Q: How does AP treat programming language when used in general text? Q: Great Depression is capitalized and so is American Revolution. In the example above, the first two list items end with a semicolon because the second list item has internal commas. A: member is lowercase, as are congressmen and congresswoman. A Lists Introduced with a Complete Sentence Try it with a list of shorter items like this. 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. Enter the email you used in your Ragan store purchase. This is ultimately a matter of stylistic preference. Quickly convert your title or text to title case by simply clicking the Title Case button in the tool above. Words that should not be capitalized include: To draw visual attention to items in a list without implying that items go in a certain order (e.g., chronology, importance, priority), use a bulleted list. According to APA Style, the first word after the colon is capitalized only if it begins a complete sentence. This creates anew layer of confusion on how to use capitalization and punctuation in such lists. r%Q! Thanks for the comment, Anna. The idea is that the list reads like a single sentence, with semicolons separating each point, a conjunction just before the final entry, and a period at the end. Whether using bullets or numbers, vertical lists can be tricky. When writing an argumentative essay, you would typically research a topic and adopt a certain How to Punctuate and Capitalize Bullet Points. Title case is also commonly used for book titles, movies titles, song names, plays, and other works. Ordered vertical lists have, you guessed it, an order. Garner's Modern American Usage inserts periods at the end of bullet lists only if the bullet list begins with a capital letter. APA allows the use of bulleted lists with or without punctuation. 7. RECOMMENDATION: Please avoid usingthe following format: If you write alot of reports and documents with lists, youll always do well if you follow the guidelines above, recognizing the need of the reader to grasp information quickly and easily. in English from the University of Rhode Island, an M.A. Once again, complete sentences introducing unordered lists are traditionally punctuated with a colon. Capitalize the first word following the dash or bullet. How to Create Bulleted Lists in Microsoft Word, How to Create and Modify Numbered Lists in Microsoft Word, How to Create Custom Bullets in Microsoft Word, Parallel StructureThe Secret to Beautiful Bullet Points. Awesome sauce! Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this websites owner is strictly prohibited. Watch your title convert case and be automatically capitalized! With this format, use commas after each list item and on the next-to-last list, item use the word and close the list with a . Home Style and Grammar Guidelines Lists Lists Just as heading structure alerts readers to the order of ideas in a paper, lists help readers understand a related set of key points within a sentence or paragraph. A: Eight states are never abbreviated in datelines or text: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. Now we have bullets. A: Veterans benefits, lowercase and not a possessive, is usually a descriptive term. The rule of thumb in AP style is that things should be lowercased unless a rule indicates that theyre upper. AP style is actually not capitalized, though AP Stylebook is. Q: Veteran's Benefits, Veterans Benefits or Veterans' Benefits? Capitalize the first word of every bullet. If unchecked, quotes will be output as curly quotes. You can learn more in the Title Capitalization Rules by Style section. The following rules apply to APA headline capitalization and title capitalization: Making sure you have the right capitalization for MLA headings is crucial for scholarly articles. Bulleted lists can be used with complete sentences, phrases, or a combination. 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. Subscribe to AP Stylebook Online: AP Stylebook Online is a searchable, customizable guide for writers and editors that is updated throughout the year. Avoid a mix. Q: In denoting area, which is correct for numbers under 10 -- 5 acres or five acres? Added standalone cities to guidance on addresses and states. Subscribe to the My Blog Editor blog for the latest TIPS on improving the QUALITY of your business content. persistent psychological distress (Glozier et al., 2010; Lund et al., 2010). This post deserves a standing ovation. is lowercase. Should the opening stem sentence end with a colon to introduce the bullet lists or use no colon? Bulleted lists. (Just like this bullet list youre reading now.). Example 1: And if youd like any more help with the punctuation and capitalization of lists in a document, dont forget we have proofreaders available 24/7! The art instructor assigned three projects for the spring semester: 2. 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 When multiple letters in a title need to be capitalized, use title case capitalization. 'I hope this email finds you well:' Emailing During the Pandemic, Business Grammar: Pronoun Antecedent Errors, Use a period or other full stop after every bullet that is a sentence. For company names, use their preference: eBay. document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a4470ef17940e51381fb55e5e7bde6b6" );document.getElementById("j6a5d70196").