The same applies when someone may refer to specific items by number. Capitalize the first and the last word of titles and subtitles. Individual list items following a complete sentence are usually capitalized but appear without terminal punctuation (i.e., they dont end in a period, comma, colon, or semicolon) if they are incomplete sentences, phrases, or single words.3. The Fantastic Shakers have won many awards. We could also write this list with commas instead of semicolons. Next, read the lead-in word or phrase again followed by the second item on the list. Q: Is the proper phrase "If money were no object" or "If money was no object"? These aren't always the same abbreviations the mail carrier uses. I am a technical writer and editor who shares writing-related software tutorials on this website and on YouTube. Your email address will not be published. A: Use "that" for a thing, "who" for the personal pronoun, although "that" also fits some human references. A 8 Tips to Make Your Writing Sound More Formal, Capitalization in APA, Chicago, MLA, and AP. With this format, use commas after each list item and on the next-to-last list, item use the word and close the list with a . 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."). The following rules apply to APA headline capitalization and title capitalization: Making sure you have the right capitalization for MLA headings is crucial for scholarly articles. Use all sentences or all. Continue from there down the list. The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) recommends prefacing unordered lists with dashes instead of bullets, although bullets are an acceptable choice for some publications.AP style also recommends punctuating complete and incomplete introductory sentences with a colon and capitalizing the first word in each list item as well as punctuating For lists of fragments, short phrases, or words, capitalization is optional: My favorite fruits include: oranges apples bananas dragon fruit My favorite fruits include: Oranges Apples Bananas Dragon fruit As with the other optional punctuation above, though, make sure to use a consistent capitalization style throughout your writing. 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. A: 2-5 p.m. is preferred. That's . Quickly convert your title or text to title case by simply clicking the Title Case button in the tool above. There's an old joke: To help, weve prepared a guide to punctuating and capitalizing bullet points. Capitalization (proper nouns: America; proper names: Democratic Party; popular names: Indy 500; compositions: books, movies, operas ). In APA 7, you have two options for punctuating bulleted phrases: to include no punctuation after each list item and after the last list item or to include commas or semicolons, as appropriate, after each list item and final punctuation at the end of the list. If numbers arent essential, use bullets, especially in business documents. Let me frame my recommendations. In business writing, yes, use a colon at the end of the introductory stem sentence. We wont send you spam. As an Amazon Associate, CapitalizeMyTitle.com earns from qualifying purchases. Youre singing my tune! finish the project by Friday, January 23; place everything youve turned in to date, plus this assignment, on afloppy disk;and. When do Iuse periods and when do Ileave bulleted items without end punctuation? Capitalize the first word of the title/heading and of any subtitle/subheading, Capitalize all major words (nouns, verbs including. The Gregg Reference Manual(Sabin). Lower is default; upper is special. 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). 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. You're not "piling on." Below is a description of the ways you can use our case converter. To keep bullets simple and consistent, I take a dual approach to styling them, based on whether the items in the list are complete sentences or partial sentences. This is a tricky one for me because, personally, I agree with you. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per AP style: After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. Anation could be oppressed by its leaders, Judy Vorfeld Repellent and Repulsive both speak to driving others away, but REPULSIVE Three horizontal centrifugal pumps with design temperature of 100 degrees F. Three electric motors, in accordance with Appendices. How will ChatGPT affect the communications profession? Titles. Bulleted lists: Capitalize the first letter after the bullet. Capitalize words with four or more letters (including conjunctions and prepositions). These might seem like confusing rules with too many exceptions, but youre always welcome to homebrew your own style rules. A: member is lowercase, as are congressmen and congresswoman. Mr. Heckle and Mr. Jeckle enjoy several feline activities: Like ordered lists, unordered lists that are part of an incomplete introductory sentence are lowercased and punctuated as if each item was inside the sentence.10, People who grew up in the 1980s watched a lot of television, including, The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) recommends prefacing unordered lists with dashes instead of bullets, although bullets are an acceptable choice for some publications.AP style also recommends punctuating complete and incomplete introductory sentences with a colon and capitalizing the first word in each list item as well as punctuating each list item with a period even if the item is an incomplete sentence.11. Another easy decision. Use proper punctuation for bulleted sections. AP style provides consistent guidelines for such publications in terms of grammar, spelling, punctuation and language usage. A: As a descriptive term, doctorate in psychology is lowercase. Some style manuals, such as the AP Stylebook and APA Publication Manual, recommend capitalizing an independent clause after a colon. Erin Wright, 20122023. A: AP Stylebook entry on "collective nouns" says band names take plural verbs. Sorry to pile on here, but your discussion of verb endings is inadequate. Only use it to avoid ambiguity, if part of the series contains a conjunction or if you have a complex series of phrases. Dont use a period after bullet lists that are not complete sentences or do not complete the opening stem sentence. RECOMMENDATION: Please avoid usingthe following format: If you write alot of reports and documents with lists, youll always do well if you follow the guidelines above, recognizing the need of the reader to grasp information quickly and easily. 