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Is 2 spaces after a period the standard for legal writing?

...
opaque motley patrolman trailer park
  08/21/05
I thought it was the standard for everythign?
cerebral potus
  08/21/05
Apparently, it isn't. In fact, I see one space most places.
opaque motley patrolman trailer park
  08/21/05
I always use two because that's what we were taught in typin...
cerebral potus
  08/21/05
This is what I thought.
exhilarant up-to-no-good forum
  08/22/05
Depends on the professor/partner. I always use 2, unless to...
Purple site tattoo
  08/21/05
Everywhere? Or just for legal writing?
opaque motley patrolman trailer park
  08/21/05
Yes. Formal papers
cocky heady state
  08/21/05
I'm sorry. Are you using a TYPEWRITER? Didn't think so.
Contagious bronze persian turdskin
  08/21/05
It seems like the correct way should either be two spaces or...
green therapy plaza
  08/21/05
wtf are you talking about?
avocado pervert
  08/21/05
my head just exploded.
titillating dragon
  08/21/05
Is there a BLUEBOOK or ALWD rule on this? Anyone know?
ebony insanely creepy temple organic girlfriend
  08/21/05
No bluebook or ALWD as far as I know. also never seen court...
crimson dingle berry
  08/21/05
Most legal writing classes encourage using a style manual al...
Tantric garrison
  08/21/05
This is wrong. The most commonly used style manual in legal...
Sinister mediation
  08/22/05
1 is, per the BB and the CMS.
Mahogany shrine
  08/21/05
Where in the BB? I assume BB = Bluebook.
opaque motley patrolman trailer park
  08/21/05
Yea.
Mahogany shrine
  08/21/05
On EVERY PAGE of the BB. Seriously. Open it. Look for a...
Sinister mediation
  08/22/05
Why would you use two spaces? Every word processing program ...
Sick fanboi
  08/21/05
2 spaces is not unheard of.
Chestnut Swollen Depressive
  08/21/05
I've seen people use it and it always looks terrible. It's a...
Sick fanboi
  08/21/05
Okay, in my job, at a big NYC bank, when we wrote up contrac...
cerebral potus
  08/21/05
I'm sure there are times where a period doesn't indicate the...
green therapy plaza
  08/21/05
kill youself for asking this.
light casino
  08/21/05
I decline to. But if I were you, I would definitely off mys...
opaque motley patrolman trailer park
  08/21/05
Word gives you a little green squiggle if you don't use two ...
frisky whorehouse
  08/21/05
No, it only does that if you have it set to require two spac...
Soul-stirring Stubborn Crackhouse Immigrant
  08/21/05
I didn't set my Word that way, and it requires two spaces.
cerebral potus
  08/21/05
It may not come standard, but you can set it to require one ...
Soul-stirring Stubborn Crackhouse Immigrant
  08/21/05
Its the default.
frisky whorehouse
  08/21/05
Yeah, but that doesn't mean it's mandatory. If you fiddle wi...
Soul-stirring Stubborn Crackhouse Immigrant
  08/21/05
Your comment made me laugh. That would be funny if MSWord m...
Obsidian stimulating shitlib
  08/21/05
Yeah, but I took the original post on this subject to be an ...
Soul-stirring Stubborn Crackhouse Immigrant
  08/21/05
No, no, I didn't mean you did anything wrong. I agreed with...
Obsidian stimulating shitlib
  08/21/05
Okay, I misinterpreted your post.
Soul-stirring Stubborn Crackhouse Immigrant
  08/21/05
Why are you shivering?
Obsidian stimulating shitlib
  08/21/05
It's set that way be default. Indeed, it only *doesn't* do ...
Tantric garrison
  08/21/05
That is a holdover from when people first switched to word p...
Obsidian stimulating shitlib
  08/21/05
Two spaces after the period has always been standard and is ...
Mint offensive sanctuary goal in life
  08/21/05
agreed.
Obsidian stimulating shitlib
  08/21/05
I'm used to it, so I still do it. If I had to, it'd be a lo...
violent maize brunch
  08/21/05
I'm surprised so many people seem to adhere to this outdated...
Sick fanboi
  08/21/05
Um, HTML displays multiple spaces as just one space. In fac...
violent maize brunch
  08/21/05
it's not possible to use 2 spaces on here, so you wouldn't n...
Chocolate supple partner generalized bond
  08/21/05
Classic thread on this topic: http://www.xoxohth.com/thre...
Lilac mind-boggling sound barrier
  08/21/05
What the fuck so there is no standard?
ebony insanely creepy temple organic girlfriend
  08/21/05
nope. Old school texts even have like 5 spaces sometimes. ...
titillating dragon
  08/21/05
My menu at Ruth's Chris had at least four spaces between sen...
Obsidian stimulating shitlib
  08/21/05
Do the 2 spaces in between my two front teeth count?
ebony insanely creepy temple organic girlfriend
  08/21/05
I have this old version of Don Quixote from like the 40's. ...
titillating dragon
  08/21/05
Does any one use the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Pa...
cocky heady state
  08/21/05
Not I.
ebony insanely creepy temple organic girlfriend
  08/21/05
Apparently, neither do you use a grammar book.
dark abode
  08/21/05
Apparently, you do not use grammar books either. tootles.
Grizzly Erotic Pozpig
  08/21/05
That's true; I don't. But my sentence looks all right to ...
dark abode
  08/21/05
Your sentence was worse than his.
Grizzly Erotic Pozpig
  08/21/05
My sentence looks all right to me.
dark abode
  08/21/05
Keep telling yourself that until you believe it.
Grizzly Erotic Pozpig
  08/22/05
I believe it.
dark abode
  08/22/05
I read in some prominent place (perhaps the Chicago Manual o...
bipolar internet-worthy home macaca
  08/22/05
It's pretty clear that most print and electronic media use a...
dark abode
  08/22/05
The Michigan Law Review only uses one space.
lake infuriating office boistinker
  08/22/05
Almost all good law reviews use only one space. This is bec...
Sinister mediation
  08/22/05
I thought you clerked in CA. It's 5AM there.
Chest-beating Godawful Gas Station
  08/22/05
wow, it's been hammered into my head for at least 10 years
cyan razzmatazz national quadroon
  08/22/05


