Today you will
- learn when to use bullets and when to use numbers
- tuck a small detail in under a point
- turn one paragraph of your {{code:03_proposal_draft}} into a list
Warm-up
Think of the last long message you skipped because it looked heavy. Would three short bullets have made you read it?
A bullet list is for equal items, where the order doesn't matter.
A numbered list is for steps that must happen in order.
A sub-bullet is one detail tucked in under a main point.
Too many bullets make a proposal look like rough notes, so keep your story in normal paragraphs.
Blank tees, vinyl and heat-press access are equal items, so they go in bullets. Design the logo, test-print, photograph, post and take orders is a sequence, so it gets numbers.
You will make a practice document and turn two short paragraphs into a bullet list and a numbered list. Follow the steps in the box below. Copy the practice text from here, and use the finished lists to check your work.
Materials paragraph: I need a folding table, a cash box, printed price cards, three sample products, a phone for Tap to Pay, and a simple sign.
Sequence paragraph: Confirm the stall date, pack the kit the night before, set up 30 minutes early, photograph the display, then pack down and count the cash.
Sub-point: Send a short email if I have not had a reply in three days.
Finished kit list:
- folding table
- cash box
- printed price cards
- three sample products
- phone for Tap to Pay
- simple sign
Finished sequence:
- Confirm the stall date
- Send a short email if I have not had a reply in three days.
- Pack the kit the night before
- Set up 30 minutes early
- Photograph the display
- Pack down and count the cash
Common snags
- If the whole paragraph became one bullet, click where each item should start and press {{key:Enter}}.
- If the numbers restart at 1, right-click that number and choose to continue numbering.
- If {{key:Tab}} moves the whole paragraph, undo it, click on a list line and press {{key:Tab}} again.
- If your page looks crowded, keep your story in normal paragraphs.
Independent Practice
Work in {{code:03_proposal_draft}} only.
- Open {{code:03_proposal_draft}} in the {{code:03_documents}} folder.
- Pick one paragraph about materials, steps, options or outcomes.
- Use bullets if the items are equal, or numbers if the order matters.
- Split it with {{key:Enter}} and clean each line, like you did in the practice.
- If nothing fits, write a short What I need section and turn that into a list.
- My list is in {{code:03_proposal_draft}}.
- I used bullets for equal items or numbers for steps.
- It is easier to scan than the old paragraph.
- The rest of the page still reads as normal paragraphs.
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