CONTENTS FEATURE: How to itemize: Let us list the ways GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn up to $500 FEATURE: How to itemize: Let us list the ways      From the time children begin to speak and write, they learn to organize collections of items and ideas into lists. They list the names of friends they'd like to invite to birthday parties, presents they would like to receive, and their favorite flavors of ice cream. In school they memorize lists of states, continents, presidents, cloud formations, and chemical and algebraic formulas. They track the rankings of sports teams, and they listen to radio stations that create lists of the most popular songs. Despite how long they've been exposed to lists, writers in adulthood often stumble, however, when trying to incorporate lists into narrative text.      They may be uncertain about whether or not to use a colon to introduce a list, or may capriciously choose an introductory word or phrase that doesn't clearly define the nature of the list or the relationships among the listed items.      Rosters of items can be composed as integral parts of sentences in narrative text, or expressed as a sequence demarcated by bullets, numerals or letters in a vertical list.      In an annual report, a company might explain its market niche in narrative form—by saying, for example, we manufacture four product lines: optoelectronic chips, transmission laser modules, pump laser modules and pump stabilizers.      Commas were used to separate the items in that simple list. If any of the components in a list consist of two or more parts separated by a coordinating conjunction ("and," "or"), use semicolons rather than commas to separate the major elements of the list—for example, we manufacture four product lines: optoelectronic chips based on both gallium arsenide and indium phosphide; transmission laser and detector modules; pump laser modules for terrestrial and submarine applications; and filters, gain equalizers and pump stabilizers.      Here's how the same list can be expressed in vertical annotated form. We manufacture four product lines: optoelectronic chips based on both gallium arsenide and indium phosphide transmission laser and detector modules pump laser modules for terrestrial and submarine applications filters, gain equalizers and pump stabilizers.      If listed items consist of phrases or sentence fragments (as in the previous product lines example), lowercase them and omit closing punctuation after all but the last item; if they are each complete sentences, use initial capitals and close each with a period, as shown in the next example. To advance the city formation proposal, proponents must follow a requisite sequence of steps: Form a steering committee. Hire consultants and legal counsel. Gather and analyze data. Present community discussion forums. Draft a ballot measure and obtain a sufficient number of signatures of registered voters to qualify it for placement on the ballot.      Although the colon commonly is used to introduce lists, it is appropriate only if the introductory statement is a complete sentence. The listed items that follow the colon do not have to consist of complete sentences.      A colon should be used if the introductory sentence ends with as follows or the following. Some discriminating writers find those phrases stiff and unimaginative—and awkward if they appear in the middle of the introductory sentence rather than immediately preceding the colon. When properly used, the colon is a substitute for the word "namely." It correlates to an "equal" sign. Consequently, compose your list introductions so that the word immediately preceding the colon identifies the subject that the list enumerates, as shown in this sequence. The following three markets are identified as the company's most profitable: Denver, Boise and Spokane. (awkward) The company's most profitable markets are as follows: Denver, Boise and Spokane. (less objectionable) The company identified its three most profitable markets: Denver, Boise and Spokane. (improved) The previous example discussed profitable markets—namely, the three cities identified immediately following the colon. The markets = Denver, Boise and Spokane. The need for the colon could be eliminated by writing The company's three most profitable markets are Denver, Boise and Spokane.      Make certain that you do not insert a colon between a preposition and its object. On their drive from Dallas to Memphis, the students stopped for meals in: Sulphur Springs, Texarkana and Little Rock. (wrong) On their drive from Dallas to Memphis, the students stopped for meals in the cities of: Sulphur Springs, Texarkana and Little Rock. (wrong) On their drive from Dallas to Memphis, the students stopped for meals in three cities: Sulphur Springs, Texarkana and Little Rock. (correct) On their drive from Dallas to Memphis, the students stopped for meals in Sulphur Springs, Texarkana and Little Rock. (correct)      Likewise, do not insert a colon between a verb and its object. In her new role, Suzanne manages: payroll, employee benefits and training. (wrong) In her new role, Suzanne manages three units: payroll, employee benefits and training. (correct) In her new role, Suzanne manages payroll, employee benefits and training. (correct)      Do not use a colon in combination with like, such as, for example, including or includes when they are used as introductory words or phrases. This pesticide controls a broad spectrum of crop-damaging insects, such as: aphids, leafhoppers, thrips, mites and beetles. (wrong) This pesticide controls a broad spectrum of crop-damaging insects, such as aphids, leafhoppers, thrips, mites and beetles. (correct)      That second example is correct only in a purely grammatical sense. It is flawed, however, because it is imprecise. What does the phrase "insects such as aphids, leafhoppers, thrips, mites and beetles" really communicate? What characteristics other than crop destruction do they have in common? Does the pesticide control only those specific insects, or does it suppress others as well? If so, what are the insect species parameters within which the pesticide is effective?      