Someone must have said that using lists makes your writing better. I say that because I see a lot of lists online and in print.
It’s true that lists can make your message easier to understand. They help readers grasp not only information, but relationships between facts.
But this improvement is often diminished by writers and editors who do it wrong:
- they format their lists incorrectly
- they use unnecessary punctuation
- they use unnecessary capital letters
- they don’t use parallel grammatical structure.
Here are some tips on how to create clear, professional-looking lists for your Web pages and other documents.
Don’t try to create it on your own
Use your word processing program’s bulleted or numbered paragraph tool. In Microsoft Word, there are two buttons for indented lists in the Home rib
bon. One creates a bulleted list, the next a numbered list. In addition to putting a bullet, another symbol or a number at the left margin, the tool indents the paragraph for you. It creates a new bulleted or numbered item after you hit the Return/Enter key, and returns to the normal, unbulleted format when you hit Enter twice in a row.
Back in the old days when word processors did not have this feature, we would have to insert a special character (or use Ctrl-8 for a large dot), then set up the margins and tabs for an indent with a hanging outdented first line. We can still do this, of course, but the danger is in creating inconsistent margins and tabs.
And I still see some lists created in this “manual” process, where the paragraphs are not indented or the bullet is
Use bulleted lists as your default
Save numbers for lists where the order is important. If you’re not explaining a step-by-step process, the numbers are unnecessary. And just use round or square symbols or dashes. Arrows or cute symbols do not make a professional impression.
Eliminate unnecessary punctuation.
You don’t need a period or a semi-colon at the end of each item in a bulleted or numbered list. A former supervisor of mine explained it this way: the bullet point takes the place of all other punctuation, and a semi-colon at the end of each item in the list is unnecessary.
Start with lower case
A typical list starts with an opening sentence or phrase, followed by a colon. Each item should be able to complete the sentence begun by the opening. So unless each item in the list is a complete sentence that can stand on its own, start each with a lower-case letter, as in the example at the top of this post. Microsoft Word automatically corrects the lower-case opening of each line with a capital, but you can change this behavior in Word Options.
Use parallel structure
This is essential to help your readers understand your writing. If one item in the list is a complete imperative sentence, then every item must be. If each item begins with a progressive verb followed by a noun or prepositional phrase, then they all must.
End with a final period
Because a list is really just a vertical rendering of what could less effectively be formatted as a long, complex sentence with semi-colons, it should start with a capital letter (at the beginning of the opening phrase) and end with a period. It also shows your readers that you didn’t just accidentally turn off bullet points or numbering.
Some examples
Do not capitalize:
- generic geographical terms: the city; eastern Spain; the north branch of the river
- job functions: coordinator of coffee
- plural titles: “These copies are for the members of Parliament.”
- non-specific legal terms: “Parliament debated a new crime act.”
A list composed of full sentences:
- Use bulleted lists as your default
- Save numbers for lists where the order is important
- Eliminate unnecessary punctuation like semi-colons
- Maintain lower case unless each item in the list is a complete sentence that can stand on its own
- Use a final period at the end of the list
- Use parallel structure for each entry.
I hope this helps. If you have any questions, leave them in the Comments section.
Happy writing!