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Sign up to receive the latest articles from Ragan.com directly in your inbox. Q: Do music groups take singular verbs, as do collective nouns, or plural verbs, as with sports teams? I like bananas. For lists of fragments, short phrases, or words, capitalization is optional: As with the other optional punctuation above, though, make sure to use a consistent capitalization style throughout your writing. This post links directly to APA Style topics of interest that users may not even know exist on the website. Automatically copy the capitalized title with CTRL + C ( + C on Mac) or after pasting. July 31, 2019. Of course, youll want to keep using capitals for all the basics: the beginning of every sentence, proper nouns like names and specific locations, days of the week and months. 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. Its hard for some people to wrap their heads around this rule, especially if each item on the list is not a full sentence. 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. The Associated Press Stylebook provides an A-Z guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. Each of these capitalization styles has slightly different rules for which words are capitalized and each of these styles can be written using title case capitalization or sentence case capitalization. Lower is default; upper is special. 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 2003-2022 Judy Vorfeld's Office Support Services. Abbreviations, acronyms (24/7; NATO; laser; U.S.; No. Consider the examples below: Symbols such as small circles, squares, dashes, and so forth may be used for the bullets. Next, read the lead-in word or phrase again followed by the second item on the list. %PDF-1.4 % I like apples. How will ChatGPT affect the communications profession? AP flags such cases atop the story with an editor's note. In business writing, yes, use a colon at the end of the introductory stem sentence. Bullets Associated Press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. Bullets Associated Press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. Also, please note that ads, brochures and legal contracts may require some deviation from these guidelines. hb```"3VTa`0p4 )x3JH2HgQW(Iz8Nul i@fP!40XE&,0e0v`do`6c $X1)`U&y[#b s .6[ finally, draft your conclusion. Bulleted lists are covered in Section 6.52 of the APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition This guidance has been expanded from the 6th edition. Lowercase and spell out when not used with an individual name: The president issued a statement. 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. The huge difference is that AP colon rules allow you to use a colon after a sentence fragment. A: We follow Webster's on that term, which is lowercase. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as "play with"), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions. Gently tap the lid against a hard surface. I have a tendency to be very verbose when I write. Q: Is there a standard AP style for bulleted areas of text? But if youre following AP style, chances are youre overusing those big letters. 1 ). Judy Vorfeld Oppress means to persecute/tyrannize/bully. STATES: Abbreviate state names when listed after a city. 10439 W Royal Palm Rd., Peoria AZ 85345 Your points should be consistent, either all sentences or all fragments. Other terminology (business; food and beverages; legal and justice; medical; ethnic and nationality; politics; religion ). The Chicago Manual of Style has pages of rules and examples of bullet lists that agree with the Garner style recommendation to use semicolons after each item, use and after the next-to-last-item, and use a period at the end of the last item. (After reading this) .. The capitalization rules are as follows: Bluebook style capitalization is mainly used by lawyers. (AP Style reminds writers that it is still correct to use bullets if preferred.) Chicago Manual of Style does not. Unfortunately, many brands forego style guides and choose to wing . How a list is punctuated depends on the sort of information that is being presented. For example, are newspapers italicized? Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: AP style, APA style, Chicago style, formatting, grammar, MLA style, punctuation. If you want to change your title from uppercase to title case, you can select the Title Case button above. When do Icapitalize the first letter in abulleteditem? Do you capitalize the first word of a bullet point? To illustrate the example, youd sayI voted on election day because I want my candidate to win. I voted on election day because I like to exercise my right to vote. I voted on election day because I believe every vote counts.. Again, these will depend on the specific style you choose (see Title Capitalization Rules by Style section). Numbered lists may appear with or without the period after the number. You can also use a colon after a partial sentence. Some guiding principles behind AP style are: Consistency Clarity Accuracy Brevity AP style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. Bulleted Lists: Capitalization and Punctuation By Judy Vorfeld Did you know that before the introduction of word processing (via word processors and computers), most publications displayed lists in either outline form or numbered lists. Zip Airline offers A: The phrase suggests a contingency unlikely to come true, so use "were" for the subjunctive mood. