English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
DEALING WITH NUMBERS
The man has ~5 houses and 3 hotels~ in Lagos (less acceptable).
The man has *five houses and three hotels* in Lagos (more acceptable).
Numbers that are less than 10 are preferably spelt out unless a style guide states otherwise.
There were ~fifteen students~ in the class (less acceptable).
There were *15 students* in the class (more acceptable).
Note that while the general rules have it that numbers below ten should be spelt out, and numbers above ten should be written in figures, there has to be consistency when making a list, even when some of the numbers are less than ten and others are greater than ten:
Her siblings are aged ~4, 7, eleven and fifteen~ (less acceptable).
Her siblings are aged *4, 7, 11 and 15* (more acceptable).
GAB
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