Grammar Issue: Spacing After a Period

[Ar-Pharazon]

Since it was raised earlier - the most recent copy of the CMS I have access to (15th Edition) says a single space.

Frickin' revisionists.

 

[JoeZhang]

Back in the 80's I saw a PhD thesis where the candidate had neglected to put any spaces after a period. It was a royal pain in the ass to read. How the hell he got his doctorate, I'll probably never know, but apparently the examiners must not have required him to retype and resubmit it. Anyway, back then, the general rule in the UK was 2 spaces for typewritten manuscripts. As others have stated, word processing and proportional fonts have made the rule obsolete.

I read a PhD the other week that had bits in it like "ADD SOMETHING HERE", "FIX THIS" in red letters - it passed with minor corrections. That library copy is going to look good to future generations*



* well the two people who stumble across it.

 

[Trekker4747]

I was always taught two spaces after the end of a sentence as well, which is what I use in by writing, or the thing does it itself, I'm not sure anymore. In fact I'm fairly sure when I type I do it here too.

EDIT - Just went to check a post I made a few minutes a go and yes indeed I used a double space after the end of the sentences. (Had to check since checking here would be impossible because I was too aware of what the discussion was and my awareness would taint the results.)

 

[propita]

Regardless of what people use, when reading long paragraphs, does anyone find two spaces after a period to be easier to read? To me, the sentences visually run together more, whether on the screen or on paper, when one space is used. Maybe it’s just because I grew up on two spaces . . . .

 

[iguana_tonante]

I've read two-spaced text only sparingly in my life, and it always looked weird and awkward to me.

So I suppose it's all a matter of what you grew up with.

 

[RoJoHen]

Regardless of what people use, when reading long paragraphs, does anyone find two spaces after a period to be easier to read?

Yes, I do.

 

[Trekker4747]

Regardless of what people use, when reading long paragraphs, does anyone find two spaces after a period to be easier to read? To me, the sentences visually run together more, whether on the screen or on paper, when one space is used. Maybe it’s just because I grew up on two spaces . . . .

It's a bit easier to read, yes. But what I really wish people would get more in the habit of doing is two hard returns after the end of a paragraph, avoiding the big block of text.

 

[scotpens]

. . . It's a bit easier to read, yes. But what I really wish people would get more in the habit of doing is two hard returns after the end of a paragraph, avoiding the big block of text.

Even if the first lines of paragraphs are indented, there should always be a bit of space between paragraphs. The proper way is to use paragraph formatting to precisely control the space before and after paragraphs, rather that simply sticking in an extra carriage return. That way, if your text runs a bit longer or shorter than you'd like, you can expand or compress it by adjusting both the leading (space between lines of text) and paragraph spacing.

And those widow and orphan controls are way cool.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ A little extra space between paragraphs works for me.

Yeah, obviously. As with every convention, as long as it doesn't interfere with comprehension, it's mostly a matter of taste and preference. That doesn't stop me from taking the piss, tho.

I should hope not.

Regardless of what people use, when reading long paragraphs, does anyone find two spaces after a period to be easier to read? To me, the sentences visually run together more, whether on the screen or on paper, when one space is used. Maybe it’s just because I grew up on two spaces . . . .

Yes, I definitely think there should be more space between sentences than between individual words.

 

[propita]

Totally agree with the blank line between paragraphs on essays. After all, the point of such writings is communicating an idea to another. Why not make it easier to read? Making it difficult means the reader must split his/her focus. While this is likely small, it still interferes with communication, especially in long paragraphs.

 

[shivkala]

Growing up, we used MLA in high school and college, which said two-spaces. My master's and now my doctoral work use APA. APA 5th edition, which was in place when I started my master's said one-space. Currently, 6th edition is what we are expected to follow which says:

Spacing twice after punctuation marks at the end of a sentence aids readers of draft manuscripts.

 

[RoJoHen]

Yeah, MLA and APA are the only ones I was ever taught to use, so we followed the same rules.

 

[Vulcan Princess]

I'm a single space, Oxford comma kind of person. And for quotation marks, I prefer the British rule. (Period outside the quotation marks unless it's part of the quoted material.)

Fortunately, all of my preferences are accepted by Chicago Style, which is the one I use.

 

[beamMe]

It's true, we don't use typewriters anymore, but it's hard to unlearn something you've been doing your whole life. I was taught to type on an old Apple IIe computer. I don't know what the font was (other than green), but I was taught typewriter skills. I have no intention of changing they way I do things because it's really not a huge deal. I prefer the way paragraphs look with the double space.

Each and every book out there must be an eyesore for you, right?

 

[beamMe]

. . . It's a bit easier to read, yes. But what I really wish people would get more in the habit of doing is two hard returns after the end of a paragraph, avoiding the big block of text.

Even if the first lines of paragraphs are indented, there should always be a bit of space between paragraphs.

Good god, no!

I have yet to see a printed novel that has extra space between paragraphs; I see it in ebooks all the time though, unfortunately. It looks awful and is a waste of space.

 

[propita]

But printed novels aren’t quite single-space between lines, aren't they? They’re more like 1.5 space between lines, right?

As I posted, the point is to communicate the idea, not have the reader have to fight through the visual transcription to get to the idea.

Btw, I put THREE spaces between sentences on a prior post, to see if it would show. Nope, single space between sentences is what came up. Stuff like that is why people on this board tend to have blank lines between paragraphs and dislike block paragraphs.

 

[David cgc]

If you want your formatting preserved, you can always write it 
like this.  Sure, it's extra work, and looks funny, but it gets 
two-space sentences.  And indents, if that's your thing.
     Five space indentation.  That's the typewriter standard, IIRC. 
And here's an extra sentence, for the hell of it.

 

[RoJoHen]

It's true, we don't use typewriters anymore, but it's hard to unlearn something you've been doing your whole life. I was taught to type on an old Apple IIe computer. I don't know what the font was (other than green), but I was taught typewriter skills. I have no intention of changing they way I do things because it's really not a huge deal. I prefer the way paragraphs look with the double space.

Each and every book out there must be an eyesore for you, right?

At no point did I say it was difficult for me to read things with a single space.

 

[beamMe]

It's true, we don't use typewriters anymore, but it's hard to unlearn something you've been doing your whole life. I was taught to type on an old Apple IIe computer. I don't know what the font was (other than green), but I was taught typewriter skills. I have no intention of changing they way I do things because it's really not a huge deal. I prefer the way paragraphs look with the double space.

Each and every book out there must be an eyesore for you, right?

At no point did I say it was difficult for me to read things with a single space.

Who said anything about difficulties?

 

[beamMe]

If you want your formatting preserved, you can always write it 
like this.  Sure, it's extra work, and looks funny, but it gets 
two-space sentences.  And indents, if that's your thing.
     Five space indentation.  That's the typewriter standard, IIRC. 
And here's an extra sentence, for the hell of it.

That looks awkward.