4.3 Lists
Lists are created when items in a series are dropped into bulleted or itemized points. Lists, when used correctly, can be a business writer’s—and reader’s—best friend. Lists allow you to emphasize important ideas. They also increase the readability of content by simplifying long sentences or paragraphs and adding aesthetic passive space to make reading more pleasant. However, using the wrong kind of list or poorly formatting a list can create confusion rather than enhance readability. Therefore, it is important to understand the various types of lists and how and why to use them.
Open the following link to watch the video Use Bulleted or Numbered Lists
Here is some information about the characteristics of effective lists.
Guidelines for Effective Lists
Adhere to the following guidelines when including lists of any kind in your documents:
- Include between two to eight items in a list. You must have at least two items in a list (or it’s not a list; it’s just an item). Avoid having more than eight items in a list, as too many items can have the reverse effect. If you emphasize too many ideas, you end up emphasizing nothing.
- Try to 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 (note that each item in this list starts with a verb that is bolded only to catch your attention, not as a style you must follow).
- Never use a heading to introduce a list. Always add a lead in sentence below a heading to create a context for the list.
LLMs are very efficient at categorizing items into lists. When the content Copilot is generating, for example, is complex and can be segmented into a series of items the LLM will go ahead and create those lists. They usually begin with a highlighted label followed by an explanation. Regardless of whether you are creating the list or the LLM does it, you have the responsibility to ensure that the list is properly formatted, works logically with the content of your document, and is itself organized logically using either the bullet or numbered format.
Each kind of list is suited for specific purposes. All lists must conform to a set of rules of construction, punctuation, and formatting. You can use the Paragraph formatting tool in MS Word (see Figure 4.3.1) to format a ready list: Simply highlight your list and click on either the bullet or number buttons in the top left of the image below. Alternatively, MS Word will auto-create a list when you drop to a new paragraph and type 1. along with some text, then hit return. For more information on how to