Writing the amount of your payment helps to avoid confusion. Simply write out how many dollars should come out of your checking account.
You'll notice that the word "dollars" is already written on your check - so you don't need to write it again.
Write the "cents" portion using a fraction. For example, if your payment is for $8.15, you'd write "Eight and 15/100". If your payment was for $8.95, you'd write "Eight and 95/100".
Immediately after you read out the amount, you should draw a line all the way over to the word "DOLLARS". This makes it harder for anybody to write something else in that space.
Do You Even Need to Write Checks?