Punctuating Vertical Lists

Everyone writes lists: to-do lists, grocery lists, New Year's resolutions, even wish lists to Santa. But do you know how to punctuate lists? If you're scribbling a grocery list, obviously you don't need to punctuate. But if you do, you earn extra credit points!

However, what if you're including a list in a business document? Lists are effective because they're easier to read than paragraphs. The following rules will help you properly punctuate a vertical list:

Need a colon? (I mean the punctuation mark!) Yes, if the introductory statement is a complete sentence. (The statement that introduces this list uses a colon because it's a complete sentence.) A colon isn't used if the intro ends with the verb to be (is, are, was, were, being, been, etc.) or a preposition (to, with, etc.). In these instances, you don't use any punctuation, even though it looks like something's missing.

Need bullets or numbers? Use numbers if you need a specific order. Use bullets if your list doesn't need to be in a particular order, although you may sort the items by importance, alphabetically, or by categories. If you need to reference items during a discussion, use letters instead of bullets.

Use capitals? Yes. Capitalize the first letter of the first word of each line. Word and PowerPoint will do that for you automatically.

Use a period at the end of each line? Use a period only if the item is a complete sentence. Some people place commas or semicolons at the end of each line plus the word "and" at the end of the second to the last item. That's okay if you want a more formal format, but it's not necessary in business writing.

Is your list balanced? Be consistent; for example, start each point with a verb. You may also start each item with a question, with a command, or with a summary statement. Some people start each item with You should. Even though the writing is balanced, the words You should are unnecessary; don't use them. Bulleted items on resumes need to be balanced, too; use action verbs rather than Responsible for or Able to.

Headings highlight and summarize the information in a list that has more than one or two sentences for each point. By summarizing each point with bold text at the beginning (as I've done above), the reader can scan the material and then read the items that only pertain to him or her. For example, if HR distributes a memo about benefits, a part-time employee could skip the information about vacations or other benefits that don't apply to him or her.

Use these same guidelines for your PowerPoint slide lists. Even better, forget the list; just use a title and an image on the slide!

Lists may be formatted with bullets, numbers, or letters within sentences, too. This method saves space and visually highlights each point. Simple lists with three or four items work well in a sentence. Use commas at the end of each item, and don't capitalize the first letter of the word. However, the same rules for balanced writing and colon usage to introduce the list do apply.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts. They’re convenient because you don’t have to remove your hands from the keyboard to grab the mouse and click a button. Here are some of my favorite Microsoft keyboard shortcuts:

Ctrl + S = Save
Ctrl + W = Close the file (without exiting the program)
Ctrl + N = Start a new file (and bypass that extra screen!)
Ctrl + C = Copy
Ctrl + V = Paste
Ctrl + A = Select all
Ctrl + Z = Undo previous command
Ctrl + Y = Redo previous command
Ctrl + F = Find text

Start using one of them until it becomes a habit; then, move on to the next one. Usually, your fingers are already on the keyboard, so why not use the shortcuts? You can still use the mouse to perform the commands; thankfully, the mouse isn’t as hard to find as the remote!

How Do You Make Last Names Plural?

Where has this year gone? Have you already addressed your holiday cards? If not, here are the rules to help you master some common mistakes when addressing envelopes—for any occasion.

So, do you add an s to a family name when you’re addressing the envelope to the family? In case you want to send us a card, it’s “The Beavers,” not “The Beaver’s.” Even though some people add an apostrophe and an s to people's last names to make them plural, it's not correct.

The rule to follow when making a last name plural is add an s, unless it ends in s, x, z, ch, or sh; then add an es. For example, Lopez becomes Lopezes and Harris becomes Harrises.

Does the es added to a last name look strange? Spell check doesn’t like it either. But that’s the proper way to do it.

E-mail Overload

Wednesday, October 20, was Information Overload Awareness Day. Now there’s a holiday I can relate to! For the webinar held in its honor, you could have registered for FREE if you pledged to not multitask during the event. Too bad my students don’t take that pledge!

