Number Style: Word or Figure? Name ________________
Whether to use words or figures to express numbers is governed by convention. That is, we follow
customary techniques or rules. Here is a summary of frequently used number rules:
• General rules. Use words for numbers one through ten. (We have ten computers and three
printers. She travels 30,000 miles each year.)
• Money. Use figures. (Her ticket cost $699.55, and her luggage fee was $20 more.)
• Beginning of sentence. Never start a sentence with a figure. (Twenty-three people applied.)
Revise the following sentences to correct number style.
1. After sending out twenty-five résumés, Amanda was delighted to have 3 job interviews.
2. She prepared her résumé in about 10 hours and spent 35 dollars on paper and copying.
3. Her first interview was scheduled for June 18th at eleven a.m. in the morning.
9. That candidate received 2 offers on the 15th of the month, but he asked for 7 days to decide.
10. He graduated with sixty thousand dollars in student loans at a five percent interest rate.
11. His best interview was at 1 Rockefeller Plaza, which is just off of 5th Avenue.
Number Style: Word or Figure Key
1. After sending out 25 résumés, Amanda was delighted to have three job interviews.
2. She prepared her résumé in about ten hours and spent $35 on paper and copying. [Do not add a
decimal point and ciphers to even sums of money.]
7. A well-known company offered her $30,000 as a starting salary, but she was hoping for $40,000. [Don’t
include the word “dollar” in expressing sums of money written with a dollar sign.]
8. One job candidate spent $300 on a new wardrobe and traveled 1,500 miles to a promising interview.
[Notice the comma in “1,500.”]
10. He graduated with $60,000 in student loans at a 5 percent interest rate. [Be sure to spell out “percent”
in messages other than invoices.]
11. His best interview was at One Rockefeller Plaza, which is just off of Fifth Avenue.