Use of the phrase "such as" often constitutes lazy writing. The same can be said of the terms "contain," "involve," "encompass," "include" and "including."      A college's description of one of its master's degree programs declared that the required courses include Proseminar to the Criminal Justice System; Policy and Decision Making in Criminal Justice; Intermediate Quantitative Methods (Statistics); Advanced Theoretical Criminology; and Sociological Research Methods. That statement is vague, because it does not clarify whether or not that list of course requirements is comprehensive.      The verb "include" suggests that items listed are representative samples of a larger list. Choose other phraseology—such as comprise, constitute, consist of, composed of or made up of—if the list is complete. The U.S. Mission in Angola consists of four agencies: the Department of State; the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); the Department of Defense; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Use of the phrase "consists of" clarifies that the list is comprehensive.      Be cautious, therefore, when choosing a verb to introduce a list. We offer one more suggestion: Even though Yul Brynner used the phrase "et cetera" memorably in the musical production South Pacific, expunge it from your writing. A skin-care article describing eczema said, "The most common materials which cause allergy are nickel, rubber etc." Because the connection between nickel and rubber was unexplained, the reader is left to wonder which additional materials, if any, were omitted. The use of "etc." (a Latin term that means "and others" or "and so forth") strongly communicates that the writer was either too hurried, lazy or unsure of the subject matter to be more specific.      We hope these tips will help prevent your writing from becoming listless. GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions 1. Cynthia F.wrote:      "I am trying to address a judge while referring to his court. Is 'Your Honor's Court' correct?" The grammar coach replies:      Courtroom protocol is beyond our area of expertise, but well within that of a friend of ours—Barry Melton, public defender in Yolo County, Calif. So we consulted him.      "Your Honor's Court" would NOT be correct," he told us. "'Your Honor' and 'The Court' are—for most purposes—synonymous. For example, in seeking permission to do something from a court, 'I would request permission of the Court to...,' or 'Your Honor, I would request that...' would both be appropriate."      Melton explained that he and other attorneys practicing in Yolo County and other counties within the Third Appellate District Court jurisdiction are bound by "California Local Court Rules" governing courtroom decorum.      "Attorneys should be impersonal toward the court and should address the court in the third person, as 'The court will remember the testimony,' not, 'You will remember,'" Melton said. "When the judge is on the bench, he or she may be addressed as 'Your Honor,' but never as 'You' or 'Judge.' Counsel should 'invite,' not 'direct,' the court's attention. The proper form of an opening statement or argument should be, 'May it please the court,' not, 'If the court please.'" 2. Andi Z. wrote:      "[In the phrase] 'the date marks the 10 year anniversary of,' should there be a hyphen between '10' and 'year'?" The grammar coach replies:      Yes, indeed, a hyphen is required in your phrase "The date marks the 10-year anniversary of..." because "10-year" functions as a compound adjective modifying the noun "anniversary." A hyphen would be unnecessary, however, if the phrase "10 years" forms a different part of speech—for example, the direct object of a verb as in, "this anniversary commemorates 10 years of our organization's existence"; or if it is the sentence subject as in, "10 years have passed since our organization was established."      Are you perplexed by some aspect of grammar or word usage? Don't be shy! Ask the "grammar coach" at EditPros and we'll try to help—at no charge, just for the sport of it. FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn a finder's fee of up to $500      Do you know of a friend or colleague whose office can benefit from EditPros services? If you do, EditPros may reward you with a "finder's fee" of up to $500.      EditPros LLC, established in 1993, performs writing, editing, proofreading and publication management services for newsletters, brochures, Web sites, annual reports, research studies, business proposals, and other informational and marketing materials. Our office is in Davis, Calif., between Sacramento and San Francisco; however, our clients include educational institutions, private corporations, health-care organizations, trade associations, scientific research institutions, Web site developers and government agencies from throughout the United States. We have worked with some of them for more than 10 years.      If you recommend our services to a friend or business colleague, and that introduction leads to an assignment for EditPros, we will award you a "finder's fee" equaling 10 percent of the amount we earn on the first assignment for the new client, up to a maximum finder's fee of $500. Naturally, the finder's fee is applicable only to clients for which we have not worked previously.      This offer will remain in effect until further notice. 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