How to write good bulleted and numbered lists

In this article you will learn:

The reasons for using bulleted and numbered lists instead of run-on text.
Tips for keeping your list logical and grammatical.
How to style your list for capitalisation and punctuation.

Reasons for using a vertical (displayed) list

Displayed lists stack information vertically, instead of as continuous running text, using bullets, numbers or letters (or a mix). List items should have something in common. Numbers are only needed for sequential steps or items in a set order. Other lists just need bullets.

Reasons for using a displayed list instead of run-on text include to:

highlight or group important information
simplify complex information into short chunks
enable readers to quickly find key points without reading the whole text
visually break up page content to make it more readable.

How to keep your list logical and grammatical

Keep it short

Displayed lists are meant to be read quickly and easily, so keep them short. Condense or simplify the information and try to keep list items about the same length. If you need more than two sentences for a list item, it defeats the point of making it into a displayed list.

Keep it balanced

Your list must read logically, as if you’d written it as run-on text.

Make sure each item in the list reads on logically from the introductory sentence (stem or lead-in).
Don’t repeat parts of the introduction in the list.
Use the same structure for each list item, such as starting with –ing verbs.
Be consistent with wording (such as plural or singular forms).

Wrong

Using a bulleted list helps readers by:

using a list to highlight important information
it can break up text into more readable chunks
help capture readers’ attention in a long text.

Correct

Using a bulleted list helps readers by:

highlighting important information
breaking up text into more readable chunks
capturing attention in a long text.

List punctuation and capitalisation

When I’m editing an author’s draft text, I almost always need to clean up lists – especially adding or removing punctuation and capital letters. It’s not because there’s a right or wrong way to present lists; it’s just a style choice.

Lists I encounter are invariably inconsistent. Some list items start with a capital letter but others don’t. Some end with a full stop while others have a semicolon or no punctuation. But there’s no logic to that inconsistency.

You can decide which you prefer. The important thing is to pick a system and stick to it so that lists are presented consistently throughout your text. That helps the reader focus on what you’re saying rather than wonder what the different capitals or punctuation mean.

Here are some list formatting choices for you to decide.

Introductory sentence: End all with a colon? Or only use a colon where the list continues the sentence and use a full stop where the list items are full sentences in their own right (like this list)?
Capitals: Start list items with a capital letter or a lower case letter? Or, for example, start with a capital if it is a complete sentence and lower case if it is not (a fragment).
End punctuation: Add punctuation to the end of each list item? For example, a full stop if a complete sentence and no punctuation or a semicolon if it’s a fragment. Or no punctuation except for a full stop at the end of the last item in the list. Or no punctuation at all…

It’s up to you!

So, next time you’re writing a list, ask yourself:

Is a displayed list more readable than a run-on text list?
Does the list read logically and grammatically from the introductory stem?
Are the capitalisation and punctuation logical and consistent?

Daisy Editorial