APA List Formatting: Lettered, Bulleted, and Numbered Lists Done Right
Lists seem like one of the simpler elements of APA formatting until your committee sends back your draft with corrections on nearly every one. APA 7th edition has specific rules for when to use each list type, how to format the items, and what case and punctuation to apply. Getting these wrong is easy because most of the errors look correct at a glance.
The Three Types of Lists in APA
APA 7 recognizes three list formats. Bulleted lists are for items without a natural order or sequence. Numbered lists are for items with a specific sequence where order matters, such as steps in a procedure. Lettered lists use lowercase letters in parentheses, such as (a), (b), and (c), and are used for items that are enumerated within a sentence or paragraph rather than displayed as a standalone list.
The Capitalization Rule for List Items
Every item in a bulleted or numbered list uses sentence case. This means only the first word of each item is capitalized, along with any proper nouns. A common mistake is applying title case to list items, which looks intentional but is incorrect in APA format.
Indentation
Bulleted and numbered list items are indented 0.5 inches from the left margin, the same as a standard paragraph indent. Sub-lists, when used, are indented an additional 0.5 inches. List items should be consistently indented throughout your document.
Punctuation
If your list items are complete sentences, end each one with a period. If they are not complete sentences, no punctuation is needed at the end of each item unless your list completes a sentence that began in the introductory line. In that case, treat the last item as the end of a sentence and punctuate accordingly.
The Serial Comma in Running Text
When you list items within a sentence rather than as a displayed list, APA requires the serial comma, also called the Oxford comma. That means a comma before "and" in a list of three or more items. "The study examined age, gender, and education level" is correct. Omitting the comma before "and" is an APA error even if it is acceptable in other style guides.