L

Latinx, Latino/a

> See: nationality and race

lawmaker (noun)

less

Should not be used for fewer. Less refers to quantity; fewer refers to number.

The college had fewer students this term.
NOT The college had less students this term.

life-size (adj.)

NOT life-sized

lifestyle (noun)

One word

lifetime (noun)

One word

lists

There are two styles of lists: run-in style and outline (vertical) style. Whatever style you use, it is important to be consistent in use. According to CMS (6.128) run-in style works better with short, simple lists. Use outline lists if you want the copy to be prominent, it's particularly long, or it has multiple levels of information.

Outline lists can be ordered or unordered. See CMS 6.130 for more information. Use consistency in punctuation, capitalization, and length in lists.

Run-in style

Enumerated lists, those that take letters or numbers, can remain in running text if they are short and not too numerous. Numbers or letters should be in parentheses, and commas should separate items. The first letters of items in run-in lists should be lowercased.

The theory is founded on (1) generally accepted principles, (2) verifiable scientific facts, and (3) anecdotal information.

Outline style

If the items to be listed are too extensive or complex to list in run-in style, the list should follow outline style by beginning each item on a separate line. Vertically listed items should be bulleted.

Avoid punctuation and uppercasing in vertical lists unless the item contains multiple sentences and/ or proper nouns. Do not use "and" before the final item.

The school's sports program includes:

• baseball
• football
• softball
• track
• soccer

Investigators drew several conclusions about the crime scene:

Police officers followed procedures to the letter.
Physical evidence was altered by natural circumstances.
The victim failed to report the crime immediately.

The required reading material includes the following:

For Whom the Bell Tolls, which is one of several Hemingway books to be read this year.
The Grapes of Wrath, which is a Steinbeck classic set during the Depression.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens—the oldest book on the reading list—is the first one we will discuss.