bulleted list for research paper

How to Use Bullet Lists and Number Lists in a Research Paper

Academic articles often include lists, which organize the material and provide the reader with a quick overview of a section. There are different ways to format lists, but some general principles apply to all of them: they should be constructed in a parallel fashion, and they should be consistent. Numbers, letters, and bullet points are not required in all cases. Academic writers who use The Chicago Manual of Style will find various formats there, but four common list formats are presented here.

Types of List Formats

Run-in lists.

A run-in list, as the name suggests, is included as part of the general text. Elements can be separated in different ways, as shown in the examples below.

Separated with a Colon:   When a complete sentence is followed by a list of items, separate the sentence from the list with a colon.

E.g. “ Do not venture into the wilderness without these items: a knife, a book of matches, a flashlight, and a map. ”

Separated with Numbers:  When the list is part of the sentence, you can separate the items by numbering them.

E.g. “ The Housing Committee passed resolutions on (1) annual salaries, (2) fundraising efforts, and (3) community building. ”

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Vertical Lists

A vertical list should be preceded by a complete sentence that gives an overview of the points being listed. The list does not need to have a bullet point format and a punctuation mark is not at the end of the entries. For example:

Your admissions packet should include these items:

The three-page statement of purpose

The financial questionnaire

Your contact information

If the lead-in sentence is a complete one and all entries in the list are complete sentences, a punctuation mark should follow each entry. For example (using bullet points):

Make perfect banana bread every time by following these easy steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish.
• Combine all the dry ingredients (listed above).
• Gently fold in the wet ingredients (listed above).
• Pour the batter into the dish and bake for 45 minutes.

Again, note that because each entry in the list is a complete sentence, a final period is used.

Vertical Lists Punctuated as a Sentence

When a list is too long or convoluted to be presented as one sentence, you can use a vertical list that is punctuated like a sentence. This format is especially useful when the phrases include internal punctuations or the reader might find it difficult to follow the meaning. An example follows below.

Biology instructors have made significant changes to their curricula and classrooms, and today it is common to find

• innovative research techniques, especially those requiring knowledge of anatomy, in labs;
• greater focus on teamwork;
• in-class lectures customized for learning styles; and
• bilingual lesson plans.

Vertical Lists with Subdivided Items

A complex vertical list may be formatted in a way that resembles an outline, using numbers and letters to provide a logical structure. The lead-in (introductory) line should be a complete sentence, as seen in the example below.

Students should be prepared to discuss the following topics:

• Regional History
• Geography and landmarks
• Erosion in mountainous areas
• Notable Figures
• The first tribal chieftains
• The emergence of political divisions and leaders
• The role of women
• Cultural Developments
• The spread of language
• Music used to bind communities

The next time you read a research paper , look for lists and examine how they were constructed. Do the entries use a consistent format? Are the numbers and/or letters correctly placed and in the proper order? Is the lead-in line a complete sentence? If you find that these steps are all present, chances are that the author took the time to research the structure of lists and present them accurately. Now you can do the same.

References:

• Get It Write. Handling Vertical Lists.  Retrieved from http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/101406VerticalLists.htm

Very helpful and precise

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How to structure bullet point lists

What are bullet point lists?

When lists are presented with one list item per line, following an indented marker or symbol. they are commonly referred to as ‘bullet points’ or ‘bulleted lists’. Bullet point lists are widely used in science report writing but are rarely used in peer-reviewed journal articles (primarily due to save space).

What is the purpose of bullet points lists?

Bullet point lists are generally used for unnumbered and unordered lists and allow information to stand out separately from paragraphs and other surrounding text. Well-designed bullet points help attract the reader's attention when skimming a document and help them to quickly absorb multiple subtopics.

Making sure that bullet points are structured correctly also helps writers to clarify their thinking. Bullet point lists avoid the need to force a sentence or paragraph to contain lengthy and unwieldy lists. They allow the writer to be more succinct as the repetition needed to link connected sentences within a paragraph can be removed. They can also help to reduce the word count if the list is composed of simple phrases or sentence fragments rather than complete sentences.

The problems with the use of bullet point lists

Many writers are unsure how to structure bullet point lists and use them incorrectly. Some writers use paragraphs when they could have used bullet points and some overuse bullet points instead of writing paragraphs. Some writers haphazardly throw all types of information into bullet points, making them difficult to read. Therefore, guidelines are necessary.

When and how should bullet point lists be used?

There are different ways to structure bullet points. However, ensuring consistency and clarity of meaning is crucial. Two common questions I’m asked are, “ Should bullet points be capitalised ?’ and “ Should bullet points be followed with commas or semi-colons ?” My answer to both is, that it depends on what you are writing and how your structure your introductory elements and list items. An introductory element is the use of a phrase, sentence fragment or complete sentence to introduce the bullet point list.

1. Bullet point lists are introduced with a phrase, a sentence fragment or a complete sentence (introductory element). 

The introductory element is usually followed by a colon (See Example 1).

The following is a brief overview of:

- my understanding about the broad types of software tools on offer.

- how different pricing models influence my choice of tools.

- the current software tools I regularly use for writing, teaching and managing my training consultancy.

- what to keep in mind when searching for good software tools.

(from ‘ FAQ: What software tools do I use for writing and teaching ?’)

2. Each list member must logically complete the meaning conveyed in the introductory element .

As Example 1 is introduced with a sentence fragment (‘ The following is a brief overview of: ’) each list item must form a grammatically-correct complete sentence when combined with it. For example, the second list item would be read as: “ The following is a brief overview of how different pricing models influence my choice of tools .” This is why the first word of each list item is not capitalised and why full stops are used at the end of each list item.

It is very common for writers to avoid this important guideline and not check to see if each list item logically follows on from the introductory element. An incorrect way to represent the information in Example 1 would be as follows:

Hypothetical (incorrect) Example 2

- Includes a current list of software tools I regularly use for writing, teaching and managing my training consultancy .

- Also some tips to keep in mind when searching for the good software tools.

The last two list items, although still relating to the topic, do not follow on from the introductory element. For example, the 3rd list item would read, “ The following is a brief overview of Include a current list of software tools I regularly use for writing, teaching and managing my training consultancy . ” This does not make sense.

3. If an i ntroductory element stands alone as a heading, it doesn’t need any punctuation (see Example 3 below). 

- Plans are not meant to be perfect but act as a guide to your thinking and a framework to further develop the project you are working on.

- Keep all versions of your plans for future reference or to use as templates for future projects.

- Ask colleagues for feedback on your plans as well as your document drafts.

 (from ‘ The essentials of science writing: plan before you write ’ )

4. If the bullet points are composed of complete sentences, they should be each be treated as a normal sentence with capitalisation and terminal punctuation (e.g. full stop, question mark) (see Example 3 above).

5. Consistency is crucial:

- Use the same symbol or marker for your bullet points throughout your document.

- Although you may have different types (structures) of bullet point lists within the same document, all list items within a bullet point list should be the same format: all phrases, all sentence fragments or all complete sentences.

This is another reason why Example 3 is incorrect as the 3rd point is a complete sentence, while the 4th point is a sentence fragment and both are dissimilar in structure to the first two points.

6. Bullet point lists items that are phrases or sentence fragments need no punctuation (see Example 4 below).

Common writing problems often reflect that a writer has not thoroughly considered who their audience is, or what they need. This can cause the following problems:

- providing too much (or not enough) detail or background information

- providing too much detail on unrelated sub-topics or on a well-known topic

- using the wrong language or unfamiliar terminology

- assuming the audience ’s level of interest in, or understanding of, the topic

(from How to identify your target audience ,)

7. Ensure that your list items are distinct from each other (compare examples 5 & 6).

An example of distinct list items:

I agreed to the following decisions:

- the start date of the project.

- that the consultation committee have a  maximum of five registered members .

- the due date of the first stage of the report.

An example of indistinct list items:

- how different pricing models influence the way I research software tools.

In this example, the 3 rd list item is closely related to the 2 nd list item, so I would either combine them all leave point 3 out.

8. The list items can be presented in any order. If they must be presented in a certain order, they should be numbered and considered a ‘numbered list’ and not a bullet point list (See example 7).

Example 7 .

Example of a numbered list

Steps to complete your enrolment:

• Read the terms and conditions.
• Download and complete the application form
• Email the application form to [email protected]
• Follow instructions in enrolment notification email.

9. Use commas or semi-colons at the end of each list item if you are presenting a list as though it was part of an entire sentence (see Examples 8 and 9). 

Hypothetical Example 8 (with commas)

The site contained the following species:

- Eucalyptus saligna,

- Eucalyptus siderophloia,

- Eucalyptus oreades and

- Eucalyptus regen s.

As a complete sentence this would be written as “ The site contained the following species: Eucalyptus saligna, Eucalyptus siderophloia, Eucalyptus oreades and Eucalyptus regen s.”

This type of bullet point list could also make a complicated list easier to read than if it was written in a sentence (see Example 8).

Hypothetical Example 9 (with semi-colons)

- Acacia daviesioides (over 3 dozen seedlings);

- Acacia glaucoptera (3 shrubs);

- Acacia incurve (over 1000 small to medium shrubs);

- Eucalyptus saligna (over 200 seedlings);

- Eucalyptus siderophloia (one large tree and 3 saplings);

- Eucalyptus oreades (six saplings) and

- Eucalyptus regen s (over 300 trees).

As a complete sentence this example would be written as “ The site contained the following species: Acacia daviesioides (over 3 dozen seedlings); Acacia glaucoptera (3 shrubs); Acacia incurve (over 1000 small to medium shrubs); Eucalyptus saligna (over 200 seedlings); Eucalyptus siderophloia (one large tree and 3 saplings); Eucalyptus oreades (six saplings) and Eucalyptus regens (over 300 trees).

If you find you are writing these types of sentences or bullet point lists, depending on the type of document you are writing, it might be better to use tables instead.

© Dr Marina Hurley 2021 www.writingclearscience.com.au

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Best practice for writing and formatting bulleted lists

November 20, 2022 by David Barden

Bulleted lists are great for breaking up long lists into manageable chunks and for making your copy easier to scan. But are you getting the most out of this useful format? Follow these 12 tips for writing and formatting bulleted lists, and your key points are guaranteed to come across more strongly.

Take your time over bulleted lists

When presenting a set of related ideas, categories, features or benefits, the bulleted list is a winner on several levels. Not only is a bulleted list more visually appealing than a solid wall of text, but it helps the reader by breaking a complex chunk of information down into simpler elements.

But although writing out a bulleted list might seem like a quick job, doing it well requires considerable thought. To help you ensure that your next one works well, I’d like to share this checklist of best-practices for writing and formatting bulleted lists in your copy.

#1: Avoid more than seven items in a bulleted list

The first point is a structural one – don’t list too many things at once. A long bulleted list is certainly better than the same information presented as a solid paragraph, but the more items there are, the less engaging the list is, and the less likely it is that the reader will spot the points that interest them.

So keep your bulleted list to a maximum of about seven entries, and if it’s more, ask yourself, are all of those points really necessary? And if they are, would splitting up the list under separate headers make the individual entries easier to find?

#2: Use bullet-points with visual impact

Round solid bullet-points are the default option for many, but it’s worth trying other symbols if they’re available ( see below ). I quite like the filled square, the right-hand arrowhead, and the right-hand French angular quotation mark, while the check-mark is familiar in lists of benefits or included features. You could even go for custom bullet-points that mirror your brand, so long as they’re not too elaborate.

