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I'm unsure if I should spell out numbers or not, in this specific case of the thesis:

This is the area I'm concerned with and I tried both approaches:

  • Setup 1 is a static setup with seven nodes in total, five Zigduinos and two OSGi. There are two publishers and five subscribers.

  • Setup 2 is a static setup with 13 nodes in total, 10 Zigduinos and 3 OSGi. There are 5 publishers and 10 subscribers

  • Setup 3 is a static setup with twenty-five nodes in total, twenty Zigduinos and five OSGi. There are 10 publishers and 20 subscribers

Tushar Raj
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Sven Akkermans
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1 Answers1

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"Setup 1" and the like are used to label items and should be left this way. The rest depends on the house style and the genre of writing. Your looks like a report of some kind. The general rule is that numbers 1 to 9 are spelled, and everything over 9 is in digits. However, in creative writing, sometimes all numbers are spelled. As an aside, there are two full stops missing, and I'd consider representing this sorry of data as a table.

Setup 1 is a static setup with seven nodes in total, five Zigduinos and two OSGi. There are two publishers and five subscribers. Setup 2 is a static setup with 13 nodes in total, 10 Zigduinos and three OSGi. There are five publishers and 10 subscribers[FULL STOP] Setup 3 is a static setup with 25 nodes in total, 20 Zigduinos and five OSGi. There are 10 publishers and 20 subscribers[FULL STOP]

Bernadette
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  • So you would mix things like "20 Zigduinos and five OSGi"? Thanks! – Sven Akkermans May 30 '15 at 09:28
  • Let me note that this "general rule" is not very general; it depends on the house style for publishers. It may be that numbers between 1 and 10 are spelled, or between 1 and 19. – Peter Shor May 30 '15 at 10:05
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    Interesting! In my experience though, if we have to use digits in any particular sentence, we have to use digits for all similar cases within the same sentence. This would normally be considered far more important than whether we actually used digits or words in the first place. @PeterShor Might have a better idea about that point. – Araucaria - Him May 30 '15 at 10:13
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    The Purdue Owl suggests a different criterion: spell out numbers that can be written with two or fewer words, like "eighty-seven" or *eleven million". It also says that numbers in series should be consistent (e.g., write "between five and eighty-seven" or "between 5 and 87"). – Peter Shor May 30 '15 at 10:29
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    On the other hand, the American Physical Society style guide says to write out numbers between 1 and 9, and to always write out numbers at the start of a sentence, even if similar numbers are written as numerals in the same sentence. They also say that if you have coordinate numbers, with some larger than 10, in the same sentence, you should write them all as numerals (again, "between 5 and 87"). – Peter Shor May 30 '15 at 10:36
  • Other guidelines I've encountered advise using numerals for units of measure regardless of how small the number may be (2 liters, ⅓ inch, 7 stone), and maintaining a consistent approach to numbers associated with, say, sheep, across a sentence or paragraph even though the general style rule would call for using a numeral in one place ("87 sheep") and a spelled-out word in another ("four sheep"). The different rules are actually quite interesting and—though they often disagree with one another—usually quite reasonable on their own terms. – Sven Yargs Jun 08 '15 at 05:20