Content area
Full text
The Chicago Guide to Writing about Numbers Jane E. Miller. 2004. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. [ISBN 0-226-52631-3. 312 pages, including index. $17.00 USD (softcover).]
The Chicago guide to writing about numbers provides a comprehensive discussion of why and how to use numbers in written documents. The first of the three parts of this book, "Principles," provides a set of 12 principles for writing about numerical data, as well as a general discussion of causality and significance. The second part, "Tools," provides four chapters on quantitative comparisons, tables, figures, and examples and analogies. The final part, "Pulling it all together," covers distributions and associations; data and methods; methods for writing introductions, results, and conclusions; and guidelines for presenting numerical data in oral presentations.
Throughout the book, Miller uses examples in the form of "poor, better, best" writing to illustrate how a particular wording can be improved, with a concise explanation of exactly what the improvement is. This is an effective and useful way to add clarity.
The audience Miller aims at is not clearly specified; the outside back cover states the book was tested "with students and professionals alike." She assumes the reader has "a good working knowledge of elementary quantitative concepts such as ratios, percentages, averages, and simple statistical tests" (7). The question of audience comes up because of the basic level at which Miller starts the discussion; for example, from the...