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Friday, December 6, 2013

A US Copy Editor's Perspective: Spaces


Unless you are a copy editor by profession, or a grammar teacher, you wouldn't believe the number of rules regarding spaces found within 16CMS. We'll cover a few here in this post.

First, only one space is required between sentences. 16CMS 2.9. This is not news to anyone other than people like me who learned to type in the '70s.

Second, take out all stray spaces, at the beginning and end of paragraphs for example. 16CMS 2.77(7). This is especially needed for any electronic texts.

Third, if you want to be a purist, strictly abiding by the rules of 16CMS, see my previous post on ellipses. Required and nonbreaking spaces are preferred per Chicago's view. 16CMS 13.48.

More interesting discussions on rules to come.

Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy editor
amazon.com/author/denisebarker


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