Numbers

Words or numbers?

Unless your instructor or style sheet directs otherwise, write out numbers one through nine and use figures for 10 and up,

but

use figures for dates, percentages, decimals, and dollar amounts,

and

in writing containing only a few numbers, you can write out all the numbers that can be written in one or two words (one hundred years, two million dollars, but 101 volunteers);

also

always spell out a number when it is the first word in a sentence.

Do not use “amount” or “a great deal” or “less” with nouns that name countable things—use “number” or “fewer” instead.

A small amount of asphalt, not a small number of asphalt (asphalt is not countable)

A large number of highways (we can count highways), not a large amount of highways.

Less confusion, not fewer confusion (confusion is not countable)

Fewer people were confused (we can count people), not less people were confused.