Make sure the size is appropriate too – symbols that are too large can look clunky and amateurish, whereas symbols that are too small will lack impact.

#3: Avoid sub-bullets

Word-processing packages typically offer tempting options for formatting bulleted lists at multiple levels, but in practice you should only use them when you absolutely have to. The more complex your bulleted list, the less understandable it will be at first glance.

However, if you do decide to go down this route, I’d recommend using a different symbol with a reduced weighting or size, such as the en-dash, the right-hand angle-bracket, or the open circle (see below). This prevents them distracting attention away from the top-level entries.

#4: Pick a strong colour

Having your bullet-points the same colour as the body text is the norm, but in a piece of company literature, using the brand colour for the bullet-point symbols gives a more professional touch.

Many brands have complementary colours, and if this is sufficiently strong, then it can help draw attention to the bulleted list without causing a colour clash.

#5: Adjust the indents and spacing carefully

Indents are normally handled well enough using the default settings for bulleted lists, so there’s no excuse for badly indented text or inconsistent alignment. I like to indent the bullet-points themselves by a few points compared to the body copy, as this is more visually pleasing.

Sub-bullets should be indented further in, and it’s worth experimenting with the settings so that you achieve a satisfactory alignment that doesn’t distract the reader.

Also ensure that the paragraph space between separate bulleted items is sufficient to avoid a text pile-up. If the entries themselves are short, a spacing that is a bit less than the regular paragraph spacing helps to keep the list looking coherent.

#6: Keep the text as short as possible

Moving on to the text itself, and the impact of bullet-points is greatly reduced if each bulleted item drags on for several lines. I’d recommend a maximum of four lines of text per item, and preferably just one or two.

Also, try and keep each bulleted item about the same length – switching from short text to long text is distracting, and may give a misleading impression of the importance of the entries.

#7: Use lead-ins for longer entries

If the text of your bulleted items is relatively complex, and you can’t reduce the word-count, then a good tactic is the lead-in . This is a few words formatted in bold at the start of each item, usually followed by a colon, full-stop or en-dash (scroll down to see the example in the graphic below). You will, however, need to phrase the lead-ins carefully so that the reader doesn’t lose track of what you’re saying.

#8: Use a consistent text structure

Speaking of phrasing, a vital aspect of bullet-points (in my opinion) is parallelism . This is writing the text so that each bulleted item starts with the same part of speech (e.g. verb, adjective, noun, adverb), and ideally uses the same sentence structure. Following this rule lends emphasis to what you’re saying, makes it easier to scan, and avoids mismatched phrasing between the introduction to the bulleted list and the list itself.

Start each bulleted item with the same part of speech to make your bulleted list easier to scan

#9: Use punctuation consistently

There are various styles of punctuation used for bulleted lists, but one thing is clear: in running text, you should always introduce your the list with a colon (:). The semicolon (;), although widely used, is incorrect.

As for the punctuation should you use at the end of items in your bulleted list, being consistent shows off your attention to detail. There are three options:

• Nothing: recommended for single words or short entries.
• Full-stop: recommended for longer entries or complete sentences, and optional at the end of the last item in any list.
• Semi-colon: archaic and best avoided, along with the “and” at the end of the penultimate item.

Ultimately, you should avoid any usage that distracts from the text – if it looks odd, then change it!

#10: Use initial capitals

Starting each bulleted item with a capital letter is recommended in nearly all instances. But where the bulleted items ‘run on’ from the body text above, then lower-case can make it clear that the sentences are intended to be read in that way. I’ve shown an example of this in tip #11.

#11: Use them for the right reasons

The tips above cover how to use bullet-points, but when should you use them?

I think you should consider using a bulleted list:

• where you need to highlight a range of ideas, options, features or benefits
• where the entire list is worthy of attention
• where the items can be conveyed concisely
• where the items are logically distinct
• where listing the points in the body text would be cumbersome.

If any of these don’t apply, then check that a bulleted list really is the right way forward. If your message makes more sense as body copy, it’s probably better that way.

#12: Don’t overuse them

And one final word: because the eye is naturally drawn towards bulleted lists, using them too liberally will reduce their impact. So use them only where necessary, and where they don’t vie for attention with other elements of your copy.

Battling with bullet-points? If you need help structuring your message for easy understanding, please get in touch.

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More APA Style Guidelines: Lists

When listing three or more items, include a serial comma (also known as an Oxford comma) before the last item and the conjunction “and” or “or.” If one or more clauses contains commas in them, use a semicolon instead of a comma to separate the clauses. (Note that the term "seriation" used in APA 6 does not appear in APA 7 and has been replaced by "lists.”)

You may also list items in three other formats: lettered, numbered, and bulleted.

Lettered Lists (APA 7, Section 6.50)

If you have a series of elements in the body of a paragraph, separate each element with lowercase letters enclosed in parentheses. Although only necessary for more complex elements, here is a simple example: (a) lions, (b) tigers, and (c) bears. Items and phrasing should be parallel.

Numbered Lists (APA 7, Section 6.51)

When ordinal position is important, list items vertically.

The organization’s emergency management protocol consists of seven sequential steps:

• Step 1 involves ...
• Step 2 consists of …
• Step 3 has five components: ...

This would be appropriate when you need to show a specific order of elements, such as in steps in a procedure or conclusions.

List items should be complete sentences or paragraphs in a series (not phrases).

Use Microsoft Word’s numbered list function to create the list; select the option with Arabic numerals (not enclosed within parentheses) followed by a period. Capitalize the first word after the number and the first word of any subsequent sentence. End each sentence with appropriate final punctuation. List items should be double-spaced and indented .5 inch.

Bulleted Lists (APA 7, Section 6.52)

Bulleted lists are appropriate when presenting a list of items in no particular order. Bulleted list items can be complete sentences or phrases or sentence fragments. Use Word’s bulleted list function to create the list. List items should be double-spaced and indented .5 inch.

If complete sentences, begin each list item with a capital letter as you would a regular sentence and insert final punctuation (usually a period) at the end of each list item.

Recommendations for improving patient safety at the facility include the following:

• Install adequate lighting and ventilation in wards, patient rooms, and other areas.
• Incorporate regular training and drills to promote staff awareness of safety procedures.
• Regularly solicit staff and patient and family feedback using an outside firm.

If phrases or sentence fragments, begin each list item with a lowercase letter.

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. (Note that APA 6 only recommended the option to punctuate lists with commas or semicolons.)

The first option may be better for shorter, less complex lists.

• installing adequate lighting and ventilation
• incorporating regular training and drills
• regularly soliciting staff and patient and family feedback

The second option may be better for longer, more complex lists.

• installing adequate lighting and ventilation in wards, patient rooms, and other areas;
• incorporating regular training and drills to promote staff awareness of safety procedures; and
• regularly soliciting staff and patient and family feedback using an outside firm.

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How to Make a Bullet List for APA or MLA Formatting

Whether you are writing a formal article, blogging, completing an academic essay or thesis, bullet lists are an important tool to add some flare to your work. There are, however, some important rules to follow when using lists in your work. We’ve created this helpful guide which complies with APA and MLA formatting standards. If you follow these helpful hints for structuring your lists with examples below from our professional writers at PapersOwl you will be sure to get a high grade.

First, identify when a list is necessary. Lists are useful when you have a lot of details to convey to the reader in a quick and easy manner without bogging the reader down through wordy passages. Lists can be used to give detailed instructions to a process, requirements to complete a certain task, or helpful references to inform of a schedule or event.

When using lists be sure to also follow a set of formatting standards that are accepted and you’ll build confidence in your audience and if you are writing an academic paper you will be sure to receive a high grade on your paper. Our advice – you can use online  APA format generator to avoid mistakes in the reference list in your paper.

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How To List Things In Academic Papers Correctly

Here are some important factors to consider when using lists:

• If your list items are complete sentences, be sure to use proper capitalization and punctuation as if the list item were a stand-alone sentence.
• When using fragmented sentences, do not include any ending punctuation.
• When using semicolons  to separate list items, the last item on the list should contain a period.
• Be sure your list items have a consistent format and style i.e. when using full sentences ensure all list items are full sentences.
• Ensure all your list items are related to the same topic.

If you follow these hints from our custom writing service  your paperwork will look more professional and be more interesting to read. It is also a good idea to give a concluding sentence or two following the list to state its importance or usefulness.

Another interesting format for creating a list is when the list items are closely related, for example, instructions on a specific process are to form the list as one complete sentence. For example, here is a summary of the instructions to write a standard 5 paragraph essay .

• Write a strong thesis statement,
• compose the body of your essay,
• complete the introduction, and
• finally, draft your conclusion.

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 period at the end of the final item.

Bullet List with Semicolons In APA Or MLA Papers

Here is an example of a formal list using semi-colons:

• Lists can be used in many papers from a simple essay to a Ph.D. dissertation ;
• Use lists to make your work more interesting;
• Be sure not to overuse lists.

Doing assignments online can be a great way to save time and energy. Not only are you able to access a wide range of resources and materials, but you can also find assistance from professionals who can help you complete your work quickly and accurately. The example lists above are compliant with many academic writing standards, such as APA or MLA formatting . Effective writing can be a difficult task and lists are a great way to deliver information to your readers in a clear, concise, and easy to read manner. If, however, you do not have the time or are having trouble drafting your composition there is help. You can hire one of our professional APA essay writers  or MLA writers at PapersOwl, and we will do the hard work for you! We will deliver your research paper on time and guarantee that you will get a high grade. Additionally, they offer a variety of services, including writing assignments, editing, proofreading, and formatting. So, if you are looking for an easy and efficient way to pay to get assignments done , PapersOwl is the perfect solution.

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The complexities of academic writing are an uncontestable part of scientific research and reporting. But it’s up to the author to build the reader’s comprehension of the thought processes and methodology behind the experiment, from inception to outcome. To do this, it’s expected that a lot of specialized terminology is used, data is analyzed and explained, and other higher-level writing is included in the content.

As the author puts together the article with the intent of publishing it towards a wide audience, they have to consider what they are saying, how they are saying it, and how they are setting it up in the paper. Too much content put together without breaks for the brain to pause and consider what was read makes it difficult for the reader to understand the writing, no matter how simplistic it is. With structural tools like bulleted lists and numbering, the reader’s comprehension of your work can be improved, and it doesn’t take much from you to get the job done.

Separating Your Work With Bullets and Numbers

It’s common in academic articles to see bullets and numbers used to organize the content inside the document. Sometimes they are given to help the reader see what they can expect in the upcoming section; sometimes they’re used to separate items in a listing manner. Regardless of the reason for the bullets or numbers, they must be consistent and formatted according to the proper style of your paper.

Some of the most common list types include:

●      Run-ins, used as part of the text but separated with colons to show a list is the following part of the sentence. Without the colon designating the continued thought, the list itself ends up as a fragment.

●      Run-ins, also used as part of the text but separated by numbers instead of a colon.

●      Vertical lists to separate a long sentence instead of following the thought with a run-in list. In these lists, there is no need for bullets or ending punctuation as long as the leading sentence is complete. However, if the list entries finish the leading thought as complete sentences, do use bullets and punctuation.

●      Vertical lists with numbers and letters similar to an outline format can break up a complicated set of information by following a leading sentence.

No matter which way you choose to separate your text, be sure you’re following the proper style guide for the journal you are publishing with.

