Stand-Alone Date

• 1). Write out the month of the year or abbreviate it. Skip a space and write the day of the month in numerals. For instance: August 28 or Aug. 28.
  
  
• 2). Follow the numerical day of the month with a comma. Skip a space and write the year in numerals. For example: August 28, 2011 or Aug. 28, 2011.
  
  
• 3). Place the numerical day of the month before the month in situations that follow that convention: 28 August. If necessary, follow with a comma and the year in numerals: 28 August, 2011.
  
  

Punctuating Within Sentences

• 1). Include the date within a sentence in either full or abbreviated form with a comma between the day and the year: August 28, 2011, or Aug. 28, 2011.
  
  
• 2). Add a comma after the year to separate the year from the rest of the sentence: "On August 28, 2011, we sailed away on our cruise."
  
  
• 3). Add a comma after the year even if you write the date in day, month, year format: "On 28 August, 2011, we sailed away on our cruise."