Text Formatting: Lists
How do we handle bulleted lists?
No Periods (Most Common)
Use no periods if the bullet points are short phrases, single words, or sentence fragments.
Example:
- Apples
- Bananas
- Oranges
Periods (When Items Are Full Sentences)
Use periods if the bullet points are complete sentences.
Example:
- The experiment began at 8:00 a.m.
- The samples were stored in a freezer.
- Results were analyzed using statistical software.
Consistency Matters
Be consistent within a single list:
- If most items are complete sentences, end all with periods.
- If most items are short phrases, omit periods.
APA 7th Edition recommends:
- No periods for sentence fragments.
- Periods if every item is a full sentence.
Examples: Learning Outcomes
For fragmented learning outcomes: Begin with a lowercase letter (no capital) and use no terminal punctuation.
Example: By the end of the module, students will be able to:
- identify key concepts
- summarize the main findings
- analyze the results
For complete sentence outcomes: Begin each outcome with a capital letter and end it with a period.
Example: At the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain the fundamental principles of the topic.
- Apply the concepts to real-world scenarios.
- Critically evaluate various approaches to the subject.
Yes: Use a colon (:) after the introductory sentence.
No: Do not use a colon.