Poast new message in this thread



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 6:39 PM
Author: opaque motley patrolman trailer park



(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647324)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 6:40 PM
Author: cerebral potus

I thought it was the standard for everythign?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647329)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 6:41 PM
Author: opaque motley patrolman trailer park

Apparently, it isn't. In fact, I see one space most places.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647345)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 6:44 PM
Author: cerebral potus

I always use two because that's what we were taught in typing class. One space after comma, two after period. I assumed it was like this for all types of formal writing.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647372)



Reply

Date: August 22nd, 2005 5:18 AM
Author: exhilarant up-to-no-good forum

This is what I thought.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3650913)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 6:40 PM
Author: Purple site tattoo

Depends on the professor/partner. I always use 2, unless told otherwise.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647333)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 6:41 PM
Author: opaque motley patrolman trailer park

Everywhere? Or just for legal writing?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647346)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 10:14 PM
Author: cocky heady state

Yes. Formal papers

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648729)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 6:42 PM
Author: Contagious bronze persian turdskin

I'm sorry. Are you using a TYPEWRITER? Didn't think so.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647353)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 6:51 PM
Author: green therapy plaza

It seems like the correct way should either be two spaces or either one or two spaces, but not one space.

Too many people have two spaces ingrained.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647408)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:13 PM
Author: avocado pervert

wtf are you talking about?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648277)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:17 PM
Author: titillating dragon

my head just exploded.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648301)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 6:53 PM
Author: ebony insanely creepy temple organic girlfriend

Is there a BLUEBOOK or ALWD rule on this? Anyone know?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647420)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 7:10 PM
Author: crimson dingle berry

No bluebook or ALWD as far as I know. also never seen court rules that say one or two. two is fine for everything, including legal writing.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647488)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:54 PM
Author: Tantric garrison

Most legal writing classes encourage using a style manual along with the Bluebook. As far as I know, all the style manuals say two spaces after a period.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648570)



Reply

Date: August 22nd, 2005 7:53 AM
Author: Sinister mediation

This is wrong. The most commonly used style manual in legal writing is the Chicago Manual. While it doesn't have a rule one way or the other, the CMOS uses one space after a period, which suggests that you should too. Oh, and the Bluebook does too.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3650973)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 7:53 PM
Author: Mahogany shrine

1 is, per the BB and the CMS.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647746)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 7:54 PM
Author: opaque motley patrolman trailer park

Where in the BB? I assume BB = Bluebook.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647756)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 7:57 PM
Author: Mahogany shrine

Yea.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647771)



Reply

Date: August 22nd, 2005 7:54 AM
Author: Sinister mediation

On EVERY PAGE of the BB.