59 0 obj <>stream Prepositions that contain five letters or more. By virtue of their formatting, numbered lists stand . - Use periods, not semicolons, at the end of each section. AP follows two broad rules for capitalization: Common names are not capitalized unless part of a proper name (the river vs. the Thames River). How about Civil Rights Movement? A: We follow Webster's on that term, which is lowercase. Q: In a news story, can you start a sentence with an acronym? endstream endobj 29 0 obj <> endobj 30 0 obj <>/Border[0 0 0]/Rect[603 407.25 648 420.75]/Subtype/Link/Type/Annot>><>/Border[0 0 0]/Rect[270.75 387.75 315.75 401.25]/Subtype/Link/Type/Annot>><>/Border[0 0 0]/Rect[281.25 368.25 318.75 381.75]/Subtype/Link/Type/Annot>>]/Contents[34 0 R 35 0 R 36 0 R 37 0 R 38 0 R 39 0 R 41 0 R 42 0 R]/CropBox[0 0 792 612]/MediaBox[0 0 792 612]/Parent 26 0 R/Resources<>/Font<>/ProcSets[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/Type/Page>> endobj 31 0 obj <>stream APA allows the use of bulleted lists with or without punctuation. endstream endobj startxref These are perfectly acceptable, and some style guides suggest writing lists like this. The CMS is commonly used in the publishing sphere, and AP style is more press-oriented . The first option is to use no punctuation after the bulleted items (including the final one), which may be better when the items are shorter and simpler. The tricky thing is punctuation. It's like APA style in that you capitalize the first word after a colon if it's the start of at least one complete sentence. Navigating the not-so-hidden treasures of the APA Style website. hbbd```b``"A$dH\8'$XM7"$c[D& j@H2w 2+: Q: In denoting area, which is correct for numbers under 10 -- 5 acres or five acres? The buttons at the bottom let you choose specific case conversion options for the various styles. Use a rubber glove to twist the lid off. Mary founded Instructional Solutions in 1998, and is an internationally recognized business writing trainer and executive writing coach with two decades of experience helping thousands of individuals and businesses master the strategic skill of business writing. But if you're following AP style, chances are you're overusing those big letters. AP Stylebook: Use periods after bullets. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style) recommends only using complete sentences for vertical numbered list items, not incomplete sentences as shown above.6, Unordered lists are united by commonality rather than rank or sequence. Next, identify a newsworthy angle and set up your press release's header section. Use either all full sentences in your bullet lists or all fragments. Quickly convert your title or text to sentence case by simply clicking the Sentence case button in the tool above. It is intended as a guide to common PR Team style and . . This is a grammar guide that accompanies our post on how to write better bullet points. The phrase "she has decided" warns the reader that the next . There was an error submitting your subscription. 7. $;$ExRp" e8CQiQYgKdIw lP"1C[;d,|xk0:[#.kvZ|{wY14\.wCzb`*,a`FK{GQfl!hie "h9e tI*2$"/'O6\a>Zb=01fD?`ZTX7w$\a +!F7X o7N| *&Rp oTF G6eKeJ22N Mb[$er6_oZkh:.jFeX^Lu}]/E.tesv!8;>pi0B@09]l}llx| V:2`zXoyQ% 'w Take a digital photo of a family member. Your points should be consistent, either all sentences or all fragments. I have a tendency to be very verbose when I write. Memorize the AP abbreviations. Proven techniques for attention grabbing headlines & titles. A colon can introduce a long quotation or one of more than one sentence, because it says to a reader: "There's more coming here than you thought. The following examples demonstrate both options as well as how to integrate in-text citations into bulleted lists. 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. I like bananas. Vertical lists are set apart from the surrounding text and are usually prefaced with bullets or sequential numbers or letters. Right you are. A) Begin each bullet with the same part of speech (noun, verb, adjective) It is very common to use action verbs (also known as dynamic verbs) to begin each item in a bulleted list. Follow the same capitalization rules you would follow for normal sentences. We updated guidance on how to write about U.S. and international currency. Lists Introduced with a Complete Sentence This is why capitalization of items that make up a list of bullet points is sometimes a matter of style. Unfortunately, many brands forego style guides and choose to wing . 