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WRITING TECHNIQUES
Name __________________________
Number Style: Word or Figure?
Whether to use words or figures to express numbers is governed by convention. That is, we follow
customary techniques or rules. Here is a summary of frequently used number rules:
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General rules. Use words for numbers one through ten. (We have ten computers and three
printers. She travels 30,000 miles each year.)
Beginning of sentence. Never start a sentence with a figure. (Twenty-five candidates applied.)
Money. Use figures. (Her ticket cost $699.55, and her luggage fee was $20 more.)
Dates. Use figures when the day follows the month (May 5). Do not add the ordinals th, nd, rd
unless the day precedes the month (fifth of May) or stands alone (on the fifth).
Clock time. Use figures when clock time is expressed with a.m. or p.m. (at 9 a.m.). Use either
words or figures when clock time is expressed with o’clock (at one o’clock or at 1 o’clock).
Periods of time. Follow general rules (a three-month leave for 90 days).
Business terms. Use figures for interest rates, contracts, warranty periods (2 percent, 6-month
rental agreement).
Addresses. Use figures for all house numbers (3450 Main Street) except the number One. Use
words and ordinals for street names ten and under (Fifth Avenue, 17th Street).
Revise the following sentences to correct number style.
1. After sending out twenty-five résumés, Amanda was delighted to have 3 job interviews.
2. She prepared her résumé in about 10 hours and spent 35 dollars on paper and copying.
3. Her first interview was scheduled for June 18th at eleven a.m. in the morning.
4. The address for 1 interview was 4821 Thirteenth Avenue.
5. During a 4-week period, she talked with at least fifteen interviewers and managers.
6. 2 or 3 interviewers at each company questioned her for about twenty minutes.
7. A well-known company offered her thirty thousand dollars as a starting salary, but she was hoping for
forty thousand.
8. One job candidate spent 3 hundred dollars on a new wardrobe and traveled fifteen hundred miles to a
promising interview.
9. That candidate received 2 offers on the 15th of the month, but he asked for 7 days to decide.
10. He graduated with sixty thousand dollars in student loans at a five percent interest rate.
11. His best interview was at 1 Rockefeller Plaza, which is just off of 5 th Avenue.
12. He had only three dollars in his pocket, but a taxi ride would cost at least 15 dollars.
13. Eager candidates submit their résumés to 1 hundred or more companies.
14. He was asked to make a decision before one p.m. on the twenty-third of December.
15. It took him only 1 hour to return the 3-page employment contract.
© Dr. Mary Ellen Guffey, author, BUSINESS ENGLISH, ESSENTIALS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION, and BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION: PROCESS AND PRODUCT. May be reproduced for educational purposes only.
Number Style: Word or Figure Key
1. After sending out 25 résumés, Amanda was delighted to have three job interviews.
2. She prepared her résumé in about ten hours and spent $35 on paper and copying. [Do not add a
decimal point and ciphers to even sums of money.]
3. Her first interview was scheduled for June 18 at 11 a.m. in the morning. [Never use ordinals (th, rd, nd)
when the day follows the month in written expression. Delete “in the morning,” which is redundant.]
4. The address for one interview was 4821 13th Avenue. [Use figures for street numbers and ordinals
above ten.]
5. During a four-week period, she talked with at least 15 interviewers and managers.
6. Two or three interviewers questioned her for about 20 minutes. [Never start a sentence with a figure.]
7. A well-known company offered her $30,000 as a starting salary, but she was hoping for $40,000. [Don’t
include the word “dollar” in expressing sums of money written with a dollar sign.]
8. One job candidate spent $300 on a new wardrobe and traveled 1,500 miles to a promising interview.
[Notice the comma in “1,500.”]
9. That candidate received two offers on the 15th of the month, but he asked for seven days to decide.
[When the day precedes the month, include the ordinal “th.”]
10. He graduated with $60,000 in student loans at a 5 percent interest rate. [Be sure to spell out “percent”
in messages other than invoices.]
11. His best interview was at One Rockefeller Plaza, which is just off of Fifth Avenue.
12. He had only $3 in his pocket, but a taxi ride would cost at least $15. [Don’t add decimal points and
ciphers to even amounts.]
13. Eager candidates submit their résumés to 100 or more companies.
14. He was asked to make a decision before 1 p.m. on the 23rd of December.
15. It took him only one hour to return the three-page employment contract.
© Dr. Mary Ellen Guffey, author, BUSINESS ENGLISH, ESSENTIALS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION, and BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION: PROCESS AND PRODUCT. May be reproduced for educational purposes only.