Patrick von Stutenzee's Writing Blog: Dealing With Numbers

Writing about most things includes writing numbers. Even fairy-tales contain numbers: Remember Snow White and the seven dwarfs? Some people claim that there are rules on how to write numbers but lets call them recommendations. Different countries have different rules, and consistency is not part of the deal. When writing numbers, use common sense.

A number is a number, you might think. True. The problem comes when writing it. You can spell a number out, or you can use numerals to represent it. Spelling it out would mean using the word three to express the number. In numerals, you have the choice between the Arabic numerals (as in 3) or Roman numerals (as in III). Question is, when do you use which kind of representation for numbers?

You don't commonly use Roman numerals in writing except when counting members of ruling or former ruling houses in a monarchy. There are some families that use it when running out of ideas on what name to give to their children, but it is unusual. When using Roman numerals, stick to the conventions from the Roman Empire after Octavian Augustus. Earlier usage and medieval adaptations are not commonly used anymore. If you want to see the weirdest example, look up the Princes of Reuss (search 'Prinz Heinrich von Reuss').

Small numbers should be spelled out: The seven dwarfs went working. Usually you spell out numbers from zero to ten. There is an exception. If the number is used mathematically or in a cooking recipe then it should be done with a number: Use 2 eggs per person. You are allowed to spell out numbers above ten, too, like eleven or twenty as long as they are short. Don't spell composite numbers like 88, your text becomes unreadable that way.

Percentages are a special case. If the percentage is a mathematical number (meaning that the guy inventing the statistic believes it is exact), then use Arabic numerals (4 percent of voters voted Green). If it is an estimate, spell it out (ten percent of people have an allergy).

Never start a sentence with a number or readers will think you are numbering the sentences. '88 penguins were walking through the snow' has to be rephrased to get the 88 into another position. Never put two numbers together: The teacher had 23 14-year-old children in her class. That looks plain weird. If you can get out of the fix by spelling it out, do it; otherwise, rephrase it.

Dates are another trauma in writing. When using full dates down to the day you have several possibilities. Just be consistent. Remember that Europeans go logically from day to month to year. Americans for some obscure reason tend to do month to day to year. Go figure.

When it gets more general, trouble is looming at the horizon.

You might be using more general time indications. You can work in decades; I find it cumbersome because, like centuries, it's counterintuitive. It has to do with the invention of the Christian calendar. The monk who did the calculation (wrongly) couldn't bring himself to put Christ birth into the year 0. He put it into the year 1. He also saw the conundrum of where the year 0 would belong to, AD or BC.

The first decade started at 1 and went to 10, then 11 to 20 and so on. The century started with 1 and ended with 100. We are currently in the decade 2011 to 2020; the new decade starts in a few days with 2021. The last century, the 20th, started 1901 and ended 2000; the millennium started 1001 and ended 2000. While we are prepared to deal with the centuries, the decade has fallen out of favor. Instead we use the natural neighbors like the swinging 60s (1960 to 1969). The thing is, that the 60s are not a decade, something even the BBC seems to struggle with.

When you write consistently about the same century, then you will get away when talking about the 60s. If you jump around in the centuries, you'd better use the 1960s to make it clear you don't men the restauration period. How to write centuries depends on what you are writing about. If 'the Christmas tree gave her the feeling of having fallen into a nineteenth century picture', then the spelling out is better to make sure it's a subjective feeling. After all, it looked way older. If the Christmas tree was an exact replica of a 19th century tree made for the Imperial family then there is a picture or painting somewhere to prove that; it makes it a historical fact.

If you are writing for others, check the conventions they are using. If you guest blog for others, adapt your usage to the blog's rules, if it is consistent. When writing white papers or other texts for companies, get them to spell out their preferred way of representing numbers and dates when getting the job. After all, it's all more suggestion than rule.