Guidelines for the Bullet Points

My exploration’s first stop was oxford dictionary to discover bullet points. It describes, “Bullet points are used to draw attention to important information within a document so that a reader can identify the key issues and facts quickly.” Bullet points are visually attractive and make it easy for a reader to locate important information.

Some other says, “A 'bullet point' is an item introduced by a dot ("bullet") or a similar icon to retrieve information fast.” There are no fixed rules about how to use them, but there are some guidelines.

The bullet points are used to list features, steps, or tips, just like the following list:

• The text introducing the list of bullet points should end with a colon.
• If the text that follows the bullet point is not a proper sentence, it doesn’t need to begin with a capital letter and it shouldn’t end with a full stop, for example:
• Today's discussion includes:
  --Issues of scanty rains across the regions
  --Climate change over the sub-continent

(However, there is an exception to this; if the bullet items are independent of each other, it should be started with capitalization. Otherwise also, it may start with capitalization)

•  Lists of bullet points shows more impact if each one begins with the same word class (or part of speech) and if they are all of a similar length. Action verbs are a good choice for the first word, i.e., verbs that describe the performing of an action. If you use verbs, ensure that each one is in the same tense.
• Emphasizing the first few words of the bullet points capture the main idea. You can use bold type, italics, or underlining for emphasis.
• Make bullet points consistent in structure, such as, make all of them sentences or fragments or questions.

(However, if you have two sets of bullet points in a document, you don't need to make them consistent with each other--just within themselves.)

• Be consistent in punctuating bullets, i.e., if one bullet ends with a period (full stop), end all with a period, following these rules:
  --Remember:
      a. If all bullets are sentences, end each one with a period (full stop).
      b. If all bullets are phrases or fragments, use no end punctuation.
• Do not use semicolon to end bullet points. This is an old age fashion and no more in use today.
• Avoid making bullet points that look like paragraphs. Three lines is a reasonable maximum length.
• Avoid having bullet points more than five (itemized).
• Number bullet points when you have many--more than five or so. Most of the steps of a process to complete a task or procedure will have such bullets.
• Avoid using transition words and phrases such as "and" or "or", “secondly”, “another point” etc. These are unnecessary and doesn’t help user rather they confuse them.
• Judiciously use bullet points in relation, especially if there are a lot of them. If the bullets contain a blend of domestic and wild animals, break them into two lists, with one labeled domestic animals and another labeled wild animals.
• Avoid bullet points when you want to build rapport or deal with a sensitive issue. Bullets communicate efficiency rather than warmth.
• Create clean and legible bullet fonts and be consistent. Avoid mixing many fonts and layouts.

These are some of the broader points what anyone should remember while using bullet points in the documents. However, there would be still some doubts which would need clarifications.

If the bullets are not punctuated in between, there should not be a period at the end of the last bullet.

On capitalization issue, reference books differ on this question. "The Gregg Reference Manual" capitalizes all bullets. "The Chicago Manual of Style" capitalizes bulleted fragments only when they are in numbered lists. So if you were to use fragments with simple bullets (no numbers), "Chicago" would advise you to make them lower case. Most of us would like to follow "Gregg" because it shows the consistency of all bullet points being capitalized.

The use of bullet for just one item runs into controversy and many agree to use as single bullet and many counter saying that bullet should be used only for list items. It’s a question of your judgment and possibly your list might have only one item.

While I spent too much time explaining my junior colleagues about the use and guidelines of bullet points, it came to my mind that it might make life easier for many people who are into writing industry. Especially the ones, who are new to the structured writing, might benefit immensely.