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Q&A Dots in lists with mixed-width items

It is common to omit end-dots in lists with very short items: Shop list: * Milk * Bread * Probably eggs It is common to use end-dots in lists with long descriptive items: Things which should b...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by john c. j.‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:36:06Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/41312
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar john c. j.‭ · 2019-12-08T10:36:06Z (over 4 years ago)
It is common to omit end-dots in lists with very short items:

    Shop list:
    
    * Milk
    * Bread
    * Probably eggs

It is common to use end-dots in lists with long descriptive items:

    Things which should be researched for my research:
    
    * Blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah.
    * Blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah.
    * Blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah.

But what about 50/50 case?

    Some list:
    
    * Blah blah.
    * Blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah.
    * Blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah.
    * Blah blah.
    * Blah blah.
    * Blah blah.

Some another example for 50/50 case:

    Shop list:
    
    * Buy milk and bread.
    * Buy eggs. Hmm... Or maybe meat instead. What is better? I need to think about it some more.
    * Buy wine.
    * Buy cheese. Nota bene: it should have large holes in it. Never buy a cheese with small holes. Never.
    * Buy tomatoes.
    * Buy bottled water.

Should we use dots here? Should we avoid it? Or should we use them for items 2 and 3 only? What is the common/best practice?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-01-15T10:30:14Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 1