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. Inconsistent punctuation; Sometimes the grammar isn't parallel between items. nouns, pronouns, verbs. This option is helpful for complex or longer bulleted sentences that may be more difficult to read without the aid . Q. If a bulleted list contains phrases, each bullet should begin with a lowercase letter. Examples: House Cleaning Tips: Remove items from shelves before dusting. However, in regard to headlines, is it now true that press release headlines should be in sentence case? Fax: 205-921-5595 2131 Military Street S Hamilton, AL 35570 View Location Title case is the most common form of title and headline capitalization and is found in all four major title capitalization styles. I the word Cocaine supposed to be capitalized? Some guiding principles behind AP style are: Consistency Clarity Accuracy Brevity AP style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. A: Lowercase for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, hepatitis C, etc. After each dash, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each section. Example: Hampton, Va. See the stylebook for specific abbreviations. This will automatically indent the list as well. Should each point start with a capital letter and end with a period? Capitalize the first word of every bullet. However, Garner qualifies this: "If you begin each item with a lowercase letter, put a semicolon at the end of each item, use and after the next-to-last item, and put a period after the last item." In business writing, capitalize the first letter of bullet lists. ?X~soOr{/'gqjfZIuVCZQ!SdbnU)pHuL`>b"wlh)}4!ybjK When your writing is crisp, clear, and easy to understand, audiences will likely leave your site with a positive impression. is lowercase. 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. First, it is important to note that there are four main title capitalization styles: Chicago style, APA style, MLA style, and AP style. Colon Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or Punctuation (commas; quotation marks; colon; semi-colon; ellipsis ). She holds a B.A. If unchecked, quotes will be output as curly quotes. Example: You will not be accepted if you have been diagnosedwith: RECOMMENDATION: If youre creating along document full of bulleted items, you may choose to be consistent and end each item with aperiod. Garner's Modern American Usage inserts periods at the end of bullet lists only if the bullet list begins with a capital letter. Your email address will not be published. Use no punctuation after bullets that are not sentences and do not complete the stem. 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. 1+ 803-479-5092 ntuten@getitwriteonline.com Bulleted lists help make information more scannable and easier to understand. For lists of fragments, short phrases, or words, capitalization is optional: As with the other optional punctuation above, though, make sure to use a consistent capitalization style throughout your writing. A list of information can be neatly organised using bullet points. In Not quite. Q: Others use one word for internet-related terms. 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. Any symbol may be used for the bullets, although small circles or squares are typical software defaults. The Gregg Reference Manual uses periods only after bullets that are dependent clauses and long phrases. 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. Problem solved. The Chicago Manual of Style Online is the venerable, time-tested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. Lowercase the second word in a hyphenated compound when it is a prefix or suffix (e.g., Anti-itch,world-wide) or part of a single word. Please try again. 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. Bullet points. Its hard for some people to wrap their heads around this rule, especially if each item on the list is not a full sentence. See APA 7, Section 6.52 for examples and more information. Lowercase the second word after a hyphenated prefix (e.g., Mid-, Anti-, Super-, etc.) J%HfTH@zGI8a. Capitalize the first word in each bullet. They are also written without terminal punctuation (i.e., they dont end in a period, comma, colon, or semicolon).9. I was a fan until I realized it wasn't AP Style, all hail AP Style Honorable mention a.m. and p.m. - That's how they're used. Example: The software in this price range offers many excellent features: RULE: When one item contains acomplete sentence, punctuate all bulleted items as though they were complete sentences: capitalize the beginning words and use aperiod at the end of each item. AP's style is now to capitalize Black in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense, conveying an essential . 2023 American Psychological Association, 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, Telephone: (800) 374-2721; (202) 336-5500. Q: Great Depression is capitalized and so is American Revolution. That includes newspaper names and magazine references. A: AP style is email (changed from e-mail), but other e- words are hyphenated: e-commerce and e-book. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per AP style: After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. When multiple letters in a title need to be capitalized, use title case capitalization. Preferred style is without terminal punctuation, unless the list item is a complete sentence. It also connects closely related thoughts. Q: Which states are never abbreviated in datelines? AP Style - use dashes, capitals and periods. A: AP lowercases civil rights movement. Ordered lists can be introduced by a complete or incomplete sentence and are typically prefaced by numbers1 or letters2 followed by a period. Use a period after every bullet point that completes the introductory stem. Were often asked whether you need a period at the end of each entry in a list. Dont use a period at the end of a bullet if the bullet lists are one word or a short phrase that feels like an inventory or shopping list. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions of four letters or fewer. Today we'll look at numbered lists. