Technical Writing – How to Use the Bulleted Lists Properly in Your Technical Document

© Ugur Akinci
Bulleted lists are important in technical writing. They summarize information in a manner that is easy to read and absorb. Use them whenever you can to get your information across quickly.
Bullets are ideal for things-to-do, equipment, sets, collections, cooking ingredients, and all kinds of other lists.
Compare:
“In winter months make sure to check your oil-tank, have enough wood for the fireplace, make sure there is are extra blankets for the guests, and the pump water is shut off.”
With bullets:
“Make sure to do the following to get ready for the winter:
– Check your oil-tank
– Have enough wood for the fireplace
– Keep extra blankets for the guests
– Shut off the pump water”
Another comparison: which list would you remember with less difficulty:
This one:
“A knowledge of mathematics, besides geometry, trigonometry and physics, is necessary for an civil engineer to know well.”
Or this?
“A civil engineer should know his
– mathematics
– geometry
– trigonometry
– physics
well.”
Bullets are great to list a collection of anything. (Public domain photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)
But when you are drawing up a bulleted list try to use “parallel construction”; that is, the bullet items should be similar grammatically. They should have the same mood and tense. If one starts with a verb, the others should also start with a verb.
Malformed bulleted list:
“In my spare time, I love to
– go to a restaurant
– run 5K
– books are what I prefer over movies””
The first two items start with a verb, but the third doesn’t. Corrected list:
“In my spare time, I love to
– go to a restaurant
– run 5K
– read books rather than watch movies”
As you can see, now all items start with a direct action verb. It’s now easier to remember this list.
Another malformed example:
“All subscribers get
– one year’s worth of oil change
– you can have road-side assistance
– we’ll mail you any road map in stock
– up to two new tires a year.”
A better bulleted list would be:
“All subscribers get
– one year’s worth of oil change
– road-side assistance
– any road map in stock, mailed right away
– up to two new tires a year.”
To your organized success!