Writer Quick-Tip!
An author emailed a great question about using numbers in a manuscript. The Chicago Manual of Style is full of rules for number usage. There’s small numbers, large numbers, quantities, measurements, money, dates, addresses, room numbers- the list goes on. Here are just a few categories for your cheat sheet.
Don't start a sentence with a number:
“Ma’am, what is your address?”
“766 Belmont Street.”
An easy workaround is:
“It’s 766 Belmont Street.”
Centuries are spelled out:
- I love learning about the eighteenth century. (Not 18th century.)
- I have an eighteenth-century sword.
Time of day:
Hours, half hours, and quarter hours are spelled out. Emphasized exact times are in digits.
- I baked snickerdoodle cookies at eight thirty last night.
- The cookies were done around nine o'clock.
- I ate ten snickerdoodle cookies by 9:12 p.m.
- The rest of them were gone by ten.
Look for more number tips in future newsletters. Let me know your most annoying grammar conundrum, and I’ll post your question in the next newsletter!
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