The Function of Lists
Lists are useful in report writing because (a) they enhance readability by simplifying long sentences and increasing white space, and (b) they emphasize important information.
While lists are useful, they should be used judiciously in report writing.
Reports require thoughtful synthesis and explanation; therefore, paragraphs are mostly used.
As a general rule, if lists are used in reports, they should comprise about 10% or less of the report. Of course, this number varies depending on the audience and purpose of the report.
The Five Types of Lists
The following five types of lists are used for a particular purpose:
- In-sentence: used when it is desirable to maintain sentence structure
- Bulleted: used when the order of the listed items is unimportant
- Numbered: used when the order of the listed items is important
- Labelled: used for indicating the content of each item in the list
- Nested: used for making sub-lists within a list
All five types of lists are preceded by a lead-in sentence or phrase which establishes a context for the list. The list items are presented in parallel form to enhance readability.
Variations in Punctuation Rules for Lists
As discussed earlier, grammatical correctness in English is determined by its users. The rules for punctuating lists vary in different style guides. Therefore, check the style guide preferred by your organization. For our purposes, we are following the APA style guide.
Sample Lists Punctuated APA Style
In-sentence list: use when paragraph style is preferred
Three or more items
- Use a comma before the final “and”.
- This report includes information about finding legitimate online merchants, checking online product information, entering online purchase contracts, understanding international online purchases’ related fees, and recognizing potential online transaction scams.
- Use lowercase letters in parentheses before each item to highlight the items. Do not use numbers (1) in the parentheses.
- This report includes information about (a) finding legitimate online merchants, (b) checking online product information, (c) entering online purchase contracts, (d) understanding international online purchases’ related fees, and (e) recognizing potential online transaction scams.
Bulleted List: use when the order of the listed items is unimportant
APA provides two options for punctuating bulleted lists that begin with a phrase:
Option 1 (no punctuation in the list)
This report includes information about (no colon because the lead-in is not a complete sentence)
- finding legitimate online merchants
- checking online product information
- entering online purchase contracts
- understanding international online purchases’ related fees
- recognizing potential online transaction scams
Option 2 (separate the items by commas, include “and” for the second last item, end with a period)
This report includes information about (no colon because the lead-in is not a complete sentence)
- finding legitim