Mark Hurst, the author of Bit Literacy: Productivity in the Age of Information and E-mail Overload, says the solution to e-mail overload is simple: Don’t become overloaded. Ha! Too late for that! As I read his list of what happens to a person when the Inbox is full of messages, I began to feel guiltier with each point he made.

The biggest message count Hurst heard of was 150,000! He claims he’s not making this up and said “that user said he did not feel fine.” Well, I’m feeling better now. Thank you.

Hurst says don’t use your Inbox as a to-do list, a file drawer, or a phone book—all those messages that keep those “bits” of information need to go elsewhere. Outlook has modules to hold those items; use them! Two ways to efficiently move the endless stream of e-mails from the Inbox to their appropriate destination include “drag and drop” and mailbox rules. These features make it easy to process your e-mail.

1) Turn e-mails into tasks and calendar appointments with “drag and drop.” Drag e-mails to the Task button to create a to-do item, or drag e-mails to the Calendar button to create an appointment. The e-mail is still in your Inbox, so go ahead and delete it.

2) Assign rules to your e-mails so they can automatically bypass the Inbox and go directly into a designated, already-created folder. This feature is powerful, yet easy to create.

“Drag and Drop” to Create Tasks or Calendar Appointments

1. Drag e-mails from your Inbox to the Task button (or Calendar button) on the Navigation Pane at the bottom left side of the screen. A new task (or appointment) opens.

2. Change the name of the task (or appointment) in the Subject line, if necessary.
3. Change the time and date and add a reminder, if you’d like.
4. Click Save & Close button.

Rule to Automatically Move Incoming E-mail Directly to Folder

1. Select an e-mail in the Inbox from the person you want to create the rule for.

2. Right click the message.
3. Select Create rule; the Create Rule dialog box displays. (Top half of box defines which e-mails will be selected; the bottom half identifies what to do with them.)
4. Place a check in the ‘From’ checkbox.
5. Click the Select Folder button; then, select the already-created folder from the list.
6. Click OK two times.
7. If you’d like to move all the e-mails currently in your Inbox that match that criteria, place a check in the Run this rule now on messages already in the current folder checkbox.
8. Click OK.

Define rules to automatically move e-mail to different folders, sound an alarm for e-mails from a particular person (the Big Cheese?), forward messages sent by a certain person to your manager. The possibilities are endless. The Create Rule dialog box has an Advanced Options button to create rules with even more selections. Experiment with it, and let me know how you use it.

One of Mark Hurst’s mantras is “Empty the Inbox as least once a day.” He says you can “delete most [e-mails], file some of them, but most importantly, get them all out of the Inbox…”

Happy Halloween!

The Poor Semicolon

Friday, September 24, was National Punctuation Day. Do you have a favorite punctuation mark? No? Here's what Bill Walsh had to say about the poor semicolon, "The semicolon is an ugly bastard and thus I tend to avoid it..." (from his book, Lapsing Into a Comma: A Curmudgeon's Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong in Print and How to Avoid Them).

Is name-calling really necessary? For a punctuation mark? How do you feel about the semicolon? Would you like it "plutoed" from the world of punctuation?
 
Many people don't know how to use the semicolon. So, in honor of NPD (National Punctuation Day), I'll teach you how to use it; and you'll never have to avoid it again.

Bill Walsh also calls the semicolon a SUPERCOMMA; now that's an excellent description. A good rule of thumb is to use the semicolon when you need something stronger than a comma or when you have too many commas. Generally, the semicolon helps the reader understand how to read the message correctly.

When a comma's not enough

Independent Clauses 

You can join two sentences (independent clauses) with a semicolon:

People don't know when to use the semicolon; it's the least used punctuation mark.

The sentences need to be related thoughts. For example, a semicolon wouldn't work well in this example: The comma is overused; football season has started.

 

Independent Clauses With a Conjunctive Adverb

If you add a conjunctive adverb (consequently, however, and furthermore are some common ones) between two sentences, you still need the semicolon. Punctuate the sentence two times--a semicolon before the conjunctive adverb and a comma after it:

 

People don't know when to use the semicolon; consequently, it's the least used punctuation mark.

