In any list, put commas between the items but “and” between the last two items, generally without a comma, e.g. I saw the boy and the girl together. I went to the shop to buy butter, meat, bread, jam and tomato sauce.
A list of any sort should be introduced with an appropriate sentence or phrase. Each item of the list should follow on logically and grammatically from the introductory phrase or sentence, e.g.
Other suggestions are:
- little mathematical content,
- a focus on learning scientific principles, and
- optional topics to be included such as the Chemistry of Art.
In this list, each item is “run on” from the introductory sentence and so is essentially part of or “run on from” that sentence. In fact, three dots (…) is an alternative to the colon at the end of the introductory sentence.
Items in a list will start with a capital letter only if each item is a complete sentence, for example:
When the students spoke to the teacher, she made the following statements:
- You must do your homework.
- All homework must be brought in on the day it is due.
- If your homework is not ready on time, you must talk to me before the class begins.
- If you do not have a written excuse from your parents or a doctor explaining why you could not finish the homework on time, you will have to stay behind after school to finish it then.