How to Use Bullets the Right Way

There are some guidelines to using bullets and numbered lists besides following the style requirements. You also need to make sure you’re limiting your bullets to only the key points you want to separate. Don’t overuse them or it makes your paper look unprofessional and detracts from the importance of the lists you want the reader to truly comprehend.

Bullets and numbers can be used with listings, examples, or to shorten a complex description. They’re also good for added support with details, to designate steps in a process, to give a list of parts or ingredients, and to define terms.

However, you should never use bullets or numbers of any kind in your thesis statement, introduction, or conclusion. They don’t work as hooks, and shouldn’t be used in quotes.

In general, bulleted lists should account for no more than one-quarter of your entire paper, and that’s pushing the limit. In some cases, a sub-paragraph might be a better choice.

Switching to Sub-Paragraphs Instead

Bullets are great to help the reader comprehend some parts of your paper. However, a sub-paragraph might be the way to go if you have a topic that is overly lengthy and complex. Sub-paragraphs are broken down underneath a smaller header and each paragraph has its own main idea and supporting details that cover the main topic in the section.

Sub-paragraphs work best when you have to give a lot of data or details but you’re talking about one major topic.

Both bullets and sub-paragraphs are common ways to break down a paper, and, when used right, they show your knowledge as an author.

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MLA Formatting Lists 

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Though they should be used sparingly, lists are a great way to convey information in an easily digestible and recognizable format. Lists are either integrated into the prose or set vertically, dependent on the list’s purpose and the amount of information presented.

INTEGRATED INTO THE PROSE

 Lists that are integrated into the text can be introduced by text itself:

        Baldwin was known for his astute sociological observations, meticulously crafted sentences, and decidedly metropolitan dialogue.

Or they can be introduced with a colon:

       Baldwin was known, mainly, for three things: his astute sociological observations, meticulously crafted sentences, and decidedly metropolitan dialogue.

SET VERTICALLY

 There are a number of ways to properly format a vertically set list. Numbered lists should only be used when the nature of the list necessitates a specific order.

LISTS INTRODUCED BY A COMPLETE SENTENCE

Lists can be introduced by a sentence in the body, which should end with a colon. The items can be complete sentences or fragments. The first letter of each list-item must be capitalized if the items are complete sentences. Each sentence requires punctuation.

Keeping with Cabral’s teachings, we must ask the following questions while interacting with social issues:

       Do our solutions consider the stated needs of the community we are speaking for?

       Do we have a clear strategy?

       Do we have realistic expectations?

If the items are not complete sentences, they should be bulleted or numbered. These should also be introduced with a colon at the end of a sentence. In both formats, begin each item in lowercase. Bulleted items do not require punctuation. Numbered items, beyond their respective numbers, should follow the same guidelines as a list-item that continues the sentence that introduces it (detailed below).

LISTS THAT CONTINUE THE SENTENCES THAT INTRODUCED THEM

Some sentences can be stratified into vertically-set lists. These lists should be considered, technically, as one single sentence. Do not introduce the list with a colon. Simply begin the sentence as you normally would and then format each item onto a separate line. End each item with a semicolon, closing the second-to-last item with a semicolon, followed by the word “and” or the word “or”. End the final item with the closing punctuation of the sentence.

Several health-food stores are focusing on customer safety by

       requiring that essential oil manufacturers include skin irritation warnings on their bottles;

       documenting the temperature of all frozen produce upon arrival; and

       performing all mopping after hours, in order to prevent accidents.

Bullet items that continue sentences do no not require punctuation, nor do they require a colon to introduce them.

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Q. Are bulleted lists allowed in APA Style? How do I format a bulleted or numbered list?

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Answered By: Jonathan Faerber (he/him/his) Last Updated: Nov 04, 2021     Views: 175545

APA Style (7th ed.)

Bulleted and numbered lists are permitted by the APA Style rules; however, if you're unsure if your instructor will permit them in your assignment, please check with your instructor. Keep in mind that because bulleted or numbered lists only provide surface-level information rather than include analysis, and because the focus of academic writing is to demonstrate your critical thinking, these lists are used sparingly in formal academic writing in favor of communicating your ideas in complete sentences and paragraphs. See below for information regarding formatting lists.

Bulleted lists

The capitalization and punctuation for each bulleted item depends on whether the items form sentences or sentence parts. If the bulleted text is a full sentence, capitalize the first letter of the first word and end the paragraph with a period. For example:

• This is a sentence.
• This is another sentence.
• This is the last sentence of the bulleted list.

When a bulleted list separates three or more elements within a sentence, “begin each bulleted item with a lowercase letter” and either punctuate each item in the list as parts of a sentence (e.g., inserting commas), or exclude punctuation after each item (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020, pp. 190-191). For example:

In December 2018, British Columbia had an extreme storm that caused:

• massive damage due to high winds,
• widespread power outages that lasted many days, and
• flooded roads.

This storm affected multiple areas on Vancouver Island, including:

For other examples of bulleted lists, see Bulleted Lists in the APA Style Blog. For an explanation of the difference between a complete sentence and its parts, please see Sentences  and Sentence Elements  on the Writing Centre website.

Numbered lists

Numbered lists are helpful to identify the organization of information, such as "itemized conclusions” or “steps in a procedure" (APA, 2020, p. 190). Keep the following steps when creating a number list:

• Create the numbered list using the numbered list function on Microsoft Word or similar program.
• Set off Arabic numerals at the beginning of each item with a period rather than parentheses (i.e., “2.” rather than “(2)” or “2)”)
• Begin each item in the numbered list with a capital letter, and follow appropriate sentence punctuation throughout the list, using end marks like periods, exclamation, or question marks where required.

Please keep in mind that "the use of 'numbered lists' may connote an unwanted or unwarranted ordinal position (e.g. chronology, importance, priority) among the items" (APA, 2020, p. 190). To avoid this suggestion of position, use a bulleted list instead. For more information on numbered lists, see Numbered Lists in the APA Style Blog.

Lettered lists within a sentence

Lettered lists within a sentence are a good way to identify elements in a series within a paragraph or sentence without breaking the elements into a numbered or bulleted list. To indicate the list, use lowercase letters in parentheses (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 189). For example, "students were asked to choose between completing (a) a formal research essay, (b) a documentary-style video, (c) a multi-media experience that involves participants". To punctuate a lettered list within a sentence, use commas between each of three or more items, or use semicolons when separating items that include commas, such as a series of phrases (APA, 2020, p.189). See Lettered Lists from the APA Style Blog for more information and examples.

American Psychological Association. (2020).  Publication manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

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Using Lists Effectively

Table of Contents (Guide To Publication)

Part ii: preparing, presenting and polishing your work – chapter 3, 3.2.2 using lists effectively.

Some journals provide advice on formatting lists, but it’s rare. Those that do tend to offer very specific guidelines, asking authors to use bulleted lists or not, to use numbers or letters instead of bullets depending on the placement of a list (within the body of a paragraph or separate), or to use a full stop or a semi-colon after each item depending on the length and grammatical nature of the items. If instructions of this kind are provided, read them carefully and follow them precisely – the journal editors wouldn’t have bothered to provide all those details if they didn’t want lists formatted exactly as they describe.

In most cases, however, such instructions won’t be provided and you will need to figure out for yourself how best to present information in lists, and whatever methods you choose as most effective for the information you need to present, balance and parallelism will be essential. This is to say that each item in the list should be worded and structured as similarly to other items in the list as possible. If the first item begins with a noun followed by a verb (e.g., ‘satisfaction is guaranteed’), then it’s best not to word the second item with a participle followed by a noun (e.g., ‘guaranteeing satisfaction’). Instead, adjust the wording so that every item in your list uses a similar structure, especially if the list as a whole forms a sentence, in which case the sentence must be complete and grammatically correct. Always be sure to observe correct grammar as much as possible, and if the items in your list are long, it’s best to use a full sentence (or more than one) for each item. In this way, your lists will function effectively whether they’re incorporated into a sentence in your text or separated in a bulleted list with several sentences in each item.

In all cases, you should take special care to introduce any lists you use by explaining exactly what is laid out in each list and making the transition between your prose and your list smooth and effective. For example, if you’re about to list categories of personality traits considered in the participants in your study, make the function of the list explicit by introducing it with something like ‘The following personality categories were considered in this study,’ using a colon after it and presenting the list immediately. Lists can be extremely effective ways of presenting or reporting complex information in clear and accessible ways, but only if they are formatted and introduced in a manner that makes their function and content absolutely clear to your readers, and if their grammar and syntax are correct and effective in relation to both content and good English (see also Section 4.4.1, and, for automatic formatting in lists, Section 5.3).

PRS Tip: The proofreaders at PRS read a lot of academic and scientific writing in a wide variety of disciplines and specialisations, so we’ve kind of seen it all when it comes to the presentation and layout of scholarly articles – the good, the bad and the ugly. As readers who need to understand the texts before us both quickly and thoroughly, we can attest to just how vital the use of informative, distinctive and consistent headings, the logical development of thoughtful paragraphs, the clear explanation of transitions and the effective construction of lists are to your readers’ understanding of your research and argument. Noticing when aspects of your writing aren’t working to improve communication or are in fact hindering it is precisely what we do, so we can offer suggestions and corrections to help you produce a carefully organised and beautifully presented article that looks as good as it reads.

This article is part of a book called Guide to Academic and Scientific Publication: How To Get Your Writing Published in Scholarly Journals . It provides practical advice on planning, preparing and submitting articles for publication in scholarly journals.

Whether you are looking for information on designing an academic or scientific article, constructing a scholarly argument, targeting the right journal, following journal guidelines with precision, providing accurate and complete references, writing correct and elegant scholarly English, communicating with journal editors or revising your paper in light of that communication, you will find guidance, tips and examples in this manual.

This book is focusing on sound scholarly principles and practices as well as the expectations and requirements of academic and scientific journals, this guide is suitable for use in a wide variety of disciplines, including Economics, Engineering, the Humanities, Law, Management, Mathematics, Medicine and the Social, Physical and Biological Sciences .

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How to do a seriation in an APA paper? Bulleted lists, numbered lists, etc.?

How do you include a list or a series of points in your paper? 

APA has rules on how to present lists to help the reader see the organization of key elements within sections, paragraphs and/or sentences in a paper. When using seriated lists, choose terms or phrases that are similar or in parallel throughout the list.

APA allows for three types of seriated lists:

• Lettered lists
• Numbered lists
• Bulleted lists

 Each is identified and given in the examples below:

Lettered Lists

Use a lettered list when you want to present a series within a sentence.  Each item is preceded with a letter within parentheses.  Note that this form or seriation may not draw as much of the reader's attention as a bulleted or numbered list.  

The study tested three groups of students: (a) children who attended a publicly funded pre-K program, (b) children who attended a privately funded pre-K program, and (c) children who did not attend a pre-K program.

Numbered Lists

Use numbered lists to display complete sentences or paragraphs in a series. 

The survey included the following questions:

1. What pre-reading strategies were covered in the session before the assessment?

2. Did the pre-reading strategy training improve performance on the assessment?

3. What outcomes were achieved through the pre-reading strategy training?

NOTE : Some may interpret items in a numbered list to be presented in order of importance.

Bulleted Lists

In some situations, a numbered list may give the impression that one item in the list is more important than another; a bulleted list may be preferable.  

