29a capitals, italics, abbreviations, and...

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29a CAPITALS, ITALICS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND NUMBERS

CHAPTER 29

Capitals, Italics, Abbreviations,and NumbersCAPITALS

29a When do I capitalize a “first” word?First word in a sentenceAlways capitalize the first letter of the first word in a sentence.

Four inches of snow fell last winter.

■ Never use a hyphen when a compound modifier starts with an -lyadverb.NO happily-married couple loosely-tied packageYES happily married couple loosely tied package

■ Never use a hyphen with COMPARATIVE (more, less) and SUPERLATIVE

(most, least) compound forms.NO more-appropriate idea [more is a comparative adverb]

YES more appropriate idea

NO least-significant factors [least is a superlative adverb]

YES least significant factors

■ Never use a hyphen when a compound modifier is a foreign phrase.YES post hoc fallacies

■ Never use a hyphen with a possessive compound.

NO a full-week’s work eight-hours’ payYES a full week’s work eight hours’ pay

Hyphens with compound words (continued)

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When do I use capitals with listed items? 29b

A series of questionsIf questions in a series are complete sentences, start each with a capital let-ter. If, however, the questions aren’t complete sentences, you can choose tocapitalize or not. Whatever your choice, be consistent in each piece of writ-ing. In this handbook, I use capitals for a series of questions.

What facial feature would most people like to change? Eyes? Ears?Nose?What facial feature would most people like to change? eyes? ears?nose?

Small words in titles or headingsDon’t capitalize small words of three letters or less, (the, a, an, and shortPREPOSITIONS such as of, to) in a title or heading unless they begin the titleor the source capitalizes these small words.

After a colonWhen a complete sentence follows a colon, you can choose to start that sen-tence with either a capital or a lowercase letter, but be consistent in eachpiece of writing. When the words after a colon are not a complete sentence,do not capitalize.

She reacted instantly: She picked up the ice cream and pushed it backinto her cone.She reacted instantly: she picked up the ice cream and pushed it backinto her cone.She bought four pints of ice cream: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, andbutter pecan.

A L E R T: A colon can follow only a complete sentence (an INDEPENDENT

CLAUSE; see 25a).

Formal outlineIn a formal outline (2n), start each item with a capital letter. Use a periodonly when the item is a complete sentence.

29b When do I use capitals with listed items?A list run into a sentenceIf run-in listed items are complete sentences, start each with a capital andend each with a period (or question mark or exclamation point). If the run-in listed items are incomplete sentences, start each with a lowercase letterand end each with a comma—unless the items already contain commas, inwhich case use semicolons. If you list three or more items that are incom-plete sentences, use and before the last item.


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29c CAPITALS, ITALICS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND NUMBERS

YES We found three reasons for the delay: (1) Bad weather held updelivery of materials. (2) Poor scheduling created confusion. (3) Improper machine maintenance caused an equipment failure.

YES The reasons for the delay were (1) bad weather, (2) poorscheduling, and (3) equipment failure.

YES The reasons for the delay were (1) bad weather, which hadbeen predicted; (2) poor scheduling, which is the airline’s responsibility; and (3) equipment failure, which no one can predict.

A displayed listIn a displayed list, each item starts on a new line. If the items are sentences,capitalize the first letter and end with a period (or question mark or excla-mation point). If the items are not sentences, you can use a capital letter ornot. Whichever you choose, be consistent in each piece of writing. Punctu-ate a displayed list as you would a run-in list.

YES We found three reasons for the delay:

(1) Bad weather held up delivery of materials.(2) Poor scheduling created confusion.(3) Improper machine maintenance caused an equipment

failure.

YES The reasons for the delay were

(1) bad weather,(2) poor scheduling, and(3) equipment failure.

A L E R T S : (1) If a complete sentence leads into a displayed list, you canend the sentence with a colon. However, if an incomplete sentence leads intoa displayed list, use no punctuation. (2) Use PARALLELISM for items in a list.For example, if one item is a sentence, use sentences for all the items; or ifone item starts with a VERB, start all items with a verb in the same TENSE; andso on.