When there are too many commas

Independent Clauses With Commas 

When two sentences are joined with a conjunction (and, or, and but are the most common conjunctions), a comma precedes the conjunction. If either sentence contains a comma, the comma before the conjunction is changed to a semicolon:

The comma is the most overused punctuation mark, often being placed where people pause in speech; and the apostrophe is the most misused mark.

A Series With Commas

Use semicolons to separate items in a series when at least one of the items has a comma:

National Punctuation Day will be celebrated in Chicago, Illinois; Seattle, Washington; and San Diego, California.

Are you ready for your "semicolonoscopy" now? (Thank you, Vickie Austin, for that word!)

Please comment on your favorite punctuation mark!

Happy Punctuation Day!

More on Custom Lists

Changing Your Custom List

1. Open the Custom Lists dialog box (see previous post).
2. Select the list to change in the Custom lists box.
3. Make the necessary changes in the List entries box.
4. Click OK two times.

Deleting Your Custom List

1. Open the Custom Lists dialog box.
2. Select the list you want to delete in the Custom lists box.
3. Click the Delete button.
4. Click OK two times.

I Love Excel!

Excel is my favorite program! There, I said it. And even though "Embrace Your Geekness Day" has passed (July 13), that statement says it all!

Excel is feature-rich, although most people use 20 percent of the features 80 percent of the time. You don't need to know 100 percent of the features to be proficient. I've discovered several "cool" techniques during my career that made me love Excel.

Does it drive you crazy there are several ways to perform the same command in Excel--well, in all software programs for that matter? Keyboard shortcuts, mouse clicks, tool bar buttons? How many ways can you copy and paste, for crying out loud? Often, it's a two-step process, although a powerful command exists disguised as a one-step copy technique.

Use one step to copy the cell's content into adjacent cells (this command works well when copying formulas):

1. Click the cell to copy.
2. Position the mouse pointer over the black square in the lower right corner; the pointer changes to a black plus sign.
3. Click and drag to fill the adjacent cells. (Click and drag down or to the right.)

This same click-and-drag copy technique is a "list creator" as well. Days of the week, months of the year, and calendar dates are among the built-in lists to create by just typing the first word (and sometimes the second item)!

For monthly headings, type January (or Jan for abbreviations). "Copy" (using the technique described above) that cell to the adjacent cells to create all 12 months. How cool is that? Type Monday (or Mon) for days of the week.Try it! Creating heading for budgets, forecasts, etc., is easy!

If you prefer actual dates for column headings (for weekly production schedules), type the first date and the next one to create the "pattern." For example, to create all Mondays, type 1/3/2011 (first Monday in 2011), then type 1/10/2011 (the second Monday) in the next cell. Select both cells. Click the black square in the lower right corner of the selected cells; then, click and drag to fill the adjacent cells.

You can create your own lists for headings or descriptions you frequently add to spreadsheets such as customers, departments, job titles, etc. Here's how:

1. Click the Microsoft Office button.Click Excel Options at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
2. Click the Popular category.
3. Click Edit Custom Lists under the Top options for working with Excel section.
4. Be sure NEW LIST is selected in the Custom lists box; then, type the items for the list in the List entries box. Press ENTER after each item. (Be sure the items are spelled correctly and are in the proper order.)
5. When the list is complete, click Add.
6. Click OK two times.

Once the custom list has been entered, you may enter it into any spreadsheet: Type the first word of the list. Then, use the click-and-drag copy technique to complete the list. "That was easy!" (Thank you, Easy button.)

Let me know the lists you create. It'll be fun to hear from you--whether you're a geek or not!(If you're using Excel 2003, skip Steps 1-4 above. Click Tools from the menu bar. Select Options, and then click Custom Lists tab. Continue with Step 5.)

Let me know the lists you create. It'll be fun to hear from you--whether you're a geek or not!