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This picture elegantly
captures the essence of the double space issue.
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Another point that comes up in almost
every manuscript I edit is the issue of whether to use one space or two spaces
after each period or sentence ending.
First, what method is technically
correct?
It seems that you won’t be slapped
on the wrist for using two spaces after punctuation, but in all the resources
that I’ve dug into on this subject, the leading authorities recommend using a
single space over the “outdated” double space method.
They say to use the single space
post-punctuation unless instructors or editors request a double space to adhere
to an in-house class or company code.
Some articles I found on the
subject were quite zealous about trying to prove double spacing is technically wrong.
Most were opinion pieces though. The actual style guides such as, the Modern
Language Association (MLA) and the Chicago Manual of Style Online say that
although adding two spaces after each punctuation is considered by most typographers
today to be discourageable, technically, unless in-house guidelines say otherwise,
the option is up to the writer.
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