47. Numbers, Dates, Symbols, and Ranges

47.1 Preserve the source's coordinate system

Use the source's assigned page, paragraph, section, article, line, timestamp, or record label. Do not convert one system into another without a verified mapping. A PDF viewer's page count, printed reporter page, appendix page, and Bates label can all refer to the same visible material while remaining different addresses. Name the system whenever the form could be ambiguous.

Fictional training example. Transcript page 44, lines 8–12, appears at PDF viewer page 47 and final appendix A124. The source-level locator is “44:8–12.” A combined reference can state “Chen Dep. 44:8–12 (May 12, 2026), A124.” Do not write “Chen Dep. 47” merely because that number appears in the viewer toolbar. If the recipient requires the appendix system, follow that instruction while preserving the intrinsic transcript coordinates in the research crosswalk.

For unpaginated material, use a stable supplied heading, paragraph identifier, table number, or timestamp when available. Do not invent page 1 for a webpage or count screenfuls as pages. If no precise stable locator exists, identify the relevant heading or quoted opening words and explain the access version sufficiently for retrieval.

47.2 Display inclusive ranges with full endpoints

Citation Code's default writes both endpoints in full: 114–119, 1204–1211, and 1998–2003. Use an en dash for an inclusive range and a comma for separate nonconsecutive locations: 114, 119. Do not use a range merely to avoid listing two locations when the intervening material is unrelated to the proposition.

Preserve letters and prefixes needed to identify the endpoints. “A114–A119” is clearer than “A114–19” where an appendix uses prefixed labels. If a source assigns Roman numeral pages, retain them: “xii–xiv.” If the source uses a composite label such as “4-12,” treat that label as an indivisible locator and write “pages 4-12 through 4-14” when an additional dash would be confusing.

Fictional repair. The supplied report's relevant discussion appears on pages 108 and 113; pages 109–112 discuss an unrelated project. Defective citation: “Report 108–113.” Repaired: “Report 108, 113.” If the intervening discussion is necessary to understand the argument, the full range may be justified. The choice follows passage coverage, not a desire to minimize characters.

For transcript ranges spanning pages, repeat page numbers at each endpoint: “44:18–45:6.” A same-page range is “44:8–12.” This notation identifies page and line roles clearly.

47.3 Preserve nested divisions and repeated symbols

Follow the source's hierarchy exactly. Section 8(b)(2)(A) differs from section 8(b)(A). Retain each intervening division even when the target is visible on the same page. Use “§” for one section and “§§” for multiple sections; use “¶” and “¶¶” similarly for assigned paragraphs. Use the source's actual labels when it distinguishes articles, regulations, rules, clauses, and schedules.

For a shared parent provision, our compact form can state “§ 8(b)(2)(A), (C)” when the two terminal subdivisions are unambiguous. For cross-document or potentially confusing references, repeat the full locator: “§ 8(b)(2)(A) and § 8(c)(1).” A range across nested subdivisions requires care because the reader must know which hierarchy is included; spell out the endpoints when necessary.

Fictional training example. Training Licensing Code §18.40(b) is amended by Training Act 2026-3 §2. Do not cite “§2(b)” as though the act's section and the code's subsection formed one address. Identify the code provision and amendment instruction separately. The statutory version treatment explains why the two sources have distinct jobs.

47.4 Treat identifiers differently from quantities

Keep source-assigned numerals, leading zeros, hyphens, suffixes, and capitalization when they are part of an identifier. Receipt 007 is not automatically the same displayed identifier as Receipt 7. Version 1.10 is not a decimal quantity to be normalized to 1.1. Article e104 is an article identifier, not first page 104. A software version or catalogue code may have its own ordering rules; do not infer them from arithmetic.

In ordinary prose, spell out one through nine when they are simple narrative quantities and use numerals for ten and above. Use numerals regardless of size for measured values, percentages, money, dates, locators, compared series, and source-assigned designations. Rewrite a sentence beginning with a complex numeral when spelling it out would impair recognition.

