Need an argument settled: How many spaces after periods in documents?

[Dr.Girlfriend]

I was taught (and have always used) that you put two spaces after a period in a sentence in documents, stories, emails, etc. Another girl here says the same thing. We have two people telling us that it's the "old school way" and that it's only supposed to be one space after a period. We've Googled and it appears it can go both ways, but we're still being told we're doing it the wrong way.

What way do YOU do it? Because I have never heard of this new fangled way of one space after a period, aside from just looking it up on Google

 

[3smithboys]

I still use 2 and teach my students in school to use 2.... not sure if that is not correct any more???

 

[Geoff_M]

Back when I took Typing (now re-named "keyboarding") in high school I was always told that you put two spaces between sentences. But with the dawning of the age of texting and Twittering, all such rules seem to have gone out the window. Spelling, grammar, punctuation... who needs it! It's all about using the minimum number of keystrokes.

P.S. It still bugs me that HTML truncates anything after the first space in text strings. Thus, my typed reply here only shows one space between sentences. When writing web pages, I always use the &nbsp special character to re-add it, but the DIS has HTML turned off.

 

[cybrkitn]

I was taught to put two spaces after periods as well as two spaces between the state and zip code when addressing an envelope.

 

[MM27]

Two spaces after a period.

 

[KinziePooh]

When I learned to type, I was taught to use two spaces. I always use two after a period unless I'm texting, then I use one.

 

[AristocatFan]

I was taught two spaces and teach my students two spaces. I can't stand the incorrect use of typing and spelling. My kids make fun of me because I text in full sentences.

 

[aml3679]

2

 

[shortbun]

My son is learning one space and so is my husband in some new writing rules class-it has a name but I have no idea what it is. Apparently rules changed about 10 years ago and college and high schools are beginning to push them. That's all I know; I'll ask my husband when he gets home. Oh, and he said comma rules changed too. Sorry, I think that's bizarre-they teach us how to write for decades then some group decides it's wrong? Must have something to do with job security.

 

[ElizK]

I was taught (and have always used) that you put two spaces after a period in a sentence in documents, stories, emails, etc. Another girl here says the same thing. We have two people telling us that it's the "old school way" and that it's only supposed to be one space after a period. We've Googled and it appears it can go both ways, but we're still being told we're doing it the wrong way.

What way do YOU do it? Because I have never heard of this new fangled way of one space after a period, aside from just looking it up on Google

I was taught two spaces when I took typing back in high school (in the 80's), but a year ago I took a business communications class, and the new rule is one space after a period.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

I was taught to put two spaces after periods as well as two spaces between the state and zip code when addressing an envelope.

This is the way I was taught, as well.

However it seems that newer MLA style rules say that the space after punctuation should be the same as the spacing between words on the same line. So, it would appear that 2 spaces is, indeed, "Old school."

 

[plutotek]

Two
Zwei
Dos
Deux

 

[MickeySP]

For those of us who never took typing, never heard of a 2 space rule.

 

[Aimeedyan]

2 spaces is the old school way.

1 space is the new way.

(I edit as part of my job)

I change everything to 1 space; 2 spaces just looks wrong to me now. As long as the document is consistent, both are correct.

 

[december]

I'm 38, and was taught 2 spaces as well. But I recently went back to grad school, and in the newer guidelines you use one space. It is so hard for me. You'll notice 2 spaces in all my posts! With my more hardcore, by the book, classes, I end up going back through the papers and deleting a space at the end of each sentence. It is just too hard for me to NOT put 2 spaces after doing it that way for 25 yrs!

I was also taught to NEVER put punctuation on an envelope (no commas or periods). I have 2 kids in middle school, and when they started learning how to do letters and address envelopes, they were putting punctuation. I even sent a letter to the (young) teacher asking for clarification, and she had no idea what I was talking about...........


****I guess not-just read the explanation about HTML deleting one of the spaces in these posts!

****Someone noted MLA-I have to write my papers in APA, and they also now have the 1 space rule.

 

[PatsMom]

Its been a long time since my high school typing classes but I was taught two spaces after a period. But I've read that the new rule is one space so that is what I try to do.

The article I read said the old rule goes back to fixed fonts - the old pica and elite typewriters. Now that most of us use proportional fonts, the spacing rules are different.

 

[antmaril]

I was a legal secretary for 36 years. Two spaces after a period.

 

[hucifer]

2 spaces is the old school way.

1 space is the new way.

What Aimee said.

It used to be two because typwriters give every character (be it a period, letter m, a comma, or a space) the same exact amount of space. By using two spaces after a period, it will emphasize a new sentence and not confuse the reader to think it was just a comma.

With today's word processing software and updated fonts, space for each character is dependent upon the character itself. A small letter i will take up less space than an m. These type of fonts are easier to read, so a double space after a sentence is no longer necessary.

Still, it is ingrained in most of us (those who grew up with typewriters) to continue to use two spaces after a period, although it is not necessary anymore. It isn't INCORRECT, it just isn't necessary.

Did you win the argument?

 

[BroganMc]

2 spaces were required when you used a typewriter and serif fonts like Times New Roman. The little feet at the end of letters would blend together and overshadow the period mark making readability suffer.

With the advent of computer word processing and footless sans seriffonts, like Arial or Verdana, readability changed. Now serif fonts are harder to read digitally and that extra spacing is to big a gap.

Proper rules of grammar do change over time just as vocabulary changes. Language is not a finite thing, but rather the evolving process of human communication. The circumstances of how you communicate affect the rules, which is why we have an entirely different acronym language for text messaging. Communication there depends on maximum message length and the mechanism for typing: QWERTY keyboard vs number pad.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

I took an advanced writing course 2 semesters ago. 1 space is now the norm. In fact, papers submitted with 2 spaces were marked down as being incorrectly formatted based on MLA or APA style.