Are you supposed to put two spaces after a period?
Very few style guides advise using two spaces after a period. The APA, Chicago Manual of Style, AP and US Government Printing Office Style Manual all recommend a single space between sentences. The contemporary benefits of using it are few, aside from taking up more space on a page.
Does APA require one or two spaces after a period?
Use one space after a period (or other punctuation mark at the end of a sentence) when writing in APA Style. However, if your instructor or non-APA publisher has other requirements (e.g., to use two spaces), follow their specifications. This guidance has been revised from the 6th edition. American Psychological Association. (2019).
Do you put a space after a period?
As a general rule, put one space after a period, comma, colon, semicolon, question mark, or exclamation point. But if a closing quotation mark immediately follows any one of these marks, don't insert a space between the two marks. Here's how that looks in American English : John said he was tired.
How many spaces after a period in MLA format?
The MLA Style Center Leave one space after a period or other concluding punctuation mark, unless your instructor prefers two spaces. Whichever spacing you choose, be sure to use it consistently throughout your paper. See the MLA's formatting guidelines for more information.
How many spaces after a period?
When to use single space?
When did the two space rule start?
About this website
Two Spaces After a Period or Just One? Please Get It Right!
In the The Complete Manual of Typography, author James Felici writes the early history of typing was an exercise in inconsistency.But in the early 20th century, European typesetters began to settle on a single space and America followed soon after. Most style manuals, including the Chicago Manual of Style, also advocate the single space.
When did it change from two spaces to one space after a period?
Answer (1 of 5): The rule changed when we switched from typewriters to word-processing software. Typewriters (most of them, at least) allowed the same horizontal space for every letter, no matter its actual width. A space was allotted the same width. You needed two spaces after a period to give a...
How many spaces are there between the end of a sentence and the beginning of another?
These days, depending on what you’re reading, you can find either one or two spaces between the end of one sentence and the beginning of another.
Why do we need double space in sentences?
Although there has been plenty of back-and-forth on the topic, a recent study may have concluded why many people still prefer seeing a double space between sentences: that extra space can help you read faster. While it may only cut down on reading time by a few seconds, some people can find that time invaluable.
Why do we need double space?
Once considered an advanced form of technology themselves, older typewriters were known to produce uneven or unpredictable line spacing. A double space between the end of one sentence and the beginning of another helped to create some uniformity on the page, and made typed pages easier to read.
Is single space correct?
According to the AP Stylebook, single-spacing is correct. The same goes for the Chicago Manual of Style. However, the Modern Language Association Style Center offers different advice, and suggests that writers use a single space after a period unless they have been explicitly told otherwise.
Is it better to give space bar a single tap?
Since either way can be considered correct, depending on the audience you’re writing for, the right answer seems to be to err on the side of caution and give that space bar a single tap. Not only is it the more widely acceptable method, it saves space (no pun intended) which can be especially important when working with limited character use—we’re looking at you, Twitter!
How many spaces after a period?
The point is, it's not only widely accepted, it's expected that you use only one space after a period. Sorry two-spaces, it's time to make the switch.
Why do we have two spaces after a period?
A: The "two spaces after period" rule was established during the days of typesetters, when additional space was needed to show the difference between the spacing between words (which was smaller) and the spacing between sentences (which was larger). When typewriters came around, they had only one font and all the letters were monospaced, or took up the same amount of space. That means that the skinny “l” and wider “w” occupied the same amount of space on paper. People mimicked what they believed to be the format they'd grown used to by adopting two spaces after a period—and that's how the so-called two-space rule was born.
How to replace double spaces with single spaces?
QUICK TIP FOR THOSE WHO USE TWO SPACES: If you are someone who can't break your two spaces after a period habit, have no fear! Simply write as you always would (with two spaces) and, when you are finished, got to the toolbar of your word processing program, click EDIT > FIND > REPLACE, and then choose to replace all double spaces with single spaces. Problem solved!
Do you always use a single space after a period?
And, according to nearly all stylebooks, including The Associated Press Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style, you always use a single space after a period.
How many spaces after a period on a typewriter?
Of course, if you're still using a typewriter, feel free to continue putting two spaces after a period. (And don't forget to change the ribbon now and then.)
Why is there a second space in a sentence?
With modern word-processing programs, a second space is not only inefficient (requiring an extra keystroke for each sentence) but potentially troublesome: it can cause problems with line breaks. In most cases, computers use proportional fonts so that a single keystroke creates the proper space between sentences.
Do you put a period after a knackered?
In either case, don't insert a space between the period and the closing quotation mark.
Do you put two spaces after a period?
If you grew up using a typewriter, you were probably taught to put two spaces after a period (a practice called English spacing ). But like the typewriter itself, that custom went out of fashion many years ago.
Why do you need two spaces after a period?
The extra space was needed to delineate the beginning of a new sentence because the spacing between words was uneven on a typewriter.
How many spaces after a period in APA?
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) was the only style guide that overtly recommended two spaces after a period, and even that long-time holdout for two spaces changed its guideline to one space in its 2019 update. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (MLA) waffles.
Why do typewriters use extra space after punctuation?
Because there is so much extra spacing in the typewritten monospace font, writers using typewriters needed the extra space after punctuation to indicate a full stop, such as a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
What is monospaced typesetting?
Typewriters gave every character the same space on the screen. This is called monospaced typesetting.
How to remove extra space in Word?
Use the "Find and Replace" option in your word processor (Control + F on most systems) to remove the extra space. In more recent versions of Word, look for the Replace in the Home ribbon at the top of the screen.
When did Microsoft change to one space?
Additionally, the American Psychological Association’s Publication Manual, after decades of recommending two spaces changed their recommendation to one space in its most recent update in October, 2019.
Is it correct to have two spaces after a period?
UPDATE: As of April 24, 2020, Microsoft has settled the great space debate, and sided with everyone who believes one space after a period is correct, not two. The software giant has started to update Microsoft Word to highlight two spaces after a period as an error, and to offer a correction to one space. Microsoft recently started testing this change with the desktop version of Word, offering suggestions through the Editor capabilities of the app.
How many spaces after a period?
While there are many formal rules for punctuation marks and formatting, it’s easy to get tripped up on whether to use one or two spaces after a period. Learn why two spaces were originally used after a period and why the general rule today is to use one space after a period.
When to use single space?
Single spaces should also follow commas, as well as periods after abbreviations.
When did the two space rule start?
The two-space rule took hold in the early twentieth century and became the norm in many high school typing classes. Eventually, sophisticated typewriters and word processing software like Microsoft Word introduced proportional fonts, which made it easier to distinguish the period at end of a sentence as a full stop.
