One Or Two Spaces After A Period

However if your instructor or non apa publisher has other requirements e g to use two spaces follow their specifications.

One or two spaces after a period. Go ahead and debate me but there s only one reason why the two space rule came into existence. If you are someone who can t break your two spaces after a period habit have no fear. These days depending on what you re reading you can find either one or two spaces between the end of one sentence and the beginning of another. Double spacing after periods has become a great generational debate with everyone from gen x on up falling predominantly onto team double space while millennials and gen z fight on the side of the single space.

The style choice will now be marked as an error in microsoft word and users who press the space bar. Cnn microsoft has made its typographical decree. Illustration by tara haelle the nation was rocked this week by a paradigm shattering study. The point is it s not only widely accepted it s expected that you use only one space after a period.

Sorry two spaces it s time to make the switch. There s only one correct answer for whether to use one space or two spaces after a period and it s to use one space. Two spaces between sentences is too many. The story of spaces after periods is often told as though monospaced typewriter fonts needed two spaces after a sentence for good readability and that the wide availability of proportional fonts on computers led to the switch to one space.

Sorry two spaces it s time to make the switch. The use of single vs. Quick tip for those who use two spaces. 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.

Use one space after a period or other punctuation mark at the end of a sentence when writing in apa style. It s because of this outdated technology called a typewriter.