2.4: Creating Lists
Learning Objectives
- Determine the roles of lists in technical documents
- Examine and apply various list types
Why Are Lists Used in Technical Documents?
Lists are created when items in a series are dropped into bulleted or itemized points. Lists, when used correctly, can be a technical writer’s—and reader’s—best friend. Lists allow you to emphasize important ideas. They also increase the readability of text by simplifying long sentences or paragraphs and adding passive/white space to make reading more pleasant.
However, using the wrong kind of list or poorly formatting a list can create confusion. Therefore, it is important to understand the various types of lists and how and why to use them. Each kind of list is suited for specific purposes. All lists must conform to a set of rules of construction, punctuation, and formatting.
Guidelines for Creating Lists
Adhere to the following guidelines when creating lists of any kind:
- Include between two to eight items in a list. Avoid having more than eight items in a list; if you emphasize too many ideas, you end up emphasizing nothing.
- Avoid splitting a list over two pages if possible.
- Avoid overusing lists. A list should always have explanatory text around it to identify the list and why it is needed. A series of lists does not give a reader adequate information and context, so do not overuse listing.
- Adjust spacing before, after, and within lists to enhance readability. Avoid having a list of information all scrunched up into a dense block of text; this defeats the purpose of enhancing readability.
- Use parallel phrasing for each listed item.
- Never use a heading alone to introduce a list. Always add a lead in sentence below a heading to create context for the list.
What Are the Common Types of Lists?
Just as bar graphs serve a different purpose than pie charts, different kinds of lists also serve different purposes. This section will describe when and how to use the following five commonly used types of lists:
- Bulleted Lists: Use when the order of listed items is not important.
- Numbered Lists: Use when the sequence of ideas is important, such as steps in instructions.
- In-sentence Lists: Use when you want to maintain sentence structure and paragraphing, and have a shortlist (two-to-four items).
- Labeled Lists: Use when the listed items require some explanation or amplification (like this list).
- Nested Lists: Use when listed items have sub-lists (a list within a list).
Bulleted Lists
Bulleted lists are the most commonly used kind of list. They are effective when
- you want to emphasize two or more items,
- you can place the items in any order (no particular order is required), and
- you want to add passive space to your document to enhance readability.
Bulleted list items should generally be short. If you find your bulleted items are longer, consider using another kind of list, such as a labeled list or a nested list.
Numbered Lists
Use numbered lists when the order of the listed items is important and ideas must be expressed in sequential order. For example, use a numbered list when you must enumerate a series of steps in instructions, or when you are introducing ideas that will be discussed in a certain order in the following text. If you have a list of more than eight items, consider breaking up the list in two or more stages or categories (Steps in Stage 1, Steps in Stage 2, etc.).
Sample Numbered List
Revision of your document should be undertaken in five stages done in the following order:
- Check formatting for readability.
- Review content to ensure the document contains all necessary information.
- Edit sentence style and structure to ensure ideas are clearly and correctly expressed in a formal and precise manner.
- Proofread for grammar, spelling, punctuation and usage errors.
- Check your use of sources: cite and document according to APA standards.
NOTE: The five steps in the sample numbered list are in parallel phrasing: each begins with a verb (check, review, edit, and proofread) in the present tense, emphasizing what the reader should do. The numbers indicate the order in which these steps should be performed.
In-Sentence Lists
Use in-sentence lists when you want to (a) keep paragraph style; (b) avoid having too many lists on one page; and when (c) the list items are relatively short and can be expressed in a sentence clearly without creating a run-on.
Typically, in-sentence lists have two-to-four items. Generally, avoid putting more than four items in this kind of list (unless they are very short), or your sentence might become difficult to read.
Sample In-Sentence List
The report should a) communicate clearly, correctly, and courteously; b) be concise; and c) address the audience’s needs.
(Notice how semi-colons are used to separate the list items. Why are they used in place of commas? See this grammar rule here.)
Labelled Lists
Use a labelled list when you are listing items that need further explanation. These can be bulleted or numbered. Start the list item with the word or term (the “label”) followed by a colon. After the colon, write the explanation of the term or concept.
