- an item in each list should start with a small or capital letter;
- each list item should end with a semicolon, nothing at all, or a period;
- if using a semicolon, should the last item end with a period?
- The partial sentences start with a small letter and end with a semicolon; the last item in such a list ends with a period.
- The full sentences start with a capital letter and end with a period.
Dear readers, help. Is there a correct way to do this? Is it acceptable to have 2 different approaches like I have described in a single document?
4 comments:
These items should be separated with semicolons if commas would not clearly separate them. For example, right now I am holding my nephew, who is small; typing this note; and keeping an eye on the clock.
I used semicolons because if I didn't, the dependent clause describing my nephew would have looked like another item in the list.
If your lists are bullet pointed, then you should capitalize the first letter of each bullet point, but if not, then it should be lower case. The punctuation of the bullet point list should be the same as the sentence list. So, right now I am
* Holding my nephew, who is small;
* Typing this note; and
* Keeping an eye on the clock.
what Rebecca said.
And yay that you are working on a document that will become your dissertation. :)
I would follow Rebecca's advice, it is what they thought me when I was a secretary (once...)
Rebecca - that rule makes sense! Off to finally making my document uniform - thanks!
EGF - it is surprisingly large already, and it is helping me see what is missing. I have much left to do, but having a plan is nice!
Lin - I am glad everyone is in agreement, not sure what I would do if I got conflicting advice here :)
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