Sentence spacing - wikipedia Sentence spacing Sentence spacing is the horizontal space between sentences in typeset text. It is a matter of typographical convention. Since the introduction of movable - type printing in Europe, various sentence spacing conventions have been used in languages with a Latin alphabet. These include a normal word space ( as between the words in a sentence ), a single enlarged space, and two full spaces. Until the 20th century, publishing houses and printers in many countries used additional space between sentences. There were exceptions to this traditional spacing method -- some printers used spacing between sentences that was no wider than word spacing. This was French spacing -- a term synonymous with single - space sentence spacing until the late 20th century. With the introduction of the typewriter in the late 19th century, typists used two spaces between sentences to mimic the style used by traditional typesetters. While wide sentence spacing was phased out in the printing industry in the mid-20th century, the practice continued on typewriters and later on computers. Perhaps because of this, many modern sources now incorrectly claim that wide spacing was created for the typewriter. The desired or correct sentence spacing is often debated but many sources now say additional space is not necessary or desirable. From around 1950, single sentence spacing became standard in books, magazines and newspapers, and the majority of style guides that use a Latin - derived alphabet as a language base now prescribe or recommend the use of a single space after the concluding punctuation of a sentence. However, some sources still state that additional spacing is correct or acceptable. The debate continues. Many people prefer double sentence spacing for informal use because that was how they were taught to type. There is a debate on which convention is more readable ; the few recent direct studies conducted since 2002 have produced inconclusive results. Contents 1 History 1.1 Traditional typesetting 1.2 Mechanical type and the advent of the typewriter 1.3 Transition to single spacing 2 Modern literature 2.1 Typography 2.2 Style and language guides 2.2. 1 Style guides 2.2. 2 Language guides 2.3 Grammar guides 3 Computer era 4 Controversy 5 Effects on readability and legibility 5.1 Studies 6 See also 7 References 7.1 Notes 7.2 Bibliography 8 Further reading 9 External links History Main article : History of sentence spacing Traditional typesetting Above : Widely spaced sentences in typeset text with, at minimum, an em - space between sentences ( 1909 ). Below : French spaced typeset text ( 1874 ) Shortly after the invention of movable type, highly variable spacing was created that could create spaces of any size, and allowed for perfectly even justification. Early American, English, and other European typesetters ' style guides ( also known as printers ' rules ) specified spacing standards that were all essentially identical from the 18th century onwards. These guides -- e.g., Jacobi in the UK ( 1890 ) and MacKellar, Harpel, and De Vinne ( 1866 -- 1901 ) in the U.S. -- indicated that sentences should be em - spaced, and that words should be 1 / 3 or 1 / 2 em - spaced. The relative size of the sentence spacing would vary depending on the size of the word spaces and the justification needs. For most countries, this remained the standard for published work until the 20th century. Yet, even in this period, there were publishing houses ( notably in France ) that used a standard word space between sentences -- a technique called French spacing. Mechanical Type and the advent of the typewriter Mechanical type systems introduced near the end of the 19th century, such as the Linotype and Monotype machines, allowed for some variable sentence spacing similar to hand composition. Just as these machines revolutionized the mass production of text, the advent of the typewriter around the same time revolutionized the creation of personal and business documents. But the typewriters ' mechanical limitations did not allow variable spacing -- typists could only choose the number of times they pressed the space bar. Typists in some English - speaking countries initially learned to insert three spaces between sentences to approximate the wider sentence spacing used in traditional printing, but later settled on two spaces, a practice that continued throughout the 20th century. This became known as English spacing, and marked a divergence from French typists, who continued to use French spacing. Transition to single spacing In the early 20th