene,"
"part two" are also correct.
- Numbers expressing time (except when followed by "o'clock").
Exceptions and additional rules:
- It is acceptable to express a decade by spelling it out or
writing it as a figure. ex.: 1960s or sixties.
- If a passage includes numbers that follow one another, one
is spelled and the other is represented with a figure. ex.:
We used ten 2-gallon cans of red paint on the garage.
- Be consistent! If you begin by expressing your percentages
with figures, or spelling out your references to decades, make
sure you continue to do the same thing all the way through your
paper!
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