Numbers and Abbreviations

Uses in academic writing

Rules for Numbers

1.Spell numbers that take two words or less

a.I have seen that movie five times.

b.There are thirty-two students here.

c.The college has 562 students.

Rules for Numbers continued

2.Be consistent when you use a series

a.I ran five kilometres today, ten yesterday and three on Saturday.

b.I have only run 18 kilometres so far this year even though last year I ran 3652.

Rules for Numbers continued

3. Use numerals for the following items:

1. dates - January 15, 2011

2. times - I have an appointment at 3:20. BUT - I have to leave at three o’clock.

3. addresses - 500 College Way, Y1A 5K4

4. percentages - Many programs require 70 percent in English 050.

5. parts of a book - Please turn to Chapter 2 on page 35.

Abbreviations

Don’t use in your academic writing

Except in these instances:

1.Mr. , Mrs., Dr., Jr., etc

a.Dr. Phillips gave Mrs. Smith a prescription for her migraines.

Abbreviations continued

Don’t use except:

2.Time references:

a.A.M or p.m. - I woke up at 6 a.m.

b.B.C. - The arrowhead is dated at 600 B.C.

Abbreviations continued

Don’t use except in these instances:

3.Initials in a person’ s name

a.Michael J. Fox

b.P. Diddy

Abbreviations continued

Don’t use abbreviations except in these situations:

4.Organizations, technical words, company names know by their initials

a.NHL, AIDS, CTV, DVD