century, some printers began using one and a half interword spaces ( an `` en quad '' ) to separate sentences. This standard continued in use, to some extent, into the 1990s. Magazines, newspapers, and books began to adopt the single space convention in the United States in the 1940s and in the United Kingdom in the 1950s. Typists did not move to single spacing simultaneously. The average writer still relied on the typewriter to create text -- with its inherent mechanical spacing limitations. Technological advances began affecting sentence spacing methods. In 1941, IBM introduced the Executive, a typewriter capable of proportional spacing -- which had been used in professional typesetting for hundreds of years. This innovation broke the hold that the monospaced font had on the typewriter, reducing the severity of its mechanical limitations. By the 1960s, electronic phototypesetting systems ignored runs of white space in text. This was also true of the World Wide Web, as HTML normally ignores additional spacing, although in 2011 the CSS 2.1 standard officially added an option that can preserve additional spaces. In the 1980s, desktop publishing software provided the average writer with more advanced formatting tools. By the late 20th century, literature on the written word had begun to adjust its guidance on sentence spacing. Modern literature Typography Early positions on typography ( the `` arrangement and appearance of text '' ) supported traditional spacing techniques in English publications. In 1954, Geoffrey Dowding 's book, Finer Points in the Spacing and Arrangement of Type, underscored the widespread shift from a single enlarged em space to a standard word space between sentences. With the advent of the computer age, typographers began deprecating double spacing, even in monospaced text. In 1989, Desktop Publishing by Design stated that `` typesetting requires only one space after periods, question marks, exclamation points, and colons '', and identified single sentence spacing as a typographic convention. Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works ( 1993 ) and Designing with Type : The Essential Guide to Typography ( 2006 ) both indicate that uniform spacing should be used between words, including between sentences. More recent works on typography weigh in strongly. Ilene Strizver, founder of the Type Studio, says, `` Forget about tolerating differences of opinion : typographically speaking, typing two spaces before the start of a new sentence is absolutely, unequivocally wrong. '' The Complete Manual on Typography ( 2003 ) states that `` The typewriter tradition of separating sentences with two word spaces after a period has no place in typesetting '' and the single space is `` standard typographic practice ''. The Elements of Typographic Style ( 2004 ) advocates a single space between sentences, noting that `` your typing as well as your typesetting will benefit from unlearning this quaint ( double spacing ) Victorian habit ''. David Jury 's book, About Face : Reviving the Rules of Typography ( 2004 ) -- published in Switzerland -- clarifies the contemporary typographic position on sentence spacing : Word spaces, preceding or following punctuation, should be optically adjusted to appear to be of the same value as a standard word space. If a standard word space is inserted after a full point or a comma, then, optically, this produces a space of up to 50 % wider than that of other word spaces within a line of type. This is because these punctuation marks carry space above them, which, when added to the adjacent standard word spaces, combines to create a visually larger space. Some argue that the `` additional '' space after a comma and full point serves as a `` pause signal '' for the reader. But this is unnecessary ( and visually disruptive ) since the pause signal is provided by the punctuation mark itself. Style and Language guides Main article : Sentence spacing in language and style guides Traditional spacing examples from the 1911 Chicago Manual of Style Style guides Early style guides for typesetting used a wider space between sentences than between words -- `` traditional spacing '', as shown in the illustration to the right. During the 20th century, style guides commonly mandated two spaces between sentences for typewritten manuscripts, which were used prior to professionally typesetting the work. As computer desktop publishing became commonplace, typewritten manuscripts became less relevant and most style guides stopped making distinctions between manuscripts and final typeset products. In the same period, style