How To Make Numbered Lists In An Essay | How to Write a List in an Essay – The monotony of uninterrupted excerpts and text passages may dull your compositions. This is why most websites have now opted for listed articles. An example is the top 10 articles that contain interesting information.
While this is possible in journalistic articles and magazines, it may not be appropriate for academic writing. Therefore, academic writing systematically incorporates lists and bullet points that elicit all your points beautifully.
We’ll be exploring how to write a list in an essay, their formats and how to write them using your word processors as numbered lists in an essay.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
APA Style
It is the approach systems use in the behavioural and social sciences for writing and including citations. Numbered lists in an essay follow this pattern within these programs.
How To Make Bullet Statements In Apa Writing
Any time you will be writing a phrase, sentence or paragraph and find it necessary to add a list, use the colon at the end, i.e. (:). Each part of the list should be preceded by a numeral and a period, i.e. (1.) when the list has a particular arrangement. Listings that aren’t specific guides could be preceded with only bullet points.
The list is aesthetically pleasing when written away from the margin of the previous text, a process called indentation.
This kind of list’s punctuation depends on whether each item is interlinked to the previous. If they share a connection, add a semicolon (;) instead of a period at the end of each sentence. The last sentence on the list should, however, end in a period, as always.
You may return to the main composition by skipping a space to delineate the two parts when completing your list. When tackling the question of how to list things in an essay, you should strive to handle things in this manner.
How To Write Problem Solution Essay | Conflict Resolution Essays
Also Read
How To List Things In An Essay By The Apa Format
So then, how do you label your lists using the APA style? Well, there are two basic rules.
- Employ words for numbers one to nine
- 10 and above should be designated with numerals
Other pointers to consider are:
- Use words constantly for
- Numerals that start a phrase, titles, and headings. Although this may be quite difficult with large numbers. I.e., Ten Reasons The School Cafeteria Was Closed.
- Common fractions i.e.
- A third of the senate
- Four-fifths of the class
- “Universally acknowledged conventions” for specific proper nouns.
- The Ten Commandments.
- The Fifty States
Patterns of Numbered Lists in an Essay
Numbered lists in an essay usually follow these patterns:
- Numbers in the synopsis of your paper. The reason is to show familiarity with the abstract; numerals don’t fill up this part of your essay as words would. Remember that the word could be a pronoun that’s also composed as a pronoun. As literature rules dictate, a pronoun cannot be depicted by numbers. Here are the examples;
- Correct: This magazine examines the results of 10 moon landing projects.
- Correct: The teachers evaluated one another’s teaching methods.
- Incorrect: The teachers evaluated 1 another’s teaching methods.
- Any numeral followed by a universal measurement unit
- 4 oz.
- 500 mg of Tylenol.
- 37.2°C
- 3 hrs. 6 min
- 16 €
- Phrases of mathematical and statistical importance, percentages and proportions, etc.
- the 35th percentile
- 3 times as much
- 3.5% of the population
- a ratio of 3:2
- divided by 6
- Numbers represent tallies, points on a scale, rates, numbers on a graph, etc.
- An average of 97.3 on the IQ scale.
- the B7 note on the piano
- Numbers that point out a specific point within a series.
- Chapter 6
- Volume 3
- Correct: At 1600hrs, the five officers had entered the compound at positions 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10, respectively.
- Incorrect: At 1600hrs, the five officers had entered the compound at positions three, four, five, 7 and 10, respectively.
- Numerals and Words Combined
Numbered lists in an essay can also evolve. Occasionally two numbers collide as noun modifiers, which may confuse many of your readers if not well articulated. APA style has simplified this by using a union of numerals and words to describe these simultaneous numbers.
- Six 7-point scales
- 4 two-way streets
- Ten 20-year-olds
The concept is well understood when you look at the established phrase, i.e., 20-year-olds. It is expressed as strictly a numeral or word phrase. The precursor can be either a word or numeral, i.e., Ten.
Those are just a few ways to list things in an essay. Next, we’ll discuss
How To Write An Ecotourism Essay – An Easy Guide
Also Read
How to make a list in MLA format
MLA Style
A scheme for documenting sources in writings of a scholarly nature. For a long time, Modern Language Association (MLA) has been popularized for classrooms and lecture halls as a standard procedure with magazine and newspaper publishers and lecturers alike.
Quoting Using An Mla Numbered List
Your instructors will decide that you must prepare a research paper along your academic path. Among the formats you’ll need, the ways to list things in an essay would be in MLA style.
In these cases, it may be necessary to include lists within your research, but this is contrary to MLA scholarly standards. However, there are loopholes to this rule that will show you how to make a list in MLA format in your academic compositions.
Your teacher’s instructions regarding bulleted lists in MLA-style texts will be your guide. If they find no fault in adding them, then go right ahead. Just be sure to check yourself and not add too many lists.
A good list within your research paper will be made entirely by your understanding of the subject matter. Quoting a different author’s list may look unprofessional and waste the freedom allocated to you within an MLA-style text.
It is easier to paraphrase within your essay and include it in a non-bulleted form, i.e., Vegetables that have cancer-protecting vitamins are; mangoes, tomatoes, and citrus fruits.
