Single space after a period is right. Double spaces is wrong. Really.

November 7th, 2011

I don’t actually know why, but when I write. I put one space after each period. I can’t remember why I learned to do this, and sometimes when I write, I feel a little pang of guilt with this feeling like maybe I should be putting two spaces. I learned to type on a manual typewriter in high school. But I’m lazy, so I put one. Recently, I read this article in Slate, entitled ” Two spaces after a period: Why you should never, ever do it.” and I am now guilt free. If you type, it’s great reading. Excellent for cocktail “did you know that…” conversations.

Jill
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J. Olkoski
Aldebaran Web Design, Seattle
Jill Olkoski has a BS in Engineering, a BS in Computer Science and an MA in Clinical Psychology. She delights in using her advanced technical and psychological skills to help small business owners develop cost-effective and successful websites.

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2 Responses to “Single space after a period is right. Double spaces is wrong. Really.”

Dean Says:
November 9th, 2011 at 7:29 am
“So, kids, if your teachers force you to use two spaces, send them a link to this article.” There is nothing in this article that clearly defines the rule for spacing. He argues for a single space. He references typography experts that are trying to save space on a page.
Since many people learned typing on a typewriter, this was the rule. There has been nothing published that says you should not use 2 spaces. On webpages, it makes sense. In books, the words are justified, so there needs to be a distinction between sentences.
Jill Olkoski Says:
November 9th, 2011 at 9:13 am
Hi Dean,
He seems to offer several resources that can be checked to see if this rule is true. At least for online writing (what I do), it makes sense.

And as an FYI, my partner just published a book – and the publisher (Dogwise) insisted on single space after periods. Even Wikipedia says single spaces are the proper spacing. So from what I can tell, it sure does look like it’s the standard for both written and web print. I looked through many of the books on my shelf – all single spaces after periods – even with justification.