Note: If you are reproducing, quoting, or paraphrasing a list taken from a source, the citation would appear at the end of the last item.  (APA 6th edition rules included a semicolon after each item in the list and a period following the last item listed.  APA 7th edition has removed all punctuation in the list.) Two variations on how that type of citation might look are below:

Example of a bulleted list presented as phrases:

Elisabeth Kulber-Ross is widely credited with identifying five stages of grief that many people go through when facing a terminal illness:

• acceptance (Hebert, Moore & Rooney, 2011, para. 9)

Hebert, Moore, and Rooney (2011) indicate that Elisabeth Kulber-Ross is widely credited with identifying five stages of grief that many people go through when facing a terminal illness:

• acceptance (para. 9)

Example of a bulleted list presented as sentences

Follow these steps to successfully search a library database:

• Develop a list of terms that describe the concepts you want expressed in an article.
• Combine the search terms with Boolean connectors by using the OR connector to link synonyms and the AND connector to connect concepts.
• Perform a search and modify the search statement to find desired results.

Example of a bulleted list that contains both phrases and sentences

SMART is a popular method for setting personal goals because well-written goals:

• Specific:  have a clear and high-specific end point.
• Measurable:  can be tracked.
• Attainable:  are realistic.
• Relevant: are in agreement with the organizational goals.
• Time-Bound: have a specific timeframe.

Here is a chart from APA that will help you pick which type of seriation to use:

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Hebert, K., Moore, H., & Rooney, J. (2011). The nurse advocate in end-of-life care.  The Ochsner Journal, (11) 4, 325-329.

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Vertical Lists, Bullets

Q. A vertical list lettered with “a.,” “b.,” “c.,” etc. (using periods after each letter) is provided in a document. Later on in the write-up, I reference this list with the sentence, “[Name] has managed projects that cover items a through f.” Do “a” and “f” require some kind of punctuation or special treatment?

A. To refer to a lettered list item, you can normally use italics regardless of how the letters are punctuated in the list itself. For example, you could refer to item a or, if the letters in the list are capitals, item A . This is an application of the rule about using italics to refer to letters as letters (see CMOS 7.64 ). To refer to a number, on the other hand, use regular type regardless of whether the numerals are arabic or roman: item 1, item I, item i.

But if the letters or numbers in the list are in parentheses, then you can use parentheses in the text: item (a), item (i). One advantage of this approach is that lowercase letters and roman numerals in particular are easier to read when placed in parentheses. Whichever choice you make, be consistent.

[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]

Q. When a vertical list is introduced by a phrase (rather than a complete sentence), how is it punctuated?

A. Chicago recommends punctuating a phrase that introduces a list as if the list were a continuation of a sentence begun by the introductory phrase. This holds true whether the list is run into the text or presented vertically:

The items included bananas, pears, and grapes.

The items included

bananas pears grapes

Many writers would add a colon after “included”—especially in the example with the vertical list, whose structure seems to warrant it. But a colon would separate the verb “include” from the objects it introduces.

To avoid that problem, add “the following” or otherwise reword the introduction so that it becomes an independent clause:

The items included the following:

or, for example,

The bag included three varieties of fruit:

See CMOS 6.130 for more examples and information.

Q. Which of the following is correct to introduce a list?

1. My service includes: 2. My service includes

Should the colon be used after the word “includes”? From my understanding, a colon should not be used after a verb (or a preposition). Also, the sentence “My service includes” is not a complete sentence by itself.

A. You are right. “My service includes” is not grammatically complete, because the transitive verb “includes” is missing a direct object. If you wrote “My service includes the following,” a colon should follow.

Q. What is the proper way to punctuate or structure a bulleted list of items that ends with “and much more!”? Thank you!

A. “And much more” can be the last item in the list, or it can be the first words of a paragraph that continues after the list. Punctuate the items as you would a list in running text. For guidelines on punctuating different kinds of lists, please see CMOS 6.127–32 .

Q. I am evaluating annual reports for a large business, and have been unable to find the answer to my question of when to write numbers as words and when to use numerals when they begin the items in vertical (bulleted) lists. For example: sixty-nine people chose . . . or 69 people chose . . . Which is the correct choice? I would certainly appreciate your answering my question and I have no understanding of the reason this issue isn’t discussed in information concerning vertical lists.

A. Often when an issue is not discussed in CMOS it’s because it calls for common sense and flexibility rather than a one-size-fits-all rule. Our hope is that users can apply guidelines from other sections and use their judgment. At the beginning of chapter 9 you can find guidelines for spelling out numbers. For a vertical list, weigh the options: Are the listed items sentences, which read better with spelled-out numbers at the beginning? Are all the numbers at the beginning of a sentence? Can they be moved? Are there big, nonround numbers like 345 and 6,712, which are awkward to spell out? Look at your text and decide what style works best for making your lists readable. If numerals work best for some lists and words for other lists, you might decide that consistency need not be a goal except within a given list.

Q. I have a question about bulleted lists and capitalization. I’ve always written lists with the first word capitalized and then subsequent words, not (unless proper nouns of course). A colleague believes that every word other than prepositions or conjunctions should be capitalized.

—No artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives

—No Artificial Colors, Flavors, or Preservatives

I can’t seem to find a “rule” on this. Any help?

A. When a colleague wants to do something you find bizarre, the burden is on her to produce the rule. After all, CMOS doesn’t have the space to write “Don’t do this; don’t do that” with regard to every possibility. Meanwhile, you might point out that none of the examples of lists or outlines in CMOS 6.127–32 show headline-style capitalization of the items.

Q. When creating an outline for a research paper, does each object in the list regardless of hierarchy need to be a complete sentence?

A. In Chicago style, outline entries should be grammatically parallel whether they are all sentences or all fragments. However, your professor or thesis adviser might have rules that diverge from Chicago style, so it’s best to ask.

Q. I’m an editor for a training department. In our instructional material we often have long lists of objectives. Using Chicago’s standard for vertical lists ( CMOS 6.130 ) makes them a little hard to read. Do you have an alternate suggestion? The instructional designers feel that it takes away from the meaning of the objectives when we reword the lead-in to be a complete sentence. For example, they don’t like “At the completion of this module you will complete the following.” They don’t like it because instructionally you’re not always “completing” something. Other ideas?

A. The instructional designers are reasonable to object to a sentence that sounds redundant and doesn’t accurately reflect what follows, whether it’s complete or not. Your job is to write the sentence so it works for them (as elegant and accurate) and for you (as a complete sentence). Ask them to supply the wording that satisfies them most by giving them a template with a blank or some multiple choices, such as “The following are (objectives? tasks? goals?) for this module:” or “Here are some topics you’ll explore:” and see if that makes them happy.

Q. I do not believe it makes sense to use a bulleted list of one item. If it is just one item, should it not simply be a paragraph? At the end of many of our sections in an advocacy guide we have “Advocacy Reminders.” Sometimes there are many; sometimes there is only one reminder. It seems to me if there is one reminder it should be a paragraph.

A. Although logically a list should have more than one item, bullets are more forgiving, especially if throughout a book like yours, reminders are formatted in a special section the same way in every chapter. The visual cue of the identical formatting would override a quibble about the logic of a single bullet point. Your bullets can be considered more like decorations than hierarchy markers.

Q. Is it ever okay to start a list with a sentence ending in a period instead of a colon? (“To determine the answer, use the following concepts.”) Does it matter if the list is set off by bullets or that the typesetting is different (by color or font, etc.)? What is the preferred method if both ways are correct? What if it is not a complete sentence? I appreciate the response. Me and a fellow copy editor are at odds.

A. Chicago’s preference is to use a colon, but there are times when a period might better serve. Please see CMOS for details on how to punctuate vertical lists and for examples that include sentences and sentence fragments. If you use a period, the list items should begin with capital letters. (P.S. I am averting my eyes from “Me and a fellow copy editor are at odds”—please tell me that this is just your fun email-writing style, or if it isn’t, that you aren’t editing anything important to our national security.)

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How To List Things in an Essay (APA and MLA)

Essays usually follow a consistent format but every now and then something happens to throw that pattern off. Lists may be required in essays, which might throw off the piece’s general formatting, organization, and syntax. Let us go through how to list things in an essay.

When adding a list of subtopics or themes, lists of recommendations, phases of analysis, components of an item, and the like, readers often get your point fast. The key to using lists in an essay is to employ proper punctuation and grammar, as well as to maintain a consistent grammatical style.

Anything less than 3 items should not be listed in your essay.

Lists frequently appear in essays, posing problems for formatting, paragraph structure, and grammar. When you include:

• subtopics or themes
• evaluation checklists
• complex lists of ideas
• steps in project planning
• component pieces of an item

With lists, readers immediately grasp your message. Punctuation and parallelism in grammar are some of the important tools for creating lists in essays. Here is how to list things in an essay.

Ways to List Things in Your Essay

1. listing with bullets.

Bulleted lists aid in the organization of texts and project ideas by eliminating the necessity for a chronological order of events or concepts. Maintain a consistent listing style throughout. Following the bullet style, statements should begin with capital letters and end with simply the correct punctuation. Bulleted lists aren’t the best format for listings in chronological order.

The APA lists are quite effective at establishing concepts, and they are organized in a variety of ways based on the type of information conveyed.

Find the most effective technique of establishing the facts about your subject matter after reviewing your work and confirming that your professors do not prohibit bullet points.

Consider whether an MLA numbered list or any other APA list would showcase your content more effectively. Find a technique to list things in an essay, specifically the MLA numbered list, when the specific points of your topic require a specific order in which they must be given.

Bullets are a good option in research papers.

If there isn’t a specific chronological order, a bulleted list is another option for listing items in an essay.

Lists that aren’t too long should be organized as separate paragraphs or under their titled sections rather than as vertical lists. However, for extremely thorough information, the bulleted list is still the best alternative.

Bullet points should be indented at least one inch from the left margin, which is a standard recognized formatting style. Lists with double spaces and precise quotations from their sources are more efficient.

Create a brief topic sentence that explains your motives just as soon as you’re about to introducing a sentence, and then include all those items in your list in an orderly manner that pertains to that statement.

When Do You Use Bullet Lists?

Exercise some restraint when employing bullet points in your academic writing assignments. The last thing you want your essay to look like is a smallpox sore.  Many of the circumstances and ways in which you might use bullet points in your article include the following:

• Significant emphases on interpretation
• In the case of listings
• Clarification of step-by-step instructions
• Formulating recipes and component lists.
• When you want to condense descriptions
• To provide evidence to support your essay points
• When making use of illustrations

When Bullet Points are not allowed

Watch closely for patterns in how frequently you employ them. The bullet points should not take up more than a quarter of the total space on your page.

However, there are some instances in which using bullet points in an academic composition is a strict no-no. Here are some examples of such situations:

• When writing your thesis statement.
• When writing a conclusion in your paper.
• Within the context of a detailed illustration.
• In the case of quotations.
• Within the first paragraph of the introduction.

2. Listing with Numbers

For numbered lists, they’re ideal for describing a series of events or a logical arrangement of thoughts. When writing an APA format list, the standard format is to start with numerals and end with a full stop. The next logical step is to begin your listed item with a capital letter after the period has been removed.

In their papers, psychologists and experts in the social sciences use the APA style. These APA lists are quite effective at establishing concepts, and they are organized in a variety of ways based on the type of information conveyed.

Using colons and bracketed numbers

There are numerous methods for enumerating things such as statements. The first of these ways involves writing the number in parentheses: Here’s an illustration:

Dinosaurs lived 4 million years ago: (1) first evidence to support, (2) second evidence, and (3) third evidence written here. 

