How to Format Lists in Essays

Making lists is uncommon for essays. Students do not use lists in their college papers frequently. When it comes to arranging information and structuring an academic paper, lists may be not necessary at all.

Lists are most likely to appear in tech assignments and scientific papers for the following subjects:

• Electronics;
• Aeronautics;
• Business and Finance;
• Medicine;
• Biotechnologies;
• Robotics, etc. 

Nevertheless, professors do not forbid itemization in APA essays or other academic papers. If you feel that you cannot do without an enumeration of certain features, objects or phenomena, use one of the below types of listing constituents in your essay.

Types of Lists in an Academic Essay

Look at the following variants of possible listings in essays:

• The list within a sentence

Example:

We have discussed three aspects in narratives: (1) focalization, (2) point of view, (3) perspective. There are two narrative qualities in the Gothic Tradition: fictionality and eventfulness.

• Numbered list

Use a numbered list only for the sequence of things (series of gradual actions) to do or steps to make. For a custom essay, put numbers to organize the succession chronologically.

Example:

The research procedure consists of 4 steps:

1. Planning
2. Pre-testing
3. Testing
4. Post-testing

• Bullet list

Such a list contains enumerated points with dots in front of them. You must have noticed one at the beginning of the article.

• Labeled list

Use this type of listing when you need detailed clarification of items. Make the intro word/phrase italicized, bold, or both.

Example:

An analytical stage to define the psycho-demographic changes included a survey with the following questions:

• Question 1: Are you afraid of social changes?
• Question 2: What is your attitude to immigration?
• Question 3: What age groups irritate you the most?
• Sub-list

Sub-lists are sometimes called lists-within-lists. Their usage is seldom preferred in essay writing. It’s better not to use them at all if you can restructure the content of your college paper.

Lists in college/university papers are rarities. They do have their fundamental rules, however. To make sure your essay’s list doesn’t look messy or scattered, it should be structured and formatted in a proper way. Consider the rules for listing items in essays appropriately.

Rules for Listing Items in Essays

Here’re some standards for making lists, if you want to write a great essay:

Rule #1. Form a list only if there are more than two items to enumerate. 

Rule #2. Put a taboo on over-extended lists.

Count the components in a list – there should not be more than eight of them for better perception, essay legibility, and comprehensiveness. Do not itemize too many details in your scholarly paper. Lengthy lists overwhelm the reader.

Rule #3. Recheck the initial letters of every listed item.

They should be capital unless required otherwise.

Example:

The fundamental qualities of any event are:

• Unpredictability
• Irreversibility
• Consecutiveness
• Non-repeatability

Rule #4. Mark the end of an item with a period, if it’s a complete sentence.

Rule #5. Stick to the list’s stylistics and grammar.

Each item should have a similar structure. Listed points in custom essays should start similarly. You may use verbs or add “ing” endings, for instance.

Example:

The present findings confirm that these mother’s actions irritate teenagers the most:

• Reading their messages
• Calling for dinner repeatedly
• Waking them up in the morning

Proper Ways to Punctuate Lists in an Essay

To write a good essay and punctuate a list in it properly, students use these punctuation marks:

• Colon
• Period
• Semicolon
• Comma
• Parentheses

Check the table with the guidelines for their usage.

Punctuation mark	Usage
Period	For full sentences in lists
Colon	Ends the introductory sentence and precedes any list
Semicolon	Between lengthier phrases (3+ words) in sentences or phrases with commas within
Comma	Between shorter phrases (1–3 words) in sentences
Parentheses	Use (a), (b), (c) or (1), (2), (3) before every item listed in a sentence

A semicolon is a mark that you should use between lengthy phrases in sentences. If a phrase from your enumeration has a comma inside it, use semicolons to show the boundaries between several phrases. According to The Chicago Manual of Style, semicolons are necessary after items in structured lists too. In this case, you will have to add “and” immediately after the next-to-last-item.

Example:

I like reading books because they give me:

• more motivation;
• emotional experience; and
• time to relax.

Conclusion

An ideally punctuated and formatted listing of phrases in an essay can boost your grade. If you’ve made a list in your written assignment, reread it once again and correct all mistakes.