Bullet Lists - Do's and Don'ts

Do I use a Bullet list or a Number lists? For many of us, knowing when to use, and when not to use, bullet, numbered or outline lists can prove difficult.

Before Word Processing came along, most publications displayed lists as either outline or numbered lists, but with Microsoft Word, you suddenly had bullet lists!

When to use Numbered lists

Use numbered lists when you're explaining instructions that need to be performed in sequence.

Numbered and unnumbered lists are most frequently used in academic and government publications. If numbers aren't essential use bullets, especially in business related documents.

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When to capitalize the first letter in a bulleted item

In most cases, you can start each bulleted item with a capital letter. As we’re taught in school to capitalize only proper nouns and the first word of a complete sentence, it may feel wrong to capitalize these single words and phrases.

Today it is generally accepted that you can capitalize the first word in bullet lists

When to use periods and have bulleted items end without punctuation

Use periods after independent clauses, dependent clauses, or long phrases that are displayed on separate lines in a list.

For example:
The software has the following features:

• Content Management features
• Dynamic Binding capabilities
• Autonomic programming add-ins.

Use periods after short phrases that are essential for the completeness of the statement introducing the list.

For example:

Microsoft Word has a number of features, including:

• Indexing
• Master Pages
• HTML generation

You don’t have to use periods after short phrases or single words in a list if the introductory statement is grammatically complete.

For example:

The houses in this price range have attractive features, such as:

• Large gardens
• Spacious rooms
• Central heating
• Garage

When one item contains a complete sentence, punctuate all bulleted items.

Capitalize the first words and put a period at the end of each item. For example:

The US Army does not accept recruits who have engaged in:

• Criminal Activities
• Anti-Government demonstrations
• Violent history. Please list all occasions when you were arrested or detained

Note: if you're creating a long document full of bulleted items, be consistent and decide at the start to end each item with, or without, a period. Within a grouping, always use all periods or no periods.

Avoid alternating throughout the document.

How NOT to do it

The managements suggests that you

• Arrive on Friday;
• Cook all the dishes, clean up, change your clothes; and
• Go back home once you’ve feed us all.

If you want to use the semicolons (;), delete the bullets and create a sentence.