Sample Labelled List
The course assessment plan includes three main written assignments given in the following order:
- Report One: an internal proposal written in letter format
- Report Two: an internal proposal written in memo format
- Report Three: a comparative recommendation report written for an external client in long report format
The plan also includes two oral presentations:
- Presentation 1: individual or pair presentation on a technical writing topic (worth 5%)
- Presentation 2: team presentation giving a progress report on Report 3 (worth 10%)
Make sure the label portions (before the colon) are phrased consistently and either italicized or bolded for emphasis; try to make the explanations that follow roughly equal in length and detail.
Nested Lists
A “nested” list is a list-within-a-list or a list with sub-listed items. These are used to clarify relationships between items in categories and to avoid overly long bulleted lists by categorizing items. The long bulleted list on the left does not effectively categorize items, so the emphasis is lost. The nested list is more effective.
| Sample Bulleted List | Sample Nested List |
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Every restaurant should contain the following beverage containers:
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Every restaurant should contain the following kinds of beverage containers:
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How Do You Integrate and Punctuate Lists?
Conventions for punctuating list items vary depending on the context. Legal writing tends to use more punctuation than technical writing. In technical documents, punctuation will be guided by conventions set out by industry style guides like the IEEE and the APA, or by corporate style guides. ENGL 250 uses the APA-style guide.
Just as there are rules for constructing lists, there are rules for how to incorporate them into your text. Most importantly, a list must be introduced by a lead-in sentence (or clause) that contains both a subject and a verb. Technical writers often use the expression “the following” somewhere in the lead-in sentence to clearly indicate that a list of items will follow.
If the lead-in is a complete sentence (i.e., it could end in a period), it should end in a colon that introduces the listed items. If the sentence is not a complete thought (i.e., you could not put a period there), the lead-in should not end in any punctuation, and each listed item must be able to grammatically complete the lead-in sentence. Don’t use a colon before a list unless the introduction to the list is a complete thought, that is, an independent clause. Remember this rule: if you can’t put a period there, then you can’t put a colon there.
Example: Lead-in Sentences for Lists
Complete lead-in sentence (ends in a colon)
The project must allow students to incorporate the following elements into their solution:
- Mechanical engineering principles
- Electrical engineering knowledge
- Software/programming basics
Partial lead-in sentence (no punctuation after lead-in)
The term design project must allow students to design a solution using
-
- mechanical engineering principles,
- electrical engineering knowledge, and
- software/programming basics.
In some cases, a list might not be helpful and instead might just over-complicate your document. In such cases, list your ideas in sentence form, within the paragraph. A page with too many lists looks like an outline instead of a coherently expressed series of ideas, so this should be avoided.
TRY IT
Exercise 2.4.A: Correct the List
Edit this list to ensure it follows the guidelines discussed above.
Five Kinds of List:
- Bulleted lists
- numbered lists.
- Lists can be written within a sentence using bracketed letters to introduce the list items.
- nested list
- Also called a “list within a list”
- Labeled List
TRY IT
Exercise 2.4.B: Examine the Lead-Ins
Which of the follow lead-ins should end in a colon? Which should end with no punctuation? Why?
- Our solution aims to meet the following objectives
- The design constraints that must be considered are
- All proposed designs must abide by the following constraints
- The proposed solutions offer many tangible benefits, such as
- The proposed solution offers the following tangible benefits
TRY IT
Exercise 2.4.C: Identify the List Type
| 1. List type: | 2. List type: |
Revision of your document should be undertaken in four stages:
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The assessment plan for TEC400 includes three main writing tasks:
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| 3. List type: | 4. List type: |
The 7 Cs refers to seven characteristics of effective professional writing. This writing should be
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The TEC400 collaborative project tests your knowledge of the following principles:
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References & Attributions
References
American Psychological Association (APA). (n.d.). Bulleted lists. APA Style: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/lists/bulleted
Attributions
Content on this page is adapted from Technical Writing Essentials by Suzan Last, which is is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
