Chapter 3 Dates, Numbers and Places

1. Dates/Years

When a month is used with a specific date, use it this way:

Jan. 1	Feb. 1	March 1	April 1	May 1	June 1
July 1	Aug. 1	Sept. 1	Oct. 1	Nov. 1	Dec. 1

Spell out month names when used alone or with years. When only using months and years, do not separate with commas. When phrases are used with months, dates and years, set the dates and years off with commas.

Right	January 2002
Right	Jan. 13
Right	Jan. 13, 1990
Right	He was born Jan. 13, 1990, in Austin, Texas.

When referencing a span of years, use a hyphen and drop the first two numbers of the second year. If the years span century changes, use the four numbers of the second year.

Right	1979-81
Right	2002-04
Right	1979-2002

Do not use “on” before dates or days of a week when its absence would not lead to confusion.

Right	The meeting will be held Monday.
Right	He will be inaugurated Feb. 22.
Right	The program ends in December.

To describe sequences of dates or inclusive dates, use hyphens (with no spaces between hyphens and characters) instead of “to” or “through.”

Right	The box office is open Monday-Friday.
Right	The performance will run Sept. 14-22.

Do not use suffixes with dates.

Right	Oct. 14
Right	Oct. 14th

Use “s” without an apostrophe after years to indicate spans of decades or centuries. Use an apostrophe before the year for class years or abbreviations to indicate the first two numbers of the year are omitted.

Right	The university was formed in the 1880s.
Right	She belonged to the Class of 1924.
Right	Shannon will graduate with the Class of ’03.
Wrong	The ‘60s were famous for hippies, flower power and the peace movement.
Right	Marcia Gay Harden, B.A. ’80, spoke to the College of Fine Arts graduating class of 2001.

Apostrophes after years are needed for possessives.

Right

The presidential election was 1980’s biggest news story.

2. Fractions

Spell out fractions less than one, using hyphens between words. Use figures for precise amounts larger than one, converting to decimals when appropriate.

Right	one-half, two-thirds
Right	1.5 liters
Right	one and one-half liters

3. Money

Use dollar signs and numbers rather than decimals and two zeros.

Right	$150
Right	$150.25
Wrong	$150.00

Use commas in dollar amounts in the thousands.

Right	$1,000
Wrong	$1000

For dollar amounts beyond thousands, use the dollar sign, number and appropriate word.

Right	$15 million
Wrong	$15,000,000
Right	$15 M (use for internal purposes only)

4. Numbers

Spell out numbers from one to nine. Use numerals for numbers 10 and above. Exceptions are noted below.

Right	nine cats
Right	16 loans
Right	four miles
Right	He teaches eighth grade.

Use figures for ages, percentages, equipment specifications, page numbers and dollar amounts (when using the “$”).

Right	She has a daughter, 2, and a son, 8.
Right	8 megabytes, 240 RAM
Right	According to page four, nearly half of the elementary-age children in Texas receive a $5 weekly allowance.

Avoid sentences that start with numbers, but, if you must, spell out a number unless it’s a year.

Right	Twenty members registered.
Right	1999 was an important year.

5. Percentages

Use numerals (including numbers 1-9) and spell out the word “percent” in text. “Percent” takes a singular verb when standing alone or when a singular word follows an “of” construction. Use plural verbs when plural words follow “of” constructions.

Right	Only 8 percent of the class voted.
Right	He believes 50 percent is enough.
Right	He believes 60 percent of the membership is coming.
Right	She believes 60 percent of the members are coming.

Use the percent symbol (%) in charts or figures and in academic, statistical or technical writing.

6. Telephone Numbers

Since our publications are viewed by members throughout Texas and abroad, include and parenthesize area codes. Before final editing, call telephone numbers to check accuracy.

Right

(512) 476-8080

If you use more than one number, separate with “or” in text, or with a slash in an address listing. When providing telephone, fax, cell phone, etc., numbers in an address listing, identify each.

Right

Call me at (512) 476-8080/8083. Phone: (512) 476-8080 Fax: (512) 421-7464 Toll Free: (800) 252-8311

7. Time

For content reduction purposes, use lower case without periods for “am” and “pm.” When writing a time that falls on the hour, do not use “:00.” Simply state the hour with “am,” “pm” or “o’clock.” Use “noon” and “midnight,” not 12 pm or 12 am.

Right	3 pm
Right	3 - 5 pm
Wrong	3:00 p.m. (correct if periods are used)
Right	9 am-5 pm (9 - 5 is also acceptable)
Right	Noon - 1 pm
Wrong	3 p.m.-5 p.m.
Wrong	12 noon
Right	The concert begins at 8:30 pm.
Right	The concert begins at 8 o’clock.