guides began changing their guidance on sentence spacing. The 1969 edition of the Chicago Manual of Style used em spaces between sentences in its text ; by the 2003 edition it had changed to single sentence spacing for both manuscript and print. By the 1980s, the United Kingdom 's Hart 's Rules ( 1983 ) had shifted to single sentence spacing. Other style guides followed suit in the 1990s. Soon after the beginning of the 21st century, the majority of style guides had changed to indicate that only one word space was proper between sentences. Modern style guides provide standards and guidance for the written language. These works are important to writers since `` virtually all professional editors work closely with one of them in editing a manuscript for publication ''. Late editions of comprehensive style guides, such as the Oxford Style Manual ( 2003 ) in the United Kingdom and the Chicago Manual of Style ( 2010 ) in the United States, provide standards for a wide variety of writing and design topics, including sentence spacing. The majority of style guides now prescribe the use of a single space after terminal punctuation in final written works and publications. A few style guides allow double sentence spacing for draft work, and the Gregg Reference Manual makes room for double and single sentence spacing based on author preferences. Web design guides do not usually provide guidance on this topic, as `` HTML refuses to recognize double spaces altogether ''. These works themselves follow the current publication standard of single sentence spacing. The European Union 's Interinstitutional Style Guide ( 2008 ) indicates that single sentence spacing is to be used in all European Union publications -- encompassing 23 languages. For the English language, the European Commission 's English Style Guide ( 2010 ) states that sentences are always single - spaced. The Style Manual : For Authors, Editors and Printers ( 2007 ), first published in 1966 by the Commonwealth Government Printing Office of Australia, stipulates that only one space is used after `` sentence - closing punctuation '' and that `` Programs for word processing and desktop publishing offer more sophisticated, variable spacing, so this practice of double spacing is now avoided because it can create distracting gaps on a page. '' National languages not covered by an authoritative language academy typically have multiple style guides -- only some of which may discuss sentence spacing. This is the case in the United Kingdom. The Oxford Style Manual ( 2003 ) and the Modern Humanities Research Association 's MHRA Style Guide ( 2002 ) state that only single spacing should be used. In Canada, both the English and French language sections of the Canadian Style, A Guide to Writing and Editing ( 1997 ), prescribe single sentence spacing. In the United States, many style guides -- such as the Chicago Manual of Style ( 2003 ) -- allow only single sentence spacing. The most important style guide in Italy, Il Nuovo Manuale di Stile ( 2009 ), does not address sentence spacing, but the Guida di Stile Italiano ( 2010 ), the official guide for Microsoft translation, tells users to use single sentence spacing `` instead of the double spacing used in the United States ''. Language guides Some languages, such as French and Spanish, have academies that set language rules. Their publications typically address orthography and grammar as opposed to matters of typography. Style guides are less relevant for such languages, as their academies set prescriptive rules. For example, the Académie française publishes the Dictionnaire de l'Académie française for French speakers worldwide. The 1992 edition does not provide guidance on sentence spacing, but is single - sentence - spaced throughout -- consistent with historical French spacing. The Spanish language is similar. The most important body within the Association of Spanish Language Academies, the Real Academia Española, publishes the Diccionario de la Lengua Española, which is viewed as prescriptive for the Spanish language worldwide. The 2001 edition does not provide sentence spacing guidance, but is itself single sentence spaced. The German language manual Empfehlungen des Rats für Deutsche Rechtschreibung ( `` Recommendations of the Council for German Orthography '' ) ( 2006 ) does not address sentence spacing. The manual itself uses one space after terminal punctuation. Additionally, the Duden, the German language dictionary most commonly used in Germany, indicates that double sentence spacing is an error. Grammar guides A few reference grammars address