Punctuating titles

Do not add a full stop GB or period US at the end of a one-sentence title. For example:

The Merchant of Venice
Not: The Merchant of Venice.

However, if your title is a question, a question mark should always be added:

Nature or Nurture?
Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?

Subtitles

Subtitles are usually separated from their main title by a colon or dash:

A Whole New Ball Game: A Recent Discovery in Meso-America
A Whole New Ball Game – A Recent Discovery in Meso-America

Punctuating captions to figures

Do not add a full stop GB or period US at the end of a figure caption or legend unless it is more than one sentence long. For example:

Figure 3.3 Population growth since 1900

Figure 3.4 Population growth since 2000. Shaded areas show recent changes in Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and the Americas.

Punctuating bullets

Do not add a full stop GB or period US at the end of a bullet unless it is a full sentence or more than one sentence long. Similarly, do not add commas at the end of bullets. For example:

  • Apples
  • Oranges
  • Strawberries
  • Bananas

Not

  • Apples,
  • Oranges,
  • Strawberries,
  • Bananas.

However, a question mark should always be used if your bullet is a question:

  • What kind of fruit is it?
  • What shape is it?
  • Where does it come from?
  • What does it taste like?

Furthermore, be consistent in whether you begin bullets with a capital or small letter, for example:

  • Apples
  • Oranges
  • Strawberries
  • Bananas

Or

  • apples
  • oranges
  • strawberries
  • bananas

Not

  • apples
  • Oranges
  • strawberries
  • Bananas