It’s important to pay attention to the numbers inside the parenthesis, and it’s not a good idea to utilize only one bracket once the number has been written. If the introduction of your supporting claim is an incomplete sentence, do not begin the list with a colon. You could try the following:

Here are the pieces of evidence: (1) the first evidence, (2) the second evidence, and (3) the third proof.

Using semi colons and bracketed numbers

If one of your pieces of evidence also has a comma in the middle, use semicolons to separate the elements. Changing it from a run-in text to a vertical list is the easiest method to get around this.

Naming the numbers

Here, instead of writing 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on, you will use first, second, third, fourth, and so on.

This other way to list data include separates statements using the serial versions of the numerals.

For instance.

The following are the arguments to support it. First (insert evidence). Second (here is the evidence). Third, here is the evidence. 

It is not a good practice to use semicolons to join all the pieces into one big claim since itemizing facts into one phrase necessitates the use of parentheses.

3. Lists with Letters

In this case, semicolons are utilized to properly divide APA-styled lists. They often use (a) lowercase letters; (b) within parentheses; and (c) semicolons to divide their sentences.

They often use (a) lowercase letters; (b) within parentheses; and (c) semicolons to divide their sentences. You should get the idea from there.

4. Running Text Lists

To identify elements in a list, Oxford commas are employed in run-in-texts. It’s known as the serial comma, and it comes before the conjunction. The main ingredients for recipe ABC are tomatoes, chilies, onions, and cilantro.

5. The First Sentence of the Introduction

When you create a numbered or unnumbered list in conjunction with a thesis statement or the introduction sentence, you have the option of either concluding the list or leaving it incomplete. It all depends on the structure of the essay and the methods used to list items. The colon should only be used with statements that have been completed.

A good example would be: “When making the perfect cup of coffee, you would usually need the following ingredients:”

Other than that approach, you could write “For the best cup of coffee, ensure that you” — think this approach only if every item on the list could self-sufficiently conclude a sentence that began with this structure.

6. Listing Single Items

Sometimes, what you need to list come as a complete statement, then each list item can be a single word, an expression, or a complete sentence, depending on the situation. The only requirement is that you adhere to a consistent pattern throughout the list. If you find yourself in this circumstance, write it in all capital letters and only use the full stop for complete statements.

7. Punctuation

Only statements and phrases that help to bring the structure to completion should be used when it is still unfinished. There should be a period at the end of each of them. Never use commas or semicolons, and avoid appending items from the second to the final one in a list unless necessary.

8. Deciding on a List

Ensure that your plans for really using that structure are expressed in that manner prior to deciding on a list format. For short itineraries with only a few things to say about each of them, it is ideal to utilize them as a statement in the run-in text. It is necessary to utilize a semicolon in order to neatly arrange the elements that will be listed within the sentence after the colon.

In contrast to our first case, lengthy statements that are to be incorporated into lists are difficult to deal with when they are presented as statements alone. In this case, the things should be separated into separate paragraphs or mentioned within a single lengthy paragraph, depending on their importance. It is best to break up long sentences inside a paragraph into separate paragraphs and number them in an essay. It is also best to bullet point or title them in an essay.

9. Separators

The usage of dividers such as “2)” or “(b)” in lists created with run-in-text should only be done when absolutely essential. The language and punctuation, in other words, fall short of the purpose of distinguishing the items on a list. Furthermore, despite this, you might want to think about doing a second rewrite to alleviate the complication and improve the overall comprehension of the section.

Using roman numerals and lowercase letters alternately, create simple outlines with a number of levels of difficulty. This method of defining your work and identifying each item in a list is the most effective technique to use multilevel lists. You should follow this order:

• Roman numbers
• Capitalized letters
• Arabic numbers
• Lowercase letters
• An Arabic numeral marked by parentheses or placed within brackets is a type of numeric expression.
• Lowercase letters, mainly denoted by parenthesis or put within brackets.

How to List Things in an Essay APA Style

Always make sure that all of the items on a list are syntactically and conceptually equivalent. For example, all of the items could be nouns, or all of the items could be phrases that begin with the word “and.” In the vast majority of cases, lists are simple lists in which commas (or semicolons in the case of lists in which items contain commas) are used between items, including immediately before the final item (see more information and examples on the lettered lists page). The use of lettered lists, numbered lists, and bulleted lists are all permitted in APA Style in order to draw additional attention to specific items.

Bulleted and numbered lists are permitted by the APA Style rules; however, if you’re unsure whether or not your instructor will allow them in your assignment, you should check with your instructor before submitting your work. See the section below for information on how to format lists.

Bulleted lists in the APA format

Depending on how the sentence is structured, the capitalization and punctuation for each bulleted item will differ. The first letter of the first word in the bulleted text should be capitalized, and the paragraph should be terminated by placing a period after the last bullet (see “Lists, Part 5: Bulleted Lists” in the APA Style Blog). As an illustration:

• This is a complete sentence.
• This is an additional sentence.

This is the final sentence of the bulleted list.

The bulleted list that separates three or more elements within a sentence is “capitalized and punctuated as if it were a complete sentence,” according to the style guide (American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 64).

APA 7th Edition

Bulleted and numbered lists are allowed by the APA Style rules, but if you’re unsure whether or not your instructor will allow them in your assignment, you should check with your instructor before submitting your work. Always keep in mind that, because bulleted or numbered items only provide undetailed information and do not include analysis, and because the goal of formal academic writing is to showcase your analytical thinking, these lists should be used sparingly in favor of conveying your ideas in full sentences and paragraphs. See the section below for information on how to format lists.

Lists with bullets

The capitalization and punctuation used for each bulleted item is determined by whether the items are complete sentences or sentence parts in the paragraph below. It is acceptable to capitalize the first letter of the very first word and to end the paragraph with a period in case the bulleted text is a complete sentence.

How to Make a List in MLA Format

Vertical lists are uncommon in essays written in humanities departments around the world, and they are most often used as run-in text within a sentence, with a colon marking the beginning of the list.

As an illustration, “Mark Twain has written five books: The Adventures of Mississippi, The Prince and the Tramp, A Tramp At Home, Life on the Finn, and My Early Life”.

The colon, on that note, is not used before a list when the list if those items are the object of the verb that announces them.

For instance, “Mark Twain’s recently published books include The Adventures of Mississippi, The Prince and the Tramp, A Tramp At Home, Life on the Finn, My Early Life.”

Although it is possible to include numbered lists in an MLA essay, it is recommended that you avoid doing so as much as possible. The use of lists in your essay can be accomplished in a variety of ways, so you should inquire about your professor’s preferences before proceeding.

How do I quote bulleted or numbered points from a source?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

If you need to quote from a bulleted or numbered list, you can reproduce the list in your essay, as in the example below:

Parvini organizes the material into four groups: Early modern Christian beliefs inherited from the medieval period, indeed the very period that Shakespeare is writing about in the history plays The structure of feudal and semifeudal society Emergent humanist ideas about history and politics imported from Renaissance Italy, especially those of Niccolò Machiavelli The key events of the Wars of the Roses and the corresponding key plot points of Shakespeare’s two tetralogies. (95) Work Cited Parvini, Neema. “Historicism ‘By Stealth’: History, Politics, and Power in  Richard II  and  Henry IV. ”  Approaches to  Teaching Shakespeare’s English History Plays , edited by Laurie Ellinghausen, Modern Language Association of America, 2017, pp. 94–99.

You can also quote from each point in the list, perhaps paring down some of the information:

Parvini organizes the material as follows: “early modern Christian beliefs inherited from the medieval period,” “the structure of feudal and semifeudal society,” “emergent humanist ideas about history and politics imported from Renaissance Italy,” and “the key events of the War of the Roses and the corresponding key plot points of Shakesepare’s two tetralogies” (95).

Kulepunkter i en forskningsoppgave

Lær hvordan du effektivt kan bruke kulepunkter i en forskningsoppgave. Gjør oppgaven mer lesbar, fremhev viktige punkter og organiser innholdet.

Bruk av kulepunkter i forskningsartikler kan forbedre lesbarheten og organiseringen betydelig, særlig når du presenterer kompleks informasjon. Kulepunkter er et praktisk verktøy for å dele opp detaljerte data i lettfordøyelige segmenter, noe som gjør det lettere for leserne å følge argumentasjonen din og ta til seg viktige poenger. I akademiske artikler kan kulepunkter gi raske oversikter og bidra til å organisere materialet på en effektiv måte. Ved å gi klare, konsise sammendrag kan kulepunkter fremheve viktige elementer uten å overvelde leserne med tette avsnitt. Vitenskapelig skriving stiller spesifikke krav til klarhet og struktur, noe som gjør bruken av kulepunkter enda viktigere. I denne veiledningen går vi gjennom effektiv bruk av kulepunkter i forskningsartikler, og diskuterer beste praksis og vanlige fallgruver. Finn ut hvordan du kan utnytte kulepunkter for å gjøre forskningsartikkelen din mer engasjerende og tilgjengelig.

Introduksjon til kulepunkter

Viktigheten av kulepunkter.

Kulepunkter spiller en avgjørende rolle i forskningsartikler ved å strømlinjeforme kompleks informasjon og presentere den på en mer organisert måte. De bidrar til å bryte ned kompliserte datasett, teorier eller argumenter i mindre, mer håndterbare biter. Dette bidrar ikke bare til å gjøre artikkelen mer oversiktlig, men sikrer også at leserne lett kan følge med og forstå hovedpoengene. Dessuten kan kulepunkter raskt trekke oppmerksomheten mot viktige fakta eller konklusjoner, noe som gjør det lettere for leserne å identifisere viktige poenger. Godt utformede kulepunkter kan tiltrekke seg leserens oppmerksomhet når han eller hun skumleser et dokument, slik at leseren raskt får med seg flere undertemaer. Ved å bruke kulepunkter kan du øke den generelle lesbarheten til forskningen din, slik at leserne blir mer engasjerte og får med seg mer informasjon. Denne metoden er spesielt nyttig når det er snakk om lange eller detaljerte avsnitt som ellers kan overvelde leserne hvis de presenteres i en sammenhengende tekstblokk. I tillegg er bruk av kulepunkter en verdifull strategi for å skrive profesjonelle og interessante akademiske artikler, ettersom det forbedrer tekstens struktur og synlighet.

Når du bør bruke kulepunkter

Det er viktig å vite når du skal bruke kulepunkter i en forskningsartikkel for å maksimere effektiviteten. Kulepunkter er spesielt nyttige når du skal liste opp flere elementer, for eksempel forskningsresultater, hypoteser eller sentrale argumenter. De er også effektive når du skal presentere trinnvise prosedyrer, oppsummere komplekse ideer eller fremheve viktige fakta og statistikk. Når det gjelder lange avsnitt som inneholder flere viktige punkter, kan det å dele dem opp i kulepunkter gjøre informasjonen mer tilgjengelig. Det er viktig å følge spesifikke retningslinjer og regler for bruk av punktlister i akademiske tekster for å sikre klarhet og korrekt formatering.

Bruk av kulepunkter kan også bidra til å redusere antall ord og gjøre innholdet mer kortfattet, noe som tiltrekker seg leserens oppmerksomhet når han eller hun skumleser et dokument. Det er imidlertid viktig å bruke kulepunkter sparsomt for å unngå at dokumentet blir rotete. Overdreven bruk kan redusere effekten og få dokumentet til å se uprofesjonelt ut. Reserver derfor kulepunkter til avsnitt der de kan bidra til økt klarhet og forståelse, og sørg for at forskningen din forblir velstrukturert og leservennlig.

