Vertical lists are set apart from the surrounding text and are usually prefaced with bullets or sequential numbers or letters. By far, this is the most vexing punctuation issue! Q: If you have a hyphen in a headline, is the word after the hyphen capitalized? But if you are using a style guide, you may want to check it for guidance on which style to use. This is a tricky one for me because, personally, I agree with you. A: In this instance, use a plural verb. Q: In a news story, can you start a sentence with an acronym? I love traveling to Ireland because of its: I do not recommend this vertical lists punctuated as a sentence format with semicolons for business writing. AP and Chicago Manual of Style - capitalize initial word and use periods after sentence list items. A: Use "that" for a thing, "who" for the personal pronoun, although "that" also fits some human references. There's an old joke: It makes it easier for your reader. While the above words are generally capitalized in titles regardless of style, there are some words that are generally not capitalized when using title case. A If a sentence contains more than three items or ideas, we recommend breaking them up into a bulleted list. There are five important things to watch for in numbered and bulleted lists: inconsistent capitalization. AP Style calls for periods after each bullet point, but Texas A&M House Style allows either periods or no periods - just pick one and be consistent. Once again, complete sentences introducing unordered lists are traditionally punctuated with a colon. A: AP uses hyphenated e- for generic terms such as e-commerce and e-strategies. Bulleted lists can be used with complete sentences, phrases, or a combination. AP style capitalization is mainly used by writers for the Associated Press but is also used widely throughout journalism. If you want to change your title from uppercase to title case, you can select the Title Case button above. Next post: Make blog post content rich with layers, Previous post: Blog Post Format: Chunk It. Include the dateline - BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Jan. 1, 2022; . Capitalization looks fancy and makes things seem important. Home Style and Grammar Guidelines Lists Lists Just as heading structure alerts readers to the order of ideas in a paper, lists help readers understand a related set of key points within a sentence or paragraph. 59 0 obj
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A colon should be used to introduce the list, and the first letter of each point should be capitalised. Start each list item with a capital letter, unless case is an important part of the information conveyed by the listsuch as in a list of glossary terms. Inconsistent punctuation; Sometimes the grammar isn't parallel between items. Infants are happy to participate in normal household chores, such as cleaning up. How will ChatGPT affect the communications profession? Write a strong thesis statement, compose the body of your essay, complete the introduction, and. How to Write Vertical Lists (Ordered and Unordered), How to Export PDF Tables from Adobe Acrobat to Excel (PC & Mac), How to Insert Images into Shapes in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac), How to Align the Periods in Numbered Lists in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac), How to Password Protect Files in Microsoft Word, How to Password Protect PDFs in Adobe Acrobat (PC & Mac). Include periods after independent clauses, dependent clauses, and long phrases, and also after short phrases or words that are necessary to make the sentence grammatically complete: To register for the Annual Meeting: Go to aad.org. These are perfectly acceptable, and some style guides suggest writing lists like this. Try it with these examples and see if the period makes more sense. In this tutorial, well explore guidelines for how to write vertical lists. In business writing, yes, use a colon at the end of the introductory stem sentence. The most accepted style guide in business writing and web publishing is the AP Stylebook. 7. . Ordered lists that are part of an incomplete introductory sentence are lowercased and punctuated as if each item was inside the sentence.5, The animal shelters most generous donors were, 2. local businesses, including the hardware store, grocery store, and coffee shop; and. Example 1: Infants will try to help others who seem like they need help with simple tasks, such as carrying multiple objects. They are also written without terminal punctuation (i.e., they dont end in a period, comma, colon, or semicolon).9. Q: My AP Stylebook always lists examples in italics, so it's difficult to see if italics are part of the style. Subscribe to the My Blog Editor blog for the latest TIPS on improving the QUALITY of your business content. You can also use this tool to do it automatically. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter! Quickly convert your title or text to title case by simply clicking the Title Case button in the tool above. Do you capitalize the first word of a bullet point? 2-5 p.m.) and when to use the word "to"? Your email address will not be published. A: In a simple series, AP doesn't use a comma before the last item. There was an error submitting your subscription. Here is an example of bullet lists that need a period to complete the introductory stem sentence: Here is an example of bullets lists that do not need a period because they are fragments not connected to the introductory stem sentence: These are reasons I love traveling to Ireland: Here is an example of bullet lists that do not need a period because theyre one word or a short phrase that feels like an inventory or shopping list: This issue is straightforward. A: As a descriptive term, doctorate in psychology is lowercase. Thank you, Sarah! Thanks for the catch! A: AP doesn't use italics in news stories. Young adults have many motivations for texting on their smartphones: Further information about bulleted lists is available in the Publication Manual, including how to format lists of definitions in a glossary. Bulleted lists are covered in Section 6.52 of the APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition This guidance has been expanded from the 6th edition. By virtue of their formatting, numbered lists stand . The CMS is commonly used in the publishing sphere, and AP style is more press-oriented . Because AP recommends the colon and AP is the preferred business writing style guide, I recommend using it consistently in your business writing. If you left caps lock on accidentally, you can quickly convert your title from uppercase to lowercase by selecting the lower button above. - Capitalize the first word following the dash or bullet. 