39% (9)
60% (14)Alright, so it really makes me mad when I ask someone to read my paper and they say, "Hey, you're suppose to put two spaces after a period!"
All my life I've been doing single spaces after a period. From what I've researched, the double spaces after a period was a rule mainly for those who are using a typewriter as to ease strains on the eyes.
None of my teachers have said a single word about it and everyone else does it. Wouldn't that mean it's a general rule? I don't see double spaces on articles on the web? Sample essays? I don't see it.
So, if you know, comment below and let me know as well. If you have a source that would be even more appreciated so I can read about it.
ID:1399520
 Oct 15 2013, 7:21 pm
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It's technically correct to use two spaces after a period with a monospaced font, but it's a stylistic rule, and not necessarily incorrect to only use one.
EDIT: After some further research, it seems that there has been a lot of talk among typesetters regarding this, and generally speaking, all modern typesetters agree that using two spaces after a period is completely incorrect, and should never be done on a modern word processing solution. There are other grammatical rules that are correct, but not required, for instance, the oxford comma: Without: I like chips, crackers and soda. With: I like chips, crackers, and soda. The oxford comma is not required, but it is preferred by some and not used by others. | |
I figured using two spaces was a misunderstanding of "double-spaced," which refers to whitespace between lines rather than after punctuation.
I use the Oxford comma always. | |
Double spacing after sentences, 12.5 sized font, 1.5 sized spacing between lines and 1.5 inch margins (pretty much adding .5 to anything) are all good tactics to fluff up a paper.
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My English professor preached against the use of oxford commas for some reason, but I have never had any instructor or peer get on my grille about spaces after periods.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma
I wouldn't worry too much about your English professor. Frankly... English professors are... Notoriously useless. | |
None of my high school teachers questioned me about the spaces after a period and I'm just now getting in to college. That's why I asked. Well, that settles it. Now to just ask if my professor would like me to use it as her own preference.
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College freshman protip: Don't ask ahead of time what to use. If it's important that you write in APA, for instance, they will probably tell you in the syllabus.
If they don't tell you ahead of time, they'll let you know on your first paper. Asking ahead of time will probably wind up hurting more than helping you. College isn't highschool. Your professors are there for additional clarification and guidance, not for ensuring you color in the lines. | |
Two spaces after a period is actually what I was taught in school, all the way from the earliest grades that we were typing things.
Granted, this refers to a time period of roughly 14-23 years ago (I graduated HS in '99), and actually reaches back to the time *just before* every kid in the world had a computer in his bedroom (so it may have just been a holdover from the typewriter days of my teachers)...lol But yeah. I (and the majority of my peers, I would suspect) was literally trained from day one that you use two spaces after every sentence. And I still do it to this day, even though virtually all of my typing is done on the internet, and the internet actively removes the second space. In fact, one of the reasons I was once so addicted to the ellipse (...) is simply that it was a way to (lazily) force extra distance between one sentence and the next. (if the browser's going to ignore my second space, I'm just going to throw in a couple of extra periods to push that next sentence out!) The current official typographic stance on this is that the period is enough of a marker to designate the end of a sentence, and that you don't need two spaces. Well guess what? Periods are small, and can EASILY get lost in text. They need that extra help given by two spaces, just to get noticed...lol Two spaces for life! (Oh, and the Oxford comma? I'm all about it.) | |
Just tell them "I know this is just a draft." OR Slap them in the face keeping your wrist stiff.