Grammer a Week 11: Single vs. Double Spacing · 1:25am Apr 18th, 2015
This is Grammer a Week, the periodic blog program-thing where I address a frequently broken grammar rule and tell you how to fix it. This week's installment is about single vs. double spacing. Okay, I know I'm gonna step on some toes with this post, but in general, it's a good idea to leave only a single space after a period.
*ducks*
No flying keyboards? No pitchforks? Good. Now, let me present to you my case why single spacing is generally better nowadays.
If you grew up in my time or before, chances are you were taught to leave two spaces after every period. Leaving two spaces after a period makes sense in some cases, but in our modern world, it really doesn't anymore; it's an artifact of the past that has made it to the present because of momentum.
When using monospaced fonts, à la typewriter fonts (Courier), it actually does make
sense to leave two spaces after a period. Monospaced fonts by their nature have
rather inconsistent kerning between their letters; periods take up the same space
as an "m" character, for instance. This makes it rather difficult to find out when
a sentence ends and the next begins.
Double spacing after a period helps out a little. With the extra space between
sentences, it becomes easier to demarcate them. You've got both the extra space
between the sentences and the periods to help you.
But with proportional fonts with good kerning (Open Sans, Fimfiction's default font), double spaces are unnecessary. Instead of enhancing readability, they just leave holes in your text where sentences end. In fact, look at this post with squinted eyes. You might be able to see at a glance that some paragraphs are written with one space after a period, others with two (like this one!).
Most style guides these days are with me as well. The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), Modern Language Association (MLA), and Associated Press (AP) all recommend that you use one space after periods.
As a personal anecdote, I started my typing double spacing after periods. It was what my teachers taught me to do, and I had no reason to doubt them. Then in university, I started taking out those extra spaces to get more words per page (seriously). Once I went there, I suppose I got the typographer's eye; now, double spaced text just annoys me.
If you absolutely insist on double spacing after periods, I guess I can't stop you. If you do so, however, at the very least, abide by the golden rule of grammar: be consistent. Don't use single spaces here, double spaces there, and em quads in interesting places.Don't do what I did in this blog post.
Or you could just line break after every sentence? *
* But for reference, Randall Munroe actually does use a single space after his periods.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or comments, please post them below. I'm always open to suggestions for future Grammer a Week posts.
