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HomeGuidelines > 2. Make text scannable. > 2d. Turn any list into a bulleted or numbered list..                    

 

Diagram

Background

Examples

Audience Fit

Challenges

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2d. Turn any list into a bulleted or numbered list.

When creating list items...

  • If you find three or more items in a row, within running text, pull them out of the paragraph and format them as a series of items in a bulleted or numbered list.
  • Use bullets when the items are options, with no required order.
  • Use numbers when the user should perform or read the items in a particular order.
  • Keep items short.
  • If items contain two parts, such as term and definition, boldface the first part, and plaintext the second part.
  • If items contain links and descriptions, put the link first, and indent the description underneath it.

When organizing lists...

  • Put the longest item at the end of the list, if that makes sense. The short items establish that this is a list, and the long one finishes it off.
  • Organize the list in the some pattern that the user can recognize, such as important to unimportant, familiar to unfamiliar, beginning to end, A to Z, 1 to 10.
  • Group related items. If some items deal with the same object, or the same activity, put them together (if doing so does not ruin some larger pattern).
  • Indicate grouping by using similar phrases or words in each of the grouped items.
  • If you have a list that extends beyond the bottom of the window, and you have grouped items, consider identifying each group with a subhead, to help users skip to the group they are interested in.

 

Diagram

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background

Lists can save readers time by allowing them to see at a glance specific items, questions, or directions. —Brusaw, Alred, and Oliu (1997)

In any sentence, put lists at the end. Put the longer item at the end of the list.—Bush & Campbell (1995)

To keep the list skimmable, try to keep the length of each item in that list short. One to five words is best, with two to four even better. …

One format that works well on-screen is lists of short, bold headings a few words long followed by a sentence or two of summary in a lighter, perhaps smaller, font.—Bricklin (1998)

Provide a list of shortcut links to your best-selling items and/or those that users most frequently navigate to. … Make it easy for users to scan and select products in lists. …

Enable users to view at least three or four items simultaneously. Strike a balance between the number of items users can view simultaneously and the amount of information you provide for each item. Present items in a logical order. Present related products in logical groups within the list.—IBM (1999).

Structure the page to facilitate scanning and help users ignore large chunks of the page in a single glance: for example, use groupings and subheadings to break a long list into several smaller units. —Nielsen (1999d)

You can include a greater number of lists on a web page than on a printed paper page. … Limit the number of items in a single list to no more than nine. Generally, limit lists to no more than two levels: primary and secondary. —Sun (2000)

See bibliography: Bricklin (1998), Brusaw, et al (1997), Bush & Campbell (1995), Hackos & Stevens (1996), IBM (1999), Kaiser (2000), Kilian (1999), Lohse & Spiller (1998), Morkes & Nielsen (1997, 1998), Nielsen (1997a, 1997b), Price & Korman (1993), Sun (2000), Tarutz (1992).

Examples

Original Paragraph:

If you are saving for your own retirement, or your child’s college tuition, you may want to invest in savings bonds. Series EE bonds offer interest rates that are better than what most banks can offer. Bonds are also convenient to buy. You can buy EE bonds by having money deducted from your paycheck, or you can go down to your bank and pick up a few bonds, for as little as $50 each. Safety? Your bonds are backed by the U.S. government. The only way you can lose money is if you lose the bond itself. And the interest is exempt from state income taxes. You can even postpone paying federal income tax on the bonds until you cash them in, or they mature. Also: If you cash in your bonds to pay your child’s college tuition, the income from the bonds is tax free, as long as your gross income is below certain limits.

Revised Paragraph:

If you are saving for your own retirement, or your child’s college tuition, you may want to invest in savings bonds. Series EE bonds offer:

Interest rates that are better than what most banks can offer.

  • Convenience. You can buy EE bonds by having money deducted from your paycheck, or you can go down to your bank and pick up a few bonds, for as little as $50 each.
  • Safety. Your bonds are backed by the U.S. government. The only way you can lose money is if you lose the bond itself.
  • Tax exempt. The interest is exempt from state income taxes. You can postpone paying federal income tax on the bonds until you cash them in, or they mature.
  • College bound. If you cash in your bonds to pay your child’s college tuition, the income from the bonds is tax free, as long as your gross income is below certain limits.

Other ways to make text scannable

2a. Create a meaningful
      title.

2b. Insert meaningful
      headlines and
      subheads.

2c. Highlight keywords and
      phrases--and links.

Resources on scannability

Taking a Position on Scannability

Heuristic Online Text (HOT) Evaluation for Scannability

Poster

 

 

 

 

Audience Fit
 
If visitors want... How well does this guideline apply?
To have fun A list works well when you want to offer your users choices, or break out a little digest of key points.  But if someone just wants to roll through your torrential prose, soaking it up all in one breath, forget the lists.
To learn Very helpful as an organizing device, showing that the items all belong together, as a sequence or collection.
To act Numbered steps increase the effectiveness of any instructions. (Only use bullets for actions that are optional, underneath a numbered step.)
To be aware Rarely used in this field, so some users may find lists uncongenial., with overtones of business and technical writing.  But, hey, they can get over it.
To get close to people Probably a bit too formal for messages on  your discussion list, but very helpful in plain-vanilla e-mails, because the lists overcome the lack of visual structure afforded by ASCII text.

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