- highlight levels of importance,
- help the user understand the order in which things happen,
- make it easy for the user to identify all necessary steps in a process,
- add blank space for easy reading,
- and are an ideal way to present items, conditions, and exceptions.
- Use bullets if the order of the listed items is not critical. Use numbers if the steps must be followed in order.
- For guidance on how to punctuate vertical lists, see section 4.14.2.
2.11 Use footnotes and endnotes for explanatory or peripheral information.
- The reader understands the relatively minor importance of footnoted material. How essential can it be if it is cast in tiny type and relegated to the bottom of the page? In terms of format alone, the mere presence of footnotes strongly suggests that you have organized and emphasized with care.
- As is true with headings, footnotes may be used in any document—including letters—when they are appropriate. Determining whether they are appropriate is a matter of answering these two questions: If I place this idea in my text, will it rupture coherence? But is it nonetheless necessary to include this idea in the communication? If the answer to both questions is yes, then you should put the idea either in parentheses or in a note.
2.12 Adjust established formats when necessary.
- We may have been writing a report in a certain format for the past 10 years, but that does not mean we have to worship the tradition. The whole purpose of format is to simplify the reader's job; when changes are necessary, make the changes. If the established format of a routine review complicates the reading, change the format. If the customary format of a report does not adequately fit the report you are now writing, create a new format.
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