• Writing style tip: how to write numbers

    A common international convention in business writing is to spell out numbers from one to nine in text and use numerals for 10 upwards. Some style guides switch at 11 rather than 10.

    one, two, three
    10, 11, 12

    Use numerals for percentages and degrees.

    10 per cent (or percent for American spelling)

    Use commas or spaces to separate large numbers. It’s a style choice whether you use commas in four-digit numbers.

    100,000 or 100 000
    1000 or 1,000

    With currency, use million in text and m or M in tables and brackets.

    $10 million
    $10m or $10M

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  • Writing style tip: how to write greetings and sign-offs

    Greetings and sign-offs vary depending on the formality of the communication.

    Greetings and sign-offs in letters

    In letters, the conventional greeting is:

    Dear Sally (without a comma)

    If you don’t know the person, some writers address the person as Mr/Ms or, alternatively, use their full name.

    Dear Sally Smith
    Dear Ms Smith

    Traditionally, letters were signed off with Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely, depending on the writer’s relationship with the person.

    Yours faithfully was used in formal letters where the writer did not know the recipient personally. (These letters generally began with the greeting, Dear Sir/Madam or To whom it may concern.)

    Yours sincerely was used when the writer knew the person or was writing more informally.

    These days, many organisations choose to use Yours sincerely for all letters. Some even sign them off with Kind regards or Regards.

    As with the greeting, you do not need any commas after the sign-off.

    Yours faithfully

    Email greetings and sign-offs

    The way you use greetings and sign-offs in your emails depends largely on your relationship with the person you are emailing. Often, you can mimic the style or tone of greeting and sign-off of the person you are emailing.

    In emails, the most commonly used greeting is:

    Hi Sally

    However, some writers still choose to use Dear when writing more formal emails to clients, or when addressing a group of people.

    Dear Jim Smith
    Dear all

    There are several ways of signing off emails. Some of the most common are:

    Regards
    Kind regards
    Cheers

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  • Writing style tip: how to write dates

    In Australian and New Zealand business writing, the order is: day (optional), month, year—with no punctuation.

    (Friday) 17 April 2009

    The media and the US reverse the order, i.e. 17 April, 2009.

    Dates as numerals

    When writing dates as numerals, the conventional sequence in Australia and New Zealand is day, month, year separated by forward slashes or full stops.

    20.01.05 or 20/01/05

    Some organisations give the century as well as the year.

    20.01.1950 or 20/01/1950

    Decades

    When you are referring to a year span within the one decade or within the same century, you don’t need to repeat the century figures.

    1993–98
    1932–83

    When referring to decades in the plural, you don’t need an apostrophe.

    Fashions were amazing in the 1970s.

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  • Writing style tip: how to write about money

    In business writing, currency is usually expressed in symbols and figures ($10).

    When writing about different currencies that use the dollar, your style choices are a:

    • Letter or letters symbolising the country, followed by the $ sign (This is the style recommended by the Reserve Bank of Australia.)

    A$10, US$10

    • Three-letter country code specified in ISO 4217:1995

    AUD10

    • $ sign followed by the country symbol

    $A10

    Millions

    When writing about millions and billions, many writers use the full word in the text and either m or M and bn in tables and brackets.

    10 million (10m) or 10 million (10M)
    10 billion (10bn)

    Most organisations use a space before million but not before m or M.

    $96 million
    $96m

    M or m?

    Under ISO 1000:1992/Amd 1:1998, which Australia and New Zealand adhere to, millions should be represented by M. However, according to the Australian Government’s style manual (2002), m is preferable to M as long as the context is clear.

    monies or moneys?

    In everyday usage, most people don’t pluralise money, but in tax and accounting material, it can be made plural for individual sums of moneys/monies and either moneys or monies is acceptable. Just be consistent. The Australian Taxation Office website uses both words interchangeably.

    You can’t reclaim moneys/monies already invested.

  • Writing style tip: how to use shortened word forms

    Shortened forms checklist

     

    Term Example Short for Style convention
    Abbreviation Inc. Incorporated Use the first few letters of the word, followed by a fullstop.
    Contraction Dr, Ltd Doctor
    Limited    		 Use the first and last letters of the word, with no fullstop.
    Acronym Qantas Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services The first letters from a phrase are pronounced as a new  word. Sometimes the original meaning is forgotten (scuba, sonar).
    Initialism FAQ Frequently asked question Similar to acronyms, but each letter of the initialism is  pronounced, rather than being read as a single word.
    Symbol cm centimetre Set by international standards for units of measurement  and concepts.

     

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