sentence spacing, as increased spacing between words is punctuation in itself. Most do not. Grammar guides typically cover terminal punctuation and the proper construction of sentences -- but not the spacing between sentences. Moreover, many modern grammar guides are designed for quick reference and refer users to comprehensive style guides for additional matters of writing style. For example, the Pocket Idiot 's Guide to Grammar and Punctuation ( 2005 ) points users to style guides such as the MLA Style Manual for consistency in formatting work and for all other `` editorial concerns ''. The Grammar Bible ( 2004 ) states that `` The modern system of English punctuation is by no means simple. A book that covers all the bases would need to be of considerable breadth and weight and anyone interested in such a resource is advised to consult the Chicago Manual of Style. '' Computer era Main article : Sentence spacing in digital media In the computer era, spacing between sentences is handled in several different ways by various software packages. Some systems accept whatever the user types, while others attempt to alter the spacing, or use the user input as a method of detecting sentences. Computer - based word processors, and typesetting software such as troff and TeX, allow users to arrange text in a manner previously only available to professional typesetters. The text editing environment in Emacs uses a double space following a period to identify the end of sentences unambiguously ; the double space convention prevents confusion with periods within sentences that signify abbreviations. How Emacs recognizes the end of a sentence is controlled by the settings sentence - end - double - space and sentence - end. The vi editor also follows this convention ; thus, it is relatively easy to manipulate ( jump over, copy, delete ) whole sentences in both emacs and vi. The Unix typesetter program troff uses two spaces to mark the end of a sentence. This allows the typesetter to distinguish sentence endings from abbreviations and to typeset them differently. Early versions of troff, which only typeset in fixed width fonts, would automatically add a second space between sentences, which were detected based on the combination of terminal punctuation and a line feed. Microsoft Word does not treat sentences differently by default, but the grammar checking can be set to prefer a specific number of spaces between sentences. TeX typesets an `` intersentence space '' after a period unless the period follows a capital letter ( as in initials ) or it is instructed otherwise. This is a variable space that is normally wider than an `` interword space ''. On some modern touch - screen platforms, including Android and iOS, typing two spaces in a row is automatically interpreted to mean the end of a sentence, and a period is automatically inserted. However, only one space is retained. Multiple spaces are eliminated by default in most World Wide Web content, regardless of whether they are associated with sentences or not. There are options for preserving spacing, such as the CSS white - space property, and the < pre > tag. Twitter retains extra spaces in user input on their website. HTML also includes several other space entities which are not collapsed, such as an em space, an en space, and a non-breaking space. Some Unicode space characters are also not collapsed on the web. Controversy James Felici, author of the Complete Manual of Typography, says that the topic of sentence spacing is `` the debate that refuses to die... In all my years of writing about type, it 's still the question I hear most often, and a search of the web will find threads galore on the subject. '' This subject is still widely debated today. Many people are opposed to single sentence spacing for various reasons. Some state that the habit of double spacing is too deeply ingrained to change. Others claim that additional space between sentences improves the aesthetics or readability of text. Proponents of double sentence spacing also state that some publishers may still require double - spaced manuscript submissions from authors. A key example noted is the screenwriting industry 's monospaced standard for screenplay manuscripts, Courier, 12 - point font, although some works on screenwriting indicate that Courier is merely preferred -- proportional fonts may be used. Some reliable sources state simply that writers should follow their particular style guide, but proponents of double spacing caution that publishers ' guidance takes precedence, including those that ask for double sentence spaced