Numbers and dates

General rules

1. Spell out numbers that begin a sentence:
   • Twenty-seven students received the Gold Axe Award.
2. Spell out numbers used in a casual sense:
   • “I told you a hundred times to stop biting your nails.”
3. Use numerals for numbers 10 and greater, and spell out numbers one through nine. With either numerals or spelled out numbers, do not include “.00” for dollar amounts in running text. Limited exceptions should be followed:
   • addresses: 3 Knoles Dr.
   • ages, for people and objects: 2-year-old boy, 1-year-old book
   • credit hours: 9 credits of required courses
   • dates: January 8
   • dimensions: 5 feet high, 4-by-9 inches
   • highways: Route 5
   • millions, billions: 6 million students
   • money: 5 cents, $7
   • percent: 5 percent (running text), 5% (scientific text or tabular material)
   • temperatures: 9 degrees
   • times: 9 a.m.
4. A note on statistics on the NAU21 web theme: Please don’t use statistics outside of stats blocks. Statistics can and often do change every year and thus would be best served dynamically through the content repository. By keeping statistics in their stats blocks, we can maintain accuracy. Check the repository or source a stat for yourself and format it correctly.
5. Numerals may occasionally be used to meet design requirements on a case-by-case basis.

Dates

Running text

In running text, write dates and times in chronological order beginning with the hour.

Examples

6 p.m., June 6, 2018

Days of the month

When writing days of the month, do not use th, nd, or st.

Examples

Incorrect: May 15th, June 21st, July 22nd
Correct: May 15, June 21, July 22

Punctuation

Use a comma following the day and year in a complete date, but omit the comma when citing only the month and year.

Examples

The concert took place on Tuesday, January 23, 2017, at Ardrey Auditorium.
We saw the beginning of a great ski season in November 2018.

Fractions

Spell out and hyphenate fractions: four-fifths, three-fourths.

Multiple numbers in a sentence

If a sentence includes multiple numbers that apply to the same thing or category, and if one of the numbers requires a numeral (10 or greater), use numerals for all the quantities of that category.

Examples

Candidates for the faculty senate include 7 engineering and science professors, 6 arts and letters professors, 11 education professors, and 15 professors from three other colleges. (Spell out three because it identifies number of colleges, not number of faculty.)

Ordinals

Spell out ordinals first through ninth used to indicate time or place.

Superscripts

Use superscripts when possible for print and digital materials using numerical ordinals.

• Example: The 20^th century saw remarkable progress in technology and medicine.

Do not include subscripts or superscripts for dates. See dates for more information.

Examples

• He ranked third out of 300 applicants.
• The 20^th century saw remarkable progress in technology and medicine.

Percent

In running text, spell out the word percent with the numeral. Use the percent sign (%) in scientific, technical, or statistical copy or when appropriate to the design.

Examples

Professor Small found that 63 percent of the student enrollment is female.
Water temperatures have increased 17%–22% in coastal zones.

Room numbers

Room numbers should follow the name of the building. Do not capitalize room in running text. Capitalize room when it is part of a stacked address. In instances of print and copy, it is not useful to include building numbers. For a complete list of NAU buildings see the reference page.

Examples

The history department office is located in Liberal Arts 219.
The meeting will be held in Adel Mathematics, room 150.

Cline Library, Room 201
1001 S. Knoles Dr.

Telephone numbers

Punctuation

Do not use parentheses for area codes. Phone numbers should only include dashes.

Examples

928-555-5555

Contact blocks

For full contact block formatting, reference the addresses page.

Years: Decades and centuries

Running text

In running text, it is preferable to spell out the decade or use the full numeric decade. Do not use an ’s in numeric decades.

Examples

the nineties
the 1990s (not 1990’s)

Abbreviations

Use the abbreviated numeric decade format only in informal copy or in lists where space is limited. Do not use an abbreviated format if it creates any confusion about the century.

Examples

the ’80s

Inclusive years

Unless referring to century changes, inclusive years should be styled with only the last two digits of the second number.

Examples

1999–2000
2001–02