Tip #002: Spaces after periods

08/06/2016 13:08

Do you put one space after a period or two? Seems like the English-writing population is divided on the subject. But they shouldn't be. Since early in the 20th century, typographers world-wide settled on one space after the period at the end of a sentence, and today no modern typographers double space after a period. The Chicago Manual of Style and the Modern Language Association Style Manual (the authorities) agree--only one space. Yet people at their computers constantly hit that space bar two times. Why? The brief era of the manual typewriter ruined us. The typewriter typed every letter and punctuation mark in equal space width. That was not a good thing; it was due to a shortcoming of the typewriter. Because of the typewriter's limitation, we got into the habit of hitting the space key twice for supposed clarity. But with today's computers, the reason no longer exists to double space! There is no reason for double spacing. Authorities urge against it. Hangers-on trap themselves into an outdated mode of typing based on the faults of a short-lived mechanical stepstone. So, then, when you type, place only one space after a period!