Number Expression GuidesNumber Expression Guides

Part 1 - Using numbers/figures

in a sentence…

Use Figures for:

Dates and times except in very formal writing.

Examples:The flight will arrive at 9:48 a.m. on March 14.The ceremony took place the fifth of June at eleven o’clock.

Use Figures for:

A series of fractions and/or mixed numbers.

Key 1/4, 1/2, 5/6, and 7 3/4.

Use Figures for:

Numbers following nouns.

Example:Case 1849 is reviewed in Volume 5, page 9.

Use Figures for:

Measures, weights, and dimensions.

Examples:6 feet 9 inches7 pounds 4 ounces8.5 inches by 11 inches

Use Figures for:

Definite numbers used with percent (%), BUT use words for indefinite percentages.

Examples:The late fee is 15 percent of the overdue payment.The brothers put in nearly fifty percent of the start-up capital.

Use Figures for:

House numbers except house number One. Example:My home is at 8 Weber Drive; my office is at One Weber Plaza.

Use Figures for:

Amounts of money except when spelled for emphasis (as in legal documents). Even amounts (no cents) are keyed without the decimal. Large amounts (a million or more) are keyed as shown.

Examples:$17.75 75 cents $775 $7,500seven hundred dollars ($700) $7.2 million

Number Expression GuidesNumber Expression Guides

Part 2 – Spell out numbers in sentences. Using words instead of figures.

Use Words for:

Numbers from one to ten (use figures for numbers ABOVE ten). Exception: If numbers below ten in a sentence with numbers above ten, ALL numbers should be keyed as figures.

Examples:Did you visit all eight Web sites, or only four?Buy 15 textbooks and 8 workbooks.

Use Words for:

A number beginning a sentence.

Example:Twelve of the new shrubs have died; 48 are doing well.

Use Words for:

Isolated fractions or indefinite numbers.

Example:Nearly seventy members voted, which is almost one-fourth.

Use Words for:

Names of small-numbered streets and avenues (ten and under).

Example:The theater is at the corner of Third Avenue and 54th Street.