Numbers, Abbreviations, and Special Characters Flashcards

According to most major style guides, a number that begins a sentence should always be:

Answer: Spelled out

All major style guides (Chicago, AP, APA) require numbers that open a sentence to be spelled out, never expressed as numerals.

Under Chicago Manual of Style, which number should be expressed as a numeral in running text?

Answer: 105 attendees

Chicago style spells out whole numbers from one through one hundred; 105 exceeds that threshold and takes a numeral.

Which correctly uses an em dash in a sentence?

Answer: The cat—a tabby—sat on the mat.

Em dashes set off parenthetical or interruptive elements within a sentence; en dashes, not em dashes, are used for numerical ranges.

Which is the Chicago Manual of Style–preferred way to express a decade?

Answer: the 1990s

Chicago uses a simple plural without an apostrophe for decades (1990s), since no letters have been omitted from the number itself.

What does the abbreviation 'i.e.' mean?

Answer: That is

'I.e.' stands for the Latin 'id est,' meaning 'that is,' and introduces a restatement or clarification of what was just said.

Which dash is correct for expressing a range of years in Chicago style (e.g., 2010 to 2015)?

Answer: En dash: 2010–2015

Chicago style uses an en dash (–) to express numerical ranges, date spans, and time ranges.

In AP style, how should a percentage appear in running text (as of the 2019 update)?

Answer: 5%

AP Stylebook updated its guidance in 2019 to use the % symbol with numerals in all cases rather than spelling out 'percent.'