Centered Text One Space

Use centered text sparingly.

I know that many people were taught to put two spaces between sentences. I was too. But these days, using two spaces is an obsolete habit. Some say the habit originated in the typewriter era. Others believe it began earlier. But guess what? It doesn’t matter. Because either way, it’s not part of today’s typographic practice. If you have to use a typewriter-style font, you can use two spaces after sentences. (These are also known as monospaced fonts.) Otherwise, don’t.

Indents

Use first-line indents that are one to four times the point size of the text, or use 4–10 points of space between paragraphs. Don’t use both.

Bus molorum con et ium volupta turest, eic tota alicide ntiuscil inciis de nimolupis a ipsam aliti commodi aces arumet ese nulloribus eos dolo ium quiaectem. Ugit volorentis voluptatem alignatem nobis doluptam simus enda coreiureiur, est anis nia

Multiple Word Spaces

Don’t use multiple word spaces or other white-space characters in a row.

If you thought that was the limit of word-space geekery, think again. Professional page-layout programs have even more choices. Adobe InDesign, for instance, supports the thin space, but also the third space, quarter space, sixth space, flush space, hair space, figure space, and punctuation space.

Always use hyphenation with justified text.

Hyphenations

In left-aligned text, hyphenation evens the irregular right edge of the text, called the rag. Hyphenation is optional for left-aligned text because the rag will still be somewhat irregular, even with hyphenation. Hyphenation doesn’t improve text legibility. In this case, consider turning it off.

Don’t confuse hyphens and dashes, and don’t use multiple hyphens as a dash.

A hyphen is used in phrasal adjectives (listener-supported radio, dog-and-pony show, high-school grades) to ensure clarity. Nonprofessional writers often omit these hyphens. As a professional writer, you should not.

Hyphens & Dashes

Ampersands

Use ampersands sparingly, unless included in a proper name.

&

Trademarks & Copyright

Symbols

Use proper trademark and copyright symbols—not alphabetic approximations. © 2023 MegaCorp™

Question mark & Exclamation

In a document longer than three pages, one exclamation point is plenty (see question marks and exclamation points).

Was Munchausen syndrome diagnosed before the 1960s?

Nonbreaking Space

Put a nonbreaking space after paragraph and section marks.

The seller can, under Business Law § 1782, offer a full refund to buyers. But ¶ 49 of the contract offers another option.

Apostrophes

Apostrophes point downward.

In the ’70s, rock ’n’ roll right losses at . . . banks right

Make ellipses using the proper character, not periods and spaces.

Left

There are five ways of arranging lines of type on page.The first is justified: all the lines are the same length and align both on the left and on the right. The second is unjustified: the lines are of diffferent lengths and align on the left and are ragged on the right. The third is a similar arrangement, expect now the lines align on the right and are ragged on the left.The fourth possibily is centered: the lines are of unequal lengths with both sides ragged. The fith possibilty is a random, or asymmetric,arrangement with no predicable patterns in the placemnt of the lines, limited only by the designer’s imagination.

Right

There are five ways of arranging lines of type on page.The first is justified: all the lines are the same length and align both on the left and on the right. The second is unjustified: the lines are of diffferent lengths and align on the left and are ragged on the right. The third is a similar arrangement, expect now the lines align on the right and are ragged on the left.The fourth possibily is centered: the lines are of unequal lengths with both sides ragged. The fith possibilty is a random, or asymmetric,arrangement with no predicable patterns in the placemnt of the lines, limited only by the designer’s imagination.

There are five ways of arranging lines of type on page. The first is justified: all the lines are the same length and align both on the left and on the right. The second is unjustified: the lines are of diffferent lengths and align on the left and are ragged on the right. The third is a similar arrangement, expect now the lines align on the right and are ragged on the left. The fourth possibily is centered: t he lines are of unequal lengths with both sides ragged. The fith possibilty is a random, or asymmetric,arrangement with no predicable patterns in the placemnt of the lines, limited only by the designer’s imagination.

Justified

There are five ways of arranging lines of type on page.The first is justified: all the lines are the same length and align both on the left and on the right. The second is unjustified: the lines are of diffferent lengths and align on the left and are ragged on the right. The third is a similar arrangement, expect now the lines align on the right and are ragged on the left.The fourth possibily is centered: the lines are of unequal lengths with both sides ragged. The fith possibilty is a random, or asymmetric,arrangement with no predicable patterns in the placemnt of the lines, limited only by the designer’s imagination.