TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Numerals and Bullets From:LaVonna Funkhouser <lffunkhouser -at- HALNET -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 5 Jan 1996 09:28:54 -0600
At 07:49 AM 1/5/96 -0600, Elizabeth Carmack wrote:
> ... But what if the number is
>linked to a particular measurement, like miles, cubic inches, etc.?
> ... I think writing "a
>1-cubic-inch tube" or "a 3-mile-radius" looks funny. What is the
>consensus out there?
Use numerals with measurements, lose that second
hyphen, and use abbreviations that are standard for
your industry. For example, we would write
1-in.^3 tube 3-mile radius
(BTW, our first reference for style is the _Society of Petroleum
Enginners Publications Style Guide_.)
>And a question on bullets: When using a bulleted list, is it proper
>to capitalize the first letter of the first word in each item even if
>they are not complete sentences?
I don't think you'll find consensus on that one. I think it is
OK, IMHO.
>And what about punctuation? I say
>semicolons to separate them if they are complete sentences and commas
>if they are not. Thanks for your comments.
I say periods at the end of the sentences if they are
sentences, and no punctuation if they are not. The
bulleted list itself serves the same purpose that a comma
would.
LaVonna
LaVonna F. Funkhouser, COREComm
lffunkhouser -at- halnet -dot- com (work)
You are invited to browse our web site: http://www.corecomm.com/corecomm/
My opinions do not officially represent anyone other than me.