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Erin Wright with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. All rights reserved. Garner calls this "vertical lists punctuated as a sentence." Understanding what to capitalize in a title is important to make sure that your titles and headlines look correct. Capitalize major words, e.g. Considering those rules, these hyphenated words would all be correctly capitalized in titles: In the list above, up, in, on, off, and out are adverbs-not prepositions. . My name is Erin. If you have a list of full sentences or a list with a mix of full sentences and fragments we suggest capitalizing the first letter in each item. The bullets indicate that I like apples, bananas, and oranges equally. Punctuation (commas; quotation marks; colon; semi-colon; ellipsis ). 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). In AP style, the word that begins the list or series should generally only be capitalized if it is a proper noun. . In our latest quarterly roundup of AP Style reminders, we cover back-to-school terms, travel terminology, and more. For more AP style tips, watch Grammar Girls Beginning and Intermediate Guide to AP Style any time. This is a tricky one for me because, personally, I agree with you. Memorize the AP abbreviations. The rules are fairly standard for title case: Making sure you have the right capitalization for APA headings is crucial for scholarly articles. In general, the following capitalization rules apply across the four styles in title case: Important words in that last bullet generally refer to: Title case is the most common title capitalization for book titles, headlines, articles titles, etc. This will convert your text to uppercase. Whether a numbered list is being used when a bullet list would be more appropriate, or vice versa, A: AP Stylebook entry on "collective nouns" says band names take plural verbs. . Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook, 9th Edition Capitalization Rules, Best Book Writing Software and Book Writing Apps, Cursive Text Generator , Buscador de palabras y descifrador de palabras, Select your title capitalization style above by clicking on a tab. In APA 7, you have two options for punctuating bulleted phrases: to include no punctuation after each list item and after the last list item or to include commas or semicolons, as appropriate, after each list item and final punctuation at the end of the list. A: Normally staff is a collective taking a singular verb, Spelling (one word or two; hyphenation; noun phrases; prefixes; suffixes), Titles (academic; courtesy; professional; military; occupational; political; religious). Again, style guides dont agree.]. 59 0 obj <>stream Now we have bullets. Use either all full sentences in your bullet lists or all fragments. 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. Yes. Example: There are anumber of tags used in HTML, including: RULE: Its not necessary to use periods after short phrases or single words in alist, if the introductory statement is grammatically complete (see below) or if the listed items are like those on an inventory sheet or ashopping list. She holds a B.A. Vertical lists can be ordered or unordered and can be introduced by complete or incomplete sentences, all of which affect how the individual list items are capitalized and punctuated. To keep bullets simple and consistent, I take a dual approach to styling them, based on whether the items in the list are complete sentences or partial sentences. This is where the semicolon confusion comes in. Lower is default; upper is special. So nice to hear the positive feedback! To see what I mean, read the lead-in word or phrase then read the first item on the list. Capitalize the first word in each bullet. This article is a summary of AP style. 1+ 803-479-5092 ntuten@getitwriteonline.com Right you are. Its all about readability. Erin Wright, 20122023. After each dash, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each section. Find it. Unordered lists occasionally appear without bullets.8 However, strongly consider using bullets whenever possible because bullet-less list items can be difficult to identify on mobile devices with responsive text layouts. I love traveling to Ireland because of its: [AP, Garner, and Gregg use the colon here. The Gregg Reference Manual uses periods only after bullets that are dependent clauses and long phrases. - Use periods, not semicolons, at the end of each section. Ive updated. Dont use a period at the end of a bullet if the bullet lists are one word or a short phrase that feels like an inventory or shopping list. AP's style is now to capitalize Black in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense, conveying an essential . 7. Preferred style is without terminal punctuation, unless the list item is a complete sentence. 4.24.14 AP style rules on state abbreviations updated. Copyright 2023 Lawrence Ragan Communications, Inc. mar Girls Beginning and Intermediate Guide to AP Style. Infants will try to help others who seem like they need help with simple tasks, such as carrying multiple objects. A: AP lowercases civil rights movement. When writing a list, ensure all items are syntactically and conceptually parallel. Thanks for the tips. This is usually done when each list entry finishes an introductory phrase, as shown below: Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox. Q: Is the age of an inanimate object expressed in numerals or spelled out? Example: You will not be accepted if you have been diagnosedwith: RECOMMENDATION: If youre creating along document full of bulleted items, you may choose to be consistent and end each item with aperiod. