numbers
spell out one to nine and use numerals for 10 and above
The class has 25 students and eight laptops.
spell out the numeral if it begins the sentence
Forty-three students enrolled this year.
don't put the number in parentheses after spelling out the numeral (eg 'Students are required to present two (2) copies of their report.')
spell out if referring to general amounts
Hundreds of students attended the free movie.
The protest was attended by tens of thousands of students.
use a comma in 10,000 and above
854
6322
15,426
abbreviation
use 'no.' (with a full stop)
first/second/third
use 'first', 'second', 'third', etc. (not 'firstly', 'secondly', 'thirdly')
fractions
hyphenate and spell out (use numerals in a table)
one-third
five-and-a-half
range of numbers
use an en dash in a range of numbers (with no spaces on either side) and use the following conventions
8–15
12–18
20–4
205–8
325–45
1994–95
30,000–40,000
page numbers
spell out 'page' in sentences
The subject descriptions begin on page 25.
abbreviations
use 'p' for a single page and 'pp' for a range of pages
range of pages
use an en dash in a range of pages (with no spaces on either side) and use the following conventions
p 25
pp 11–16
pp 22–8
pp 41–7
pp 45–50
pp 122–8
pp 236–52
per cent
spell out in a sentence (two words, except 'percentage') and use the rule for numbers: spell out one to nine, use numerals for 10 and above
A pass mark is 50 per cent.
A high percentage of students have graduated.
use numerals and the symbol in tables (with no space between the numeral and the symbol)
25%
measurements
spell out in a sentence and use the rule for numbers: spell out one to nine, use numerals for 10 and above
City campus is two kilometres from Newtown.
The clock weighs 35 kilograms.
abbreviations
use the following abbreviations in tables and where space is limited
- GB
- gigabyte
- kB
- kilobyte
- kg
- kilogram
- kW
- kilowatt
- L
- Litre
- mg
- milligram
- km
- kilometre
- m
- metre
- MB
- megabyte
- MW
- megawatt
- mW
- milliwatt
use numerals when using the abbreviated form (and no space between the numeral and the abbreviation)
8kg
35m
the abbreviation never takes a plural
10kg not 10kgs
money
use numerals and currency symbols when referring to amounts of money
Parking at City campus costs $13.
spell out if referring to general amounts
Courses can cost thousands of dollars.
abbreviations
to distinguish between same currencies
A$25 (Australian dollars)
US$100 (United States dollars)
NZ$55.50 (New Zealand dollars)
and for non-dollar currencies
€10.25
£8.76
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