ap style bulleted lists capitalization ap style bulleted lists capitalization

Q: Is the proper phrase "If money were no object" or "If money was no object"? Q: Do you capitalize a conjunction in a headline? So many choices to make! All contents 2023 Associated Press All rights reserved. DO NOT capitalize plural words even when part of a proper name (e.g. Not using a colon isnt wrong, but omit it only with certainty that you comply with the style guide of your choice. The Copyeditors Handbook (Einsohn). Use sentence case capitalization Use sentence case capitalization for most content, including page titles, headings, subheadings, buttons, and text links, unless a word is a proper noun. While the above words are generally capitalized in titles regardless of style, there are some words that are generally not capitalized when using title case. The phrase "she has decided" warns the reader that the next . Other terminology (business; food and beverages; legal and justice; medical; ethnic and nationality; politics; religion ). Important Note: If you follow The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style), see the Style Guide Alert at the bottom of this post for clarification on AP styles recommendations for unordered lists, which differ from the general guidelines explained below. Start each list item with a capital letter, unless case is an important part of the information conveyed by the listsuch as in a list of glossary terms. Hello! The most accepted style guide in business writing and web publishing is the AP Stylebook. I like apples. Colon Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun orFile Size: KB. It's like APA style in that you capitalize the first word after a colon if it's the start of at least one complete sentence. The first word after a colon unless it begins an independent clause. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. %PDF-1.4 % A: AP uses dashes, not bullets, for lists in news stories that follow a colon. Memorize the AP abbreviations. Inconsistent punctuation; Sometimes the grammar isn't parallel between items. Finally, should you capitalize the first letter of each entry in a vertical list? Good business writing seeks to make information easy to understand. And consistency goes a long way in creating clear, credible content. Very helpful stuff! Punctuation Awesome sauce! Yes. Capitalize words with four or more letters (including conjunctions and prepositions). Capitalize the important words in the title, Subordinating conjunctions (when fewer than 5 letters), Coordinating Conjunctions (and, but, for), Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including. When do Icapitalize the first letter in abulleteditem? If you want to change your title from uppercase to title case, you can select the Title Case button above. However, Garner qualifies this: "If you begin each item with a lowercase letter, put a semicolon at the end of each item, use and after the next-to-last item, and put a period after the last item." Q: There seem to be differing opinions on whether or not to capitalize the names of grapes used to make wine. Numbered Lists and Bullet Lists: Why and How? The same applies when someone may refer to specific items by number. A: Eight states are never abbreviated in datelines or text: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. But if youre following AP style, chances are youre overusing those big letters. Zip Airline offers First, it is important to note that there are four main title capitalization styles: Chicago style, APA style, MLA style, and AP style. Note however that it is not wrong to capitalize a sentence or clause after a colon. I have a tendency to be very verbose when I write. Q: Is there a standard AP style for bulleted areas of text? How to Write Vertical Lists (Ordered and Unordered), How to Export PDF Tables from Adobe Acrobat to Excel (PC & Mac), How to Insert Images into Shapes in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac), How to Align the Periods in Numbered Lists in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac), How to Password Protect Files in Microsoft Word, How to Password Protect PDFs in Adobe Acrobat (PC & Mac). Q: Veteran's Benefits, Veterans Benefits or Veterans' Benefits? For example, here is a summary of the instructions to write a standard 5 paragraph essay. AP style capitalization is mainly used by writers for the Associated Press but is also used widely throughout journalism. Bulleted lists are appropriate when presenting a list of items in no particular order. Should each point start with a capital letter and end with a period? Most often, the text that introduces such lists ends with a colon, as in "The value of . Important Note: The MLA Handbook from the Modern Language Association (MLA style) follows Chicago-style recommendations for ordered and unordered vertical lists. You have multiple options to capitalize and change the case of your titles, headlines, song titles, book titles, email subjects, and more. So nice to hear the positive feedback! If numbers arent essential, use bullets, especially in business documents. She holds a B.A. One exception: email (no hyphen, which reflects majority of usage). You can also use this tool to do it automatically. In sentence case, only the first word and all proper nouns are capitalized, as shown in the following example: One more day of extreme heat for East Coast Following are some questions and answers to use as guidelines: When is it better to use bullets than numbers? The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per AP style: After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. We updated guidance on how to write about U.S. and international currency. Quickly convert your title or text to sentence case by simply clicking the Sentence case button in the tool above. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You can also upload a document to get an instant quote. Thanks! Q: Great Depression is capitalized and so is American Revolution. Quick Links: How to Use Capitalize My Title, What to Capitalize in a Title (What Is Title Case, What Is Sentence Case), Title Capitalization Rules by Style (APA, Chicago, AP, MLA, BB, AMA, NY Times, Wikipedia). A colon can introduce a long quotation or one of more than one sentence, because it says to a reader: "There's more coming here than you thought. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions of four letters or fewer. Use lowercase at all . Its illogical to use semicolons and vertical lists punctuated as sentences in business writing because its visually cluttered so its harder to scan. (After reading this) .. See "diseases" entry for further guidance. In a simple series, AP doesn't use a comma before the last item. We have three punctuation issues to consider: Should the ending punctuation at the end of each bullet list be a period, a semicolon, or no punctuation? However, in lists of bullet points, the beginning of a point is also indicated by space and the item marker (whether a bullet, a number, or a letter). This is a grammar guide that accompanies our post on how to write better bullet points. AP Style - use dashes, capitals and periods. The top tabs allow you to select which style of capitalization you want to use. For example, are newspapers italicized? Some style manuals, such as the AP Stylebook and APA Publication Manual, recommend capitalizing an independent clause after a colon. Published: November 13, 2012 Updated: August 22, 2020. My name is Erin. Q: Do music groups take singular verbs, as do collective nouns, or plural verbs, as with sports teams? (Just like this bullet list youre reading now.). Online and technology (the web; the internet; URL; computers; e-commerce ). If nothing else, your writing will be consistent. If you want to, you can press Enter on your keyboard or click the Copy button next to the text box to copy the text to your clipboard. Capitalization looks fancy and makes things seem important. Lists, Part 4: Numbered Lists. When writing an argumentative essay, you would typically research a topic and adopt a certain How to Punctuate and Capitalize Bullet Points. Whether a numbered list is being used when a bullet list would be more appropriate, or vice versa, Please enable JavaScript and visit again! AP has a few punctuation rules that differ from many common style guides: Do not use a comma before the last item in a simple series ("My favorite candy includes Snickers, Twix and Zagnut bars."). And, as a guideline, wed suggest punctuating bullet points as follows: However, this again comes down to preference and your chosen style guide. The capitalization rules are as follows: NY Times style capitalization is mainly used by writers for the NY Times but is also used widely throughout journalism. Follow the same capitalization rules you would follow for normal sentences. Ordered lists can be introduced by a complete or incomplete sentence and are typically prefaced by numbers1 or letters2 followed by a period. STATES: Abbreviate state names when listed after a city. As with so many things in the English language, capitalization with colons can be complex, and many times, it's more of a style issue than one of correctness. When to Use a Colon With Capitalization: The puppy left a trail of destroyed items in his wake: shredded papers, mangled stuffed animals and what looked like the remains of a shoe. There was an error submitting your subscription. Bachelor of Arts is capitalized as an academic degree, as are B.A. Q: How do I deal with a vulgarity from a movie that is integral to the article I'm writing? A: AP uses dashes, not bullets, for lists in news stories that follow a colon. Lowercase indefinite and definite articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions. Copyright 2023 Lawrence Ragan Communications, Inc. mar Girls Beginning and Intermediate Guide to AP Style. Do you need a colon to introduce a list? Do you capitalize the first word of a bullet point? Only use it to avoid ambiguity, if part of the series contains a conjunction or if you have a complex series of phrases. Unsubscribe at any time. Right you are. The bullets indicate that I like apples, bananas, and oranges equally. r%Q! Our amended style is website (one word, lowercase w), along with other compounds: webcam, webcast, webmaster. However, clear bullet list punctuation adds visual scan-ability to your business writing. Instead, texts like The Canadian Style (2nd ed., 1997) offer guidelines for styling