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions. This is a grammar guide that accompanies our post on how to write better bullet points. Everyone loves a vertical list. Bachelor of Arts is capitalized as an academic degree, as are B.A. Clarity and consistency are the building blocks of great content. The following example demonstrates this format as well as how to include a citation for the information in the bulleted list. Lowercase to in the infinitive (though not defined in the stylebook). 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." The tricky thing is punctuation. and Ph.D. See "doctor" for an explanation of Dr. as a title for medical doctor on first reference. See APA 7, Section 6.52 for examples and more information. To create a bulleted list, use the bulleted list function of your word-processing program. in compound modifiers (e.g., Mid-year, Anti-hero, etc.). Get an email every time a new blog post is published. 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. Capitalize words with four or more letters (including conjunctions and prepositions). The Gregg Reference Manual uses periods only after bullets that are dependent clauses and long phrases. Q: Would "crew chief" and "team owner" be capitalized before a name? News media (datelines; headlines; newswriting ). DO NOT capitalize plural words even when part of a proper name (e.g. To help, weve prepared a guide to punctuating and capitalizing bullet points. Q: Why is atheist not capitalized while Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, etc., are? Q: If using "member of Congress" instead of congressman/congresswoman, should "member" be capitalized? Certainly, your business writings substance and information are far more critical than exacting punctuation that technically is neither correct nor incorrect since style guides vary. Examples: House Cleaning Tips: Remove items from shelves before dusting. And consistency goes a long way in creating clear, credible content. In most cases, experts recommend that you start each bulleted item with acapital letter. Capitalization (proper nouns: America; proper names: Democratic Party; popular names: Indy 500; compositions: books, movies, operas ). Do it anyway. Whether youre writing an essay, email, or cover letter, youll likely use parentheses. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions (regardless of length). Lowercase the second word after a hyphenated prefix (e.g., Mid-, Anti-, Super-, etc.) These are perfectly acceptable, and some style guides suggest writing lists like this. . Style Bullets Capitalize the first letter after a bullet. The stylebook uses italics for examples only. Bulleted lists help make information more scannable and easier to understand. We recommend following the AP Stylebooks bullet punctuation, with additional clarifications that AP doesnt address. Continue from there down the list. But here are a few things you might not realize are actually lowercase in AP style. 22 December, 2021. The first step in the process of how to write an AP style press release is to familiarize yourself with the guidelines. Q: Is clarity essentially the only rule determining when a serial comma should be included? Here is a sampling of frequently asked questions, with examples of AP style used in answers. How about AP? They are also written without terminal punctuation (i.e., they dont end in a period, comma, colon, or semicolon).9. For MBA, AP Style don [t use periods. Q: There seem to be differing opinions on whether or not to capitalize the names of grapes used to make wine. A colon adds emphasis, too. AP Stylebook recommends: "Capitalize the first word following the dash or bullet. Lowercase indefinite and definite articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions. 10. You can quickly convert your text or title to all caps by selecting the UPPER button on the tool. A: a month's confinement, per the QUASI POSSESSIVES section of the "possessives" entry. x]0)} N "d/J]g<3gcyY?9Y\}xLgH*vVQ8e[!}mg%O*~OqoEhe9k=~o^p{?~7?ZOu6ImR)Gow=\JrP Please list your allergies and give date of last flare-up. Follow @APStylebook AP uses dashes to introduce individual sections of a list, like this: - Put a space between the dash or bullet and the first word of each item in the list. Its visually cluttered, impeding easy scan. AP uses dashes, not bullets, for lists in news stories that follow a colon. Infants are happy to participate in normal household chores, such as cleaning up. People who grew up in the 1980s watched a lot of television, including: If you arent a strict follower of AP style, consider using the general guidelines explained in the sections above instead of those outlined in this alert box. 5 simple story types to fill out your editorial calendar, A quick refresher on using minor punctuation marks in AP style, 8 tips on writing and editing from Jerry Seinfeld. The buttons at the bottom let you choose specific case conversion options for the various styles. Some style manuals, such as the AP Stylebook and APA Publication Manual, recommend capitalizing an independent clause after a colon. Q: If you have a hyphen in a headline, is the word after the hyphen capitalized? nouns, pronouns, verbs. A: corporate (adj.) 8 Tips to Make Your Writing Sound More Formal, Capitalization in APA, Chicago, MLA, and AP. The CMS is commonly used in the publishing sphere, and AP style is more press-oriented . There are five important things to watch for in numbered and bulleted lists: inconsistent capitalization. Why wouldnt you want to add a list to your work? Complete sentences introducing ordered lists are traditionally punctuated with a colon. Required fields are marked *. 