29c When do I use capitals with sentences in parentheses?

When you write a complete sentence within parentheses that falls withinanother sentence, don’t start with a capital or end with a period—but do usea question mark or exclamation point, if needed. When you write a sentence

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When do I capitalize nouns and adjectives? 29e

within parentheses that doesn’t fall within another sentence, capitalize thefirst word and end with a period (or question mark or explanation point).

I did not know till years later that they called it the Cuban Missile Cri-sis. But I remember Castro. (We called him Castor Oil and were awedby his beard.) We might not have worried so much (what would thecommunists want with our small New Hampshire town?) except welived 10 miles from a U.S. air base.

—Joyce Maynard, “An 18-Year-Old Looks Back on Life”

29d When do I use capitals with quotations?If a quotation within your sentence is itself less than a complete sentence,never capitalize the first quoted word. If the quotation you have used in yoursentence is itself a complete sentence, capitalize the first word.

Mrs. Enriquez says that students who are learning a new languageshould visit that country and “absorb a good accent with the food.”Mrs. Enriquez likes to point out that when students live in a new coun-try, “They’ll absorb a good accent with the food.”

When you write DIRECT DISCOURSE—which you introduce with verbssuch as said, stated, reported, and others (see 32k) followed by a comma,capitalize the first letter of the quoted words only if it’s capitalized in theoriginal. However, never capitalize a partial quotation, and never capitalizethe continuation of a one-sentence quotation within your sentence.

Mrs. Enriquez said, “Students who are learning a new language shouldvisit that country. They’ll absorb a good accent with the food.”Mrs. Enriquez told me that the best way to “absorb a good accent” in alanguage is to visit the country and eat its food.“Of course,” she continued with a smile, “the accent lasts longer thanthe food.”

29e When do I capitalize nouns and adjectives?Capitalize PROPER NOUNS (nouns that name specific people, places, andthings): Abraham Lincoln, Mexico, World Wide Web. Also, capitalize properadjectives (adjectives formed from proper nouns): a Mexican entrepreneur,a Web address. Don’t capitalize ARTICLES (the, a, an) that accompany propernouns and proper adjectives, unless they start a sentence.

When a proper noun or adjective loses its very specific “proper” associa-tion, it also loses its capital letter: french fries, pasteurized. When you turn acommon noun (lake) into a proper noun (Lake Mead), capitalize all words.

Box 29-1 on pages 320–321 is a capitalization guide. If you don’t findwhat you need, locate an item in it (or in Box 29-2 on page 322) that’s closeto what you want, and use it as a model.


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29e CAPITALS, ITALICS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND NUMBERS

BOX 29-1 S U M M A RY

Capitalization

Lowercase Capitals Letters

NAMES Mother Teresa (also, my mother used as names: Mother, [relationship]Dad, Mom, Pa)

TITLES President Truman the presidentDemocrat democrat

[party member] [believer in democracy]

GROUPS OF Caucasian [race] white, black [alsoPEOPLE African American, White, Black]

Hispanic, [ethnic group]Irish, Korean, Canadian

[nationality]

ORGANIZATIONS the Ohio State Supreme the state supreme Court court

the Republican Party the partyChicago Cubs baseball team

PLACES Los Angeles the citythe South [region] turn south

[direction]Main Street the streetAtlantic Ocean the ocean

BUILDINGS the Capitol the state capitol[in Washington, DC]

Ace High School a high school

SCIENTIFIC Earth [as one of the earth TERMS nine planets] [otherwise]

Gresham’s law the theory of relativity

LANGUAGES Spanish, ChineseSCHOOL COURSES Chemistry 342 a chemistry course

English 111 my English class

NAMES OF Purdue University the universitySPECIFIC THINGS Heinz ketchup ketchup, sauce

the Boston Globe a newspaper

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When do I capitalize nouns and adjectives? 29e

TIMES, SEASONS, Monday, Fri. todayHOLIDAYS September, February a month

the Roaring Twenties the decadeKwanzaa, New feast day, the

Year’s Day holiday

HISTORICAL EVENTS World War II the warAND DOCUMENTS the Great Depression the depression [any

