writing - What's the correct way to format a date range, time range, and days of week in a single line?
I'd like to write the date and time for an event that runs for one week. Currently I have:
June 3-7, 2013, 8:30am-5:30pm; Monday-Friday
Is this stylistically acceptable? Is there a better way?
Answer
If you are required to keep that level of detail, you could write
June 3–7 (Monday–Friday), 2013, 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
or
Monday–Friday, June 3–7, 2013, 8:30am–5:30pm daily
The Associated Press Stylebook as synopsized at a www.wwu.edu/journalism webpage recommends the forms a.m. and p.m. rather than am and pm. In my opinion, 8:30–5:30 is an adequately unambiguous designation for 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. and I'd write things like the following, in spite of having no authorities to directly support these forms.
M–F 8:30–5:30 daily, 3–7 June 2013
or
3–7 June 2013 (M–F 8:30–5:30)
or
3–7 June 2013 (M–F 8:30–5:30 daily)
Some useful advice and links to guides appear in How to write date range succinctly and unambiguously in American written English? and How to write the date of an event that lasts a few days.
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