Kulepunkter i akademiske artikler

Bruk av kulepunkter i forskningsartikler kan forbedre både presentasjonen og absorpsjonen av informasjon betraktelig. En godt strukturert punktliste, med nøye overveielse av store bokstaver, tegnsetting og konsistens, er spesielt nyttig i deler som litteraturgjennomgang, metode og resultater, der komplekse data og mange detaljer må kommuniseres tydelig. Her kan du oppsummere litteraturkilder, skissere fremgangsmåter eller liste opp viktige funn på en kortfattet måte. Dette kortfattede formatet gjør at leserne raskt får med seg hovedpoengene uten å måtte lese seg gjennom tunge avsnitt. Dessuten kan kulepunkter bidra til å strukturere argumentasjonen din på en logisk måte, noe som gjør det lettere for leserne å følge resonnementet ditt. Punktene i listen bør være adskilt fra hverandre; hvis for eksempel det tredje punktet i listen er nært beslektet med det andre punktet, bør det slås sammen eller utelates. Det er imidlertid viktig å sørge for at hvert kulepunkt er kortfattet og direkte relevant for det aktuelle temaet. Unødvendige detaljer bør unngås for å opprettholde effektiviteten og klarheten i listen. Ved å bruke kulepunkter på en gjennomtenkt måte kan du øke lesbarheten og gjennomslagskraften i forskningsartikkelen din, og sørge for at hovedbudskapene dine blir kommunisert på en effektiv måte.

Formatering av kulepunkter

Konsekvent stil og struktur.

Det er viktig å opprettholde en konsekvent stil og struktur for kulepunktene i forskningsartikkelen din for å sikre sammenheng og lesbarhet. Konsistens sikrer at dokumentet ditt ser profesjonelt ut, og at informasjonen er lett å forstå. Begynn med å velge en enhetlig punktstil, for eksempel prikker, streker eller tall, og hold deg til den gjennom hele oppgaven for å sikre et konsistent format. Hvert kulepunkt bør begynne med stor forbokstav for å sikre ensartethet og lesbarhet. I tillegg bør du holde lengden på hvert kulepunkt lik; kort og konsis er vanligvis det beste. Setningsstrukturen i punktlister er avgjørende for å gjøre innholdet lettere å skanne. Unngå å blande hele setninger med bruddstykker i samme liste. Hvis du bruker hele setninger, bør du sette punktum på riktig måte. Hvis du derimot bruker fragmenter, bør du utelate den siste tegnsettingen. Denne ensartetheten hjelper leserne med å fokusere på innholdet i stedet for å bli distrahert av inkonsekvent formatering. Ved å følge en konsekvent stil og struktur kan du gjøre forskningsoppgaven din tydeligere og mer profesjonell.

Nummererte lister vs. unummererte lister

Valget mellom nummererte og unummererte lister avhenger av sammenhengen og formålet med kulepunktene i forskningsartikkelen. Nummererte lister er ideelle når rekkefølgen på punktene er avgjørende, for eksempel trinnvise prosedyrer eller rangering av viktighet. De hjelper leserne med å følge en bestemt rekkefølge og forstå hierarkiet i poengene som tas opp. Når du for eksempel beskriver metoden for et eksperiment, kan en nummerert liste tydelig formidle rekkefølgen på de tiltakene som skal iverksettes.

En innledende liste, som inngår som en del av den generelle teksten, kan skilles fra hverandre på ulike måter, for eksempel ved hjelp av kolon eller nummerering av elementene i listen.

Unummererte lister egner seg derimot til å presentere elementer der rekkefølgen ikke spiller noen rolle. De er nyttige for å liste opp relaterte punkter, egenskaper eller eksempler uten å antyde noen bestemt rekkefølge. Når du for eksempel skal oppsummere flere funn eller litteraturkilder, kan unummererte lister presentere informasjonen på en organisert måte uten å antyde noen rangordning. Ved å velge riktig listetype kan du forbedre lesbarheten og den logiske flyten i forskningsoppgaven din.

Lengde og klarhet

Lengden og tydeligheten på kulepunktene er avgjørende for effektiviteten i forskningsartikkelen din. Hvert kulepunkt bør være kortfattet, helst ikke lengre enn én eller to linjer. Kortfattethet sikrer at hovedpoengene formidles raskt uten å overvelde leseren. Unngå lange setninger og komplisert språk, og bruk i stedet enkle, direkte formuleringer for å formidle budskapet ditt. Hvert punkt bør være spesifikt og direkte relatert til hovedtemaet, og unngå unødvendige detaljer som kan distrahere fra kjerneinformasjonen.

Tydelighet er like viktig. Bruk et presist språk, og sørg for at hvert kulepunkt er lett å forstå på et øyeblikk. Uklarheter kan forvirre leserne og redusere effekten av poengene dine. Hvis et begrep krever ytterligere forklaring, bør du vurdere om det egner seg bedre i et helt avsnitt enn i et kulepunkt. Ved å fokusere på lengde og klarhet sikrer du at kulepunktene dine effektivt fremhever viktig informasjon, noe som gjør forskningsartikkelen din mer engasjerende og tilgjengelig.

Forbedre lesbarheten

Bryter ned kompleks informasjon.

Å dele opp kompleks informasjon i kulepunkter kan øke lesbarheten til forskningsoppgaven din betydelig. Det er viktig å bruke en fullstendig setning som innledning til en liste. Når du står overfor kompliserte data, teorier eller lange forklaringer, kan du ved hjelp av kulepunkter presentere informasjonen i håndterbare biter. Denne segmenteringen gjør det lettere for leserne å fordøye og huske materialet. I stedet for å navigere gjennom lange avsnitt kan leserne raskt skanne gjennom kulepunktene for å få med seg det viktigste.

Hvis du for eksempel skal presentere resultatene av en omfattende studie, kan kulepunkter oppsummere de viktigste funnene og gjøre det lettere for leserne å forstå resultatene uten å gå seg vill i detaljer. I tillegg kan kulepunkter fremheve spesifikke aspekter ved en teori eller modell og gi klare og konsise forklaringer. Denne tilnærmingen gjør ikke bare artikkelen mer tilgjengelig, men sørger også for at den kritiske informasjonen kommer tydelig frem, slik at leserne kan fokusere på de viktigste elementene i forskningen din. Ved å bryte ned kompleks informasjon øker du både forståelsen og engasjementet.

Visuell appell og mellomrom

Det visuelle uttrykket og avstanden mellom kulepunktene spiller en avgjørende rolle for lesbarheten i forskningsoppgaven din. Riktig avstand mellom kulepunktene sørger for at hvert enkelt punkt skiller seg tydelig ut, slik at teksten ikke virker rotete. Tilstrekkelig med hvit plass rundt kulepunktene gjør innholdet mer innbydende og lettere å navigere i, slik at leserne raskt kan finne og forstå informasjonen. Beste praksis for skriving og formatering av punktlister inkluderer tips om konsekvent bruk av tegnsetting og justering av innrykk og mellomrom for å gjøre listen visuelt tiltalende og lett å skanne.

I tillegg til avstanden bidrar justering og innrykk av kulepunkter til et rent og ryddig utseende. Konsekvent innrykk bidrar til å opprettholde et strukturert utseende, noe som får dokumentet til å fremstå mer profesjonelt. Ved å bruke kulepunkter med et enkelt design, for eksempel prikker eller streker, unngår du dessuten visuelle distraksjoner og holder fokuset på innholdet.

Overskrifter eller underoverskrifter over grupper av kulepunkter kan også gjøre teksten mer visuelt tiltalende ved å bryte opp teksten og skape sammenheng. Ved å ta hensyn til visuell appell og mellomrom kan du gjøre forskningsartikkelen din mer leservennlig og engasjerende.

Bruk kulepunkter for å understreke

Å bruke kulepunkter for å fremheve noe kan gi forskningsartikkelen din betydelig større gjennomslagskraft. Kulepunkter trekker leserens blikk til seg, noe som gjør dem til et effektivt verktøy for å fremheve viktig informasjon, sentrale funn eller viktige argumenter. Når du vil sikre at enkelte punkter ikke blir oversett, kan du presentere dem i punktform slik at de skiller seg ut fra den omkringliggende teksten.

For eksempel kan det å oppsummere kritiske resultater eller sentrale konklusjoner i kulepunkter understreke hvor viktige de er, slik at leserne blir ekstra oppmerksomme. I tillegg kan kulepunkter brukes til å fremheve sammenligninger, kontraster eller lister over fordeler og ulemper, noe som gjør disse elementene mer iøynefallende og lettere å følge med på.

For å opprettholde effektiviteten må du imidlertid bruke kulepunkter med omtanke. Hvis du legger for stor vekt på for mange punkter, kan det svekke effekten og få dokumentet til å virke rotete. Ved å bruke kulepunkter strategisk kan du gjøre forskningsartikkelen din tydeligere og mer overbevisende, slik at leserne fokuserer på de viktigste aspektene ved arbeidet ditt.

Vanlige feil å unngå

Overforbruk av kulepunkter.

Selv om kulepunkter kan bidra til bedre lesbarhet og organisering, kan overdreven bruk av kulepunkter i forskningsoppgaven virke mot sin hensikt. Overdreven bruk av kulepunkter kan få dokumentet til å virke fragmentert og ustrukturert, noe som kan gå ut over flyten i fortellingen din. Når du bruker for mange punkter, kan leseren slite med å se sammenhengen mellom dem, noe som kan føre til forvirring og manglende sammenheng i argumentasjonen din.

Hvis du overbelaster artikkelen med kulepunkter, kan det dessuten redusere effekten av dem. Hvis annethvert avsnitt består av en liste, mister du den vektleggingen som er tiltenkt ved bruk av kulepunkter. For å unngå dette bør du bruke kulepunkter selektivt, og reservere dem til avsnitt der de virkelig tilfører verdi ved å gjøre teksten tydeligere og fremheve nøkkelinformasjon.

Balanse er nøkkelen; kombiner kulepunkter med velskrevne avsnitt for å opprettholde en jevn og engasjerende flyt. Ved å unngå overdreven bruk av kulepunkter kan du sikre at forskningsartikkelen din forblir sammenhengende, virkningsfull og profesjonell.

Inkonsekvent formatering

Inkonsekvent formatering av kulepunkter kan undergrave profesjonaliteten og lesbarheten til forskningsoppgaven din. Variasjoner i punktstiler, innrykk eller tegnsetting kan distrahere leserne og forstyrre informasjonsflyten. Hvis du for eksempel blander prikker og tankestreker eller veksler mellom hele setninger og bruddstykker i samme liste, kan det skape forvirring og få dokumentet til å virke uorganisert.

For å unngå disse problemene bør du etablere og følge en konsekvent formateringsstil for kulepunktene dine. Velg én type kulepunkt (f.eks. prikker, streker eller tall), og hold deg til den gjennom hele oppgaven. Sørg for at hvert kulepunkt følger samme struktur, enten ved å bruke hele setninger med passende tegnsetting eller fragmenter uten avsluttende tegnsetting.

I tillegg bør du sørge for at alle kulepunktene har samme innrykk og mellomrom, slik at de fremstår tydeligere og mer visuelt tiltalende. Konsekvent formatering gjør ikke bare forskningsoppgaven lettere å lese, men gir også en følelse av omhyggelighet og oppmerksomhet på detaljer. Ved å unngå inkonsekvent formatering kan du produsere et mer polert og profesjonelt forskningsdokument.

