when writing dates in a document, figures should be used for the day and the year. course hero

by Ms. Victoria Huel V 3 min read

What is the correct format for writing dates and times?

In British English, ordinals can sometimes be used—it is acceptable to use them when writing dates, although it is not required, as our example shows. Daniel was born on May 13 . Many people get confused about how to write dates with commas , so here is a rule of thumb: in the month-day-year format (used in the United States), place commas after the day and year.

How to write dates in an essay?

These can be a crucial part of your document and the more clearly you express them, the better. Here are our guidelines for expressing time, money, statistics, data, dates and anything else involving numbers: 1. Write out numbers one to ten in words. 2. Use figures for 11 and above. 3.

When do you include the year in a letter of introduction?

Oct 17, 2014 · List the month before the day in American English. This format, used in the United States and other countries that follow American English conventions, is based on the order typically used in conversation. To use it, write out the month, followed by the day, followed by the year. This may look like the following examples: Oct 9; October 9; 10/09/22

How to write dates and decades in a letter?

When to write date in full?

In formal writing, always write the date in full when it is part of a sentence. This usually involves giving the day of the month, the month, and the year:

When to write date in a sentence?

In formal writing, always write the date in full when it is part of a sentence. This usually involves giving the day of the month, the month, and the year: The meeting will take place on April 21, 2019. Note that the year follows after a comma. You can, however, use a few different formats.

Can you abbreviate a month?

In less formal writing, or when the date is not part of the main text in a document, you can abbreviate the month to save space. For instance, “August 20, 2019” could be abbreviated to “Aug. 20, 2019.”. The same can be done with days (e.g., “Tuesday” becomes “Tue.”).

What is the most common format for the Marshall Islands?

Around the rest of the world, the most common format is day/month/year (e.g., in the UK and Australia). A few places also use a year/month/day format (e.g., China), but this is very rare in English.

What is the international date format?

This is a standardized format that works across borders, so it is commonly used by government organizations and global businesses. And it always uses the format YYYY-MM-DD, which removes any chance of confusion:

Do you capitalize awards program?

If it's just a description (i.e., it's an awards program but it isn't officially called "Awards Program"), then you wouldn't need the capitalization.

Do you put a comma after the year?

It is standard to add a comma after the year when a date appears mid-sentence, and that would usually apply to the first date in a date range if you have the year in both. So, for example, you would write "April 11, 2019, through April 13, 2019" because both dates include the year.

How to Write Dates in a Sentence

To avoid confusion, learn the different formats available for writing dates and how you can make yourself clear no matter who will read it.

Other Date Formats

While the month-day-year format is the most common in the United States, other countries and regions use different formats.

Know the Cultural Differences

Numeral-only formats are not usually ideal for formal writing, but in more casual circumstances, such as correspondence between friends, the numerical format might be more convenient.

Proper Date Formats

Dates can be extremely important pieces of information, especially when you’re signing documents or sending invitations.

How to write dates informally?

To write dates informally, you can use numerals and dashes or backslashes between the day, month , and year to keep the dates short. For single digit days and months, you can choose to write the single digit or use a zero in front of the digit.

How to write the month before the day?

This format, used in the United States and other countries that follow American English conventions, is based on the order typically used in conversation. To use it, write out the month, followed by the day, followed by the year.

When to add 0 in a calendar?

When writing dates numerically, add a “0” before January through September and the first through the ninth day of the month. This is often required in forms but you can use it to make your own list of dates visually neater.

Do you spell out the month?

2. Spell out only the month within formal and semi-formal contexts. For a less-formal invitation, announcement, or piece of correspondence, it is acceptable to include numerals for the day and year along with the spelled-out version of the month. This is also common in many academic style manuals.

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Writing The Date in Full

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In formal writing, always write the date in full when it is part of a sentence. This usually involves giving the day of the month, the month, and the year: The meeting will take place on April 21, 2019. Note that the year follows after a comma. You can, however, use a few different formats. This can include omitting the year or a…
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Abbreviating The Date

  • In less formal writing, or when the date is not part of the main text in a document, you can abbreviatethe month to save space. For instance, “August 20, 2019” could be abbreviated to “Aug. 20, 2019.” The same can be done with days (e.g., “Tuesday” becomes “Tue.”). Typically, the first three letters are used as the abbreviation for any day or month. However, some style guides (e.g…
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Writing The Date as Numerals

  • You can also write the date as numerals. The format to use here is month/day/year. There are, however, a number of variations, including: 1. Whether to put a “0” before single-digit months and days 2. Whether to write the year in full or just the last two digits 3. How to punctuate the date For example, we could write March 4, 2019 in any of the following ways: 1. 03/04/2019 2. 03.04.19 3…
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Other Date Formats

  • We should now give a few thoughts to the rest of the world. After all, the month/day/year format used in the US is not really used anywhere else (except for the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands). Around the rest of the world, the most common format is day/month/year (e.g., in the UK and Australia). A few places also use a year/month/day format (e.g., China), but t…
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The International Date Format

  • Finally, if you’re sharing information across the world, you may want to use the international date format (ISO 8601). This is a standardized format that works across borders, so it is commonly used by government organizations and global businesses. And it always uses the format YYYY-MM-DD, which removes any chance of confusion: We sent the invoice on 2020-07-10. The date a…
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Expert Proofreading

  • If you want to be sure the dates in your documents are always clear and correct, don’t forget to have your writing proofreading. Submit a trial document for freetoday to find out more.
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How to Write Dates in A Sentence

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To avoid confusion, learn the different formats available for writing dates and how you can make yourself clear no matter who will read it.
See more on tckpublishing.com

Other Date Formats

  • While the month-day-year format is the most common in the United States, other countries and regions use different formats. In Europe and the UK, for example, the most common format is day-month-year. Examples: 1. Her date of birth is 29/11/1994. 2. Today is 26 September 2019. Note in the example above that when using the day-month-year format, you...
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Know The Cultural Differences

  • Numeral-only formats are not usually ideal for formal writing, but in more casual circumstances, such as correspondence between friends, the numerical format might be more convenient. However, it’s important to keep in mind the cultural differences that we noted earlier. If you write frequently with people outside of your geographic region, you may wish to be more clear by spell…
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Proper Date Formats

  • Dates can be extremely important pieces of information, especially when you’re signing documents or sending invitations. By knowing how to write dates properly in both sentences and in numerals, you can communicate more effectively and avoid any potential confusion for your readers. Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
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