Writing Tips

Spacing (3)

Our previous two tips on the subject of spaces discussed the use of soft and hard spaces (Spacing 1) and of the various sizes of spaces (Spacing 2). This tip looks at some common questions about when to use or omit standard word spaces.

The common questions of spacing all seem to revolve around constructions that use periods. These constructions fall into four categories:

• Abbreviations
• Personal initials
• Sentence endings
• Ellipses
   

Abbreviations
Spaces never appear in abbreviations that use internal periods. For example:

• M.D.
• a.m.
• U.S.A.
   

NOTE: In modern usage, many abbreviations that once required periods are no longer written using them. Examples include MD, DLitt, PhD, am, and pm. Geographic abbreviations typically retain their periods.

Personal Initials
Spaces always appear between multiple personal initials. For example:

• J. R. R. Tolkien
• C. S. Lewis
   

Sentence Endings
The question in the case of spacing between sentences is not "Does a space appear", but "Do I use one space, or two?"

From the birth of writing to the era of moveable type, no such question existed. Spaces in handwriting or carved print moulds were dictated by the writer's or carver's perception of what was appropriate. When moveable type became the chief method of printing, all word spaces were created by inserting at least one standard space sort (unit of metal type) between words. When the compositor neared the end of each line, more space sorts would be uniformly added to the existing spaces until the line was filled (justified). If the amount of space needed to fill the line was quite small, all of it might be added at an available sentence break.

All character sorts were proportional, of course; each sort was exactly the width necessary to accommodate the character and no more. Early typewriters essentially affixed a set of character sorts to mechanical arms that could be struck, one at a time, against a sheet of paper. These typewriters, being unable to "know" which character had just been struck and, therefore, unable to "decide" how far to move the carriage, required monospace characters: that is, characters that each occupy exactly the same horizontal space on the page. Popular widths included Pica (10 characters per inch) and Elite (12 characters per inch).

The visual effect of typewritten monospace characters was different from the proportional effect of moveable type. Monospace periods, being centred in the chosen character width (one-tenth or one-twelfth of an inch), were now set relatively far from the final word of each sentence. In typewritten texts, one space between words was fine, but two spaces seemed necessary to counter the apparent break between the final word of the preceding sentence and its period.

As typewriters and computers performed their mating dance, typewriters were gradually adapted to print proportional characters. But trained typists, with their deeply ingrained skills, retained the habit of inserting two spaces between sentences. And as newcomers were introduced to "keyboarding", they also picked up the habit.

Now that typewriters have almost gone the way of buggy whips, the habit remains and has become a subject of hot debate. So, what is the "correct" usage? One space, or two? The answer is a resounding "It depends."

To be strictly accurate, only one standard word space should be inserted between the end of one sentence and the start of the next. However, strict application of this rule in the world of automated composing systems can cause readability problems, because several factors affect how the spaces appear in the composed text. The factors that you need to consider, in order, are:

1. The specific font being used and its implementation by the font designer.
2. The algorithms being used by the composing system to determine standard word spacing, adjustments for justification, and kerning.
3. The tolerances that you have specified for word spacing and kerning, if you can specify those tolerances for your system.

The issue of spacing between sentences should therefore be settled for individual jobs, not applied across all projects as a standard. The choice will depend on the designer's choice of font, the client's choice of publishing tool, and the overall aesthetic effect. If readability won't suffer, only one space should appear between sentences; if readability is an issue, two spaces can be used. Whichever choice you make, ensure that it is implemented uniformly throughout the text.

Ellipses
When using ellipses in quoted excerpts, the placement of spaces varies with your preferred style guide. Here are the most authoritative regimens that have been established (all spaces are standard word spaces):

• Full spaces (recommended by The Chicago Manual of Style, 13th Ed.)

Words are omitted . . . within this complete sentence.

A partial, but syntactically complete, sentence is quoted. . . . Another sentence follows.

A partial, but syntactically incomplete, sentence . . .

. . . the end of a sentence is quoted.
 

• Space before and after (recommended by The Canadian Style, 1985)

Words are omitted ... within this complete sentence.

A partial, but syntactically complete, sentence is quoted.... Another sentence follows.

A partial, but syntactically incomplete, sentence ...

... the end of a sentence is quoted.