The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style) recommends using numerals with the percent sign within a sentence. When to Use the Percent Sign according to APA Style 6įorty-seven percent of participants preferred ankle socks more than calf-length socks. If a percent must appear at the beginning of a sentence, spell out the number and use the word percent. 5īob said, “I thought I had about a one percent chance of finding my lost wedding band. If you are referring to a percent generically or casually, AP style suggests spelling out the number and using the word percent. The charity drive collected 33% more donations this year. 3 Now, AP style uses the percent sign with numerals in formal content.
Previously, AP style used the word percent with numerals. The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) recently updated its recommendations for using percent signs.
When to Use the Percent Sign according to AP Style In those borderline situations, choose the style you believe will best serve your audience. However, simpler content, such as a marketing brochure for the general public, might still be considered technical if it includes a lot of numbers. For example, an article about astrophysics is most likely (very!) technical. The line between nontechnical and technical content is sometimes blurry. Nontechnical Content versus Technical Content Ninety-five percent of the native trees and 75% of the feed crops survived the drought. Of the 500 cats in the study, 17% refused to play with the research toys. But, use the word percent if the number appears at the start of the sentence with a spelled-out number. Twenty-seven percent of the art students preferred pastels to colored pencils.įor technical content, Chicago style suggests using numerals with the percent sign. The survey showed that only 9 percent of employees liked the company’s new cafeteria food.
However, if the number falls at the beginning of the sentence, it should be spelled out rather than written as a numeral. The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago style) has separate recommendations for nontechnical and technical content.įor nontechnical content, Chicago style suggests using numerals and the word percent instead of the percent sign. When to Use the Percent Sign according to Chicago Style Good: Only a small percentage of voters requested mail-in ballots. Not-so-good: Only a small % of voters requested mail-in ballots. Always pair the percent sign with a numeral don’t use the percent sign as a standalone abbreviation for the noun percentage. Good: Over 37% of the county fair tickets were sold before opening day.Ĥ. Not-so-good: Over thirty-seven% of the county fair tickets were sold before opening day. Only use the percent sign with numerals, not spelled-out numbers. Good: Unfortunately, 17% of the inventory was moldy.ģ. Not-so-good: 17% of the inventory was moldy. When possible, rewrite sentences that start with a numeral and percent sign or add an introductory word or phrase so that the numeral–percent sign combination doesn’t appear at the beginning. Don’t include a space between the percent sign and the numeral.Ģ. Four Tips for Writing the Percent Sign in a Sentenceġ.