Lists, Punctuation in
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Introduction
A list is simply a typographical construct, and the use of a list does not excuse the author from using correct grammatical and typographical form. When using lists, consider how the text would read were it all placed on the same line (or paragraph) - if it still makes grammatical sense, and reads correctly, then the list is correctly formed. A good test is to read the list (including stem sentence) aloud, and check that it does not sound clumsy, or awkward. See also Parallelism.
The introductory sentence
Introduce each list with a sentence (or stem sentence) that ends in a colon.
Capitalization
Start each list item with a capital letter - even if the list item is a dependent clause following a stem sentence.
Item termination
If the list items are complete, grammatically correct sentences (or form a complete, grammatically correct sentence with the stem sentence), then terminate the item with a period (full stop).
Example:
Employees are reminded of the following guidelines:
- Each employee must sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement upon hiring.
- All work performed by the employee remains property of the company.
- All patents filed by the employee that are based on knowledge obtained whilst in the employ of the company remain the property of the company, even after termination of employment.
Additionally, if any of the list items contain multiple sentences, then the (last sentence in) the list item must be terminated with a period. In such list items, it is recommended that all list items form complete sentences in their own right (and not only when used in combination with the stem sentence), for a more comfortable flow.
If the combination of all of the list items and the stem sentence form a complete, grammatically correct sentence, then terminate all items with a semicolon, with the exception of the last item, which should be terminated with a period (full stop). Note that here, the penultimate item should strictly be followed by "and", but this is seldom done.
Example:
The project plan addresses:
- Needs Analysis;
- Project Definition;
- Solution Design;
- Solution Development;
and - Implementation.
Note that some style guides suggest that all list items (including the last one) should end in a comma. However, this poses problems when the line item itself contains commas. In this latter case, the Chicago Manual of Style advocates the use of semicolons. For consistency, this guide recommends the use of semicolons on all (non-self-contained) list items (except the last, which has a period), regardless of whether or not the list item itself contains commas. Other style guides omit terminating punctuation altogether - but see the comments above regarding grammatical correctness.
