Dates and times

General

• Dates should be written as 23 June 2002, not 23rd June, 2002 or June 23, 2002.
• When referring to a decade, such as the 1990s, you do not need an apostrophe before the 's'. Use an initial apostrophe if abbreviating the decade, for example, the '70s.
• When referring to centuries, spell out the first to the ninth (that is, eighth century but 18th century).
• When using terms such as BC or AD, insert a space between the year and the era indicator. For example, 2009 AD.
• It is no longer conventional to use an apostrophe when referring to a period of time. That is, five years work, rather than five years' work.

Spans

• A closed en dash (that is an en dash without the spaces before and after) can be used as a substitute for the word 'to' in a specified range, for example 1994–8. However, it should not be used with the words 'from' and 'between'. For example, write "the period between 1994 and 1998" rather than "the period between 1994–98".
• Write years as 1973–76 for spans of years within the same decade or century, or 1873–2000 for dates spanning centuries.

Times

Times should be written in text as 10am, 6.30pm, 12 noon (ie full stop, no space between number and abbreviation except for 12 noon, no full stops in am and pm). In the body text write "between 10am and 5pm" rather than "between 10am–5pm".