EXERCISE 46.3: THINKING CRITICALLY

Reading with an Eye for Abbreviations and Numbers

The paragraph by Roger Angell in Exercise 48.2, at the end of Chapter 48, follows the style of the New Yorker magazine, which often spells out numbers in situations where this chapter recommends using figures. Read the paragraph carefully, and then consider whether it would have been easier to read if figures had been used for some of the numbers. If so, which ones? Then consider how the paragraph would have been different if Angell had used semi-professional instead of semi-pro. What effect does the abbreviated form create?
All semi-pro leagues, it should be understood, are self-sustaining, and have no farm affiliation or other connection with the 26 major-league clubs, or with the 17 leagues and 152 teams . . . that make up the National Association—the minors, that is. There is no central body of semi-pro teams, and semi-pro players are not included among the 650 major-leaguers, the 2,500-odd minor-leaguers, plus all the managers, coaches, presidents, commissioners, front-office people, and scouts, who, taken together, constitute the great tent called organized ball. (A much diminished tent, at that; back in 1949, the minors included 59 leagues, about 448 teams, and perhaps 10,000 players.) Also outside the tent, but perhaps within its shade, are 5 college leagues, ranging across the country from Cape Cod to Alaska, where the most promising freshman, sophomore, and junior-college ballplayers . . . compete against each other. . . .
–ROGER ANGELL, “In the Country”

Thinking about Your Own Use of Abbreviations and Numbers

Look over an essay that you have written, noting all abbreviations and numbers. Check your usage for correctness, consistency, and appropriateness. If you discover a problem with abbreviations or numbers, make a note of it so that you can avoid the error in the future.