Bullet lists are all the rage these days, so let’s give a very quick overview about correct usage, shall we?
- Each bullet should begin a new idea, or a new item
- Unless every bullet is a complete sentence, you do not need periods at the end of each item
- If at all possible, the bullets should be “parallel.”
- That is, the grammatical structure should match:
- Orange ball (Adjective noun)
- Yellow sun (Adjective noun)
- Blue sky (Adjective noun)
- Not random, unparallel construction:
- Clear sky (Adjective noun)
- Happily running (Adverb verb)
- He laughs (Noun verb)
What obvious things did I miss? Thoughts? Questions? (I’m kind of tired, so really, anything is possible.)
I recently blogged about avoiding tautology when introducing bulleted lists (see http://www.daccreative.co.uk/goodcopybadcopy/?p=37).
But as you’ll see from the comments, the post set off a rather abstruse discussion about the use of the colon. Perhaps you can tell us your thoughts!
I love bullet lists not just because they are Google-icious, but also because they help keep ideas organized and accessible. Numbered lists are good too, but usually used in a very different way 😉
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..Rhetoric 101
And, isn’t it interesting, about the numbered list and bullet list thing? They’re so similar, really, and often could be used interchangeably, and yet … they’re different!
Hi Deb
I recently blogged on the topic of “How to avoid inflation when introducing a bulleted list” as part of my “Tautology Tuesday” series.
Tautology aside, the post elicited commentary about the use of the colon when introducing a list, specifically Strunk & White’s rule that a colon “should not separate a verb from its complement or a preposition from its object”.
I think this is a rule that US writers get more worked up about than we do in the UK, but I’d be grateful for your thoughts on the matter!
Clare
As I understand it, you should never put a colon directly after a verb. (“The list follows:”) Primarily, that is because a colon’s main function is to introduce, so putting it after the verb is redundant, since the verb is already introducing the list.
http://punctualityrules.com/2008/06/02/mm-colon-punctuation/
So to adhere strictly to the “no colon after a verb” rule, shouldn’t you remove the first colon, following “match” in your above post? Personally, I’m not offended by it, but I get the impression a lot of Strunk & White devotees would be!