Irrelevant informasjon

Hvis du inkluderer irrelevant informasjon i kulepunktene dine, kan det svekke effektiviteten til forskningsoppgaven din. Kulepunkter er ment å fremheve viktige poenger og essensiell informasjon, så hvis du legger til uvedkommende detaljer, kan det overvelde leserne og skjule hovedbudskapet. Irrelevant informasjon kan føre til forvirring og avlede oppmerksomheten fra de kritiske poengene du ønsker å formidle.

For å unngå denne feilen bør du vurdere innholdet i hvert enkelt kulepunkt nøye. Sørg for at hvert punkt er direkte relatert til hovedtemaet eller argumentet du tar opp. Hvis en opplysning ikke tilfører verdi eller tydeliggjør poenget ditt, er det best å utelate den. Sikt etter presisjon og relevans, og fokuser på de viktigste aspektene som støtter forskningen din.

Ved å holde kulepunktene kortfattede og relevante, opprettholder du klarheten og gjennomslagskraften i artikkelen din. Denne tilnærmingen øker ikke bare lesbarheten, men sikrer også at publikum enkelt kan følge med på og forstå kjerneelementene i forskningen din.

Praktiske eksempler og tips

Effektive kulepunkter i praksis.

For å illustrere hvordan effektive kulepunkter kan brukes i praksis, kan du se på et avsnitt som oppsummerer de viktigste funnene i en studie om klimaendringer. I stedet for et tett avsnitt kan du bruke kulepunkter for å fremheve de viktigste resultatene:

• Temperaturøkning : Den globale temperaturen har steget med 1,2 °C i løpet av det siste århundret.
• Havnivåstigning : Det gjennomsnittlige havnivået har økt med 20 centimeter de siste 50 årene.
• Glacial Retreat : Det er observert betydelig bresmelting i begge polarområdene.
• Ekstreme værhendelser : Det har vært en 30% økning i hyppigheten av ekstreme værhendelser, som orkaner og hetebølger.

Kulepunktene er kortfattede, direkte relevante og konsekvent formatert, noe som gjør det enkelt for leserne å få et raskt overblikk over de viktigste funnene. Hvert punkt er formulert i et klart og enkelt språk, slik at selv de som ikke er kjent med temaet, kan forstå hovedkonklusjonene. Ved å bruke kulepunkter på denne måten øker du lesbarheten og gjennomslagskraften til forskningen din, slik at de viktigste poengene dine skiller seg effektivt ut.

Redigering og revidering av kulepunkter

Det er viktig å redigere og revidere kulepunktene for å sikre at de er tydelige, konsise og effektive. Begynn med å gå gjennom hvert enkelt kulepunkt for å kontrollere at det er relevant og i tråd med hovedtemaet. Fjern overflødig eller irrelevant informasjon som kan avlede oppmerksomheten fra hovedbudskapet.

Deretter må du fokusere på klarhet. Sørg for at hvert kulepunkt er lett å forstå på et øyeblikk. Bruk et enkelt og direkte språk, og unngå sjargong og altfor komplekse setninger. Om nødvendig kan du omformulere punktene for å gjøre dem lettere å lese.

Konsistens er et annet viktig aspekt. Sjekk at hvert kulepunkt følger samme struktur og stil, enten det betyr at du bruker hele setninger eller bruddstykker. Sørg for enhetlig tegnsetting og innrykk for et polert utseende.

Til slutt bør du vurdere den overordnede flyten og organiseringen. Ordne kulepunktene logisk, slik at de bygger på hverandre på en sammenhengende måte. Ved å redigere og revidere kulepunktene dine grundig kan du gjøre forskningsartikkelen tydeligere og mer slagkraftig, slik at den blir mer engasjerende og tilgjengelig for leserne dine.

Endelig sjekkliste for kulepunkter

Før du ferdigstiller forskningsartikkelen, bør du gå gjennom en sjekkliste for å sikre at kulepunktene dine er så effektive som mulig:

• Relevans : Kontroller at hvert kulepunkt er direkte knyttet til hovedtemaet eller argumentet.
• Klarhet : Sørg for at hvert punkt er lett forståelig, og bruk et klart og enkelt språk.
• Kortfattethet : Hold poengene korte og poengterte, og unngå unødvendige detaljer.
• Konsistens : Kontroller at formateringen er enhetlig, inkludert punktform, innrykk og tegnsetting.
• Logisk rekkefølge : Ordne kulepunktene i en logisk rekkefølge som fremmer informasjonsflyten.
• Påvirkning : Vurder om kulepunktene fremhever de viktigste aspektene ved forskningen din, og sørg for at hovedbudskapene kommer tydelig frem.
• Visuell appell : Sørg for at det er tilstrekkelig avstand mellom kulepunktene, slik at det ser ryddig og oversiktlig ut.

Ved å følge denne sjekklisten kan du forbedre lesbarheten, sammenhengen og profesjonaliteten i forskningsartikkelen din, og sørge for at kulepunktene dine effektivt formidler den viktigste informasjonen til publikum.

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Can Research Paper Use Bullet Points: When & How to Use them

Bullet points in research paper

A research paper means that the writer will be doing extensive primary and secondary research to find out the required facts, statistics, and quotations and introduce insight. So, can a research paper contain bullet points?

Yes, bullet points help your paper flow better, especially in a research paper. A well-written and correctly formatted research paper must use bullet points to organize and present the introductory three paragraphs that introduce the topic being researched. Keep reading for additional insights.

Can Research Paper Use Bullet Points?

A research paper can use bullet points if they help in presenting the findings of the research or listing the objectives of the study. In addition, including bullet points in your writing might be helpful to structure your text or draw attention to certain aspects of the topic you are discussing.

However, do not over-use them in writing.

If it helps the reader understand what you are saying better or makes it easier for them to read long lists of data or statistics, then it is acceptable to use bullet points in a research paper.

Yes, you can use bullet points in a research paper. It is all about the way you write them.

Bullets, or dot points, are used in many contexts to present information.

When writing a research paper , you may find that you want to use bullet points to highlight the most important parts of your paper.

Bullet points can be effective in this context because they are easy to read, allow you to present lots of information quickly, and keep your reader on track.

Research papers follow a specific structure and format.

You need to start with a good introduction, then give the supporting evidence for your thesis, and present everything in a well-structured manner. The conclusion sums up everything that you have written and allows the reader to have a clear picture of what your research has been focused on.

A research paper contains several sections: an abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. Each section is crucial and should be presented clearly and adequately organized by using headings or subheadings if necessary.

However, when using bullet points, make sure they follow the same grammatical structure as the rest of your text.

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How to Use Bullet Points in a Research Paper

Bullet points are a great way to organize your thoughts and help readers follow along. Writers sometimes use bullet points to list items because, in some cases, they can be more readable than an ordinary list of items.

For example, if there are three or more items in the list, the bullet points become easier to scan than a numbered list. The best approach is to observe the following:

1. Use Bullets for Shortlists

Bullets work best when you have three or more items on a list.

If your list is only one or two things long, consider rewriting your sentence not to require a list.

2. Use Bullets for Similar Ideas

Bullets work best when all of the items in the list are roughly equal in importance and length.

When your items differ significantly, using bullets can lead to confusion and make it harder for your reader to follow along.

3. Use Parallel Structure in your Bulleted Lists

Parallel structure is a grammatical term that uses the same structure in multiple parts of a sentence or paragraph.

In other words, if one item in your bullet list begins with a verb, all the different items should also begin with verbs; if one item is a phrase, all other items should also be phrases, etc.

How to Use Bullets

There are no fixed rules about how to use bullet points in academic writing, but here are some guidelines for their effective use:

• Only use bullet points when the order of the items listed is not essential. If a sequence or charge is needed, then use numbers instead.
• Do not start every sentence with a bullet point. This makes it look as though you cannot be bothered to write full sentences, and your work will appear sloppy., ,,, Use bullet points only when you have a list of two or more points; do not use them when introducing an individual issue (e.g., ‘The next topic is …’)
• If you have multiple levels of information (i.e., sub-points), use different bullets to differentiate between them.
• Indent all lines after the first line of each bullet point (similar to this paragraph). Do not add extra space between paragraphs.
• Use phrases rather than complete sentences within the bullet points. Do not add punctuation at the end unless it is necessary for clarity (e.g., an internal comma or colon).

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Importance of Using Bullet Points

Highlight Important Information

The key to using bullet points effectively is to ensure that they are consistent throughout your document and not overused.

Only use bullet points to clarify the material or help break up text and make it more readable.

Outline a Process

Bullet points are always used in conjunction with other paragraphs in papers, so they are not the paper’s main focus or a section of the paper. Because of this, they usually do not begin or end with a complete sentence.

The first word in a bullet point is usually capitalized, but the rest are lowercase unless proper nouns. Bullet points also use periods in the end to separate them.

Enhances Readability

It makes your paper more readable. It gives the readers a clear idea of what you are talking about without reading through long sentences and paragraphs of irrelevant information.

Mention items of Interest

Ensure that you include everything necessary for the paper. This consists of all items of interest and any extra things not mentioned in the paper’s main body. If you did not mention in the main body of the paper, then it should be appear in the reference section.

Highlight key Points

The importance of bullet points in research papers is to highlight the key points of your paper. In other words, it helps the reader to focus on the main topic and understand what you are discussing.

For example, if you were to write a paper about building a house, you would want to include bullet points to help the reader follow along with your construction process. In this article, we will discuss how bullet points can help you write your research paper.

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Instances When You Should Avoid Bullet Points in Research Paper

One of the most common ways to organize information in a document or presentation is through the use of bullet points. They are simple to read and easy to understand. However, they can also be overused. Here are several instances when you should avoid using bullet points in your research paper:

1. When You Are Not Sure How to Organize Your Points

The best way to keep track of your ideas is by using an outline. It helps you organize your thoughts into a clear and concise structure.

If you do not know how to write an outline, you should learn how before considering using bullet points in your paper.

2. When There Is No Clear Connection between Points

In general, bullet points are organized into groups that share a common theme or idea.

Using them willy-nilly with no particular order can make it difficult for the reader to follow what you are saying. Therefore, look for connections between ideas when writing a paper that uses bullet points.

3. When Your Paper Does Not Have an Introduction and Conclusion

Bullet points should occur as part of a larger argument or point made in a research paper. You can check how to present an argumentative research paper and learn the issue of points in a paper.

If no introduction or conclusion is tying those points together, then it will be difficult for the reader to follow along with what you are saying.

When not handling complex essays and academic writing tasks, Josh is busy advising students on how to pass assignments. In spare time, he loves playing football or walking with his dog around the park.

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How to Write a Research Paper | A Beginner's Guide

A research paper is a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research.

Research papers are similar to academic essays , but they are usually longer and more detailed assignments, designed to assess not only your writing skills but also your skills in scholarly research. Writing a research paper requires you to demonstrate a strong knowledge of your topic, engage with a variety of sources, and make an original contribution to the debate.

This step-by-step guide takes you through the entire writing process, from understanding your assignment to proofreading your final draft.

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Table of contents

Understand the assignment, choose a research paper topic, conduct preliminary research, develop a thesis statement, create a research paper outline, write a first draft of the research paper, write the introduction, write a compelling body of text, write the conclusion, the second draft, the revision process, research paper checklist, free lecture slides.