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as "play with"), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions. Automatically copy the capitalized title with CTRL + C ( + C on Mac) or after pasting. To see what I mean, read the lead-in word or phrase then read the first item on the list. Then craft an attention-grabbing headline, write the body of your press release, add the boilerplate section, and distribute your press . Thank you, Sarah! Numbered, lettered, and bulleted lists. Stay with us.". The capitalization rules are as follows: Wikipedia editors must follow certain capitalization rules for any posts to Wikipedia. But here are a few things you might not realize are actually lowercase in AP style. See The MLA Style Center for more information. Most often, the text that introduces such lists ends with a colon, as in "The value of . When a vertical list follows a full sentence, introduce it with a colon. Unordered lists occasionally appear without bullets.8 However, strongly consider using bullets whenever possible because bullet-less list items can be difficult to identify on mobile devices with responsive text layouts. Judy Vorfeld Oppress means to persecute/tyrannize/bully. Abbreviations, acronyms (24/7; NATO; laser; U.S.; No. The following rules apply to MLA headings: AP style capitalization is mainly used by writers for the Associated Press but is also used widely throughout journalism. Awesome sauce! Capitalization is a style choicewith sentence fragments, you can choose to start each with either upper- or lower-case letters. and Ph.D. See "doctor" for an explanation of Dr. as a title for medical doctor on first reference. Bulleted lists are covered in Section 6.52 of the APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition This guidance has been expanded from the 6th edition. This guidance has been expanded from the 6th edition. Capitalize all words of four letters or more. That order can be based on rank (e.g., a list of most favorite to least favorite foods) or sequence (e.g., recipe instructions). Follow @APStylebook AP uses dashes to introduce individual sections of a list, like this: - Put a space between the dash or bullet and the first word of each item in the list. Numbered lists may appear with or without the period after the number. The most accepted style guide in business writing and web publishing is the AP Stylebook. persistent psychological distress (Glozier et al., 2010; Lund et al., 2010). Now we have bullets. Welcome to Ask the Editor, a forum on writing, style and phrasing issues that go beyond the pages of the AP Stylebook. Do you capitalize the first word of a bullet point? Content style guide Capitalization As part of our plain language style, we use sentence capitalization as the standard on VA.gov, with a few exceptions. Items that are complete sentences If bulleted items are complete sentences, begin each item with a capital letter and finish it with a period or other appropriate punctuation. A: AP headlines cap only first word and proper names or proper abbreviations. According to APA, racial and ethnic groups are designated by proper nouns and Get your free sample back in 3 to 6 hours! Finally, should you capitalize the first letter of each entry in a vertical list? Ive never found the AP Stylebook entry that covers this, including capitalization.. always refer to the style guide and doublecheck capitalization recommendations. This is ultimately a matter of stylistic preference. Do not capitalize articles, prepositions (regardless of length), and coordinating conjunctions. Capitalization looks fancy and makes things seem important. In this tutorial, well explore guidelines for how to write vertical lists. 2-5 p.m.) and when to use the word "to"? Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Erin Wright with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Q: If using "member of Congress" instead of congressman/congresswoman, should "member" be capitalized? 28 0 obj <> endobj A: Eight states are never abbreviated in datelines or text: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. Vacuum windowsills and corners with a vacuum hose. Next post: Make blog post content rich with layers, Previous post: Blog Post Format: Chunk It. However, most people now leave out the extra punctuation. For example, are newspapers italicized? Words that should not be capitalized include: But if youre following AP style, chances are youre overusing those big letters. A: Veterans benefits, lowercase and not a possessive, is usually a descriptive term. AP flags such cases atop the story with an editor's note. In a simple series, AP doesn't use a comma before the last item. Whether a numbered list is being used when a bullet list would be more appropriate, or vice versa, - Put a space between the dash or bullet and the first word of each item in the list. Example: You will need to present the following information: Your driver's license. Use periods, not semicolons, at the end of each section or a phrase." This is clear, but AP doesn't fully address when to omit a period at the end of each bullet. It makes it easier for your reader. Alternatively, you can use our tool to convert text from lowercase to uppercase by clicking the UPPER button. Everyone loves a vertical list. This is usually done when each list entry finishes an introductory phrase, as shown below: Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox. The bullets indicate that I like apples, bananas, and oranges equally. Numbers One through nine are spelled out, 10 and above are figures (Arabic numerals). Clarity and consistency are the building blocks of great content. If your bulleted list is part of the sentence and is not preceded by a colon, treat the bullets like a part of the sentence, adhering to standard capitalization and punctuation. Vertical lists can be ordered or unordered and can be introduced by complete or incomplete sentences, all of which affect how the individual list items are capitalized and punctuated. Infants often display positive emotions when following parents behavioral requests, such as not touching the stove. Writing, phrasing, usage (word choice; clarity; subjunctive mood; ethnic-racial; profanity; slang ). Does this help? Certainly, your business writings substance and information are far more critical than exacting punctuation that technically is neither correct nor incorrect since style guides vary. The art instructor assigned three projects for the spring semester: 2. Title case is also commonly used for book titles, movies titles, song names, plays, and other works.