bulleted lists, some of which strike some writers (this one, for instance) as needlessly complicated. In general, capitalize formal titles used directly before a name. in English from the University of Rhode Island, an M.A. The capitalization rules are as follows: Bluebook style capitalization is mainly used by lawyers. Ive never found the AP Stylebook entry that covers this, including capitalization.. In business writing, capitalize the first letter and keep bullet list punctuation clean. A: Commas in a series are for clarity and prevention of ambiguities. Bulleted Lists: APA uses bulleted lists to avoid the perception of importance/priority connotated in numbered lists. The capitalization and punctuation for each bulleted item are determined by the sentence structure. While its not wrong and some style guides recommend this, its not the best business writing choice. Q: How about using e- as a prefix for new terms in the tech and business worlds? AP editor Paula Froke fields questions of widest interest posed by subscribers to the online AP Stylebook. EPA follows the AP rule after the dash or bullet: capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each section. Although a little old-fashioned, some people like to use semicolons or commas in lists. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions. This is the fourth in a six-part series. Avoid a mix. . You can quickly convert your text or title to all caps by selecting the UPPER button on the tool. Then craft an attention-grabbing headline, write the body of your press release, add the boilerplate section, and distribute your press . $;$ExRp" e8CQiQYgKdIw lP"1C[;d,|xk0:[#.kvZ|{wY14\.wCzb`*,a`FK{GQfl!hie "h9e tI*2$"/'O6\a>Zb=01fD?`ZTX7w$\a +!F7X o7N| *&Rp oTF G6eKeJ22N Mb[$er6_oZkh:.jFeX^Lu}]/E.tesv!8;>pi0B@09]l}llx| V:2`zXoyQ% 'w Cite it. All style guides agree to capitalize the first letter of the bullet list unless you opt for the "vertical lists punctuated as a sentence" format using semicolons, illustrated above. Two new and potentially controversial suggestions when writing bulleted lists are to use dashes instead of bullets and to always use periods (rather than semicolons) at the end of each section, even if it is a phrase and not a sentence. See APA 7, Section 6.52 for examples and more information. The Gregg Reference Manual uses periods only after bullets that are dependent clauses and long phrases. Consider the examples below: The capitalization chapter has new guidance on how to write about census divisions and geological formations. Capitalize all words of four letters or more. Chicago Style is one of the most used and respected headline capitalization methods used in journalism. For a list of short items, there is no need to punctuate each point. Punctuating every introduction with a colon and every list item with a period regardless of other structural issues (such as complete versus incomplete introductory sentences and list-item formatting) could potentially decrease flow and readability. Q: If using "member of Congress" instead of congressman/congresswoman, should "member" be capitalized? Bulleted lists may be comprised of complete sentences or phrases. Garner calls this "vertical lists punctuated as a sentence." A Preferred style is without terminal punctuation, unless the list item is a complete sentence. Abbreviations, acronyms (24/7; NATO; laser; U.S.; No. Young adults have many motivations for texting on their smartphones: Further information about bulleted lists is available in the Publication Manual, including how to format lists of definitions in a glossary. - Use periods, not semicolons, at the end of each section. Semicolons Use in Lists: Items with Internal Punctuation To remove a lid from a jar that is stuck: Place the lid under hot water for ten seconds. In this review, we'll further consider how the semicolon operates in forming lists that involve items in a series. A: AP doesn't use italics in news stories. Everyone loves a vertical list. AP Stylebook: Use periods after bullets. social connection, in which people text as a way to connect with others; escapism, in which people text to get away from dull or uncomfortable situations such as waiting in line; distraction, in which people text to distract themselves while having a conversation with someone or being in a meeting; audacity, in which people text to get a response from someone, such as to break up with them or ask them on a date; nurturing, in which people text to foster relationships by saying things like good morning or I love you; and. According to APA Style, the first word after the colon is capitalized only if it begins a complete sentence. Find it. Individual list items following a complete sentence are usually capitalized but appear without terminal punctuation (i.e., they dont end in a period, comma, colon, or semicolon) if they are incomplete sentences, phrases, or single words.3. Q: If we're speaking about regions of the state, should it be South Louisiana, North Louisiana and Central Louisiana? endstream endobj 32 0 obj <>stream Gently tap the lid against a hard surface. Bonus: We have some great shortcuts to make your life easier. Watch your title convert case and be automatically capitalized! endstream endobj