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Here is my troubling sentence:

The student scored 1364 on/in/within a range of 987-2198.

Which preposition do you recommend?

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  • I wouldn't use on for a number range. But the range is so bizarre, It's hard to focus on how 1364 would fit in that range. Scores can be as low as 987 and as high as 2198?
    – Yosef Baskin
    Mar 15 at 22:25
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    The student scored 1,364 out of a 987-2,198 range. Out of, is what I would use. I earned thousands of points out of a possible million points.
    – Lambie
    Mar 16 at 17:54

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Your sentence is troubling to me too. I don't know what you are trying to express. Why is the range important? Why is it important to include the lower value?

Conversationally, I would say something like,

The student scored 1,375 out of a possible 2,198 points.

If the range is important to include I would say something like,

The student scored 1,365 within the possible range of 987 - 2,198

To me, the sentence is easier to parse with the odd but important range font loaded and addressed first.

Within the possible range of 987 - 2,198, the student scored 1,365.

This lets me know that we are not just interested in what the student scored but we are also interested in the range of possible scores. When the range follows the score I am more focused on the score.

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