Completing a research paper successfully means accomplishing the specific tasks set out for you. Before you start, make sure you thoroughly understanding the assignment task sheet:

• Read it carefully, looking for anything confusing you might need to clarify with your professor.
• Identify the assignment goal, deadline, length specifications, formatting, and submission method.
• Make a bulleted list of the key points, then go back and cross completed items off as you’re writing.

Carefully consider your timeframe and word limit: be realistic, and plan enough time to research, write, and edit.

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There are many ways to generate an idea for a research paper, from brainstorming with pen and paper to talking it through with a fellow student or professor.

You can try free writing, which involves taking a broad topic and writing continuously for two or three minutes to identify absolutely anything relevant that could be interesting.

You can also gain inspiration from other research. The discussion or recommendations sections of research papers often include ideas for other specific topics that require further examination.

Once you have a broad subject area, narrow it down to choose a topic that interests you, m eets the criteria of your assignment, and i s possible to research. Aim for ideas that are both original and specific:

• A paper following the chronology of World War II would not be original or specific enough.
• A paper on the experience of Danish citizens living close to the German border during World War II would be specific and could be original enough.

Note any discussions that seem important to the topic, and try to find an issue that you can focus your paper around. Use a variety of sources , including journals, books, and reliable websites, to ensure you do not miss anything glaring.

Do not only verify the ideas you have in mind, but look for sources that contradict your point of view.

• Is there anything people seem to overlook in the sources you research?
• Are there any heated debates you can address?
• Do you have a unique take on your topic?
• Have there been some recent developments that build on the extant research?

In this stage, you might find it helpful to formulate some research questions to help guide you. To write research questions, try to finish the following sentence: “I want to know how/what/why…”

A thesis statement is a statement of your central argument — it establishes the purpose and position of your paper. If you started with a research question, the thesis statement should answer it. It should also show what evidence and reasoning you’ll use to support that answer.

The thesis statement should be concise, contentious, and coherent. That means it should briefly summarize your argument in a sentence or two, make a claim that requires further evidence or analysis, and make a coherent point that relates to every part of the paper.

You will probably revise and refine the thesis statement as you do more research, but it can serve as a guide throughout the writing process. Every paragraph should aim to support and develop this central claim.

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A research paper outline is essentially a list of the key topics, arguments, and evidence you want to include, divided into sections with headings so that you know roughly what the paper will look like before you start writing.

A structure outline can help make the writing process much more efficient, so it’s worth dedicating some time to create one.

Your first draft won’t be perfect — you can polish later on. Your priorities at this stage are as follows:

• Maintaining forward momentum — write now, perfect later.
• Paying attention to clear organization and logical ordering of paragraphs and sentences, which will help when you come to the second draft.
• Expressing your ideas as clearly as possible, so you know what you were trying to say when you come back to the text.

You do not need to start by writing the introduction. Begin where it feels most natural for you — some prefer to finish the most difficult sections first, while others choose to start with the easiest part. If you created an outline, use it as a map while you work.

Do not delete large sections of text. If you begin to dislike something you have written or find it doesn’t quite fit, move it to a different document, but don’t lose it completely — you never know if it might come in useful later.

Paragraph structure

Paragraphs are the basic building blocks of research papers. Each one should focus on a single claim or idea that helps to establish the overall argument or purpose of the paper.

Example paragraph

George Orwell’s 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language” has had an enduring impact on thought about the relationship between politics and language. This impact is particularly obvious in light of the various critical review articles that have recently referenced the essay. For example, consider Mark Falcoff’s 2009 article in The National Review Online, “The Perversion of Language; or, Orwell Revisited,” in which he analyzes several common words (“activist,” “civil-rights leader,” “diversity,” and more). Falcoff’s close analysis of the ambiguity built into political language intentionally mirrors Orwell’s own point-by-point analysis of the political language of his day. Even 63 years after its publication, Orwell’s essay is emulated by contemporary thinkers.

Citing sources

It’s also important to keep track of citations at this stage to avoid accidental plagiarism . Each time you use a source, make sure to take note of where the information came from.

You can use our free citation generators to automatically create citations and save your reference list as you go.

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The research paper introduction should address three questions: What, why, and how? After finishing the introduction, the reader should know what the paper is about, why it is worth reading, and how you’ll build your arguments.

What? Be specific about the topic of the paper, introduce the background, and define key terms or concepts.

Why? This is the most important, but also the most difficult, part of the introduction. Try to provide brief answers to the following questions: What new material or insight are you offering? What important issues does your essay help define or answer?

How? To let the reader know what to expect from the rest of the paper, the introduction should include a “map” of what will be discussed, briefly presenting the key elements of the paper in chronological order.

The major struggle faced by most writers is how to organize the information presented in the paper, which is one reason an outline is so useful. However, remember that the outline is only a guide and, when writing, you can be flexible with the order in which the information and arguments are presented.

One way to stay on track is to use your thesis statement and topic sentences . Check:

• topic sentences against the thesis statement;
• topic sentences against each other, for similarities and logical ordering;
• and each sentence against the topic sentence of that paragraph.

Be aware of paragraphs that seem to cover the same things. If two paragraphs discuss something similar, they must approach that topic in different ways. Aim to create smooth transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and sections.

The research paper conclusion is designed to help your reader out of the paper’s argument, giving them a sense of finality.

Trace the course of the paper, emphasizing how it all comes together to prove your thesis statement. Give the paper a sense of finality by making sure the reader understands how you’ve settled the issues raised in the introduction.

You might also discuss the more general consequences of the argument, outline what the paper offers to future students of the topic, and suggest any questions the paper’s argument raises but cannot or does not try to answer.

You should not :

• Offer new arguments or essential information
• Take up any more space than necessary
• Begin with stock phrases that signal you are ending the paper (e.g. “In conclusion”)

There are four main considerations when it comes to the second draft.

• Check how your vision of the paper lines up with the first draft and, more importantly, that your paper still answers the assignment.
• Identify any assumptions that might require (more substantial) justification, keeping your reader’s perspective foremost in mind. Remove these points if you cannot substantiate them further.
• Be open to rearranging your ideas. Check whether any sections feel out of place and whether your ideas could be better organized.
• If you find that old ideas do not fit as well as you anticipated, you should cut them out or condense them. You might also find that new and well-suited ideas occurred to you during the writing of the first draft — now is the time to make them part of the paper.

The goal during the revision and proofreading process is to ensure you have completed all the necessary tasks and that the paper is as well-articulated as possible. You can speed up the proofreading process by using the AI proofreader .

Global concerns

• Confirm that your paper completes every task specified in your assignment sheet.
• Check for logical organization and flow of paragraphs.
• Check paragraphs against the introduction and thesis statement.

Fine-grained details

Check the content of each paragraph, making sure that:

• each sentence helps support the topic sentence.
• no unnecessary or irrelevant information is present.
• all technical terms your audience might not know are identified.

Next, think about sentence structure , grammatical errors, and formatting . Check that you have correctly used transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas. Look for typos, cut unnecessary words, and check for consistency in aspects such as heading formatting and spellings .

Finally, you need to make sure your paper is correctly formatted according to the rules of the citation style you are using. For example, you might need to include an MLA heading  or create an APA title page .

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Checklist: Research paper

I have followed all instructions in the assignment sheet.

My introduction presents my topic in an engaging way and provides necessary background information.

My introduction presents a clear, focused research problem and/or thesis statement .

My paper is logically organized using paragraphs and (if relevant) section headings .

Each paragraph is clearly focused on one central idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Each paragraph is relevant to my research problem or thesis statement.

I have used appropriate transitions  to clarify the connections between sections, paragraphs, and sentences.

My conclusion provides a concise answer to the research question or emphasizes how the thesis has been supported.

My conclusion shows how my research has contributed to knowledge or understanding of my topic.

My conclusion does not present any new points or information essential to my argument.

I have provided an in-text citation every time I refer to ideas or information from a source.

I have included a reference list at the end of my paper, consistently formatted according to a specific citation style .

I have thoroughly revised my paper and addressed any feedback from my professor or supervisor.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (page numbers, headers, spacing, etc.).

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How to Write a Table of Contents for Research Paper: A Complete Guide

After hundreds of hours of non-stop working, the research essay is finished! Unfortunately, it is not the time to celebrate. That’s when you must get down to one of the least pleasant things in professional college or high school writing – a table of contents. The following article will define table of contents, discuss its purpose, and provide guidance on how to make a table of contents for a research paper.

What is a research paper table of contents?

Academic essays can be from 2–3 to hundreds pages long. They can contain a wide range of different studies, theoretical analyses, and practical examinations. They make up the substance of the study and assist you in showcasing the subject of your labor.

Since you are always required to cover many different aspects in your study, navigating the document quickly becomes top priority. This is why all expansive academic papers require a table of contents (also known as TOC). 

This fragment of your paper is an overview of every topic explored in it. The TOC looks like an invisible table where cells house a chapter, segment, or simple section heading. Consequently, each title corresponds to a page index which is also indicated in the TOC. This indicator is located at the beginning of the document, preceding the introduction but following the title page.

Why do we need a table of contents in research paper?

Let’s break down the purpose of table of contents as well as its essential functions.

• Usability. By scanning TOC, readers can quickly find certain sections or chapters within the research.
• Structure. TOC helps the audience gain an immediate understanding of the subject matter and how the study has been organized and conducted.
• Professional presentation. It betters the professional appearance of the essay by reflecting your insightful planning as well as attention to detail.
• Clarity. A TOC makes sure to list all big chapters, sections, sub-sections, and supplements, which navigates the audience and sets their expectations for what the research covers.

Overall, the purpose of TOC is to improve the reader's experience by making the research more accessible and easier to navigate.

What guideline should you follow when preparing a table of contents?

In a nutshell, the way you organize, format and make a TOC is subject to the style guide required by your professor. Here is an exploration on how to prepare a TOC for different writing guides.

• Title. Per the MLA style, a table of contents is not obligatory. Nonetheless, if your professor requires it, this part must be called "Contents" or "Table of Contents" and lined up at the top center area of the page.
• Formatting. The MLA guide generally uses a simpler approach with fewer formalities regarding the TOC. Consult your professor’s requirements to see which kind of spacing and dot leaders rules you will need to apply.
• Page index. MLA format traditionally uses Arabic numerals in the main body, but any TOC is up to the discretion of the author or professor.
• Sections. The TOC should include all major parts of the essay like introduction, body sections, works cited, and appendices.
• Title. In the APA style, the TOC should be named "Table of Contents" and centered at the top.
• Headings. While compiling your APA table of contents, you must Include all major sections like abstract, foreword, method, conclusions, discussion, references, and supplements.
• Formatting. APA has stricter requirements for formatting rules. You should use double-spacing throughout the TOC, which is in line with the rest of the study and the general requirements of the APA guide. The font repeats the one used in the main text (e.g., Times New Roman, 12-point).
• Page index. Align page indexes along the right side of the page and use dot leaders to connect the headings to the page indexes.

Chicago style

• Title. The TOC should be called "Contents" and placed at the top center of the page.
• Formatting. The Chicago Manual suggests single-spacing within entries and double-spacing between entries. Fonts should be consistent with the rest of the document.
• Headings. Include all chapters or major parts and list subheadings if needed. Use dot leaders between entries and page indexes.
• Hierarchy. Always make sure to distinguish main headings from subheadings for better readability. This might be done through bold or italic formatting, and indentation for subheadings.
• Page indexes. Place page indexes flush with the right margin. It is permissible to use Roman numerals for introductory pages, but the central text should only contain Arabic numerals.

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