3 List Types

There are three basic types of lists:

Lists which contain only a few words in each item, not containing a full verb phrase;
Lists of items which combine to form one giant sentence, each item completing the partial sentence interrupted by a semicolon;
Lists of items that are each at least one independent sentence.

Bullets are preferred except when the items in the list are to give the basic points which will then be explained later in full. In this second case, numbers or letters will be re-used consistently within the body where the explanation/expansion of each point appears.

Type 1

Must be introduced by a grammatically complete sentence which introduces the coming list of nouns, noun phrases etc. Items are brief, of only a few words (not a clause containing a verb). Each item begins with a lower case and no punctuation follows!

UBC has introduced several new programs to its business programs:
- information technology
- business and society
- business economics
- international studies

Type 2

Must be introduced by a grammatically incomplete sentence, and all items end with a semi-colon except the final one, which has a period to end the sentence.

The students demanded that the government:
- take steps to end corruption among party officials;
- institute political reforms leading to more democracy and less authoritarianism;
- end martial law in the capital.

Type 3

Must be introduced by a grammatically complete sentence, often containing an anticipatory word tipping off the reader that a list is to follow.

The students made these demands:
The students listed several demands:
The students presented a long list of objectives:

Each item is each at least one complete sentence. They can contain more than one sentence, but cannot run more than one paragraph, except possibly the final one. Each item begins with upper case and ends with a period.

The students demanded that the government:
- A meeting will be arranged between the student executive and the administration within the next two months.
- Faculty and student executives will coordinate bi-monthly meetings to continue developing funding initiatives.

If the items are each too long and/or too complicated to match with either type 2 or 3, the info/story is not suitable for bullets or numbered lists.

When To Use Bullets, Numbers and Letters

Each item should be identified with a number if the list is introduced with a phrase such as

There are three reasons or advantages...

Items should be identified with numbers or letters if they will be expanded on and referred to in the text following. They must be consistent and clear when referencing the items given earlier!

For all other occasions bullets should be used to identify each item.