Numbers
Spell out numbers one through nine and general numbers in narrative text:
- There were seven people at the meeting.
- There were 36 students in the class.
- There are approximately 5,000 undergraduates.
- There are a thousand reasons.
When a number is the first word of a sentence, spell it out.
In a series, apply the appropriate guideline:
- There are 25 graduate students in the philosophy department, nine in the music department and eight in the comparative literature department, making a total of 42 students in the three departments.
Express all percentages as figures. Do not use the % sign except in charts or graphs:
- 3 percent; 130 percent
For very large sums of money use figures with a dollar sign; spell out million or billion:
- $1.8 million
- between $1 and $2 billion
Place a comma after digits signifying thousands, except when reference is made to temperature:
- 1,160 students
- 2200 degrees Fahrenheit
