Should there be 1 space or 2 after a period?
Nearly all style guides agree that one space is correct. 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.
Why you should never use two spaces after a period?
Monospaced type gives you text that looks “loose” and uneven; there’s a lot of white space between characters and words, so it’s more difficult to spot the spaces between sentences immediately. Because we’ve all switched to modern fonts, adding two spaces after a period no longer enhances readability, typographers say.
Should I put a space after a period?
So which is it? 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.
Are there 2 spaces after a period?
Unless you are typing on an actual typewriter, you no longer have to put two spaces after a period. Or a question mark. Or an exclamation point. The rule applies to all end punctuation.
Does Chicago Style recommend more than one space after a period?
Neither Chicago nor AP nor any other style that we know of—including APA, as of the seventh edition of its style manual, published in late 2019—recommends more than one space after a period. See our post on this subject and its long history at CMOS Shop Talk.
Is there more than one space after a period in APA?
Neither Chicago nor AP nor any other style that we know of—including APA, as of the seventh edition of its style manual, published in late 2019—recommends more than one space after a period. See our post on this subject and its long history at CMOS Shop Talk. Q. When did CMOS first recommend one space (instead of two) after periods and colons?
Why is there no double space after a period in word?
So spacing became automatic. Style manuals quickly adopted rules that relied on those word processors, thereby banning the double space practice. Just last year, Microsoft Word began flagging two spaces after a period as a misspelling.
Do you follow the Chicago Manual of style?
Most style manuals, including the Chicago Manual of Style, also advocate the single space. So if you follow a style manual, you may be obliged to follow its guidance…like it or not. But even if you don’t follow a style manual, think about your manner of committing words to a page.