How to Revise Bullet Lists for Grammatical Consistency

How to Revise Bullet Lists for Grammatical Consistency How to Revise Bullet Lists for Grammatical Consistency How to Revise Bullet Lists for Grammatical Consistency By Mark Nichol Bullet lists distinguished from numbered lists in that they do not imply a priority or chronology in the order in which the list items appear are useful for when a list becomes too unwieldy to be formatted in line (within a sentence), but just as in a sentence’s in-line list, the bullet list’s grammatical structure should be coherent. Here are three bullet lists I obtained from a job listing (a format that frequently exhibits grammatical infelicities and thus amuses job-seeking wordsmiths attuned to irony), each followed by a syntactically sound revision: 1. Original â€Å"This position is responsible for: Writing and/or editing in all media Assures quality for engaging audience Coordinates flow of information to achieve news cycle deadlines Creative Designer Contributes to high-performing teamwork Continuously seeks and applies learning to enhance skills and performances† 1. Revision â€Å"This position is responsible for writing and/or editing in all media assuring quality for engaging the audience coordinating flow of information to achieve news-cycle deadlines creatively designing presentation of content contributing to high-performing teamwork continuously seeking and applying learning to enhance skills and performances† Note that the colon in the introductory phrase has been omitted because the bullet-list items consecutively complete that phrase; it’s incorrect whether in line or in a bullet list to write, â€Å"This position is responsible for: writing and/or editing in all media . . . .† (It is acceptable to follow each bullet list item with a comma, with the conjunction and following the next-to-last comma, and include a period after the last item, which more accurately replicates an in-line list’s structure, but these additions are superfluous.) Most important, however, the verb(s) in each item now take an identical inflectional ending (-ing). The list could also, by revision of the introductory phrase, allow a simple verb form (-s), requiring alteration only of the verb form of the first item and an extension of â€Å"Creative Designer† into a complete thought: â€Å"The content manager writes and/or edits in all media† (etc.) 2. Original â€Å"Job Requirements: Applicants should have at least three years of daily newspaper copy editing and design experience. Exceptional Writing Proficiency Strong Proofreading and editing skills Experience in page design and layout on pagination systems like Quark or InDesign. Must understand that journalists are held to a higher standard and must follow strict ethical rules, such as not accepting gifts from sources; not putting political bumper stickers on their cars; etc. all outlined in The New York Times Co.s ethical policies. Knowledge of best practices in page design, typography, use of space and photography. 2. Revision â€Å"Applicants must have at least three years of daily newspaper copyediting and design experience, exceptional writing proficiency, strong proofreading and editing skills, experience in page design and layout on pagination systems like Quark or InDesign, and knowledge of best practices in page design, typography, use of space, and photography. Applicants must also understand that journalists are held to a higher standard and must follow strict ethical rules such as not accepting gifts from sources and not putting political bumper stickers on their cars all outlined in The New York Times Co.’s ethical policies.† The original introductory phrase is correctly punctuated because it is a fragment that sets up but is not syntactically continuous with each of the items that follow it. However, the items are inconsistent as to whether they are phrases or complete sentences and in terminal punctuation. In my revision, I created a new introductory phrase that can apply to all bullet list items (except the one about ethical rules, which I broke out as a separate paragraph because of its length and nonparallel structure and note the revision of its own in-line list), and I lowercased several words that were gratuitously capitalized. This scheme now matches that of the first bullet list with one exception: Here, for illustration, I have included optional internal punctuation in the bullet list, which I discussed but recommended against in my annotation of the previous example. 3. Original We are looking for candidates who have the following qualities: Quality Orientation Strong Work Standards Exceptional Communication Skills Ability to manage work Contributing to team success Proven decision making skills Building strategic working relationships Active Learning 3. Revision â€Å"We are looking for candidates who have the following qualities: quality orientation strong work standards exceptional communication skills ability to manage work desire to contribute to team success proven decision-making skills aptitude for building strategic working relationships active learning† This list was easier to fix: The introductory phrase, which comes to a halt, is correctly punctuated, and the items were mostly consistent in their phrase form. (Inconsistency in grammatical form between one list and another in a piece of content is acceptable, but lists should be internally consistent.) I simply removed unnecessary capitalization and rephrased two of the items to describe qualities rather than actions. For more tips about bullet lists, check out this post, and search the site for â€Å"lists† and â€Å"bullet lists† to find others. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Examples of Passive Voice (And How To Fix Them)The Possessive ApostropheThe Difference Between "Shade" and "Shadow"

