Writing the Century

Writing the Century Writing the Century Writing the Century By Maeve Maddox Melvin Merzon sets me this multi-part question: How would you write 21st Century?  In a legal document? In a business letter? In fiction? In   a   nonfiction context?    21st Century? 21st century? Twenty-first Century? Twenty-First Century? twenty-first century? My short answer for all specified contexts is twenty-first century. Unless the name of the century begins a sentence or is part of a proper name, it is written in all lowercase letters: We are living in the twenty-first century. When a century is part of a proper name, no hard and fast rule can apply. Someone naming a program, company or a book may express the century any way they wish: Twenty-first Century Scholars Twenty-First Century Foundation Twenty-First-Century Gateways (In this book title the century name has become an adjective.) 20th Century Fox Century 21 Realty Newspaper headline writers may also exercise freedom when writing the century: New Year Rings in 21st Century Bottom line: go with twenty-first century unless there is some reason not tofor example, contrary guidelines in a style manual you are required to follow. Writing the Decades Decades may be spelled out or expressed in numerals: the eighties the 1980s NOTE: Theres no apostrophe between the numerals and the letter s. The same rule about capitalization applies to decades as to centuries: if the decade is part of a proper name or title, it will be capitalized; otherwise leave it in lowercase. For example, write the nineties, but the Gay Nineties Referring to the first two decades of a century can be tricky. For example, if you want to talk about the first decade of the century, you cant write the 1900s, or the 2000s because too many readers would assume youre referring to the entire century. Another problem is that not all authors agree as to what years are included in a decade. Is the first decade of the 1900s 1900 to 1909, or 1900-1910? And what about the second decade? Some writers talk about the teens of a century, but what about the years ending in -10, -11, and -12? When writing about the first two decades of a century, its probably best to be a little wordy for the sake of clarity. For example: History seemed to repeat itself in the decade 2000-2009. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Comparative Forms of AdjectivesBody Parts as Tools of Measurement35 Synonyms for Rain and Snow