ap style bulleted lists capitalization

A: AP lowercases those descriptive titles. Numbered and unnumbered lists are more commonly used in scholarly publications. For example, are newspapers italicized? Your subscription includes the . A: We follow Webster's on that term, which is lowercase. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style . 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. This option is helpful for complex or longer bulleted sentences that may be more difficult to read without the aid . Instead, texts like The Canadian Style (2nd ed., 1997) offer guidelines for styling bulleted lists, some of which strike some writers (this one, for instance) as needlessly complicated. Q: If we're speaking about regions of the state, should it be South Louisiana, North Louisiana and Central Louisiana? So nice to hear the positive feedback! 6. 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. Vacuum windowsills and corners with a vacuum hose. If the bulleted text is a whole sentence, uppercase the initial letter of the first word and use a period to conclude the paragraph (see "Lists, Part 5: Bulleted Lists" in the APA Style Blog . Here is a sampling of frequently asked questions, with examples of AP style used in answers. We wont send you spam. Title case is also commonly used for book titles, movies titles, song names, plays, and other works. The key thing is applying a clear and consistent punctuation style to all lists. 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. 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. Q: Is the proper phrase "If money were no object" or "If money was no object"? Capitalization looks fancy and makes things seem important. Prepositions that contain five letters or more. . No periods on the end of a list of bullets unless its more than one sentence. But if youre following AP style, chances are youre overusing those big letters. Watch your title convert case and be automatically capitalized! By virtue of their formatting, numbered lists stand . 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. DO NOT capitalize plural words even when part of a proper name (e.g. - Put a space between the dash or bullet and the first word of each item in the list. The rule of thumb in AP style is that things should be lowercased unless a rule indicates that they're upper. (AP Style reminds writers that it is still correct to use bullets if preferred.) A: AP Stylebook entry on "collective nouns" says band names take plural verbs. Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: AP style, APA style, Chicago style, formatting, grammar, MLA style, punctuation. This guidance has been expanded from the 6th edition. I have a tendency to be very verbose when I write. If nothing else, your writing will be consistent. Capitalize the first and the last word of titles and subtitles. Careful punctuation also reflects thought and care. Automatically copy the capitalized title with CTRL + C ( + C on Mac) or after pasting. A: Lowercase for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, hepatitis C, etc. - Capitalize the first word following the dash or bullet. Quickly convert your title or text to title case by simply clicking the Title Case button in the tool above. In general, capitalize formal titles used directly before a name. Symbols such as small circles, squares, dashes, and so forth may be used for the bullets. 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. 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. - Capitalize the first word following the dash or bullet. If you have a list of full sentences or a list with a mix of full sentences and fragments we suggest capitalizing the first letter in each item. Others, like the Chicago Manual of Style, suggest lowercasing it. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this websites owner is strictly prohibited. Example: Hampton, Va. See the stylebook for specific abbreviations. Q: Do you capitalize a conjunction in a headline? Use no punctuation after bullets that are not sentences and do not complete the stem. 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. AP style provides consistent guidelines for such publications in terms of grammar, spelling, punctuation and language usage. She excels at designing customized business writing training programs to maximize productivity, advance business objectives, and convey complex information. This is why capitalization of items that make up a list of bullet points is sometimes a matter of style. This isn't an exhaustive list, but it will get you started. As an Amazon Associate, CapitalizeMyTitle.com earns from qualifying purchases. AP Stylebook Online builds on everything that's in the print Stylebook, and makes it a more comprehensive, convenient resource. Don't use a bulleted list for only one item. Ordered vertical lists have, you guessed it, an order. Two new and potentially controversial suggestions when writing bulleted lists are to use dashes instead of bullets and to always use periods (rather than semicolons) at the end of each section, even if it is a phrase and not a sentence. To remove a lid from a jar that is stuck: Place the lid under hot water for ten seconds. Q: If you have a hyphen in a headline, is the word after the hyphen capitalized? [M zmp0&BLp$UPd67Z9Ha{0gPY "nG~h%rls 'wdt;:^2i+>f9V%EQ)j2"^e\KP"TiNc-((V A&N+E}E;SnIP This is a grammar guide that accompanies our post on how to write better bullet points. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (regardless of length). Microsoft and Gregg would capitalize flat and sharp if they appeared in a title (unlike Rule 2). Example: In this project, the equipment shall consistof: RULE: Use periods after short phrases that are essential to the grammatical completeness of the statement introducing the list. A: corporate (adj.) Chicago Manual of Style does not. In our latest quarterly roundup of AP Style reminders, we cover back-to-school terms, travel terminology, and more. Next, identify a newsworthy angle and set up your press release's header section. Q: Why is "doctorate in psychology" not capped, but "Bachelor of Arts" is? A list of information can be neatly organised using bullet points. I the word Cocaine supposed to be capitalized? The capitalization rules are as follows: Bluebook style capitalization is mainly used by lawyers. We have three punctuation issues to consider: Should the ending punctuation at the end of each bullet list be a period, a semicolon, or no punctuation? Possessive versus descriptive Q: A months confinement or a month's confinement? Q: Is clarity essentially the only rule determining when a serial comma should be included? Capitalize every word in the headline; the main subhead is a complete sentence with a period. endstream endobj startxref A: "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Bachelor of Arts is capitalized as an academic degree, as are B.A. Local Phone: (623) 399-6676 | Entries (RSS). In AP style, the word that begins the list or series should generally only be capitalized if it is a proper noun. These are perfectly acceptable, and some style guides suggest writing lists like this. And, as a guideline, wed suggest punctuating bullet points as follows: However, this again comes down to preference and your chosen style guide. Now check your email to confirm your subscription for My Blog Editor blog alerts. 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. Below are examples of vertical listswhich may be unnumbered, numbered, or bulletedand how to introduce, punctuate, and capitalize them. Do it anyway. 