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.
When did 2 spaces after a period change?
In
the April 2020 update
, Microsoft Word started highlighting two spaces after a period as an error, and offers a correction of one space.
Do you put 2 spaces after a period?
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.
How many spaces are supposed to be after a period?
It’s true that years ago, everyone used two spaces after a period and before the beginning of the next sentence. But these days, the rule is that all types of written material should use
one space
.
What style uses 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. Hence the adoption of the two-space rule—on a typewriter, an extra space after a sentence makes text easier to read.
How many spaces is needed before and after inserting a dash?
Sometimes confused with the hyphen, a dash comes between words as a form of division, whereas a hyphen generally joins words or parts of words to indicate a connection. When typing, use two hyphens together without spaces to form a dash.
Do not put a space before or after the dash
.
How many spaces should there be between sentences?
Always put
exactly one space between sentences
. Or more generally: put exactly one space after any punctuation.
How many spaces should be between paragraphs?
Paragraph Indentation – Paragraphs should be indented
5 spaces
or 1/2 inch.
Should there be 2 spaces between sentences?
The answer is
one
. Putting two spaces between sentences, as many people learned to do in school — and are still learning — thanks to early monospaced typewriters “is totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong,” according to Slate’s technology columnist, Farhad Manjoo — and every major style guide.
Do you put two spaces after a colon?
Just as with the period, it used to be common to put two spaces after a colon, but now most style guides that address the matter (e.g., The Chicago Manual of Style)
recommend using only one space after a colon
. …
Do you put spaces around a dash?
The dash (–) is used to set off additional material within a sentence, often in order to emphasize it, to set off appositives that contain commas, or to indicate missing words. … When typing, use two hyphens together without spaces to form a dash.
Do not put a space before or after the dash
.
Do you put spaces between slashes?
A.
If the slash divides two words, there is no space
. If it divides two phrases or sentences (or a single word from a phrase), it requires a space before and after.
Are spaces considered punctuation?
In writing, a space ( ) is a
blank area
that separates words, sentences, syllables (in syllabification) and other written or printed glyphs (characters). Whitespace characters include spaces of various widths, including all those that professional typesetters employ. …
Do you double space after a period in APA 7?
Use one space after a period (or other punctuation mark at the end of a sentence) when writing in APA Style. However,
if your instructor or non-APA publisher has other requirements
(e.g., to use two spaces), follow their specifications. This guidance has been revised from the 6th edition.
What does double spacing between paragraphs look like?
In text formatting, a double space means sentences contain a full blank line (the equivalent of the full height of a line of text) between the rows of words. … By default, most programs have
single spacing enabled
, which is a slight space between each line of text, similar to how this paragraph looks.
