which feature should not be listed on a formal outline

#Which feature should not be listed on a formal outline professional#

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.

I’d recommend a maximum of four lines of text per item, and preferably just one or two.Īlso, 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. Moving on to the text itself, and the impact of bullet-points is greatly reduced if each bulleted item drags on for several lines. This is especially important when you’re compelled to use sub-bullets. As shown for this example text, taking a little time to adjust the structure and formatting of your bulleted list helps to avoid a distracting appearance and keeps it ‘easy on the eye’. 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. 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.Īlso ensure that the paragraph space between separate bulleted items is sufficient to avoid a text pile-up. I like to indent the bullet-points themselves by a few points compared to the body copy, as this is more visually pleasing. 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. #5: Adjust the indents and spacing carefully 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.

#Which feature should not be listed on a formal outline professional#

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. Good symbols for sub-bullets (if needed) #4: Pick a strong colour This prevents them distracting attention away from the top-level entries. 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). The more complex your bulleted list, the less understandable it will be at first glance. 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. 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. Good general-purpose bullet-point symbols You could even go for custom bullet-points that mirror your brand, so long as they’re not too elaborate. I quite like the filled square, the right-hand arrowhead, and the right-hand French angular quotation mark, while the check-mark can come in handy when formatting a list of benefits or included features. Round solid bullet-points are the default option for many, but it’s worth trying other symbols if they’re available ( see below). 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

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. The first point is a structural one – don’t list too many things at once. #1: Avoid more than seven items in a bulleted list

Spending time on the formatting and text of your list is therefore well worth it. Bulleted lists might seem easy, but they are actually difficult to do well. 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. 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.īut although writing out a bulleted list might seem like a quick job, doing it well requires considerable thought. When presenting a set of related ideas, categories, features or benefits, the bulleted list is a winner on several levels. 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. Bulleted lists are great for breaking up long lists into manageable chunks and for making your copy easier to scan.