Abbreviate ordinals above 10 , taking care not to use superscript : 18th century
18 th century
You may hyphenate ordinals used as an attributive adjective : She was one of the most famous 19th-century scholars .
She was one of the most famous scholars of the 19th century .
She was one of the most famous 19th century scholars .
Telephone numbers
When writing telephone numbers , include the area code in brackets . Only use the international code if what you are writing is likely to be read overseas .
( 02 ) 9385 XXXX
+ 61 2 9382 XXXX
1800 333 444
13 12 13
Units of measurement
Always use metric measurements .
In body copy , spell out the unit of measurement in full :
Do not add an ‘ s ’ to make abbreviated units of measurement plural :
100km / h
100kms / h
For less common units of measurement that are used repeatedly throughout a document , such as those used in a scientific report , spell out the unit of measurement in the first instance and include the abbreviation in brackets :
Bulb A consumed 100 joules per second ( J / s ). Bulb B consumed 90J / s .
Percentages
Use numerals and the symbol , but use the symbol only once in a number span . 4 %
1 %, 2 % and 4 %
56-57 %
56 % -57%
Currency
Within body copy , where sums of money are expressed in figures , do not use decimal points for whole-dollar amounts :
The annual fee is $ 45 .
The annual fee is $ 45.00 . five kilometres , 10 square metres
five km , 5km
If a unit of measurement is repeated often in body copy , you may use the abbreviation for brevity .
In tables , figures and other places where space is limited , use the commonly accepted abbreviation for the unit of measurement . Do not insert a space between the number and the abbreviated unit of measurement :
29km , 10m2 , 500kg , 20mm
Writing Style Guide | Numbers and measurements 57 | Back to contents