[Contact NZIBS]

Hi

If a number that is spelt out in words needs to be changed to a numeral, is there a particular proofreading mark that needs to be used to do this? Or is it just a case of writing the numeral in the margin as a correction?

Denise.

[Atholl Robertson]

Hi Denise,

Simply strike out the word(s) and write the numeric in the margin followed by  slash.

Same procedure for changing numerals to word(s) – strike out the numerals and write the word(s) in the margin followed by a slash. Alternatively, you can write Sp (circled) [Spell out] followed by a slash in the margin.

Hope this helps

Kind regards

Atholl

[Dick Ward]

Hi Denise,

Atholl is quite correct. While there are guidelines  and conventions about using words or numerals, this usually depends on context. For example, a technical manual or scientific treatise may prefer numerals all the way through for greater clarity, even for amounts less than 10, while books (fiction and non-fiction0 usually follow the idea of whole numbers up to ninety-nine are words while three, and four-figure numbers and above tend to be numerals, apart rom round numbers.

Newspapers and magazines, however, may well use numerals for 10 and above. In any case, you should aim for consistency but chapter seven of Fit to Print gives a good overview.