Using the Spanish Verb Sentir

Using the Spanish Verb Sentir Sentir is a very common verb that typically means to feel. It usually refers to feeling emotions, but it can also refer to physical sensations. The Difference Between Sentir and Sentirse Sentir commonly appears in the reflexive form sentirse. The difference in using sentir and sentirse is that sentir is typically followed by a noun, while sentirse is followed by an adjective or adverb describing how a person feels. Otherwise their meanings are essentially the same. Here are some examples of sentir used to describe emotional feelings: El atleta dijo que sentà ­a alegrà ­a y satisfaccià ³n por el logro del campeonato. (The athlete said he felt joyful and satisfied about attaining the championship.)Siento pena y tristeza por ello. (I feel shameful and sad about it.)Se siente feliz por ser abuela. (She feels happy about being a grandmother.)Me siento enojada y frustrada. (I feel angry and frustrated.) Here are examples of sentir being used with physical sensations. Although in most of these cases you could probably translate sentir as to sense, usually it would be better to translate based on the context: Puedo sentir pasos en la azotea. (I can hear footsteps on the roof.)Él me dijo que sentà ­a olor a muerte. (He told me he smelled death.) When sentirse de refers to a body part, it usually indicates the sensation of pain: Me siento de la cabeza. (I have a headache.) Standing by itself, sentir can indicate sorrow or regret: Lo siento mucho. Im very sorry. Using Sentir in Phrases It is common to use sentir as part of a phrase. Although you may not use feel in the most natural translation, often you can determine the meaning of the phrase from the individual words. Some examples: sentir algo por una persona (to have love or similar feelings for someone): Decirte que ya no siento algo por ti serà ­a mentir. (To say I no longer have feelings for you would be lying.) sentir celos (to be jealous): Cree que sà ³lo sienten celos las personas inseguras. (She believes that only insecure people have jealousy.) sentir culpa, sentirse culpable (to feel guilty): No sentà ­a culpa por lo que acababa de hacer. (He did not feel guilty for what he had just done.) sentir ganas de infinitivo (to feel like doing something): Siento ganas de llorar cuando pienso en el accidente. (I feel like crying when I think about the accident.) sentir que (to be sorry or sad that): Siento que mi color de piel ha cambiado. (I am sad the color of my hair has changed.) hacer sentir (to cause a feeling in someone): A veces nos hacemos adictos a alguien que nos hace sentir bien. (Sometimes we become addicted to someone who makes us feel good.) sin sentir (without being noticed): Tomà © la medicina sin sentir ninguna diferencia en mi vida. (I took the medicine without noticing any difference in my life.) This phrase is sometimes best translated literally:  ¿Cà ³mo es posible que te lo diga sin sentir? (How is it possible that she told you that without any feeling?) Using Sentir as a Noun Sentir also can be used as a noun to refer to feelings or sentiments: El sentir y el pensar son dos funciones de la mente. (Feeling and thinking are two functions of the mind.)El presidente representa el sentir del pueblo. (The president represents the feelings of the people.)Tenà ­a una vida dedicada a la promocià ³n del sentir indà ­gena. (He had a life dedicated to the promotion of indigenous sentiment.)Las almas no nos permitieron matar sin sentir. (Our souls did not allow us to kill unfeelingly.)Entiende muy bien el sentir de la calle. (He understands very well the feelings on the street.) Conjugation of Sentir Keep in mind that sentir  is irregularly conjugated. When it is stressed, the sent- of the stem changes to sient-, as in siento, I feel. And in some but not all forms, the stem changes to sint-, as in sintià ³, he or she felt. Unfortunately, this second stem change doesnt occur in a predictable way. The conjugation pattern is shared by about three dozen other verbs. Among them are consentir (to allow), convertir (to change), mentir (to lie), and preferir (to prefer). Also, the conjugated forms of sentir overlap with those of sentar, which means to sit. For example, siento can mean either I feel or I sit. This overlap is seldom a problem because the two verbs are used in such different contexts. Key Takeaways Sentir is a common Spanish verb that typically means to feel, especially in an emotional or mental sense.There is usually little difference in meaning between sentir and its reflexive form, sentirse.Sentir is conjugated irregularly in that its stem sometimes changes to sient- or sint-.