If you’re writing a technical document, you will probably end up with a lot of lists. Lists make information easier to read, easier to scan and much less intimidating than enormous blocks of text.

But once you start using lists, you quickly run into another question:

How should they be punctuated?

There are two standard ways to format lists in technical writing.

Sentence style lists

In sentence style, the list behaves like a normal sentence that just happens to contain bullet points.

For example:

Ways to conquer the planet could include:

– death rays;
– mind control;
– killer robots; or
– an army of mutant ferrets.

Each item should end with a semi-colon.

The second-last item should include “; or” or “; and” to signal that the list is about to end, and the final item should end with a full stop instead of a semi-colon.

This style is common in formal technical writing, specifications and reports, where the list is clearly part of the surrounding sentence.

Minimalist style lists

Unlike our previous example, this list is very aware that it is not a normal sentence.

So why bother with all those “or”s and bits of punctuation?

Ways to conquer the planet could include:

– Death rays
– Mind control
– Killer robots
– An army of mutant ferrets

Each item is capitalised, and there is no punctuation at the end.

Minimalist lists are extremely common in modern documents, digital content and educational publishing because they are clean and easy to read.

When to use bullet points

Both examples above use bullet points, which is standard practice in technical documents.

If a list contains more than three items, bullet points are usually the best choice. They make the information easier to scan and prevent readers from getting lost halfway through a long sentence.

Clear formatting like this is one of the things professional editors and technical writing services often focus on when improving the readability of complex material.

Don’t forget the colon

Both lists also begin with a colon (the two dots after “include”).

This is the correct punctuation.

Pay attention…

Correct

Fruit, such as:

– Apples
– Oranges

Incorrect

Fruit, such as;

– Apples
– Oranges

Also incorrect

Fruit, such as:-

– Apples
– Oranges

The colon introduces the list. The other versions are surprisingly common in technical documents, but unfortunately they are wrong.

Consistency is the real goal

Whatever style you choose, the most important thing is consistency.

There is nothing stranger than a page with three different lists, each formatted in a completely different way.

This is exactly the sort of thing editing services are designed to catch. A careful review from an accredited editor can ensure that lists, punctuation and formatting are applied consistently throughout a document, making it much easier for readers to follow.