Numbers and Symbols
Guidelines for SAIT staff on writing numbers, symbols, weights and measures.
Spell out whole numbers from one to nine. Use numerals for 10 and above. It is acceptable to use numerals in graphs and tables, headlines and subheads.
An exception is when you have a list of numbers that are related. Use the same style for all of them. If any are above 10, write them all in figures.
I have 12 apples, 3 pears and 9 peaches
Decimal numbers below one need a zero in front of the decimal point.
0.25 seconds
Numbers used in conjunction with words to describe a noun must be hyphenated.
12-month contract
Avoid starting sentences with a number. Any number that starts a sentence must be spelled out. Exceptions can be made for story headlines and subheads.
Seventeen employees qualified for the competition 8 reasons we love The Market Place
Only use the “th” or “st” when grammatically necessary.
21st century 20th century 15th of every month ninth time
When talking about an annual event, write out the number of times it has been presented from first to ninth. After that, numerals are used in combination with the suffixes “th,” “st” and “nd”. Never call the first occurrence of an event ‘first annual’: Use inaugural or just first.
the eighth annual President’s Gala SAIT’s 100th anniversary celebration the 22nd position
We do not use superscript on our dates or numbers.
100th anniversary 
100th
Do not use an apostrophe when referring to plurals of years and other numbers. If you abbreviate a decade the apostrophe goes at the front and leans to the right.
the 1980s the ’80s
Phone numbers: always include the area code. Use periods to separate.
403.440.5000
Room numbers: NN1106, TF240 (no spaces). Room numbers go in order of room, then building.
NN1106, Senator Burns building
For school grades, use figures — even for numbers 1 to 9 — and capitalize the first letter of Grade.
Grade 3
Grade 7
Grade 12
Use figures and a comma for numbers up to 999,999. Above that, switch to words unless absolute precision is required.
A loss of $870,000. A $7-million project.
Except when preceded by a dollar sign, whole numbers in the millions and billions follow the rule of spelling out numbers one to nine and using numerals for 10 and above.
There were 10 million people. We raised more than nine million dollars.
When expressing a range, repeat million or billion.
Between 10 million and 15 million
When writing about money, use the $ symbol. When referring to denominations smaller than one dollar, spell out. Do not use ¢.
$10 50 cents
*whenever practical, round numbers off to the nearest five or 10. Avoid unnecessary exact figures, such as $109.59, unless it enhances the message to do so.
References to currency do not require periods: $100 US. If no country is specified, Canadian dollars are assumed and CDN is not necessary.
The symbol % should be used in all digital and print publications.
Of all the School of Transportation students, 77% attended.
Use metric for most measurements. Imperial measurements should be used for the height/weight of people and for square feet.
The names of metric units are spelled out in text. In tables, the following metric symbols may be used: mm, cm, m, km, kg, ml, l. These symbols are assumed to be both plural and singular.
kilometre kilogram
C may be used for Celsius when it follows a number.
25 C -15 C
Oki, Âba wathtech, Danit'ada, Tawnshi, Hello.
SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.
We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta.