date format in essay

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How to Write Dates

To write the exact date, spell out the month, and write the day and the year in numerals. The American date format is month-day-year, with a comma between day and year ( May 1, 2022) , while the British format is day-month-year, with no comma between month and year ( 1 May 2022 ). Don’t use ordinal numbers in dates in formal texts ( May 1 st , 2022 ). You may also show the day of the week ( Sunday, May 1, 2022 ).

If only the month and year are shown, don’t insert a comma between the two ( May 2022 ). To specify the day alone, write it as an ordinal number ( We arrive on the first ).

Date: Month, day, and year

The American date format is month-day-year. In running text, spell out the month, and write the day and year in numerals. Use commas to separate day and year. Don’t use ordinals ( st , nd , rd , th ).

• The Declaration of Independence was issued on July 4, 1776 .
• They were married on October 25, 2019, on a beach in the Maldives.
• On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden became president of the United States.

To set off the year, use commas in pairs: a comma must appear not just before but also after the year.

• Incorrect: It was on August 14, 1945 that an armistice was finally declared. Correct: It was on August 14, 1945, that an armistice was finally declared.

The British date format is day-month-year. The day and year are written in numerals, and the month is spelled out. No comma is needed between month and year. This system is also followed in much of Europe and the rest of the world.

• On 15 August 1947 , India gained independence from Britain.
• The Channel Tunnel opened on 6 May 1992 , linking London and Paris by rail.
• The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 .

Date: Month and year

When only month and year are specified, the month appears before the year. No comma is needed between the two.

• Twitter was founded in March 2006 and launched later that year.
• In January 2020 , reports of a new respiratory virus emerged from China.
• Farley first lost the lottery in November 1997 .

The preposition “of” between month and year is unnecessary and omitted in formal writing.

• This report was originally published in May of 2015 .

Date: Day and month

When it is clear which year is being referred to, you may indicate only day and month. Spell out the month, and write the day in numerals. Remember that day follows month in American usage. Don’t use ordinal numbers ( st , nd , rd , th ).

• Her birthday is November 23 .
• The last day to submit your applications is February 10 .
• On May 11 this year, our astronauts landed on Venus.

In British and other European writing, the day appears before the month.

• My daughter was born on 23 November last year.
• The deadline is 10 February .
• On 11 May this year, our astronauts landed on Mars.

The use of ordinal numbers ( st , nd , rd , th ) in dates is unnecessary. Avoid it in formal writing.

• Poor: The Durandians landed on July 19th at 3 p.m. Better: The Durandians landed on July 19 at 3 p.m.

In creative and other informal writing, the day and the month are often shown in words.

• They were married on the nineteenth of September last year.

Date: The day alone

When only the day is mentioned, spell out single-digit numbers. Two-digit days may be either spelled out or written in numerals. Use ordinal numbers ( st , nd , rd , th ).

• We woke up early on the morning of the fifth .
• We’ll reach on the sixteenth ( or the 16th ).

Style guides differ in their recommendations on whether to write numbers in numerals or words. Numbers under 10 are generally spelled out. The Chicago Manual of Style recommends spelling out two-digit numbers as well, while the AP Stylebook and APA Publication Manual suggest using figures for numbers from 10 onward.

When using figures, don’t set the ordinal in superscript (16th, not 16 th ).

Date with day of the week

To show a day of the week alongside a date, write the day followed by a comma, and then write the date. This can be helpful in appointments and invitations.

• American: The apocalypse was expected to happen on Saturday, May 21, 2011 .
• British: The conference starts on Monday, 8 August 2022 .

The date in numerals

Dates may be written in all numerals . A numeric date format is used when the date is standalone—for example, in a signature. The U.S. date format is month-day-year, while the day-month-year format is followed by the UK and other nations. Slashes or hyphens are used to separate the parts of the date.

• American : Signed 5-11-21 for May 11, 2021 British: Signed 11-5-21 for 11 May 2021
• American: Dated 11/5/2021 for November 5, 2021 British: Dated 5/11/2021 for 5 November 2021

All-numeric dates are also written in the YYYY-MM-DD format, as specified by the ISO . This internationally agreed way to show dates is common in government, corporate, and other official usage. One of the benefits of this system is that it makes for easier sorting and storage of files and folders. In file names and data entries, hyphens are generally omitted.

