I agree that a list is much easier to deal with than a paragraph. I tend to 'speed read' thru directions and hate searching for a specific instruction amid all their wordiness. I have often re-written the directions for myself so that I too can check off each step as I complete it.
As far as cutting x amount of strips and subcutting or the total number of specific squares needed--I would actually like to have both pieces of info just in case I decided to make the pattern with more than the specified colours.