(of the 1930s) serious economic downturn]

the Bill of Rights fifth-century manuscripts

RELIGIOUS TERMS Athena, God a goddess, a godIslam a religionthe Bible, Scripture biblical, scriptural

LETTER PARTS Dear Ms. Schultz:Sincerely,

PUBLISHED AND “The Lottery” [Capitalize first RELEASED letter of first word MATERIAL A History of the United and all other

States to 1877 major words]

Jazz on Ice the show, a performance

Nixon Papers the archives

ACRONYMS AND NASA, NATO,INITIALISMS UCLA, AFL-CIO, DNA

COMPUTER TERMS Microsoft Word, computer softwareWordPerfect a computer

the Internet networkWorld Wide Web, www

the Web

PROPER ADJECTIVES Victorian southernIndo-European alpine

Capitalization (continued)

Lowercase Capitals Letters


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29g CAPITALS, ITALICS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND NUMBERS


Italics, quotation marks, or nothing

Titles and Names

Italics Quotation Marks or Nothing

Sense and Sensibility [a novel] title of student essayDeath of a Salesman [a play] act 2 [part of a play]

E X E R C I S E 2 9 - 1 Add capital letters as needed. See 29a through 29e for help.

1. When the philosopher Bertrand Russell was asked if he’d be willing to diefor his beliefs, he replied, “of course not. After all, i may be wrong.”

2. “Please hurry,” pleaded Rebecca, “or we’ll be late for the opening curtainof the san francisco ballet company.”

3. How should we think of the start of the french revolution? Was it the bestof times? the worst of times? a time of indecision, perhaps?

4. In the chapter “the making of a new world,” among those credited with theeuropean discovery of the americas before Columbus are (1) the vikings,(2) groups of fishers and whalers from europe, and (3) peoples whocrossed the Bering strait to alaska in prehistoric times.

5. The organization of african unity (oau) was founded in 1962, when manyafrican nations were winning their independence.

ITALICS

29f What are italics?Italics is the typeface that slants to the right (hello there). In contrast, romantypeface is the most common type in print (you’re looking at it right now). Ifyour word processing program doesn’t give you the option of italics, underlineinstead. In fact, MLA STYLE requires underlining, not italics, in all documents.

ROMAN your writingUNDERLINING your writing

ITALICS your writing

29g How do I choose between using italics and quotation marks?

As a rule, use italics for titles of long works (The Matrix, a movie) or forworks that contain subsections (Masterpiece Theater, a television show).Generally, use quotation marks for titles of shorter works (“I Wanna HoldYour Hand,” a song) and for titles of subsections within longer works such asbooks (Chapter 1, “Loomings”).

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Can I use italics for special emphasis? 29h

Box 29-2 is a guide for using italics, quotation marks, or nothing. If youdon’t find what you need, locate an item that is as much like what you wantas possible and use it as a model.

29h Can I use italics for special emphasis?Some professional writers, especially writers of nonfiction and self-helpmaterial, occasionally use italics to clarify a meaning or stress a point. InACADEMIC WRITING, however, you’re expected to convey special emphasisthrough your choice of words and sentence structure, not with italics (orunderlining). If your message absolutely calls for it, use italics sparingly—and only after you’re sure nothing else will do.

Italics, quotation marks, or nothing (continued)

A Beautiful Mind [a film] the Epilogue [a part of a film or book]Collected Works of O. Henry “The Last Leaf” [a story in a

[a book] book]Iliad [a book-length poem] “Nothing Gold Can Stay” [a short

poem]Scientific American “The Molecules of Life” [an article in

[a magazine] a magazine]Symphonie Fantastique [a long Violin Concerto No. 2 in musical work] B-flat Minor [a musical work identified

by form, number, and key—neitherquotation marks nor underlining]

The Best of Bob Dylan [a CD] “Mr. Tambourine Man” [a song]Twilight Zone [a television “Terror at 30,000 Feet” [an episode of

series] a television series]the Los Angeles Times

[a newspaper]*

*When The is part of a newspaper’s title, don’t capitalize or italicize it in MLA-style documen-tation. In APA-style documentation, capitalize and italicize The.