• Please submit all applications by 2023-05-01 . referring to May 1, 2023
• Application_ 20230501 date in a file name

The date in words

Dates are generally written in words rather than numerals in creative writing and legal documents. Spell out the day and the month, but use numerals for the year.

• Where were you on the night of the fifteenth at 11 p.m.?
• On the twenty-second of January 2021 , an object landed in Farley’s garden.
• They left on the first of December .

In formal writing, follow the prescribed format of writing the day and year in figures and spelling out the month.

• American: On January 22, 2021, an object landed in Farley’s garden. British: On 22 January 2021 , an object landed in Farley’s garden.
• American: They left on December 1 . British: They left on 1 December .

The month abbreviated

When part of a specific date, the month may be abbreviated . Write the first three letters of the month, followed by a period . Don’t abbreviate May, June, and July. In formal writing, abbreviations for dates are useful in tables and charts but avoided in running text.

• Jan. 9, 1997
• Feb. 24, 2022
• May 1, 1997

In British style, the form is day-month-year.

• 9 Jan. 1997
• 24 Feb. 2022

In AP style, the abbreviations Jan. , Feb. , Aug. , Sept. , Oct. , Nov. , and Dec. are used. The remaining months are not abbreviated.

Periods may be omitted in informal usage, if there are space constraints, or in a fixed format, such as a table. The months June and July are also then abbreviated.

• Jan 9, 2021
• Jun 11, 2023
• 11-Jun-2023
• 29 Dec 2051

On vs. in with dates

Use on with a date with the exact day. Use in to refer to the month or the year.

• Your flight departs on August 3, 2022 .
• Your flight departs on the third of August .
• The restaurant will reopen in August 2022 .
• The restaurant will reopen in August .
• The restaurant will reopen in 2022 .

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Place a comma between the day and the year in a date.

No comma is necessary between the month and the year in a date.

No comma is needed between the month and the year in a date.

Ordinals are not used in dates in formal writing.

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• Writing Tips

How to Write the Date in an Essay

• 3-minute read
• 4th February 2016

You probably see the date written down (or displayed on a screen) dozens of times every day. You might even have to write it out yourself if you’re booking an appointment or organising your schedule.

Despite this, most of us give very little thought to how we write the date. In academic writing and other formal contexts , however, it’s important to use a clear and consistent format.

Different Formats

The most important thing to remember when writing the date is that, in the UK and throughout most of the world, we favour a day-month-year format (otherwise known as the little-endian sequence ). This can be presented in numerous ways, including:

• Day + Month (e.g. 21 April)
• Day + Month + Year (e.g., 21 April 2016)
• Numbers Only (e.g. 21/04/2016)

There are also variations to how these can be presented, such as using an ordinal suffix after the day.  These are the letters we’d use if we were writing the number out in full and are often written with a superscript font:

We last spoke on the 21st of April.

The meetings will be held on the 2 nd of February and the 13 th June.

Sometimes, the month in the date can be shortened to save space:

14 January 2012 → 14 Jan. 2012

9 October → 9 Oct.

However, generally in formal writing it’s better to use the longer format for clarity. Likewise, when including a date in an essay you should usually write it out (e.g. 21 April 2016) rather than use the numbers-only style.

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Check Your Style Guide and Be Consistent

Since there are various ways of writing the date, you should always check your university’s style guide to see if a preferred format is specified. If it doesn’t offer any particular advice, simply pick a clear format that suits you and make sure to use it consistently for all dates in your essay.

UK vs. American Dates

The other thing to keep in mind when writing (and reading) dates is how the US date format differs from ours. In America, dates use a month-day-year format, which can lead to problems when they are written out in numbers only as days and months get confused.

The US date format also places a comma between the day and year when both are numbers, as well as omitting superscript letters. The only time you would use superscript letters after the day in the US date format is when writing it out in full as, e.g., the 10 th of September.

You can see a few examples of UK and US dates below:

As you can see, the date ‘07/04/2016’ represents the 7th of April 2016 in the UK, but the same numbers indicate the 4th of July in America! Take care about which format you use when writing for international audiences.

The International Date Format

Finally, if you’re sharing information across the world, you may want to use the  international date format (ISO 8601) . This is a standardized format that works across borders, so it is commonly used by government organizations and global businesses. And it always uses the format YYYY-MM-DD, which removes any chance of confusion:

We sent the invoice on 2020-07-10 .

The date above, for example, denotes the 10th of July 2020.

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