205-921-5556. Capitalize the second word in a hyphenated compound if both words are equal and not suffices or prefixes (e.g., Cost-Benefit), Capitalize the first non-Greek letter after a lowercase Greek letter (e.g., -Bromohexanoic), Lowercase the first non-Greek letter after a capital Greek letter (e.g., -9-tetrahydrocannabinol), Capitalize the genus but not the species epithet. DO NOT capitalize plural words even when part of a proper name (e.g. It is intended as a guide to common PR Team style and . Chicago Manual of Style does not. Ordered vertical lists have, you guessed it, an order. For example, here is a summary of the instructions to write a standard 5 paragraph essay. Then craft an attention-grabbing headline, write the body of your press release, add the boilerplate section, and distribute your press . She excels at designing customized business writing training programs to maximize productivity, advance business objectives, and convey complex information. If numbers arent essential, use bullets, especially in business documents. RULE: Use periods after independent clauses, dependent clauses, or long phrases that are displayed on separate lines in alist. Only use it to avoid ambiguity, if part of the series contains a conjunction or if you have a complex series of phrases. A: Normally staff is a collective taking a singular verb, Spelling (one word or two; hyphenation; noun phrases; prefixes; suffixes), Titles (academic; courtesy; professional; military; occupational; political; religious). Use sentence case capitalization Use sentence case capitalization for most content, including page titles, headings, subheadings, buttons, and text links, unless a word is a proper noun. Avoid a mix. AP has a few punctuation rules that differ from many common style guides: Do not use a comma before the last item in a simple series ("My favorite candy includes Snickers, Twix and Zagnut bars."). Capitalize every word in the headline; the main subhead is a complete sentence with a period. That order can be based on rank (e.g., a list of most favorite to least favorite foods) or sequence (e.g., recipe instructions). always refer to the style guide and doublecheck capitalization recommendations. %%EOF
Online and technology (the web; the internet; URL; computers; e-commerce ). A: AP uses the numeral for acres, even when less than 10, as a dimension: 5 acres. . - Put a space between the dash or bullet and the first word of each item in the list. Of course, youll want to keep using capitals for all the basics: the beginning of every sentence, proper nouns like names and specific locations, days of the week and months. I like oranges. Below you'll find information on numbers, time and dates, locations, phone numbers, punctuation, capitalization and titles, and the Internet. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 2003-2022 Judy Vorfeld's Office Support Services. [M zmp0&BLp$UPd67Z9Ha{0gPY "nG~h%rls 'wdt;:^2i+>f9V%EQ)j2"^e\KP"TiNc-((V A&N+E}E;SnIP This option is helpful for complex or longer bulleted sentences that may be more difficult to read without the aid . July 31, 2019. A: A partial spelling with hyphens in place of some letters would convey the meaning. How a list is punctuated depends on the sort of information that is being presented. The book club members made a list of their favorite genres: Individual list items following a complete sentence that are themselves complete sentences are each punctuated with a period.4. But if you're following AP style, chances are you're overusing those big letters. Alternatively, you can use our tool to convert text from lowercase to uppercase by clicking the UPPER button. - Use periods, not semicolons, at the end of each section. AP Stylebook: Use periods after bullets. Again, these will depend on the specific style you choose (see Title Capitalization Rules by Style section). Words that should not be capitalized include: Bulleted Lists: Capitalization and Punctuation By Judy Vorfeld Did you know that before the introduction of word processing (via word processors and computers), most publications displayed lists in either outline form or numbered lists. If nothing else, your writing will be consistent. However, in lists of bullet points, the beginning of a point is also indicated by space and the item marker (whether a bullet, a number, or a letter). 7.2.15 New section added on when to capitalize names of degree programs. Bullets normally preface unordered list items.7. The buttons at the bottom let you choose specific case conversion options for the various styles. An updated list of units of measurement makes finding what you need a breeze. Lower is default; upper is special. Clarity and consistency are the building blocks of great content. 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. You have multiple options to capitalize and change the case of your titles, headlines, song titles, book titles, email subjects, and more. In bulleted and numbered lists, do not use a period or other punctuation after titles or phrases that are not complete sentences (also good for accessibility).