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
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