Buckinghamshire New University style guide

Numbers
• Thousands: 1,000, 10,000 and 1,000,000.
• Spell out numbers one to ten. Use numerals for numbers over ten, and where
attached to a percentage sign, a unit or sum of money.
• Also apply this to cardinal numbers eg fifth century, 12 th century.
• Never use numerals at the beginning of a sentence; rearrange the order of words
so that the number is not at the beginning, but ensuring that the sentence still
makes sense.
• Fractions: three-quarters, one-third, two-and-a-half.
• Do not mix decimals and fractions.
• Elide as much as possible, eg 4–8, 115–116.
A–Z guide
N words
national curriculum
no-one
north, north-west
N-0
Examples:
5%, 8cm, £3, $4, €6.
To access a euro sign, PC users should press AltGr + 4 on the main keypad, and
Mac users should press alt + 2 on the main keypad.
Numbering of paragraphs
You should only need to number paragraphs used in formal documents, such as
reports, regulations, policy documents and minutes. Paragraphs should be
numbered 1, 2, 3 and so on.
Roman numerals should not be used. Avoid subsections if possible, but if you must
use them, number them 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and so on. If these sections need dividing use
letters, eg:
Example:
1 This is an example of a paragraph.
1.1 This is an example of a subsection.
1.2 This is an example of the next subsection.
a This is an example of a subsection division.
b This is an example of the next subsection division.
O words
O-levels
official (relating to an authority
or having the approval of an
authority)
officious (asserting authority)
online
organise, organising
Buckinghamshire New University Style Guide 31