Seriously. Open it. Look for a period. See how many spaces are after the period. There's your answer.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3650974)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 8:21 PM
Author: Sick fanboi

Why would you use two spaces? Every word processing program from the last 20 years has intelligent spacing built-in. Hit the spacebar one, unless you're using a typewriter or you've been asked specifically to make the document look like strange.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647925)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 8:23 PM
Author: Chestnut Swollen Depressive

2 spaces is not unheard of.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647934)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 8:25 PM
Author: Sick fanboi

I've seen people use it and it always looks terrible. It's a holdover from the typewriter days -- some people don't realize it's not necessary on computer word processors.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647944)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 8:25 PM
Author: cerebral potus

Okay, in my job, at a big NYC bank, when we wrote up contracts for our clients, I KNOW we used 2 spaces.

I didn't know people didn't use 2 spaces. As I said above, this is what we were specifically taught in typing class (on a computer, not a typewriter).

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3647946)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:12 PM
Author: green therapy plaza

I'm sure there are times where a period doesn't indicate the end of a sentence and two spaces would get rid of that ambiguity.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648267)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:17 PM
Author: light casino

kill youself for asking this.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648294)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:23 PM
Author: opaque motley patrolman trailer park

I decline to. But if I were you, I would definitely off myself.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648349)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:27 PM
Author: frisky whorehouse

Word gives you a little green squiggle if you don't use two spaces.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648383)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:39 PM
Author: Soul-stirring Stubborn Crackhouse Immigrant

No, it only does that if you have it set to require two spaces.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648450)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:40 PM
Author: cerebral potus

I didn't set my Word that way, and it requires two spaces.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648458)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:41 PM
Author: Soul-stirring Stubborn Crackhouse Immigrant

It may not come standard, but you can set it to require one space and it will give you a green squiggle if there are two.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648471)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:41 PM
Author: frisky whorehouse

Its the default.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648470)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:43 PM
Author: Soul-stirring Stubborn Crackhouse Immigrant

Yeah, but that doesn't mean it's mandatory. If you fiddle with the settings, it asks specifically if you want one space or two. I have it set for one.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648486)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:47 PM
Author: Obsidian stimulating shitlib

Your comment made me laugh. That would be funny if MSWord mandated things like this. "If you want to use our program you must always use two spaces after a period and you must never begin a sentence with but or because."

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648521)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:49 PM
Author: Soul-stirring Stubborn Crackhouse Immigrant

Yeah, but I took the original post on this subject to be an argument for two spaces after periods. I'm just saying that you can easily set the program to do something else, so it proves nothing.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648534)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:51 PM
Author: Obsidian stimulating shitlib

No, no, I didn't mean you did anything wrong. I agreed with your post. I just thought it raised a very funny point and I thought maybe you had done it on purpose.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648543)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:53 PM
Author: Soul-stirring Stubborn Crackhouse Immigrant

Okay, I misinterpreted your post.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648562)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:53 PM
Author: Obsidian stimulating shitlib

Why are you shivering?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648564)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:55 PM
Author: Tantric garrison

It's set that way be default. Indeed, it only *doesn't* do that if you change the settings.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648578)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:41 PM
Author: Obsidian stimulating shitlib

That is a holdover from when people first switched to word processing software. People were too confused by the apparently sudden need to only space once. You can fix it in your spelling & grammar options, the same place you can choose whether to have a comma before the and in a list (i.e. a bat, a ball, and a glove). I found out about this earlier in the summer and after researching it online, one space appears to be the rule for all normal documents unless, of course, you are actually typing them on a typewriter. As for the contracts at the NYC bank, contracts are sometimes different from normal documents. On the other hand, there is an element of preference. Some people always use full-justified and some people always use left-justified, which is correct?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648474)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:42 PM
Author: Mint offensive sanctuary goal in life