manuscripts. One of the most popular arguments against wider sentence spacing is that it was created for monospaced fonts of the typewriter, and is no longer needed with modern proportional fonts. However, proportional fonts existed together with wide sentence spacing for centuries before the typewriter, and remained for decades after its invention. When the typewriter was first introduced, typists were most commonly taught to use three spaces between sentences. This gradually shifted to two spaces, while the print industry remained unchanged in its wide em - spaced sentences. Some sources now state it is acceptable for monospaced fonts to be single spaced today, although other references continue to specify double spacing for monospaced fonts. The double space typewriter convention has been taught in schools in typing classes, and that remains the practice in many cases. Some voice concern that students will later be forced to relearn how to type. Most style guides indicate that single sentence spacing is proper for final or published work today, and most publishers require manuscripts to be submitted as they will appear in publication -- single sentence spaced. Writing sources typically recommend that prospective authors remove extra spaces before submitting manuscripts, although other sources state that publishers will use software to remove the spaces before final publication. In academic publications, Elsevier uses French spacing but Springer uses a wider space between sentences than between words. Effects on readability and legibility Main article : Sentence spacing studies Claims abound regarding the legibility and readability of the single and double sentence spacing methods -- by proponents on both sides. Supporters of single spacing assert that familiarity with the current standard in books, magazines, and the Web enhances readability, that double spacing looks strange in text using proportional fonts, and that the `` rivers '' and `` holes '' caused by double spacing impair readability. Proponents of double sentence spacing state that the extra space between sentences enhances readability by providing clearer breaks between sentences and making text appear more legible, particularly noting the very small visual difference between a dot and a comma. However, typographic opinions are typically anecdotal with no basis in evidence. `` Opinions are not always safe guides to legibility of print '', and when direct studies are conducted, anecdotal opinions -- even those of experts -- can turn out to be false. Text that seems legible ( visually pleasing at first glance ) may be shown to actually impair reading effectiveness when subjected to scientific study. Studies Direct studies on sentence spacing include those by Loh, Branch, Shewanown, and Ali ( 2002 ) ; Clinton, Branch, Holschuh, and Shewanown ( 2003 ) ; and Ni, Branch, and Chen ( 2004 ), with results favoring neither single, double, nor triple spacing. The 2002 study tested participants ' reading speed for single and double sentence spaced passages of on - screen text. The authors stated that `` the ' double space group ' consistently took longer time to finish than the ' single space ' group '' but concluded that `` there was not enough evidence to suggest that a significant difference exists ''. The 2003 and 2004 studies analyzed on - screen single, double, and triple spacing. In both cases, the authors stated that there was insufficient evidence to draw a conclusion. Ni, Branch, Chen, and Clinton conducted a similar study in 2009 using identical spacing variables. The authors concluded that the `` results provided insufficient evidence that time and comprehension differ significantly among different conditions of spacing between sentences ''. See also Leading Scriptio continua References Notes Jump up ^ University of Chicago Press 2003, Chicago Manual of Style. p. 243 ; Einsohn 2006. p. 113 ; Shushan and Wright 1989. p. 34. Jump up ^ Languages with Sanscrit, Cyrillic, cuneiform, hieroglyphics, Chinese, and Japanese characters, among others, are not covered in the scope of this article. Handwriting is also not covered. ^ Jump up to : Felici 2009 Jump up ^ In the 1990s, some print and Web sources began referring to double sentence spacing as `` French spacing '', leading to some ambiguity with the term. See for example, Eckersley et al. 1994. p. 46, and Haley 2006. ^ Jump up to : Bringhurst 2004. p. 28. Jump up ^ Felici 2003. p. 80 Jump up ^ Jury 2009. p. 58 Jump up ^ Jury 2009. p. 57 ; Williams 2003. p. 13 ; Fogarty 2008. p. 85 Jump up ^ Felici 2003. p. 80 ; Fogarty 2008. p. 85 ; Jury 2009. p. 56 ; Strizver 2010 ; Walsh 2004. p. 3 ; Williams 2003. pp. 13 -- 14. Jump up ^ Williams 2003. pp. 13 -- 14. This refers to professionally published works, as it is possible for individual authors to publish works through desktop publishing systems. Williams states, `` I guarantee this : never in your life have you read professionally set text printed since 1942 that used two spaces after each period. '' See also, Felici 2003, p. 81 ; Strizver 2010 ; Weiderkehr 2009 ; Williams 1995. p. 4. Jump up ^ Fogarty, Mignon ( 2008 ). Grammar Girl 's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. New York : Holt Paperbacks. p. 85. