Using capital letters and full-stop in bullet points

Question

This question may be related with this question. I come to the direct point. I am confused with the usage of bullet points. Is is necessary to capitalize the first letter in each bullet point? Also, is it necessary to put full-stop at the end of a bullet point?

Answer 1

Bullet points signify a list. A list can be anything from full sentences to single words. Here are three examples that are all correct:

1 - sentences

There are many things we must do today:

• We have to get up.
  
• We have to eat breakfast.
• We have to brush our teeth.

2 - phrases, punctuated

There are many things we must do today:

• get up,
  
• eat breakfast, and
• brush our teeth.

3 - phrases, not punctuated

There are many things we must do today:

• get up
  
• eat breakfast
• brush our teeth

Personally, I prefer versions 1 and 2. Punctuating a bulleted list as it would be punctuated in running text makes its syntactic structure apparent and helps the reader follow your argument in their mind.

You may want to think of the bulleted list as the "folded out" version of running text. For example 1:

There are many things we must do today: We have to get up. We have to eat breakfast. We have to brush out teeth.

and for example 2:

There are many things we must do today: get up, eat breakfast, and brush our teeth.

Make sure your list actually makes sense and adds clarity. Outside of PowerPoint presentations, bulleted lists are often unnecessary and put visual emphasis on the wrong parts of your writing.

Answer 2

This is purely a matter of style. It depends on where the writing is being published and what the content is. House style will usually dictate if you use periods/full stops at the end of bullet points which are not sentences, if you are allowed to use commas or prohibited from using them, if you should or should not use capital letters, and so on.

I prefer capital letters to start bullets and periods for full sentences but not fragments, but that's just my aesthetic choice.