a. use
numerals, not words, for money or any numbers that have a label or unit,
such as $5,000,000 or 50% or 10,000 miles. If the number is very large,
especially if it is rounded off or approximate, you can use the form
$5 billion, or 2.5 million people, or 2 million deaths. Never use words
for complicated numbers like, 4,515 or 513.45.
b. in science
papers, for dates, use 1990, or during the 1990s, not "the 90's"
or "the nineties." For a complete date , use the form 10 April
2003. For a range, use the form, from 1990 - 1995.
c. for
small numbers you can use the words: one...ten, but never write out
bigger numbers (except on a check or legal document!)
d. do not
start a sentence with a digit - sentences must start with a word.
e. use
the American form of large numbers, not the European form; that is,
use commas to separate the 1,000s and use a period to separate whole
numbers from decimal fractions. Write 1,000,415.26 not 1 000 415,26
as many Europeans and Latin Americans do. Don't use the term "about"
if you are giving an exact number... a number with a fraction attached
is not "about."
Wrong:
Last year the USA had two hundred and ninety million residents and about
2,165,5678 prisoners.
Right:
In 2002 the USA had 290 million residents and nearly 2.2 million prisoners
(citation).
Wrong:
10 people were killed in the six terrorist attacks of the early 90's.
Right:
Ten people were killed in the six terrorist attacks of the early 1990s
(citation).
Wrong:
The GDP of the United States in the 90's grew 10 per cent from about
3 000 000 million dollars to nine trillion.
Right:
During the 1990s the GDP of the United States grew 10% annually from
about $3 trillion to about $9 trillion (citation).
Wrong:
The GDP for that year was about $11,999,234,761.45.
Right:
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2002 was almost $12 trillion (citation).
Also Right:
The GDP in 2002 was reported as $11,999 billion (citation).
Also Right:
The GDP in 2002 was nearly $12 trillion (citation).
