To follow up on our earlier post, titled Legal Writing: How Many Spaces After a Period?, Daily Writing Tips blog outlines the historical perspective of this question in its newest blog post, One or Two Spaces After a Period?, written by Maeve Maddox. The author looks at the history of writing in an attempt to find out where did the ‘two space after period’ come from. The author further references two articles on this topic that document the evolution of the spacing convention: How Many Spaces After a Period? Ending the Debate, by David Brickert and Why Two Spaces After a Period Isn’t Wrong, by a writer at Heraclitean River.
So, ‘Do you put one or two spaces after a period?’ The answer, according to present-day conventions: one space.
Related Reading:
- The Chicago Manual Style Online, rule 6.7 (15th ed. 2014).
- Brian Garner, 4 Vignettes Lead to a Single Moral About Writing Better Briefs, ABA Journal (Jan. 1, 2014) (suggested by Justin Woods (Pace ’16)).
- David Bricker, How Many Spaces After a Period? Ending the Debate, The Worlds Greatest Book Blog (Mar. 27, 2013).
- Why Two Spaces After a Period Isn’t Wrong (Or, the Lies Typographers Tell About History), Heracliten River (Nov. 1, 2011).