Consistency is important when you’re writing a bullet point list. Don’t mix up sentences, introductory stems, and single-word bullet points within the same list. Use the same punctuation guidelines when the bullet point lists have the same structure.
And, as a guideline, we’d suggest punctuating bullet points as follows: When listing full sentences, use a period for each entry (like here). For lists with longer sentence fragments, periods are optional. For a mix of fragments and full sentences, use a period at the end of each entry (just as you would for a list of full sentences).
What: The opening text is a full sentence. So are the individual bullet points. Opening sentence: Capital letter and either a full stop or a colon [:]. Bullet points: Capital letters and full stops. Make sure that all your bullet points are full sentences. You don’t want any fragmented ones to sneak in with a full stop by mistake. EXAMPLE 1
Punctuation Bullet Points. Let me tell you how I punctuate them, and then I will touch on other ways recommended by prestigious style manuals. Here is what I recommend: Use a period (full stop) after every bullet point that is a sentence (as these bullets do). Use a period after every bullet point that completes the introductory stem.
each bullet point only includes one short sentence; you use lower case at the start of the bullet point, unless it starts with a proper noun; you do not use full stops within bullet points – where possible, start another bullet point or use commas, dashes, or semicolons to expand
Bullet points can be used to structure any list and are usually used to break up long blocks of text, highlight key points, or summarize text. How to Punctuate Bullet Points. The first thing to do is check whether your style guide has anything to say about punctuating bullet points. If it does, then follow its instructions.
Have a full stop after the final point. Style 3: Initial capitals and no end punctuation. Using this style, you: Introduce the list with a colon; Start each point with an initial capital; Have no end punctuation after any point; Adding extra information to bullet points in lists. When you want to add extra information to a bullet point that ...
start each bullet point with a lower case letter; put a full stop at the end. If the bullet points are very short and don’t form a sentence, like this: Start with a capital; Don’t add full stops; Use full stops sparingly; It is fine to add a full stop at the end of each bullet if the bullet points are long and include:
Some style guides will suggest that when bullets are fragments you should put a semicolon at the end of each one, write ‘and’ at the end of the next-to-last bullet, then have a full stop after the final one. This isn’t wrong – just another style (and there are many other styles). We simply prefer the clean look of minimalist punctuation.
In multi-author documents, inconsistencies in bullet punctuation are a constant concern. Authors often have their own preferred style of punctuation. For example, one author might prefer list items to end in semicolons, while another prefers full stops. It’s challenging enough for each author to apply their own rules consistently.
finish the last one with a full stop. If the bullets are a self-contained list (ie there’s no sentence ending in a colon before them) do them like this. Capital letter at the start of each one. And a full stop at the end of each one. If your bullet points are all questions, ignore the above and start them with caps (even if you’ve got a colon).
That is, if one bullet ends with a period (full stop), end all with a period, following these rules: a. If all bullets are sentences, end each one with a period (full stop). b. If all bullets are phrases or fragments, use no end punctuation.Here is a helpful piece on how to format bulleted lists. Avoid ending bullet points with semicolons.
The speaker made three points. The world population has been rising since the industrial revolution. The global birth rate is falling. Population levels will peak in 2050, then plateau. Again, the colon introduces the list. But this time, each of the bullet points start with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, like a normal sentence.
Full stops should not be used in bullet lists, e.g.: In this list of bullet points there are no full stops; So this one doesn't have one either; Or this one; However, if you need full stops, make sure your bullets end with them and you maintain consistency, e.g.: In this point, there is a full stop. Because of that, there needs to be one at the ...
bullet points should flow seamlessly from the lead-in text; start each point with the same type of word, such as a verb or noun (known as parallel structure) minimal punctuation, inserting a full stop on the last point only, is preferred; start each point with a lowercase letter. Note: Even lists in plain body text must still run in parallel.
Back at McKinsey in the 1990s, we were taught to write paragraphs in bullet point form but starting with what we called a “clunk”, with a heavy paragraph sign as the bullet point anchor (a pilcrow), and leave the full stop out after the last sentence (but use them for other sentences in the bullet point paragraph).
Punctuating Bullet Points. How to punctuate bullet points is the topic of many business writing courses. Punctuating bullet points correctly is important. Here are 5 basic recommendations for bullet point punctuation UK: Not all bullet points need periods. But, bullet listings that are a full sentence should end with a period (a full stop).