Other Words

Italics Quotation Marks or Nothing

semper fidelis [words in a burrito, chutzpah [widely understoodlanguage other than English] non-English words]

What does our imply? [a wordmeant as a word]

the abc’s; the letter x [letters 6s and 7s; & [numerals and symbols]meant as letters]


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29i CAPITALS, ITALICS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND NUMBERS

Many people we think are powerful turn out on closer examination tobe merely frightened and anxious.

—Michael Korda, Power!

E X E R C I S E 2 9 - 2 Edit these sentences for correct use of italics (or underlin-ing), quotation marks, and capitals. For help, consult 29a through 29h.

1. The article “the Banjo” in the Encyclopaedia Britannica calls the Banjo“America’s only national instrument” because it combines the traditionalmbanza (a Bantu word native to certain southern areas of africa) andsome European string instruments.

2. The writer of a humor column at a newspaper called The “Globe and Mail”has described an imaginary newspaper called The mop and pail, wherethings are more ridiculous than in Real Life.

3. “Porgy and Bess,” a Folk Opera by George and ira Gershwin and Du BoseHeyward, introduced the beautiful, haunting song Summertime.

4. Marlon Brando persuaded the Director of The Godfather to cast him as theElderly don Corleone by auditioning with cotton-stuffed cheeks and mum-bling hoarsely.

5. When the name of a Small Business begins with the letter a repeatedmany times, as in AAAAAbc “Auto Body,” we know its marketing planincludes being listed First in the telephone directory.

ABBREVIATIONS

29i What are standard practices for usingabbreviations?

Some abbreviations are standard in all writing circumstances (Mr., notMister, in a name; St. Louis, the city, not Saint Louis). In some situations,you may have a choice whether to abbreviate or spell out a word. Choosewhat seems suited to your PURPOSE for writing and your AUDIENCE, and beconsistent within each piece of writing.

NO Our field hockey team left after Casey’s psych class on Tues.,Oct. 10, but the flight had to make an unexpected stop (inChi.) before reaching LA.

YES Our field hockey team left after Casey’s psychology class onTuesday, October 10, but the flight had to make an unex-pected stop (in Chicago) before reaching Los Angeles.

A L E R T S : (1) Many abbreviations call for periods (Mrs.; Ms.; Dr.), but most no longer do today (PS; MD; US); firm rules are still evolving.


How do I use abbreviations with months, time, eras, and symbols? 29j

(2) Acronyms (pronounceable words formed from the initials of a name)have no periods: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)and AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome).

(3) Initialisms (names spoken as separate letters) have no periods (IBM,ASPCA, UN).

(4) Postal abbreviations for states have no periods (see Box 29-4 in 29k).(5) When the final period of an abbreviation falls at the end of a sentence,

that period serves also to end the sentence.

29j How do I use abbreviations with months, time,eras, and symbols?

MonthsAccording to MLA STYLE, abbreviations for months belong only in “WorksCited” lists, tables, charts, and the like. Write out the full spelling, never theabbreviation in your ACADEMIC WRITING. Box 29-3 shows month abbrevia-tions in MLA style.


Month abbreviations—MLA style

January Jan. May (none) September Sept.February Feb. June (none) October Oct.March Mar. July (none) November Nov.April Apr. August Aug. December Dec.

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TimesUse the abbreviations a.m. and p.m. only with exact times: 7:15 a.m.; 3:47 p.m.Although some publication styles use the capitalized versions, A.M. and P.M.,MLA style calls for the use of lowercase letters.

A L E R T: Never use a.m. and p.m. in place of the words morning,evening, and night.

NO My hardest final exam is in the a.m. tomorrow, but by earlyp.m., I’ll be ready to study for the rest of my finals.

YES My hardest final exam is in the morning tomorrow, but byearly evening, I’ll be ready to study for the rest of myfinals.


