The Language of Lists when Writing Academic Papers

The Language of Lists when Writing Academic Papers
Lists tend to make complex and potentially confusing information appear straightforward, logical and comprehensible. This means that lists are excellent tools for academic and scientific authors who need to communicate the processes and results of advanced research in ways that are visually and intellectually accessible. However, designing and constructing lists tend to be more complicated tasks than they might seem when enjoying the benefits of lists as a reader. A long list of complex items with a hierarchy of many levels requires serious thought in terms of content, layout and punctuation. Any list, even the shortest, also presents logical and grammatical concerns that require the scholarly writer’s attention if he or she wishes to communicate information with absolute clarity and produce prose of a professional standard.

Lists can only do well what they are intended to do if they are introduced in a way that explains both their function and content and creates a smooth and logical transition between the author’s running prose and the list. The following sentence, for example, links the scholarship already published on a medieval manuscript (scholarship that may have been reviewed in the preceding paragraphs of a paper) to a list of the central focuses of a current investigation. ‘Previous studies have focussed on palaeographical concerns, but we have adopted a wider codicological perspective, considering, in particular, seven key aspects of the manuscript: materials, content, scribes and scripts, decoration, marginalia, binding and provenance.’ Notice that a colon appears after the sentence or independent clause that introduces the list. The list itself could alternatively be displayed vertically instead of embedded as it is here, and were the list more detailed or longer, that would be an excellent format. After the list, the author’s argument should continue equally smoothly by discussing those ‘key aspects’ or their importance or something of the kind that logically follows from the information presented in the list.

Care should also be taken with the language used within the list itself. As a general rule, grammatical parallelism should be maintained among the items. This is particularly the case when a list is part of a complete sentence, so ‘She loves reading, writing and teaching’ is sound wording, and so is ‘There are three things she loves: reading, writing and teaching.’ ‘She loves reading, writing and to teach,’ on the other hand, is not, and neither is ‘There are three things she loves: reading, writing and to teach.’ These sentences are not strictly incorrect, grammatically speaking, because the infinitive ‘to teach’ can complete ‘she loves’ as correctly as the participle ‘teaching’ can, so the list could as effectively take this form: “She loves to read, write and teach.’ The switch between the participial and infinitive constructions within the same list is awkward, however, so maintaining the parallelism results in a better writing style and also increases the legibility and digestibility of a text for readers.

Grammatically incorrect constructions must always be avoided in lists, as indeed in all sentences in formal scholarly prose. Another example will clarify the difference between a simple lack of parallelism, and one that results in a grammatical error. In ‘The investigator spent weeks in the library, designed the methodology in his office and in the laboratory conducted his research,’ the last item strays from parallelism and also from the rules of English grammar because ‘The investigator…in the laboratory conducted his research’ does not retain the syntax required to convey the intended meaning. The problem can be resolved by observing parallelism in the last item as well: ‘The investigator spent weeks in the library, designed the methodology in his office and conducted his research in the laboratory.’

As a final note, keep in mind that lists are more visually accessible than many other parts of a document, so readers tend to return to lists when necessary to check definitions, categories, explanations and any other information presented there. It is therefore essential that all terminology, abbreviations, data and other material in a list are accurate and match the styles and forms used for them in the main discussion and other parts of the document. A confused reader returns to a list, much as he or she would to a table or figure, to find clarity and resolution, so more confusion is a frustrating reward.