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8050 - 8831 - 1. ; Kristi Leonard ; et al. ( 1 February 2003 ). `` The Effects of Computer - based Text Spacing on Reading Comprehension and Reading Rate ''. IVLA. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2010. ^ Jump up to : Strizver 2010. Jump up ^ Lloyd and Hallahan 2009. `` During times when many disciplines that recommend the APA 's Publication Manual ( 6th ed., 2009 ) are advocating evidence - based decisions, it 's noteworthy, we think, that these discussions of the rationale for using two spaces at the end of sentences ( and after colons ) do not appear to be based on scientific examination of the hypothesis that two spaces makes manuscripts more readable. '' Jump up ^ DeVinne 1901. p. 142. Jump up ^ Jacobi 1890. Jump up ^ MacKellar 1885 ; Harpel 1870. p. 19 ; DeVinne 1901. p. 78. Jump up ^ Chicago University Press 1911. p. 101. Variable - spaced text ( professionally typeset ) is unlikely to result in a sentence space exactly twice the size of a word space ( which can be seen with a typewriter or monospaced font ). Variables such as whether a 1 / 3 or 1 / 2 word space is used, and whether the text is justified or unjustified, will vary the difference between a sentence space and word space. Jump up ^ Felici 2009. Felici illustrates that there are other examples of standard single word spaces used for sentence spacing in this period. Jump up ^ Dodd 2006. p. 73 ; Mergenthaler Linotype 1940. ^ Jump up to : One or two spaces after a period ? How about three ? Jump up ^ Jury 2009. p. 58. This primarily refers to the United States and Great Britain. Jump up ^ Imprimerie nationale 1993. Jump up ^ Osgood 1919 Jump up ^ Adams, et al. 1996. p. 24. Adams, Faux, and Rieber say, `` For most composition, the em quad is used to indent the first line of a paragraph, the en quad is used to separate sentences, and the 3 - em space is placed between words. '' An en is half an em and a 3 - em space is a third of an em, so the space between sentences would be 1.5 times the space between words. Jump up ^ Felici 2009 ; University of Chicago Press 2009 ; Williams 2003. p. 14. ^ Jump up to : Wershler - Henry 2005. pp. 254 -- 255. Jump up ^ Lupton 2004. p. 165. HTML normally ignores all additional horizontal spacing between text. Jump up ^ How many spaces at the end of a sentence ? One or two ? Jump up ^ `` Cascading Style Sheets Level 2 Revision 1 ( CSS 2.1 ) Specification ''. 7 June 2011. 16.6. pre-wrap : This value prevents user agents from collapsing sequences of white space. Jump up ^ Jury 2009. p. 57. Jump up ^ American Medical Association 2007. p. 917. Jump up ^ Dowding 1995. Jump up ^ Shushan and Wright 1989. p. 34. Jump up ^ Craig 2006. p. 90 ; Spiekermann and Ginger 1993, p. 123. Jump up ^ Felici 2003. pp. 80 -- 81. Jump up ^ Jury 2004. p. 92. Jump up ^ De Vinne 1901 ; University of Chicago Press 1911 ; Hart 1893. Jump up ^ Garner, Newman and Jackson 2006 ; `` So I ask you ( authors ) : space twice after every period '', Nina K. Hoffman, `` Typesetters Blues '', in Rusch and Smith 1990, p. 113. Jump up ^ For example, the 15th Edition of the Chicago Manual of Style states that `` A single character space, not two spaces, should be left after periods at the ends of sentences ( both in manuscript and in final, published form ) and after colons. University of Chicago Press 2003 Chicago Manual of Style. p. 61. Jump up ^ University of Chicago Press 1969 Manual of Style ( commonly referred to as the Chicago Manual of Style, and titled thus in recent editions ( first edition published in 1906. ) The 1969 edition of the Manual of Style shows em spacing after sentences in the manuscript example ( page 41 ), but single spacing in the typset example ( p. 73 ). Jump up ^ Hart 1983 Jump up ^ American Sociological Association. ^ Jump up to : Fogarty 2008. p. 85 ; Leonard, et al. 2009. Jump up ^ Lutz and Stevenson 2005. p. viii. Jump up ^ Ritter 2003. The 