ErasIn MLA style, use capital letters, without periods, in abbreviations for eras.Some writers prefer using CE (“common era”) in place of AD (Latin foranno Domini, “in the year of our Lord”) as the more inclusive term. In addi-tion, many writers prefer using BCE (“before the common era”) in place ofBC (Latin for “before Christ”).

When writing the abbreviations for eras, place AD before the year (AD 476) and all the others after the year (29 BC; 165 BCE; 1100 CE).

SymbolsIn MLA style, decide whether to use symbols or spelled-out words based onyour topic and the focus of your document (see also 29m). However, neveruse a freestanding symbol, such as $, %, or ¢ in your sentences; always use itwith a numeral. With many exceptions, spell out both the symbol and thenumeral accompanying it (twenty centimeters), unless the number is morethan one or two words (345 centimeters, not three hundred forty-fivecentimeters).

The exceptions include $18; 7 lbs.; 24 KB; 6:34 a.m.; 5″; 32°; and num-bers in addresses, dates, page references, and decimal fractions (8.3). Inwriting about money, the form $25 million is an acceptable combination ofsymbol, numeral, and spelled-out word.

In confined spaces, such as charts and tables, use symbols with numer-als (20¢). In documents that focus on technical matters, use numerals butspell out the unit of measurement (2,500 pounds)—in MLA style. In otherdocumentation styles, such as APA, CM, and CSE, the guidelines differsomewhat, so you need to check each style’s manual.

29k How do I use abbreviations for other elements?

TitlesUse either a title of address before a name (Dr. Daniel Klausner) or an aca-demic degree after a name (Daniel Klausner, PhD), not both. However,because Jr, Sr, II, III, and so forth are part of a given name, you can use bothtitles of address and academic degree abbreviations: Dr. Martin Luther KingJr; Gavin Alexander II, MD

A L E R T S : (1) Insert a comma both before and after an academicdegree that follows a person’s name, unless it falls at the end of a sentence:Joshua Coleman, LLD, is our guest speaker, or Our guest speaker is JoshuaColeman, LLD (2) Never put a comma before an abbreviation that is part ofa given name: Steven Elliott Sr; Douglas Young III.

29k CAPITALS, ITALICS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND NUMBERS

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How do I use abbreviations for other elements? 29k


Postal abbreviations

United States

AL Alabama MT MontanaAK Alaska NE NebraskaAZ Arizona NV NevadaAR Arkansas NH New HampshireCA California NJ New JerseyCO Colorado NM New MexicoCT Connecticut NY New YorkDE Delaware NC North CarolinaDC District of Columbia ND North DakotaFL Florida OH OhioGA Georgia OK OklahomaHI Hawaii OR OregonID Idaho PA PennsylvaniaIL Illinois RI Rhode IslandIN Indiana SC South CarolinaIA Iowa SD South DakotaKS Kansas TN Tennessee

Names and termsIf you use a term frequently in a piece of writing, follow these guidelines:The first time you use the term, spell it out completely and then put itsabbreviation in parentheses immediately after. In later references, use theabbreviation alone.

Spain voted to continue as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to the surprise of other NATOmembers.

When referring to the United States, use the abbreviation US withoutperiods as a modifier before a noun (the US ski team), but spell out UnitedStates when you use it as a noun (the ski team from the United States.)

AddressesIf you include a full address in a piece of writing, use the postal abbreviationfor the state name, as listed in Box 29-4. For any other combination of a cityand a state, or a state by itself, spell out the state name; never abbreviate it.

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29k CAPITALS, ITALICS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND NUMBERS


Major scholarly abbreviations—MLA style

anon. anonymous ms., mss. manuscript,b. born manuscriptsc. or © copyright NB note well (nota bene)

A L E R T: When you write the names of a US city and state within a sen-tence, use a comma before and after the state. If you include a zip code, how-ever, don’t use a comma after the state. Do place the comma after the zip code.

NO Portland, Oregon is much larger than Portland, Maine.YES Portland, Oregon, is much larger than Portland,

Maine.

