Numbers - review how we use them

[sarawilcox]

Latest

Add a note that we do not use ordinals for dates. (Does not need Style Council approval - this is already our style. )

Already dealt with

There's been a suggestion from the live service content team that we review how we use numbers.

Here is what we say in the content style guide at the moment: https://service-manual.nhs.uk/content/formatting-and-punctuation

And one suggestion is that we follow the readability guidelines at:http://readabilityguidelines.wikidot.com/numbers

There was a proposal on Slack that we make this clearer. See https://nhsuk.slack.com/archives/C644HFZ9N/p1553528638190600

Added as a task to Jira: Jira SS-579

[sarawilcox]

Agreed to change our current wording in the style guide. A few issues to resolve:

• ordinal numbers - check Readability guidelines and any issues with assistive tech https://github.com/nhsuk/nhsuk-service-manual-backlog/issues/100
• check truncated dates on assistive tech https://github.com/nhsuk/nhsuk-service-manual-backlog/issues/99

[sarawilcox]

All issues resolved at 18 July Style Council meeting. Page updated to reflect changes.

[sarawilcox]

A number of content designers have reported problems with our latest guidance on using 1 and 2 where one would work better. https://service-manual.nhs.uk/content/numbers-measurements-dates-time We're collecting examples and will review at December Style Council meeting.

[sarawilcox]

A colleague thought the 1 here was a typo. Comment: it feels to me like the word "one" in this sentence is doing something different than being a number.

[sarawilcox]

Another example: "You can use a nebuliser in hospital or you may be given one to manage your condition at home." (Here 1 might suggest that you would only be given 1.)

[JackMatthams]

Examples:

• "Never take 2 doses at the same time to make up for a forgotten one." (Codeine: Medicines A to Z.) Correct use of "one".
• "It can help to use post-its, or print out and cut up a paper prototype, to see how the answers might take users on 1 journey or another." (Use filter questions to route users: Service manual) Incorrect use of "1".
• "Several short questions are often easier than 1 long one." (Think of form as a conversation: Service manual) I'd say "easier than a single long one".
• "the consequences of making 1 choice over another" (Write the supporting content for your form: Service manual) Incorrect use of "1".
• "If you begin prototyping with 1 thing per page, you can deal with errors for 1 thing at a time." I think they are incorrect, as you wouldn't vary these values. "A single" works just as well.
• "Children quickly learn to read common words (the 5,000 words they use most). They then stop reading these words and start recognising their shape. This allows people to read much faster. Children already read like this by the time they’re 9 years old. People also do not read one word at a time. They bounce around - especially online. They anticipate words and fill them in." (From https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk)

GDS say: Use ‘one’ unless you’re talking about a step, a point in a list or another situation where using the numeral makes more sense: ‘in point 1 of the design instructions’, for example. Write all other numbers in numerals (including 2 to 9) except where it’s part of a common expression like ‘one or two of them’ where numerals would look strange.

Where has the necessity to always use numerical "1" come from? GDS disagree, and it feels like "one" should be the norm. As seen previously, it is easier and clearer to state when to use the numeral "1" than it is to state what the exceptions are.

Use "one" unless the use is referring to a point, step, measurement (not including doseage exception), statistic or list. Use numericals for all other numbers unless it is part of a common expression like 'one or two of them' where numerals would look strange.

[sarawilcox]

I think we've covered this now in #162 and #197. @JackMatthams, that's right, isn't it? If so, we can push this to Done.

[sarawilcox]

We're keeping this open as the main Numbers ticket. The numbers page in the style guide is now up to date: https://service-manual.nhs.uk/content/numbers-measurements-dates-time

I'm closing down these superseded/done numbers tickets:

• Measurements: Change to numbers page and other page
• Numbers page - minor changes
• Ordinal numbers