I Have Bullets and Will Use Them

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bullets, business writing, clause, concepts, consistency, format, grammar, numbers, parallelism, phrases, presentations, sentence, structure, technical writing, writing

A common question I field not only from writing students but also from people creating presentations is: how should I format bullets? In developing a document or creating a presentation, it is important to format and use bullets correctly.

There are many options, so, which is the right one to use?

I recommend you pick one format for your bulleted information and stick with it throughout that piece. Parallelism and consistency is key when formatting information. You want to be consistent in your wording and writing, and especially in business materials. When expressing ideas of equal weight in writing, parallel and consistent structures offer a writing style that uses balance and rhythm to help deliver your meaning.

To introduce bulleted information, you can use a complete sentence and a colon.

Bulleted information needs to be formatted correctly:

• Begin each bullet with a capital letter.
• Make each bullet a complete sentence.
• Finish each bullet with a period.

Or

Bulleted information needs to be formatted correctly:

• Begin the first bullet with a capital letter;
• make each bullet a complete sentence;
• finish the final bullet with a period.

Or

To introduce phrases or single words, use a sentence that each bullet could complete.

Bulleted information can be

• cryptic,
• conversational, and
• lower case.

Use numbers instead of bullets if you have introduced the concept in terms of numbers.

There are three requirements for the scholarship:

1. The student must show financial need.
2. The student must maintain a full-time course load.
3. The student must maintain a 3.5 g.p.a.

Or

The three qualifications for the scholarship are—

1. financial need,
2. full-time status,
3. g.p.a. of 3.5.

It will help to remember to keep bulleted information parallel. Choose one format and stick to it throughout your piece.

When To Stop Editing & Revising

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Carolinas, carrots, creative writing, editor, edits, fiction, Kendra Levin, middle grade, novels, potatoes, project, publishing, put a fork in it, revisions, rewrites, SCBWI, structure, Viking Children's Books, writing, young adult literature

When writing a news release or a shorter document, it’s easy for me to tell when it’s time to stop editing. It usually comes at that point when I begin to change things for change’s sake, but I’m not making the document stronger. (Like rewriting the same sentence three different ways, and it still ends up the same way.)

However, when working on a novel and dealing with 80,000+ words rather than 250, the revision process is a whole lot more encompassing. There are re-writes, revisions, re-constructed scenes, and edits upon edits. One challenge can be how to keep the story fresh when I’ve read it (what feels like) a 1,000 times, and I want to chuck the work into the trash can.

Know When to Stop

This past weekend I attended a writing intensive workshop sponsored by SCBWI-Carolinas. There, a group of writers assembled to work on novels and glean inspiration from industry professionals. One of our key speakers was Kendra Levin, senior editor with Viking Children’s Books. After putting us through a couple writing exercises, she shared publishing stories with us. As everyone in the room is awaiting publication of their first book, it was an excellent opportunity to hear likes, dislikes, and anecdotes of the person who may hold your publishing fate in her hands.

Kendra shared a story of a fellow editor who was finalizing the work of one of her authors. Down to the final round of technical edits before going to publication, the editor sent what should have been minor edits. The author, however, returned a manuscript with those changes and also a whole lot more that turns out were not needed. After something like the 10^th round of intense edits, the author had become trained to make many changes. When she saw the limited number of notes from her editor, she thought it wasn’t enough so she made unnecessary edits that unfortunately set the process back.

“When you change carrots to potatoes, then you know it’s time to put a lid on it.” Kendra Levin, Senior Editor Viking Children’s Books.

So if you’re getting to the point of merely fiddling around with your work because you really can’t find anything else to change and you’re not making the work better, Stop. While it is often true that revisions and editing can go on forever, sometimes you just have to put a fork in it. You are done.

Enjoy the moment, because the next project is about to begin.

 

The End

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abraham lincoln, body, Business Communications, business writing, communication, conclusion, development, editing, fairy tales, ideas, introduction, jr, martin luther king, paragraphs, structure, technical writing, writing

Great first lines live on in infamy:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.

Once upon a time…

Why don’t great closings earn the same respect as great openings? I know they’re out there. I’ve sat through thousands of presentations and certainly was impressed by a good number of them. I’ve even given a few myself. However, the poor conclusion never quite obtained the level of notoriety as the opening. No one repeats them verbatim. And sometimes people forget to include them. However, the conclusion is just as important as the introduction and body of the speech or written piece.

The conclusion will wrap up or summarize the message you’re trying to convey. If you can present a great closing to your presentation or paper, you’re bound to propel your audience on to further action or discussion.

If you fail to provide a great or even good closing, you’re bound to leave the audience with a rather “ho-hum” or let-down experience. Who hasn’t sat through a presentation only to have the speaker abruptly say, “Well, that’s all the time I have. Thank you.”? It leaves the audience feeling unsatisfied and cheated out of a great conclusion. What is the take-away message? The audience wants that reminder.

After moving from general to specific information in the introduction and body paragraphs, your conclusion should begin integrating more general information to restate the main points of your argument or topic. You want to meet the needs of your audience. In a general way, you can

• Restate your topic and why it is important,
• Restate your thesis/claim,
• Address opposing viewpoints and explain why readers should align with your position, and/or
• Call for action or overview future research possibilities.

Once you presented your conclusion, then you can put up that “Any Questions?” slide. At that point, don’t try to add in more information or explain anything further. Simplicity of restating your message is best for a clear, convincing message.

Remember the structure of your speech or writing needs to include three main elements: Introduction, Body and Conclusion. In your conclusion, remind the audience what you’ve just told them so they take away your intent firmly recognized. A great conclusion should make the reader glad they read or listened to your presentation.

Any Questions?