Scholarly writing (MLA style)MLA style permits abbreviations for a selection of scholarly terms. These arelisted in Box 29-5. Never use them in the body of your ACADEMIC WRITING.Reserve them for your “Works Cited” lists and for any Notes you might writein a separate list at the end of your research paper.

Postal abbreviations (continued)

KY Kentucky TX TexasLA Louisiana UT UtahME Maine VT VermontMD Maryland VA VirginiaMA Massachusetts WA Washington [state]MI Michigan WV West VirginiaMN Minnesota WI WisconsinMS Mississippi WY WyomingMO Missouri

Canada

AB Alberta NU NunavutBC British Columbia ON OntarioMB Manitoba PE Prince Edward IslandNB New Brunswick QC QuebecNL Newfoundland and Labrador SK SaskatchewanNS Nova Scotia YT Yukon TerritoryNT Northwest Territories

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When can I use etc.? 29l

29l When can I use etc.?The abbreviation etc. comes from the Latin et cetera, meaning “and the rest.” In ACADEMIC WRITING, don’t use etc. Accepted substitutesinclude and the like, and so on, and so forth, among others. Even better is a more concrete description. An acceptable use of etc. is in tables and charts.

NO We took paper plates, plastic forks, etc., to the picnic.YES We took paper plates, plastic forks, and other disposable

items to the picnic.

A L E R T: If you do write etc., always put a comma after the period if theabbreviation falls in the middle of a sentence.

E X E R C I S E 2 9 - 3 Revise these sentences for correct use of abbreviations.For help, consult 29i through 29I.

1. A college prof. has compiled a list of bks. that she thinks every educatedperson in the US should read.

2. Although Ian Ryan Fleming junior hoped that one day he’d live at 1Broadway, Dallas, T.X., an even bigger dream came true when he and hisfam. moved to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington D.C.

3. Police officer Adam Furman knew from Lucinda’s accent that she camefrom S. America and couldn’t possibly have been b. in SD, as she claimed.

4. Dozens of hrs. and thousands of $ later, the contractors finally finishedtheir work at three in the P.M., having extended the driveway to the mainrd., just about four ft. away.

5. In Aug., the pres. of the apt. owners’ assoc. addressed a 12-p. letter tothe attn. of every tenant who had a cracked window.

Major scholarly abbreviations—MLA style (continued)c. or ca. circa or about i.e. that is

[with dates] n.d. no date (of cf. compare publication)col., cols. column, columns p., pp. page, pagesd. died par. paragraphed., eds. edition, edited pref. preface, preface by

by, editor(s) rept. report, reported bye.g. for example rev. review, reviewed by; esp. especially revised, revised byet al. and others sec., secs. section, sectionsff. following pages, v. or vs. versus [v. in legal

following lines, cases]folios vol., vols. volume, volumes


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29m CAPITALS, ITALICS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND NUMBERS

NUMBERS

29m When do I use spelled-out numbers?Your decision to write a number as a word or as a figure depends on whatyou’re referring to and how often numbers occur in your piece of writing.The guidelines I give in this handbook are for MLA STYLE, which focuses onwriting in the humanities. For other disciplines, follow the guidelines in theirstyle manuals.

When you write numbers for more than one category in a piece of writ-ing, reserve figures for some categories of numbers and spelled-out wordsfor other categories. Never mix spelled-out numbers and figures for a par-ticular category.

NO In four days, our volunteers increased from five to eight to17 to 233.

YES In four days, our volunteers increased from 5 to 8 to 17to 233. [Numbers referring to volunteers are in numerals,while four is spelled out because it refers to a different category: days.]

A L E R T: When you write a two-word number, use a hyphen betweenthe spelled-out words, starting with twenty-one and continuing throughninety-nine.

If you use numbers infrequently in a document, spell out all numbersthat call for no more than two words: fifty-two cards, twelve hundred stu-dents. If you use specific numbers often in a document (temperatures whenwriting about climate, percentages in an economics essay, or other specificmeasurements of time, distance, and other quantities), use figures: 36 inches,11 nanoseconds. If you give only an approximation, spell out the numbers:About twelve inches of snow fell.