Fictional paired examples. “The packet contains three receipts.” “Receipts 007, 008, and 011 appear in the packet.” The first sentence counts objects; the second names objects. “Three receipts were excluded, leaving 90 of 900 delivered shipments” combines a narrative count with a numerical analysis where explicit numerals aid checking. Do not allow prose style to obscure the denominator or unit.

47.5 Label dates by the event they describe

Use an unambiguous written month in reader-facing dates: “May 11, 2026.” In compact citations, abbreviate January, February, March, April, August, September, October, November, and December as Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.; spell out May, June, and July. A required recipient convention controls any difference. Keep the complete date in the source record even if the displayed form uses only a year.

Distinguish decision, execution, publication, revision, effective, compliance, and retrieval dates. Label two dates when they answer different questions: “executed June 1, 2026; effective July 1, 2026.” A webpage's retrieval date does not become its publication date. A database's ingestion date does not become an opinion's decision date. If a date is unknown, say “date not shown” where relevant instead of supplying an inference as a fact.

For machine-readable records, use a consistently defined ISO-style date field such as 2026-05-11, with a separate event-type field. That storage convention supports sorting; it does not require using numeric dates in prose. Do not interpret an ambiguous 05/06/2026 display without determining whether the source uses month-first or day-first order.

47.6 Distinguish clock time, duration, and media position

For a clock time, state the zone when it matters to the proposition or could differ across participants. Use either a clear twelve-hour form with a.m./p.m. or a twenty-four-hour form consistently. Do not silently convert a displayed time into the reader's local zone. Preserve the source's timestamp and record any conversion separately.

A recording timestamp identifies position within a particular recording, not the event's wall-clock time. State hours when the recording exceeds one hour or ambiguity is possible: 01:12:08–01:12:21. Identify the recording and version because an edited upload may move the same words to a different timestamp. A clip's 00:20 does not necessarily equal the full recording's 00:20.

Fictional training example. A hearing recording starts at 09:00 local time, but the supplied clip begins at the hearing's minute 42. A cited statement appears at clip timestamp 00:20 and full-recording timestamp 00:42:20. Cite the actual recording used and its position. Do not label 00:20 as a time of day. If the proposition concerns the wall-clock event, establish the recording's synchronization rather than assuming an exact conversion from an approximate start time.

47.7 Explain calculations and rounding beside the result

A numerical proposition should identify its unit, relevant population, numerator and denominator when meaningful, period, source version, and transformation. A citation to a dataset cannot explain a calculation the author performed unless the calculation is also identified. Keep a reproducible analysis record and cite the relevant output or describe the method concisely.

Fictional training example. Ninety of 900 delivered shipment records are late. Report “10% of delivered shipments,” not “10% of customers,” when the dataset observes shipments. If 300 additional rows are pending or cancelled, do not silently count them as timely deliveries. A result based on 1,200 total rows answers a different question. The worked dataset repair develops this distinction.

Round only after performing the calculation at sufficient precision, and use the same rounding convention in prose, tables, and graphics. If rounding causes displayed component percentages to total 99% or 101%, explain the effect when it could confuse the reader. Do not add decimal places merely to suggest rigor. An exact-looking number can still rest on an inappropriate denominator or an unsupported population claim.

47.8 Repair a mixed-coordinate reference completely

Fictional defective draft. “The May 6 amendment changed Section 214 to a 1.1-day requirement. Agreement 214, 05/06/26, at 17.” The source packet instead supplies Amendment No. 1.10, executed June 5, 2026, amending agreement §2.14; the amended provision requires eleven calendar days. Section 2 of the amendment contains that replacement. Its printed page is 14, although the PDF viewer counts it as page 17. These details are stipulated solely for the exercise.

Repair. “Amendment No. 1.10 replaces agreement § 2.14 with an 11-calendar-day requirement. Amendment No. 1.10 § 2 (executed June 5, 2026), at 14.” The section of the amendment containing the replacement is §2; the agreement provision it changes is §2.14. The repaired sentence keeps those addresses separate and preserves the version number's trailing zero.

The error involved a date interpretation, decimal-looking identifier, missing section punctuation, mistaken quantity, and wrong page system. Fixing only the date would leave the reference unreliable. A final review should compare each number with its role in the source record before applying typographical consistency.