2003 edition of the Oxford Style Manual combined the Oxford Guide to Style ( first published as Horace Hart 's Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford in 1893 ) and the Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors ( first published as the Authors ' and Printers ' Dictionary in 1905 ) Preface. Jump up ^ University of Chicago Press Chicago Manual of Style 2010. Jump up ^ Fogarty 2008. p. 85. Jump up ^ Sabin 2005. pp. 5 -- 6. Jump up ^ Lupton 2004. p. 165. Jump up ^ Strunk and White 1999. ( 1st edition published in 1918. ) ; Council of Science Editors 2006. ( 1st edition published in 1960. ) ; American Medical Association 2007. ( 1st edition published in 1962. ) Jump up ^ Publications Office of the European Union 2008. ( 1st edition published in 1997. ) This manual is `` obligatory '' for all those in the EU who are involved in preparing EU documents and works ( 1 ). It is intended to encompass 23 languages within the European Union ( 2 ). Jump up ^ European Commission Directorate - General for Translation. p. 22. ( 1st edition published in 1982. ) `` Note in particular that... stops (. ? ! : ;) are always followed by only a single ( not a double ) space. '' Jump up ^ John Wiley & Sons Australia 2007. p. 153. The Commonwealth is an organization of 54 English - speaking states worldwide. Jump up ^ Ritter 2003 Oxford Style Manual, 2003. p. 51. ( First published as the MHRA Style Book in 1971. ) `` In text, use only a single word space after all sentence punctuation. '' ; Modern Humanities Research Association 2002. p. 6. Jump up ^ Dundurn Press 1997. p. 113. ( 1st edition published in 1987. ) ; Public Works and Government Services of Canada 2010. p. 293. `` 17.07 French Typographical Rules -- Punctuation : Adopt the following rules for spacing with punctuation marks. ( table ) Mark : Period, before : none, after : 1 space. '' Jump up ^ University of Chicago Press 2003 Chicago Manual of Style. p. 61. `` 2.12 A single character space, not two spaces, should be left after periods at the ends of sentences ( both in manuscript and in final, published form ). '' p. 243. `` 6.11 In typeset matter, one space, not two ( in other words, a regular word space ), follows any mark of punctuation that ends a sentence, whether a period, a colon, a question mark, an exclamation point, or closing quotation marks. '' p. 243. `` 6.13 A period marks the end of a declarative or an imperative sentence. It is followed by a single space. '' Jump up ^ Lesina 2009. ( 1st edition published in 1986. ) `` Prefazione : Il manuala intende fornire una serie di indicazioni utili per la stesura di testi di carattere non inventive, quali per esempio manuali, saggi, monografie, relazioni professionali, tesi di laurea, articoli per riviste, ecc. '' ( Trans : `` ( S ) tyle manual for academic papers, monographs, professional correspondence, theses, articles, etc. ) Preface ; Carrada 2010. `` Roberto Lesina, Il nuovo manuale di stile, Zanichelli 2009. L'unico vero manuale di stile italiano, di cui nessun redattore può fare a meno ''. ( Trans : `` The only real Italian style guide, a must - have for any writer ''. ) The 2009 edition is itself single sentence spaced. Jump up ^ Microsoft 2010. p. 4.1. 8. `` Assicurarsi ad esempio che tra la fine e l'inizio di due periodi separati da un punto venga usato un unico spazio prima della frase successiva, invece dei due spazi del testo americano... A differenza di altre lingue, non va inserito nessuno spazio prima dei segni di punteggiatura. '' ( Trans. `` Make sure that between two sentences separated by a period a single space is used before the second sentence, instead of the double spacing used in the United States... Contrary to other languages, no space is to be added before punctuation marks. '' ) Jump up ^ Académie française 1992. French is spoken in 57 countries and territories throughout the world, including Europe, North America, and Francophone Africa. Qu'est - ce que la Francophonie ? Archived 23 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Real Academia Española 2001. p. 2. Jump up ^ Council for German Orthography 2010. Jump up ^ Bibliographisches Institut AG 2010. Jump up ^ Bibliographisches Institut AG 2010. The Duden was the primary orthography and language guide in Germany until the German orthography reform of 1996 created a multinational council for German orthography for German - speaking countries -- composed of experts from Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The current version of the Duden reflects the most recent opinions of this council. Jump up ^ Bringhurst 2004. p. 