bullet

Definition:

A mark of punctuation (•) used to introduce items in a list (or series).

Etymology:

From the Latin, "ball"

Examples and Observations:

• "Bullets (•) mark items in a list. If a sentence follows the bullet, place a period at its end. Words and phrases that follow bullets need no ending punctuation. It is never necessary to place the conjunction and before the [last] item in a bulleted list."
  (Michael Strumpf and Auriel Douglas, The Grammar Bible, Owl Books, 2004)



• "When you don't mean to imply that one thing in a list is any more important than another--that is, when you're not signaling a rank order--and when there is little likelihood that the list will need to be cited, you might use bullet dots. They enhance readabiluty by emphasizing salient points. . . .
  
  "Here are . . . more tips on using bullets well: (1) end your introduction with a colon, which serves as an anchor; (2) keep the items grammatically parallel (see PARALLELISM)."
  (Bryan A. Garner, Garner's Modern American Usage, Oxford University Press, 2003)



• "The most common problem with bulleted lists is an absence of parallel construction. If the first bulleted item is a declarative sentence in the present tense, the rest should also be declarative sentences in the present tense. Each item must be a continuation of the introductory sentence (note how the following bulleted items do just that).
  
  "The following is purely a matter of style, but I prefer to see bulleted items that:
  • Are introduced with a colon.
  • Begin with a capital letter and end with a period (not a semicolon), even if they aren't complete sentences.
  • Eschew the annoying and that list makers of the semicolon school like to insert after the penultimate item."
  (Bill Walsh, Lapsing Into a Comma, Contemporary Books, 2000)

Pronunciation: BUL-it

Also Known As: bullet point