In the humanities, the names of centuries are always spelled out: theeighteenth century.

When you write for courses in the humanities, never start a sentencewith a figure. Spell out the number—or better still, revise the sentence sothat the number doesn’t need to fall at the beginning. For practices in otherdisciplines, consult their manuals.

NO $375 dollars for each credit is the tuition rate for nonresidents.

YES Three hundred seventy-five dollars for each credit is thetuition rate for nonresidents.

YES The tuition rate for nonresidents is $375 for each credit.


What are standard practices for writing numbers? 29n


Specific numbers in writing

DATES August 6, 19411732–1845from 34 BC to AD 230 (or34 BCE to 230 CE)

ADDRESSES 10 Downing Street237 North 8th StreetExport Falls, MN 92025

TIMES 8:09 a.m., 6:00 p.m.six o’clock (not 6 o’clock)four in the afternoon or 4 p.m.

(not four p.m.)

DECIMALS AND FRACTIONS 0.0198.63.14167/812 1/4a sixththree-quarters (not 3-quarters)one-half

CHAPTERS AND PAGES Chapter 27, page 2p. 1023 or pp. 660–62 (MLA style)

SCORES AND STATISTICS a 6–0 score29 percenta 5 to 1 ratio (and a ratio of 5:1)a one percent change (and at the

1 percent level)

IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS 94.4 on the FM dialplease call (012) 345–6789

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29n What are standard practices for writing numbers?

Box 29-6 shows standard practices for writing numbers. Consider it a basicguide, and rely on the manual of each documentation style for answers toother questions you may have.


29o CAPITALS, ITALICS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND NUMBERS

MEASUREMENTS 67.8 miles per hour2 level teaspoonsa 700-word essay8-1/2-by-11-inch paper (MLA style)2 feet1.5 gallons14 liters

ACT, SCENE, AND LINE act 2, scene 2 (or act II, scene ii)lines 75–79

TEMPERATURES 40°F or �5°F20° Celsius

MONEY $1.2 billion$3.4125¢ (or twenty-five cents)$10,000

Specific numbers in writing (continued)

E X E R C I S E 2 9 - 4 Revise these sentences so that the numbers are in cor-rect form, either spelled out or as figures. For help, consult 29m and 29n.

1. At five fifteen p.m., the nearly empty city streets filled with 1000’s of commuters.

2. By the end of act one, scene five, Romeo and Juliet are in love and at themercy of their unhappy fate.

3. 21 years old and unhappily married, Cleopatra met middle-aged Julius Cae-sar in forty-eight BCE.

4. An adult blue whale, which can weigh one hundred tons—the combinedweight of 30 elephants—has gained over seven-point-five pounds an hoursince infancy.

5. On the morning of August thirteen, nineteen hundred thirty, 3 huge mete-orites smashed into the Amazon jungle.

29o How do I use hyphens with spelled-out numbers?

A spelled-out number uses words, not figures. Box 29-7 gives you guidelines.

A L E R T: Use figures rather than words for a fraction written in morethan two words. If your context calls for figures, use hyphens only betweenthe words of the numerator and only between the words of the denominator—but never between the numerator and the denominator: two one-hundredths(2/100), thirty-three ten-thousandths (33/10,000).

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How do I use hyphens with spelled-out numbers? 29o


Hyphens with spelled-out numbers

■ Use a hyphen between two-word numbers from twenty-one throughninety-nine, whether they stand alone or are part of a larger number.

YES thirty-five two hundred thirty-five

■ Use a hyphen in a COMPOUND-WORD modifier formed from a numberand a word, whether the number is in words or figures.

YES fifty-minute class [also 50-minute class]

YES three-to-one odds [also 3-to-1 odds]

■ Use a hyphen between the numerator and the denominator of two-word fractions.

YES one-half two-fifths seven-tenths

■ Use a hyphen between compound nouns joining two units of measure.YES light-years kilowatt-hours


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