30. Bringhurst implies that additional spacing after terminal punctuation is redundant when combined with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. Other sources indicate that the function of terminal punctuation is to mark the end of a sentence and additional measures to perform the same measures are unnecessary. Jump up ^ Baugh 2005. p. 200 ; Cutts 2009. p. 79 ; Garner 2009. p. 935 ; Lester 2005 ; Loberger 2009. p. 158 ; Stevenson 2005. p. 123 ; Straus 2009. p. 52 ; Strumpf. p. 408 ; Taggart 2009. Jump up ^ Baugh 2005. p. 200 ; Hopper 2004 ; Stevenson 2005. p. 123. Jump up ^ Fogarty 2008. p. 85 ; Loberger 2009. p. 158. Jump up ^ Stevenson 2005. pp. xvi, 123. Jump up ^ Strumpf 2004. p. 408. Jump up ^ Felici 2003. 80 ; Fogarty 2008. p. 85 ; Fogarty 2009. p. 78 ; Fondiller and Nerone 2007. 93 ; Garner, Newman and Jackson 2006. 83 ; Modern Language Association 2009 77 ; Straus 2009. p. 52. Jump up ^ Stallman, Richard. `` The GNU Emacs Manual ''. Free Software Foundation. Retrieved 25 November 2011. Jump up ^ Ossana, Joseph. `` Nroff / Troff User 's Manual '' ( PDF ). Jump up ^ Ossanna, Joseph F. ( 11 October 1976 ). NROFF / TROFF Users 's Manual. Murray Hill, New Jersey : Bell Laboratories. p. 12. Retrieved 3 August 2015. Jump up ^ Williams 2003, p. 13. Jump up ^ Williams 95, p. 1 ; Sabin 2005. pp. 5 -- 6. Jump up ^ Trotter 1998, p. 112. Trottier refers to Courier as the industry `` standard ''. Jump up ^ Russin and Downs 2003, p. 17. The authors state that `` Courier 12 - point is preferred, although New York, Bookman, and Times will do ''. Allen 2001 Moira Anderson Allen suggests that publishers are more interested in readable fonts as opposed to maintaining a fixed - width font standard. Jump up ^ Loberger 2009, p. 158 ; Stevenson 2005, p. 123 ; Sambuchino 2009, p. 10. Jump up ^ Bringhurst 2004, p. 28 ; Felici 2003, p. 80 ; Fogarty 2008, p. 85 ; Jury 2009, p. 56 ; Shushan and Wright 1989, p. 34 ; Smith 2009 ; Straus 2009, p. 52 ; Strizver 2010 ; Walsh 2004, p. 3 ; Williams 2003, p. 13. Jump up ^ Sabin 2005, p. 5 Jump up ^ Garner, Newman, and Jackson 2006. `` Continue the custom ( of double spacing ) only if you use a typewriter or the Courier font. '' Jump up ^ Lloyd and Hallahan 2009. Jump up ^ University of Chicago Press 2010, p. 60 ; Lutz 2005, p. 200 ; Modern Language Association 2009, pp. 77 -- 78. Jump up ^ Modern Humanities Research Association 2002, p. 6 ; Sabin 2005, p. 5 ; Felici 2003, p. 81 ; Fogarty also stated in Grammar Girl 's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing that numerous page designers have contacted her, stating that the presence of two spaces between sentences requires them to edit the pages to remove the extra spaces Fogarty 2008, p. 85. Jump up ^ University of Chicago Press 2010, p. 83 ; The 16th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style instructs editors to remove extra spaces between sentences when preparing a manuscript for publication ; also Weiderkehr 2009. Jump up ^ Williams 2003. 13 ; Smith 2009. Jump up ^ Jury 2004. 92 ; Williams 1995. Jump up ^ Wheildon 1995. p. 13. Jump up ^ Tinker 1963. p. 50. Jump up ^ Tinker 1963. pp. 88, 108, 127, 128, 153 ; Wheildon 1995. pp. 8, 35. Jump up ^ Tinker 1963. pp. 50, 108, 128. A useful example is the Helvetica font, an ubiquitous font that is considered to be visually pleasing in the construction and viewing of its characters, but has been found to impair reading effectiveness ( readability ). See Squire 2006. p. 36. Jump up ^ Leonard, et al. 2009. Jump up ^ Loh et al., 2002. p. 4. Jump up ^ Clinton 2003. The study did not find `` statistically significant differences between reading time of single and double space ( d ) passages ''. Jump up ^ Ni et al. 2009. pp. 383, 387, 390. This study `` explored the effects of spacing after the period on on - screen reading tasks through two dependent variables, reading time and reading comprehension ''. Bibliography Académie française ( 1992 ). Dictionnaire de l'Académie française : Tome 1, A -- Enz ( in French ) ( Neuvième ed. ). Paris : Artheme Fayard. 830 pages. ISBN 2 - 7433 - 0407 - 3. Adams, J. Michael ; Faux, David D. ; Rieber, Lloyd J. ( 1996 ). Printing Technology ( 4th ed. ). Delmar Publishers. ISBN 0827369077. Allen, Moira Anderson ( 2001 ). `` A Quick Guide to Manuscript Format ''. Retrieved 22 October 2013. This article originally appeared on Inkspot. Editor of editor of Writing-World.com, the author has written more than 300 published articles. 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Question: when did one space after a period start
Answer: around 1950