Lists

In general: Use a line space, or partial line space, before and after all stacked lists. In the following examples a six–point line space precedes and follows the lists.

Lists within Sentences
Vertical Lists

Lists within Sentences Within a sentence, separate items in a list with commas (see the Punctuation section concerning commas in lists) or with semicolons if the items in the list include commas.

The roommates came from Boise, Idaho; Boulder, Colorado; Buffalo, New York; and Burnaby, British Columbia.

Vertical Lists Introduce items in a vertical list with numbers only when the order matters. Otherwise, use bullets or another typographical symbol.

If you are the first one to spot a fire:

Close your office door behind you.

Find and pull the nearest fire alarm.

Leave the building via the nearest stairwell.

If any or all of the items in a vertical list are complete sentences, punctuate all items in the list with periods. If no items are sentences, follow each with a comma and end the list with a period if the list completes a sentence, or omit punctuation at the end of each item, including the last one. (Be consistent within a document in how you treat similar types of lists.)

This course has several graded projects:

a midterm test

a final exam

a team project

a research paper

a weekly log for analyzing your field work

When you move to college for the first time, you usually

bring too many things for your dorm room,

forget a few essential items,

bring and forget many of the same things as your roommate, and

wish your parents would take off as soon as the family SUV is unpacked.