The most appropriate way to present competences is in the form of lists. When writing lists, bear in mind the following points.

• Write a clear heading and/or a short introductory phrase.
• Ensure that every item on the list is grammatically connected to the heading or the introductory phrase.
• Give every item on the list the same grammatical structure (see Parallelism). Different lists may have different grammatical structures.
• Be consistent with punctuation. If the phrase introducing the list is a complete sentence, close it with a colon and then give each item on the list sentence-style punctuation (initial capital letter and final full stop). If the phrase introducing the list is a sentence fragment, do not close it with a colon, lowercase the first letter of each item and finish each item with a comma or semicolon (except the last, which you should finish with a full stop).

Lists of competences can be expressed in several ways. The example below is a list of general competences expressed as noun phrases. Note that the gerund form (-ing) functions as a noun and therefore can be used in a list of nouns without breaking the parallelism.



Alternatively, you can list specific competences as infinitive phrases like this:



or like this:



In the examples above, note that the introductory phrase conditions the verbs you wish to use. The verb can or be able to refers to an ability to do something and, therefore, can only be used with dynamic verbs like explain or describe (verbs that express actions), not stative verbs like understand or know (verbs that express states).