Author Topic: Exception in writing numbers  (Read 4816 times)

Miss Mae

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 479
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • Email
Exception in writing numbers
« on: February 27, 2015, 07:53:41 PM »
You have prescribed to spell out a number that is in exact or precise count if it is less than 11. But is there no exception in that rule, Sir? Why do you think the United Nations chose to write the numbers in figures instead in the following passage?

“Statistics and evidence show that the mortality rate of persons with disabilities in a populations going through disaster situations is as high as 2 to 4 times, compared to the non-disabled population. Persons with disabilities are disproportionately affected in disaster, emergency, and conflict situations due to inaccessible evacuation, response (including shelters, camps, and food distribution), and recovery efforts.”
« Last Edit: February 28, 2015, 11:18:45 AM by Joe Carillo »

Joe Carillo

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4646
  • Karma: +202/-2
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Exception in writing numbers
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2015, 11:26:34 AM »
Yes, the passage you quoted from a United Nations report is one of the exceptions to the general rule that the numbers 10 and below should be spelled out, as discussed in my essay, “Your handling of numbers and time reflects the clarity of your thinking,” that I posted in the Forum way back in May 2010.

In expository writing and in journalism in particular, the general rule for writing numbers is specifically as follows:

Quote
(1) numbers from 1 to 10 should be written as words when used in a sentence: “The customer ordered eight red shirts and five blue ones, but returned three browns”; and (2) numbers from 11 upwards in a sentence should be written in figures: “The professor discovered to her dismay that 12 of her pupils were absent, and that 546 of the entire student population did not make it to their classes either.” And if perchance the sentence has numbers ranging from 1 to any number higher than 10, the two rules above still hold even if it means mixing figures and spelled-out numbers: “We counted a total of 800 words in her essay and found ten misspelled words and 17 wrong word choices.”

However, in the second to the last paragraph, that essay of mine made it clear that scientific, mathematical, statistical, and physical sciences writing is an exception to that general rule:

Quote
(1) We should use figures and not spell out numbers immediately before a unit of measure: “a 10-minute wait,” “a 3-3/4 cm. length of tape,” “16 Megahertz on the FM band”; (2) We should use figures and not spell out numbers that represent statistical or mathematical functions or formulas: “divided by 6,” multiplied by 9,” “a ratio of 50:1,” “8% bigger”; and (3) We should use figures and not spell out numbers that represent time, ages, money, sizes, scores, and points on a scale: “at 12 midnight,” “4 years old,” “$9,” “5 cm. x 12 cm.,” “73:69,” and “Intensity 5 on the Richter Scale.”

Evidently, this exception to the rule is what the United Nations report followed for the passage that you quoted.

Miss Mae

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 479
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Exception in writing numbers
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2015, 03:25:06 PM »
Thank you. May you please allow me to sum your prescriptions up?

1. If a number that is less than 11 is an exact count, it must be spelled out.
2. If a number is just an approximation, it must be modified by a qualifier.
3. Use figures--less than 11 or not--before a unit of measure, statistical formula, mathematical function, and those that represent age, time, money, size, score, and points on scale.

Joe Carillo

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4646
  • Karma: +202/-2
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Exception in writing numbers
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2015, 04:59:16 PM »
Yes to all three.

Miss Mae

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 479
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Exception in writing numbers
« Reply #4 on: March 01, 2015, 02:01:06 PM »
Thank you again, Sir!