Should I capitalise the first letter when a sentence starts with a number?

Question

When starting a sentence with a number, should the first letter be capitalised?For example,> 96% **R**eal meat.or> 96% **r**eal meat.

Answer 1

In formal writing, we never begin a sentence with a numeral. Instead, we spell the word out. For example:

Ninety-two percent of the students graduated, and 78% of the students attended college the next year.

However, we often try to avoid this by rephrasing. For example:

An impressive 92% of the students graduated, and 78% of the student attended college the next year.

In your example, however, “Ninety-six percent real meat” isn’t even a complete sentence. If you are writing something formal, you could say, “This product contains 96% real meat.” If you are simply putting a phrase on a label, etc., advertisements typically use all caps:

96% REAL MEAT

Answer 2

Hi, Jami,

Most style guides discourage starting a sentence with a number, so I will suggest several remedies:

1) Ninety-six percent real...

2) The product is composed of 96 percent real...

3) (If you are dead set on starting with a numeral), do NOT capitalize the "r."