Percentages (%)
The percentage sign (%) should be used in place of the word ‘percent’ after numbers:
What was said | How to format |
The economy contracted by 0.5 percent last week. | The economy contracted by 0.5% last week. |
Currency ($)
Currency should be represented with a $ symbol before the number, and following other number rules:
What was said | How to format |
Two thousand, five hundred dollars. | $2,500. |
Three point four billion dollars. | $3.4 billion. |
It cost ten dollars. | It cost $10. |
- Foreign currency, if dollars, should be written with the two letter abbreviation:
What was said | How to format |
Twenty-four Australian dollars. | AU $24. |
I spent fifty New Zealand dollars. | I spent NZ $50. |
- Informal currency expressions should be captioned as heard:
e.g. 20 grand, 50 bucks, 40 quid.
What was said | How to format |
I won twenty grand! | I won 20 grand! |
You owe me fifty bucks. | You owe me fifty 50 bucks. |
Forty quid. | 40 quid. |
Measurement
Metric units of measurement should be abbreviated for readability and be represented as digits:
What was said | How to format |
Four metres. | 4m. |
Ten centimetres. | 10cm. |
One hundred kilometres. | 100km. |
Five litres. | 5L. |
Imperial units of measurement should be written out as words, with numbers one to ten written as words and 11+ as digits:
What was said | How to format |
She is six feet. | She is six feet. |
The line is eleven inches. | The line is 11 inches. |
More questions? See our Recorded Captioning Style Guide.