A Military Writer's Handbook | |||
Words |
Numbers Whether to express a number in figures or words depends largely on whether you are writing for the sciences or business, or for the humanities. In a technical document, numbers are almost always written as figures, while in general academic writing they are usually spelled out. Conventions of number usage in writing vary; being consistent is the important thing. Most of the principles below are adapted from The Canadian Style (Revised and Expanded), a publication of Public Works and Government Services Canada.
1. Numerical Expressions a) Numbers from 0-9 are written in full.
b) Numbers with two digits and numbers that can be expressed in one or two words should be written out.
c) Do not mix numbers as words and figures in a sentence or paragraph. Be consistent.
d) Numbers in the millions or higher are written as a combination of words and Arabic numerals. Numbers with a long succession of zeros should be rewritten as an abbreviation.
e) Spell out a number when it occurs at the beginning of a sentence. This also includes the related numbers that closely follow it.
f) Write out numbers in historical, biblical, or formal references, unless referring to passages from the Bible.
g) Ordinal numbers modifying the names of churches and financial institutions are usually written out.
2. Using Ordinals and Cardinals Although the autoformat feature of most word processors will prompt you to superscript ordinal expression such as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, it is no longer conventional to do so. To correct this error, simply edit/undo (Ctrl+Z) after each superscript or disable the autoformat feature, so that the ordinals appear as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th. a) In DND writing, it is preferable to write out ordinals when listing points in a paragraph.
b) Be consistent. Ordinals should be treated in the same way as cardinal numbers.
c) Designations of large military units, especially in a foreign or historical context, may be written out in ordinals; otherwise, use cardinal numerals.
3. Special Uses of Numbers a) Addresses. Street and avenue designations up to and including Tenth are usually spelled out.
b) Age. Exact age is usually indicated in numerals, even if less than 10. Approximate ages are written out.
c) Numbers as Adjectives. When compound numbers are used adjectivally, insert hyphens between the components.
d) Date. For full calendar dates, cardinal numbers are used. When day and month only are given, cardinal or ordinal forms may be used, but they should not be combined.
e) Fractions. In non-technical writing, spell out simple fractions, especially when used in isolation. In technical writing, decimals are preferred to fractions.
e) Mathematical Usage. Use numerals for numbers treated as nouns in mathematical usage. Algebraic expressions should be italicized to distinguish them from symbols of measurement.
f) Measurements. In technical writing, numbers representing measurement are expressed numerically. The International System of Units (SI) is the current standard for symbols of measurement in technical writing.
g) Money. Sums of money are usually expressed in numerals, except when they refer to round or indefinite amounts or are used in a formal or legal context.
h) Numbers as Nouns. Use numerals when numbers are referred to as nouns.
i) Plurals. Plurals of numerals are usually formed by adding an s.
j) Reference Numbers. Page references are usually written in Arabic numbers.
k) Time. Write the time of day in the appropriate numerical form (24-hour clock for DND writing), except in descriptive text and in approximations.
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