Week 7: AP Style Numbers

Week 7: AP Style Numbers

For a very long time, I despised AP style. I knew that there was a reason for it, but I hated using it. Slowly, I am starting to see the value that AP has, especially in the situations where writers use AP. The rules that I like most from AP are the number rules. I think that they make things easy to read, and it’s the easiest for readers to quickly understand.

Rule 1: Spell out numbers under 10.

Example: I was invited to five weddings this month.

Rule 2: Use figures for numbers over 10.

Example: We saw 20 bears huddled together at Bear World in Idaho.

These are the rules. Stick with them for almost everything. However, this is English, so there are always exceptions. The exceptions in AP make logical sense, though.

Exception 1: Spell out the following

• ·       Numbers that begin a sentence.
• ·       Ordinals (except when indicating sequence in naming conventions i.e. 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals)
• ·       Indefinite and casual uses (i.e. thanks a million, etc.)
• ·       Names
• ·       In formal language (Twelve Apostles)

Exception 2: Use figures for

• ·       Addresses
• ·       Academic course numbers (i.e. History 6, Philosophy 209)
• ·       Ages
• ·       Court decisions (i.e. 5-4 decision)
• ·       Dates, years and decades
• ·       Decimals, percentages and fractions
• ·       Dimensions
• ·       Distance
• ·       Highway designations
• ·       Math
• ·       Military
• ·       Before Millions, Billions and Trillions
• ·       Monetary units
• ·       Recipes
• ·       Sports scores
• ·       Temperatures

The editing mistake I found for this week was from a pamphlet I found in Elizabeth Hall.  In the second half of the first sentence of the second paragraph, “vegan” is singular with the plural verb “are.” It would be easiest to change “vegan” to “vegans” to correct the mistake.