In-Text Citations Of Lists
Employed for:
- Including a direct quote to your composition.
- Wording a quote differently from its source
- Making a summary of explanations from one source.
Several quotation systems exist, but the author-page system is used most frequently. The MLA (Modern Language Association) is the acknowledged criterion for the author-page citation method and is commonly used in the humanities.
They include the author’s surname and the source’s page number in brackets. Whenever you include the author’s name within the body of your paper, the normal thing to do would only be to include the page number.
Example: Gatsby was within and without, experiencing his world in a morphed way. It might have been his intention to charm the world, but he sooner forgot himself. (Neville, 123)
Example: According to Neville, Gatsby was within and without, experiencing his world in a morphed way. It might have been his intention to charm the world, but he sooner forgot himself. (123)
Thus, the MLA structure is an in-text method of quoting sources and presents just the right amount of data to help a reader find references and the original text.
Adding a quote from an expert or a reliable source is an excellent way to spice up your paper. However, making the source material your own and paraphrasing it to your advantage is even better for your grades.
The only condition is that you must use citations to reference your sources. However, when you do use direct quotations, practice these outlines:
Outlines
- Introduce the quote precisely as it was inscribed, with all its mistakes and omissions. The only condition is that you add the word [sic] after a spelling mistake within a quote
Example: Gatsby was within and without [sic]…”
- Whenever you leave out part of the quotation, use ellipses and trailing quotation marks (…”) to show that it is not the whole quotation.
- When you change the quotation, such as a bold text, highlights, or underline in part of the quotation, indicate it in brackets after the quote.
Example: “Gatsby was within and without [sic] (my bold).
- Employ the use of parenthesis ( ) for explanations that you include after a quote and square brackets [ ] for comments that you add within the quotation.
- Cite your references. Whenever you employ the use of quotations, always cite the author’s name within the text.
Works Cited
This is the references section of your paper and is included at the end of your academic paper. Add it to its page and title it “Works Cited” at the centre of the page. Most writers insert the author’s name, the article’s title, and the source’s publication details.
All your references and in-text citations should be included here. An attempt to avoid this will only cause your paper to appear ‘plagiarized’, essentially stealing another writer’s work and claiming it as your own.
Pointers
- List your references in alphabetical order depending on the first word in each quotation. Do this by ignoring articles such as ‘the’ and ‘a.’
- Used double spaces after each citation.
- Use right margin indentation for wordy references that span more than one sentence.
Patterns for source citations in MLA format
The following are patterns for source citations in MLA format. Capitalize each word.
- Encyclopedias
- Last Name of the Author, Their First Name and Then the Middle Name, Which Can Be Written as an Initial. “Name of the Article.” Title of Encyclopedia. Year of Edition or Edition Number Ed.
- Magazines
Last Name of the Author, Their First Name and Then the Middle Name, Which Can Be Written as an Initial. “Name of the Article.” Title of the Magazine Day of Month (If appropriate) Month Year: Page Number(s) of the article.
- Books
- Last Name of the Author, Their First Name and Then the Middle Name, Which Can Be Written as an Initial. “Name of the Article.” Title of the Book. Location of Publication: Company Name of the Publisher, Publication Year.
- Websites
- Last Name of the Author, Their First Name and Then the Middle Name, Which Can Be Written as an Initial. “Name of the Article/Document.” Title of Website. Ed. Editor’s Name (First Name, then Last Name). Date of publication, most recent upgrade. Name of organization linked with the site. Date of when you visited the site and accessed the file. <http://www.websiteaddress.com>
Bullet Points And Numbered Lists Using Word Processor
Now we’ll see how to manoeuvre adding Microsoft Word lists.
- Bullet Points
Adding bullet points is quite simple:
- Put the cursor where you are to start the list
- In the ‘Paragraph’ section of the ‘Home’ label
- Press the ‘Bullets’ symbol, then use the mouse pointer to choose the style of bullets to use.
- Now you can input the first entry in your list, using the enter key to form a new bullet each time.
- To finish your list, press the enter key twice after making the last point.
Use formal kinds of bullets for your academic paper. However, when you feel free to express yourself, you can use the ‘define new bullet’ option to customize your bullets. They might be snakes, ladders, skulls, and even motorcycles, as long as it is preapproved by your instructors and fits the theme of your paper.
Appropriate For Guides And Ranking Lists. Here’s How You Add Them:
- Put the cursor where you are to start the list
- In the ‘Paragraph’ section of the ‘Home’ label
- Press the ‘Numbering’ symbol and use the cursor to select the numbering style.
- Now you can input the first entry in your list, using the enter key to form a new number each time.
- To finish your list, press the enter key twice after making the last point.
The ‘Define New Number Format’ menu will let you modify the numbering style.
How to Write a List in an Essay Conclusion
We are delightfully at the end of our article, having explored how to list things in an essay. From the MLA numbered list structure, we’ve learned how to make a list in MLA format. We are hopeful that this piece will help you know ways to list things in an essay and rise to the occasion of academic writing.
Do you have any additional tips on how to list things in an essay? Be sure to give us your comments and questions.
Hope you have enjoyed the article on How To Make Numbered Lists In An Essay | How to Write a List in an Essay. If you liked our blog Best Essayes, please share.