Two spaces after the period has always been standard and is standard for legal writing. HOWEVER, all word processing programs make the space slightly larger after a period, which was intended to eliminate the need to add an extra space. HOWEVER, people were so used to adding two spaces that the practice is still common, which has made the "correct" way to do it impossible to determine.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648477)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:43 PM
Author: Obsidian stimulating shitlib

agreed.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648482)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:42 PM
Author: violent maize brunch

I'm used to it, so I still do it. If I had to, it'd be a lot easier to turn all the double spaces into single ones than the other way around.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648479)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 10:10 PM
Author: Sick fanboi

I'm surprised so many people seem to adhere to this outdated convention, yet nobody ever uses two spaces on here. If there really was a "right" way to it or a difference in legibility, why wouldn't people use two spaces in everything they wrote?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648685)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 11:44 PM
Author: violent maize brunch

Um, HTML displays multiple spaces as just one space. In fact I just used two spaces after that last period. You can see this if you view the source HTML for this page. I'm also not the only person who did this.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3649461)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 11:45 PM
Author: Chocolate supple partner generalized bond

it's not possible to use 2 spaces on here, so you wouldn't notice even if people were typing them.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3649466)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 9:47 PM
Author: Lilac mind-boggling sound barrier

Classic thread on this topic:

Grammar question

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648525)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 10:12 PM
Author: ebony insanely creepy temple organic girlfriend

What the fuck so there is no standard?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648708)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 10:13 PM
Author: titillating dragon

nope. Old school texts even have like 5 spaces sometimes. Its weird.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648719)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 10:14 PM
Author: Obsidian stimulating shitlib

My menu at Ruth's Chris had at least four spaces between sentences.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648722)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 10:15 PM
Author: ebony insanely creepy temple organic girlfriend

Do the 2 spaces in between my two front teeth count?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648737)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 10:15 PM
Author: titillating dragon

I have this old version of Don Quixote from like the 40's. Sometimes there will be like 6 spaces inbetween sentences.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648745)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 10:17 PM
Author: cocky heady state

Does any one use the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (5th/6th edition)?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648762)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 10:18 PM
Author: ebony insanely creepy temple organic girlfriend

Not I.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3648770)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 11:41 PM
Author: dark abode

Apparently, neither do you use a grammar book.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3649424)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 11:42 PM
Author: Grizzly Erotic Pozpig

Apparently, you do not use grammar books either.

tootles.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3649438)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 11:43 PM
Author: dark abode

That's true; I don't.

But my sentence looks all right to me.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3649452)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 11:47 PM
Author: Grizzly Erotic Pozpig

Your sentence was worse than his.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3649487)



Reply

Date: August 21st, 2005 11:51 PM
Author: dark abode

My sentence looks all right to me.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3649521)



Reply

Date: August 22nd, 2005 12:00 AM
Author: Grizzly Erotic Pozpig

Keep telling yourself that until you believe it.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3649578)



Reply

Date: August 22nd, 2005 12:03 AM
Author: dark abode

I believe it.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3649597)



Reply

Date: August 22nd, 2005 12:16 AM
Author: bipolar internet-worthy home macaca

I read in some prominent place (perhaps the Chicago Manual of Style) that one space is appropriate. Two spaces harken back to the days of typewriters.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3649676)



Reply

Date: August 22nd, 2005 12:17 AM
Author: dark abode

It's pretty clear that most print and electronic media use at most one full space.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3649680)



Reply

Date: August 22nd, 2005 6:47 AM
Author: lake infuriating office boistinker

The Michigan Law Review only uses one space.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3650955)



Reply

Date: August 22nd, 2005 7:55 AM
Author: Sinister mediation

Almost all good law reviews use only one space. This is because almost all professional publications and presses use only one space.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3650975)



Reply

Date: August 22nd, 2005 8:04 AM
Author: Chest-beating Godawful Gas Station

I thought you clerked in CA. It's 5AM there.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3650979)



Reply

Date: August 22nd, 2005 8:23 AM
Author: cyan razzmatazz national quadroon
Subject: wow, it's been hammered into my head for at least 10 years

for two spaces. i've gone back into documents and added spaces to mine and even others while editing.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=244569&forum_id=2#3650984)