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. How to Create Bulleted Lists in Microsoft Word, How to Create and Modify Numbered Lists in Microsoft Word, How to Create Custom Bullets in Microsoft Word, Parallel StructureThe Secret to Beautiful Bullet Points. Consider the examples below: in Composition and Rhetoric from the University of New Hampshire. I am a technical writer and editor who shares writing-related software tutorials on this website and on YouTube. %PDF-1.4 % Inconsistent punctuation; Sometimes the grammar isn't parallel between items. Unfortunately, many brands forego style guides and choose to wing . Numbered, lettered, and bulleted lists. Below you'll find information on numbers, time and dates, locations, phone numbers, punctuation, capitalization and titles, and the Internet. ?X~soOr{/'gqjfZIuVCZQ!SdbnU)pHuL`>b"wlh)}4!ybjK document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You can also upload a document to get an instant quote. These might seem like confusing rules with too many exceptions, but youre always welcome to homebrew your own style rules. Lowercase indefinite and definite articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions. A: Use "that" for a thing, "who" for the personal pronoun, although "that" also fits some human references. Problem solved. Please enable JavaScript and visit again! So long as your capitalization rules remain consistent in your organizations communications, youre golden. The Gregg Reference Manual uses periods only after bullets that are dependent clauses and long phrases. Thanks for the catch! AP flags such cases atop the story with an editor's note. Complete sentences introducing ordered lists are traditionally punctuated with a colon. Bulleted lists allow a writer to create a list that stands out from the text without the implied chronology or order of importance that a numbered list might convey. The first step in the process of how to write an AP style press release is to familiarize yourself with the guidelines. This is the fourth in a six-part series. Whether a numbered list is being used when a bullet list would be more appropriate, or vice versa, Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as "play with"), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions. Our tool lets you convert the case of your text easily into sentence case. AP follows two broad rules for capitalization: Common names are not capitalized unless part of a proper name (the river vs. the Thames River). 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. Proven techniques for attention grabbing headlines & titles. Write a strong thesis statement, compose the body of your essay, complete the introduction, and. There are five important things to watch for in numbered and bulleted lists: inconsistent capitalization. How to punctuate bullet lists can be tricky because various style guides contradict each other. If you want to change your title from uppercase to title case, you can select the Title Case button above. In sentence case, only the first word and all proper nouns are capitalized, as shown in the following example: One more day of extreme heat for East Coast Use a period after bullet list that completes the opening stem sentence that introduces it. Considering those rules, these hyphenated words would all be correctly capitalized in titles: In the list above, up, in, on, off, and out are adverbs-not prepositions. Bulleted Lists: APA uses bulleted lists to avoid the perception of importance/priority connotated in numbered lists. Q: Is there a standard AP style for bulleted areas of text? Quickly convert your title or text to sentence case by simply clicking the Sentence case button in the tool above. For company names, use their preference: eBay. Following are some questions and answers to use as guidelines: When is it better to use bullets than numbers? finish the project by Friday, January 23; place everything youve turned in to date, plus this assignment, on afloppy disk;and. (After reading this) .. You can learn more in the Title Capitalization Rules by Style section. AP and Chicago Manual of Style - capitalize initial word and use periods after sentence list items. Abbreviations, acronyms (24/7; NATO; laser; U.S.; No. 0 Required fields are marked *. The capitalization and punctuation for each bulleted item are determined by the sentence structure. You can also use this tool to do it automatically. Stay with us.". Are we nitpicking punctuation with these considerations of bullet lists? How about Civil Rights Movement? Chicago Style is one of the most used and respected headline capitalization methods used in journalism. The capitalization rules are as follows: NY Times style capitalization is mainly used by writers for the NY Times but is also used widely throughout journalism. Your email address will not be published. A: AP uses the numeral for acres, even when less than 10, as a dimension: 5 acres. Creating a free account also gives you access to historical stylebooks, writing guidelines and handbooks produced by The Associated Press, dating back to June 1900. By far, this is the most vexing punctuation issue! It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice. Examples: House Cleaning Tips: Remove items from shelves before dusting. Q: If using "member of Congress" instead of congressman/congresswoman, should "member" be capitalized? Use proper punctuation for bulleted sections. The Copyeditors Handbook (Einsohn). 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. Use a numbered list if you want to display items in a numbered series. Do you need a colon to introduce a list? Q: Do music groups take singular verbs, as do collective nouns, or plural verbs, as with sports teams? Ive updated. A: AP uses dashes, not bullets, for lists in news stories that follow a colon. 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. However, most people now leave out the extra punctuation. Government, including federal government and U.S. government. Any symbol may be used for the bullets, although small circles or squares are typical software defaults. 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. Its hard for some people to wrap their heads around this rule, especially if each item on the list is not a full sentence. Vertical lists are set apart from the surrounding text and are usually prefaced with bullets or sequential numbers or letters. If unchecked, quotes will be output as curly quotes. 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. Bullets Associated Press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. In Not quite. It also connects closely related thoughts. People who grew up in the 1980s watched a lot of television, including: If you arent a strict follower of AP style, consider using the general guidelines explained in the sections above instead of those outlined in this alert box. Theyre easy to read. When do Iuse periods and when do Ileave bulleted items without end punctuation? Added standalone cities to guidance on addresses and states. %%EOF In this tutorial, well explore guidelines for how to write vertical lists. Lists Introduced with a Complete Sentence Follow the same capitalization rules you would follow for normal sentences. Q: Is the age of an inanimate object expressed in numerals or spelled out? A: Eight states are never abbreviated in datelines or text: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. 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.