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7.67 Numbering

Numbers and letters, enclosed in parentheses or followed by a closing parenthesis or period, are used to introduce items in lists where precedence or sequence is important:

The tasks assigned to the committee are as follows:

(a) setting up safety programs
(b) monitoring the programs
(c) dealing with employee complaints
(d) maintaining complete records
(e) making recommendations

Punctuation can be omitted after each item if the items are brief. Otherwise, a comma, semicolon or period is generally used.