Comments on: Using Numbers in Writing

By: Sheryl

Sheryl — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 21:28:46 +0000

Wow!!! I am a PR Practitioner and have to write releases; speeches and now have to update FB pages and website content. Thank you!!

By: Merryl Rosenthal

Merryl Rosenthal — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:15:32 +0000

Great article. My only suggestion is to carefully
consider the subject being written about before
rounding off/up a number.

By: Na

Na — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:27:11 +0000

Salute you for outlining key rules for enumeration in a concise, clear format.
Many thanks. In Health & Peace, Nan
.-= Na´s last blog ..Life Happens, Blogging on back burner, Motivation =-.

By: Dawn Allcot

Dawn Allcot — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:49:21 +0000

Kimberly,
That situation was precisely what prompted this post! I see it happening so often now in web writing that, for clients who don’t have a preference, I tend to use numerals (especially in titles).

When a client came back to me and requested I spell out numbers under 10, I breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Ah, good old AP style! Not a problem.”

William-Your compliment made me smile. Thank you!

Imogen — Very well said! Thanks for visiting and commenting! The capitalist in me likes all those zeros after the UK Billion…woo-hoo! But if a billion is one million million, what is one thousand million? I’m guessing there aren’t a lot of billionaires in the UK.

By: Imogen

Imogen — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:02:12 +0000

This touches on one of the many subtle differences between US, UK, and European English: For instance, in UK English the numeral 2,097 would be written as “two thousand and ninety seven”. (Also note that the full-stop (or period) was on the outside of the quotation marks in the above sentence!).

In Europe, that same numeral would be written as 2.097 (with a point rather than a comma).

‘Billion’ is a tough word: A US billion is 1,000,000,000 (one thousand million) while a UK billion is 1,000,000,000,000 (one million million).

And we all thought we speak the same language! I guess the only hard and fast rule is Know Your Audience and Your Client but Trust Your Instincts.
.-= Imogen´s last blog ..The Rest of the Day She Left – Part 2 =-.

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:46:12 +0000

I tend to follow the AP style, but find that some Internet marketing and SEO firms I worked for prefer that I not adhere to the AP rules about numbers and will prefer titles like "7 Tips to Increasing Your Website Traffic" for seo purposes. Still, no matter how often I break the rules, it doesn't feel natural to me. .-= Kimberly´s last blog ..Revisiting the SEO for Your Blog Series =-.

By: William Reid

William Reid — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:48:10 +0000

Thanks, I’ve learned ten new things today!