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Subject:Limits on bulleted lists? From:geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA Date:Mon, 28 Jul 1997 12:31:56 -0500
DWeber wondered <<What is the maximum amount of items
acceptable in a bulleted list? Is there a definite
answer?>>
There's no "carved in stone" answer, unless you consider
"how many lines of type can you fit on a page?" to be a
good answer. But there's a very pragmatic answer... unless
you're creating a long checklist or a numbered (not
bulleted) list for the steps in a very complex procedure,
you should be asking yourself what your goal is in creating
the list. If the goal's to avoid writing coherent
paragraphs and linking them together, then the list is too
long no matter how few points you have in it. Other than
that, I have reservations about lists that would take up
more than a column, except for the aforementioned
checklists ... but that's personal opinion based on years
of reading and editing, not scientific fact. As always,
figure out what your goal is, and test the result on your
audience to make sure they share the goal and accept your
solution.
--Geoff Hart @8^{)} geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.
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