Parallelism in bullet lists (and what does parallelism mean?)

Writing parallel lists simply means that each item in the list has the same structure. To be parallel, each item in the list might: • start with the same part of speech (e.g. noun, verb) • use the same verb tense (e.g. present, past, future) • use the same voice (e.g. active or passive) • use the same sentence type (e.g. statement, question)

Wrong Key elements of a successful staff flu vaccination campaign include: • informing employees about the vaccination plan • educating employees about its importance • employees should be notified about when they can get flu shots

Right Key elements of a successful staff flu vaccination campaign include: • informing employees about the vaccination plan • educating employees about its importance • notifying employees about when they can get flu shots Punctuation in bullet lists

1. The text introducing the list of bullet points should end with a colon. For example: Key elements of a successful staff flu vaccination campaign include:

2. If the text that follows the bullet point is not a proper sentence, it shouldn’t really begin with a capital letter and doesn’t need to end with a period/full stop. Key elements of a successful staff flu vaccination campaign include: • informing employees about the vaccination plan • educating employees about its importance • notifying employees about when they can get flu shots

3. If the text following the bullet point is a complete sentence, it should begin with a capital letter, while a period at the end is technically required but is not absolutely essential. The agenda for tonight is as follows: • We will conduct a review of the capital gains issues. • Attorney Sanso will talk about outstanding inheritance tax issues.

4. In very formal/academic bullet lists, the traditional (old-fashioned) way to punctuate each item is with a semicolon. If you do use semicolons, the accepted practice, as in this list, is to:

• put a semicolon at the end of each point; • use ‘and’ after the second-to-last point; and • finish with a full stop. Advantages of a bulleted list

1. A bulleted or numbered list: • visually emphasizes information • capsulizes a concept • facilitates reading comprehension

2. But make sure that the grammatical part of speech in the items matches the introductory text. Wrong Key elements of a successful staff flu vaccination campaign include: • to inform employees about the vaccination plan • to educate employees about its importance • to notify employees about when they can get flu shots Right Key elements of a successful staff flu vaccination campaign include: • informing employees about the vaccination plan • educating employees about its importance • notifying employees about when they can get flu shots

3. You can use a capital letter in bulleted items for emphasis, especially if the items are short. To survive the zombie apocalypse, you should: • Stay calm • Find allies • Keep moving

4. But generally speaking IMO it’s a bit illogical to do this. During the internship period you will, amongst other things: • complete AW Media’s sales course, finishing with a diploma certificate • work with internationalizing one or more of our leading websites • follow our educational modules on sales