Everyone loves a vertical list. They’re easy to read. They look good. Why wouldn’t you want to add a list to your work? The tricky thing is punctuation. Do you need a colon to introduce a list? Should each point start with a capital letter and end with a period? So many choices to make!
To help, we’ve prepared a guide to punctuating and capitalizing bullet points.
When a vertical list follows a full sentence, introduce it with a colon.
There are two main methods available:
You can also use a colon after a partial sentence.
Available methods include:
However, you can omit the colon when a list follows a partial sentence.
Available methods include
This is ultimately a matter of stylistic preference. But if you are using a style guide, you may want to check it for guidance on which style to use.
We’re often asked whether you need a period at the end of each entry in a list. And, as a guideline, we’d suggest punctuating bullet points as follows:
However, this again comes down to preference and your chosen style guide. The key thing is applying a clear and consistent punctuation style to all lists.
Although a little old-fashioned, some people like to use semicolons or commas in lists. This is usually done when each list entry finishes an introductory phrase, as shown below:
Over the weekend, I have
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The idea is that the list reads like a single sentence, with semicolons separating each point, a conjunction just before the final entry, and a period at the end.
We could also write this list with commas instead of semicolons.
These are perfectly acceptable, and some style guides suggest writing lists like this. However, most people now leave out the extra punctuation.
Finally, should you capitalize the first letter of each entry in a vertical list? And if so, when? This is another case where there are no hard rules! If you have a list of full sentences – or a list with a mix of full sentences and fragments – we suggest capitalizing the first letter in each item.
Activities for this weekend:
For lists of fragments, short phrases, or words, capitalization is optional:
My favorite fruits include:
As with the other optional punctuation above, though, make sure to use a consistent capitalization style throughout your writing. And if you’d like any more help with the punctuation and capitalization of lists in a document, don’t forget we have proofreaders available 24/7!
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