Sentence Spacing - Controversy

Controversy

James Felici, author of the Complete Manual of Typography, says that the topic of sentence spacing is "the debate that refuses to die ... In all my years of writing about type, it's still the question I hear most often, and a search of the web will find threads galore on the subject". This subject is still widely debated today because many typists were taught to use double sentence spacing in school. As a result, there is a common belief that double sentence spacing is correct, even given modern technology and proportional fonts. This is similar to other typewriter conventions, practiced in deference to the typewriter's technical limitations, that are still used by writers. These include the use of prime marks (or "dumb quotes") for quotation marks, underlining words in place of italics, and using hyphens to approximate en and em dashes.

Many people are opposed to single sentence spacing for various reasons. Some state that the habit of double spacing is too deeply ingrained to change. Others claim that additional space between sentences improves the aesthetics or readability of text. Proponents of double sentence spacing also state that some publishers may still require double spaced manuscript submissions from authors. A key example noted is the screenwriting industry’s monospaced standard for screenplay manuscripts, Courier, 12-point font, although some works on screenwriting indicate that Courier is merely preferred, and that proportional fonts may be used. Some reliable sources state simply that writers should follow their particular style guide, but proponents of double spacing caution that publisher’s guidance takes precedence, including those that ask for double sentence spaced manuscripts.

In opposition to these ideas, many experts state that double sentence spacing was only relevant when faced with the limitations of the typewriter, and is now obsolete for most uses, especially given the capabilities of modern computers and digital fonts. While typewriter users had only two options (to strike the space bar once or twice), modern proportional fonts allow compositors to manually adjust sentence spacing to thousandths of an inch for visually pleasing typesetting. Some sources state it is also acceptable even for monospaced fonts to be single spaced today, although other references specify double spacing for monospaced fonts. Another opinion is that as terminal punctuation marks the end of a sentence, and additional spacing is itself punctuation, additional spacing is redundant.

The double space typewriter convention was taught in schools in typing classes, and that remains the practice in many cases. Some voice concerns that students will later be forced to relearn how to type. Most style guides indicate that single sentence spacing is proper for final or published work today, and most publishers require manuscripts to be submitted as they will appear in publication—single sentence spaced. Writing sources typically recommend that prospective authors remove extra spaces before submitting manuscripts; although other sources state that publishers will use software to remove the spaces before final publication. Finally, some experts state that, while double spacing sentences in unpublished papers and informal use (such as e-mail) might be fine, double sentence spacing in desktop-published (DTP) works will make the final result look "unprofessional" and "foolish".