1. How to grapple with #s
without strangling your
copy (or yourself)

2. Dealing with #s
! Common mistakes even the pro’s make
! Round off 90.9%
! Rule: If 4 or below, round down; if 5 or
up, round up
! If 125 had increased by 15%, what was the
original number?
! 108.7
A Tenorio

3. Dealing with #s
! Know your audience
! If you were writing for average Filipino,
would you say this?
! The PSEi slipped 100 bps, hitting a fresh low
at 5,900
! Or this?
! The Philippine stock market slipped one
percent, hitting a fresh low at 5,900
A Tenorio

4. Dealing with #s
! If you must use jargon, define please
! GDP (gross domestic product)
! The amount of final goods and services
produced in the country (a.k.a. Gawa Dito
sa Pinas)
! Inflation
! The average increase of prices of all
consumer products and services
A Tenorio

5. Dealing with #s
! Context, context, context
! 5Ws & 1H
! Inflation slowed despite bad weather and
oil price hikes. In a report, the National
Statistics Office said inflation dipped to
2.1 percent last month from 2.5 percent
the previous month
A Tenorio

6. Dealing with #s
! Cut it down to size
! Can you imagine this?
! The government's unpaid debt rising by
seven percent from P5.101 trillion in June
last year to P5.451 trillion in the same
month this year
A Tenorio

7. Dealing with #s
! Illusion of precision
! The average Filipino earned P8,111.85 last year,
according to a survey done by the National
Statistics Office
! The average Filipino earned about P8,100 last
year, according to a survey done by the
National Statistics Office
! Exception to the rule: When real money is at
stake (e.g. litigation, bank transactions)
A Tenorio

8. Dealing with #s
! Interpret, not just report
! Unemployment rose to 7.3 percent in July
this year from seven percent in the same
month last year, the National Statistics
Office reported today
A Tenorio