Format a list
Paste in a rough list and Proof Positive rewrites the items so they read as one consistent, parallel list, then formats them to Australian Government Style Manual rules. It works out whether you need a sentence, fragment or stand-alone list, fixes the wording, punctuation, capitals and bullet markers, and flags items that don't belong together. The AI drafts the rewrite; the rule engine then formats and re-checks it. Review the wording before you use it, as AI can sometimes change meaning.
Your content
lead-in or heading, then itemsFormatted list
ready to copyYour formatted list will appear here
List types at a glance
Sentence list
Use when each list item is a complete sentence. Items start with a capital letter and end with a full stop.
Fragment list
Use when each item is a phrase, not a sentence. Items start with a lower-case letter (except proper nouns) and only the last item has a full stop. With a phrase lead-in, each item completes it to make a full sentence.
Stand-alone list
Use with a heading only. Items start with capitals but have no punctuation at the end. Bullets are optional.
Numbered list
Use a numbered list only when the order matters – for instructions, a sequence of events or a ranking.
Multilevel list
Use sparingly and keep to 2 levels. Mark the second level with an en dash or a lower-case letter.
Items that start with a verb
Commands form a sentence list when the lead-in doesn’t name who acts (‘To write well:’). They form a fragment list when it does (‘The participants will:’).