Numbers

• Numbers one to nine should be written in full except in percentages (5%) and proportions out of 10 (1 in 10); numbers 10 and higher should be written as digits.
• If we need to shorten the copy, write all numbers as digits but be consistent throughout the thread.
• Use numerals for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on.

Ages

• Colloquial phrases like “over-50s” can be used instead of “people aged 50 years and over”.
• Hyphens can be used to shorten copy if necessary (for example 16-25 years) as long as they’re consistent throughout the thread.

Acronyms, initialisms and abbreviations

• Avoid acronyms and initialisms unless they are widely known (for example UK, GDP, PAYE, COVID-19, ONS).
• Months can be abbreviated to shorten copy if necessary (that is, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, June, Jul, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec), but must be consistent throughout the thread or post.
• Quarters should be written out with the month range in the first use, for example Q1 2020 should be Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2020; it’s better to use more tweets than to abbreviate to Q1 to cut characters.

Fractions

• Fractions should be written as words and hyphenated (for example, two-fifths).
• Never write 1/4; this could be read as “tweet 1 of 4”.

Symbols

Avoid using symbols where possible, for example:

• & should be written as “and”
• – (hyphen) should be written as “to”
• / should be written as “or”
• @ should be written as “at” (except when tagging accounts)

If we have to use any symbols to shorten the copy, make sure to be consistent throughout the thread. It is better to use more tweets than to use symbols to cut length.