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So we often get the general advice that we should spell out small numbers and use numerals for large numbers. However, what if you are referring to a list of a few numbers, some large and some small. Switching between numerals and spelt-out numbers. For example, consider the following

I repeated the experiment five times using five, eight, 10, 20 and 100 mice.

This just looks awkward. Would,

I repeated the experiment five times using 5, 8, 10, 20 and 100 mice,

be better?

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    This is a stylistic choice. If you are writing for publication, consult the style guide of the publication you are writing for.
    – The Photon
    Nov 1, 2020 at 23:58
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    The second is perfectly fine – there is no need to be dogmatic about it. I use whatever I think will be clearest, such as "3 three-legged mice." It can't be misread as "33-legged mice", and isn't the odd-looking "three three-legged mice."
    – Weather Vane
    Nov 2, 2020 at 0:27
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    Go ahead with the numerals and also remove "respectively" for being misapplied. Use it to show a correlation: A and B use X and Y respectively (because A uses X, and B uses Y.)
    – Yosef Baskin
    Nov 2, 2020 at 4:53
  • @WeatherVane Can you post as an answer and I will accept.
    – WetlabStudent
    Nov 3, 2020 at 1:33

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The second is fine – there is no need to be dogmatic.

I use whatever I think will be clearest, such as '3 three-legged mice'.

If I wrote '3 3-legged mice' it could be misread as '33-legged mice'
and writing 'three three-legged mice' looks very odd.

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