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. How about Civil Rights Movement? In AP style, headlines capitalize the first word, proper names, or proper abbreviations, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs. The Copyeditors Handbook (Einsohn). 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 individual list items following the complete sentence are usually lowercased if they arent complete sentences themselves. It is the same across all of the four styles. Local Phone: (623) 399-6676 | Entries (RSS). There was an error submitting your subscription. If all else fails, when it comes to accepting AP style: Just do it. The first word after a colon unless it begins an independent clause. The two major capitalization styles for headlines and titles are sentence case and title case. Q: Others use one word for internet-related terms. Try it with these examples and see if the period makes more sense. Use a lettered list if you want to emphasize separate parallel items within a sentence. - Capitalize the first word following the dash or bullet. A: Use Arabic figures to indicate decades of history: the 1920s, the '80s Figures, numerals, dimensions (7-year-old boy; three years ago; 1 percent; third grade; size 9; 6-by-8-foot rug; 5 ounces; 68,000-square-foot facility). If checked, quotes will be output as straight quotes. Bullet point structure Don't mix and match sentence structures. So many choices to make! Creating a free account also gives you access to historical stylebooks, writing guidelines and handbooks produced by The Associated Press, dating back to June 1900. %%EOF The rule of thumb in AP style is that things should be lowercased unless a rule indicates that they're upper. Q: My AP Stylebook always lists examples in italics, so it's difficult to see if italics are part of the style. Take a digital photo of a family member. Colon Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun orFile Size: KB. So long as your capitalization rules remain consistent in your organizations communications, youre golden. Use no punctuation after bullets that are not sentences and do not complete the stem. You should always use a colon before a bulleted or numbered list. Birth certificate . Capitalization is a style choicewith sentence fragments, you can choose to start each with either upper- or lower-case letters. While its not wrong and some style guides recommend this, its not the best business writing choice. Here is an example of bullet lists that need a period to complete the introductory stem sentence: Here is an example of bullets lists that do not need a period because they are fragments not connected to the introductory stem sentence: These are reasons I love traveling to Ireland: Here is an example of bullet lists that do not need a period because theyre one word or a short phrase that feels like an inventory or shopping list: This issue is straightforward. Most often, the text that introduces such lists ends with a colon, as in "The value of . Use a rubber glove to twist the lid off. Very helpful stuff! Infants often display positive emotions when following parents behavioral requests, such as not touching the stove. hn7_@os@`v6Y8m.sSWloK6]G\#4:RsJ.Sv1b0',K4;mgbj\l~}7N|7W}v0qp}_n]QQL~yNy?NQ2*yZ_p@PnCx'q%6\zr0nqfopzpyb"uGh7? 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. AP Stylebook: Use periods after bullets. 6. I was a fan until I realized it wasn't AP Style, all hail AP Style Honorable mention a.m. and p.m. - That's how they're used. There's an old joke: The following examples demonstrate both options as well as how to integrate in-text citations into bulleted lists. Use proper punctuation for bulleted sections. In bulleted and numbered lists, do not use a period or other punctuation after titles or phrases that are not complete sentences (also good for accessibility). The capitalization chapter has new guidance on how to write about census divisions and geological formations. Capitalization and end punctuation depend on the type of list and the contents of the list. 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. "The cat's toy" means one cat owns that toy. 2-5 p.m.) and when to use the word "to"? Were often asked whether you need a period at the end of each entry in a list. If a bulleted list contains phrases, each bullet should begin with a lowercase letter. In this tutorial, well explore guidelines for how to write vertical lists. Because AP recommends the colon and AP is the preferred business writing style guide, I recommend using it consistently in your business writing. We updated guidance on how to write about U.S. and international currency. This will uncapitalize your text. Q: What is AP's style on the military's don't ask, don't tell policy? For more specific title capitalization rules, you can see the following sections which cover each style of title capitalization rules or check out our FAQs for common capitalization questions. First, it is important to note that there are four main title capitalization styles: Chicago style, APA style, MLA style, and AP style. 0 The capitalization and punctuation for each bulleted item are determined by the sentence structure. Semicolon Use in Lists A properly inserted semicolon helps to provide pause and clarifying separation in sentences. A: In this instance, use a plural verb. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions of four letters or fewer.