startxref To help, weve prepared a guide to punctuating and capitalizing bullet points. Take a digital photo of a family member. Use either all full sentences in your bullet lists or all fragments. Alternatively, you can use our tool to convert text from lowercase to uppercase by clicking the UPPER button. If you left caps lock on accidentally, you can quickly convert your title from uppercase to lowercase by selecting the lower button above. You're not "piling on." There's an old joke: Bullet point structure Don't mix and match sentence structures. The individual list items following the complete sentence are usually lowercased if they arent complete sentences themselves. A: The phrase suggests a contingency unlikely to come true, so use "were" for the subjunctive mood. Q: Why is atheist not capitalized while Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, etc., are? The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) recommends prefacing unordered lists with dashes instead of bullets, although bullets are an acceptable choice for some publications.AP style also recommends punctuating complete and incomplete introductory sentences with a colon and capitalizing the first word in each list item as well as punctuating This guidance has been expanded from the 6th edition. In AP style, the word that begins the list or series should generally only be capitalized if it is a proper noun. Poor sleep quality has been linked with the following symptoms: The second option is to insert punctuation after the bulleted items as though the bullets were not there, which may be better when the items are longer or more complex. And if so, when? the proper name, do not capitalize. Examples: House Cleaning Tips: Remove items from shelves before dusting. hb```"3VTa`0p4 )x3JH2HgQW(Iz8Nul i@fP!40XE&,0e0v`do`6c $X1)`U&y[#b s .6[ Q: Is the age of an inanimate object expressed in numerals or spelled out? Use a rubber glove to twist the lid off. As an Amazon Associate, CapitalizeMyTitle.com earns from qualifying purchases. Items that are complete sentences If bulleted items are complete sentences, begin each item with a capital letter and finish it with a period or other appropriate punctuation. "The cat's toy" means one cat owns that toy. Title case is the most common form of title and headline capitalization and is found in all four major title capitalization styles. AP style provides consistent guidelines for such publications in terms of grammar, spelling, punctuation and language usage. finally, draft your conclusion. A: As a descriptive term, doctorate in psychology is lowercase. All rights reserved. label all file pages (and the disk itself) with your designatedcode. Capitalize the second word in a hyphenated compound if both words are equal and not suffices or prefixes (e.g., Cost-Benefit), Capitalize the first non-Greek letter after a lowercase Greek letter (e.g., -Bromohexanoic), Lowercase the first non-Greek letter after a capital Greek letter (e.g., -9-tetrahydrocannabinol), Capitalize the genus but not the species epithet. The default rule is to lowercase words unless theres a reason they should be uppercase. Thanks for the tips. If checked, quotes will be output as straight quotes. Capitalize every word in the headline; the main subhead is a complete sentence with a period. Fax: 205-921-5595 2131 Military Street S Hamilton, AL 35570 View Location But if you're following AP style, chances are you're overusing those big letters. To make peace with periods in a list, think of the entire list (including the lead-in word or phrase) as several sentences (all of which need a period at the end). AP follows two broad rules for capitalization: Common names are not capitalized unless part of a proper name (the river vs. the Thames River). in Composition and Rhetoric from the University of New Hampshire. Ive updated. Use no punctuation after bullets that are not sentences and do not complete the stem. Another easy decision. This creates anew layer of confusion on how to use capitalization and punctuation in such lists. There are five important things to watch for in numbered and bulleted lists: inconsistent capitalization. This post deserves a standing ovation. Asthma or some allergies. In the example above, the first two list items end with a semicolon because the second list item has internal commas. The book club members made a list of their favorite genres: Individual list items following a complete sentence that are themselves complete sentences are each punctuated with a period.4. Mr. Heckle and Mr. Jeckle enjoy several feline activities: Like ordered lists, unordered lists that are part of an incomplete introductory sentence are lowercased and punctuated as if each item was inside the sentence.10, People who grew up in the 1980s watched a lot of television, including, The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) recommends prefacing unordered lists with dashes instead of bullets, although bullets are an acceptable choice for some publications.AP style also recommends punctuating complete and incomplete introductory sentences with a colon and capitalizing the first word in each list item as well as punctuating each list item with a period even if the item is an incomplete sentence.11.