Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [numerals]

Questions about the use of numbers in text and how to format them. Can also be about the formatting and reference to page numbers, figure numbers, etc.

26 questions
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What is the correct way to write a fractional number in a formal letter?

If I'm talking about a length of time in a cover letter, let's say 5.5 years, what would be the correct way to write this? five-and-a-half years 5-1/2 years 5.5 years
bernk
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Will writing actual numbers instead of writing them with letters affect readership?

This question sounds similar to this but I am asking something different. It is said that Stephen Hawking removed all the formulas except one because with each use of a formula the readers of book will reduce by half. Will such a thing be…
The White Cloud
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Expressing large numbers in dialogue?

For example the scene takes place in the future and the year is 24,356. Would it be written as: "The year is 24356," said Bob OR "The year is twenty-four thousand, three hundred and fifty-six," said Bob. What would be the correct way to express…
Osiris93
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What is the purpose of using Roman numerals as page numbers?

I'm in the process of writing a dissertation for my university degree. I have looked at examples online where people have used Roman numerals as page numbers for the preliminary pages of the dissertation and then Arabic numbers for the main text…
Theman
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Should I write numbers using words, or the actual numbers?

I'm stuck trying to figure out if I should put numbers or words. Which one looks better? After it took me 4 hours and 24 minutes After it took me four hours and twenty-four minutes
Phantom Music Games
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Why do most style guides miss out the 'degrees' when reporting temperature?

In the UK, the Guardian style guide and the BBC style guide say to report temperatures as "25C" or "90F", with no degree symbol. The NYT style guide says to "Avoid the degree symbol and the abbreviations F and C in articles." The AP style guide…
K. Morgan
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en dash with space for non-integer?

I have a simple question. What's the correct writing style? 1.1–8.4% or 1.1 – 8.4% Without space around an en dash looks much better for my eyes. But I read somewhere that if it is a decimal number (non-integer), en dash should be wrapped with…
Twisted Meadow
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How should I write a height in feet and inches?

I wrote the sentence: From far away, he could easily be mistaken for a ten year-old, at 5’1 he was as thin as a rail and wore a flannel shirt tucked into a brown, leather belt. I wrote 5'1. When writing height in fiction, is it 5'1? Or…
trin carl
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Mixed numerals and words in a list

In APA style, we generally use the word for numbers less than 10 and the numeral for numbers equal or greater than 10. However, I am editing a sentence that has predominantly single-digit numbers and one double-digit number. For the sake of…
FHH
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What's the appropriate way to write numbers in educational contexts like papers?

I want to know if numbers should be written alphabetically in educational contexts, for instance: 10 plasma samples out of 1016 cannot be ignored. Or Ten plasma samples out of one thousand and sixteen cannot be ignored.
Gigili
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4
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Different header numbering formats in a document

I am writing a document with several chapters. Each chapter title uses heading 1 and the chapters have the numbers 1 to 8. All chapters are using header 1 so that I can build a table of contents. At the end of the document, I have three appendix…
Reza_va
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Scientific Reports - Significant Figures

I'm currently writing a report where I have a table stating certain parameter values and their errors. Obviously I want the report to look nice, but since the errors of certain parameters vary by orders of magnitude, I'm not sure how to write it. To…
Kay Tukendorf
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Spell out numbers before times, days, months?

The general rule I follow is to spell out numbers < 10. Also when use numbers before measurement I don't spell out. For example: I bought nine apples We need 5 mL acid for this reaction How about numbers before "days", "months" and "times"? Jack,…
Twisted Meadow
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Should I write out numbers or use the actual numbers (ordinals)?

Born late in the year, Adam was the only kid in his small 4th grade class that had already turned 11. Every morning he got up at exactly 4:56, the latest he could rouse in the morning with sequential numbers and still meet Bus 9 on…
kmunky
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When do I spell out numbers in bulleted lists?

My organization produces technical reports and bases their style on Associated Press (AP) style. In one of these reports, I have a list like so: Topics with permission: Publish — 3 topics Subscribe — 2 topics Receive — 2 topics AddPermission — 5…
Anthony Lozano
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