Spacing The spacing within words, as well as blank space left around words, affect the readability of a document. To allow proper spacing within your document, use the following guidelines: - The ideal line length is 50-65 characters. The number of characters may even be decreased for a visually-impaired audience.
- Keep columns of text to a maximum of five inches across to enhance the ability of the reader to follow the text.
- Do not use justified text, which makes a straight right edge in the text by condensing or expanding lines of text. Creating non-proportional spacing makes the text more difficult to follow.
- Do not hyphenate words at the end of lines of text. Leaving the right side uneven will help in distinguishing one line of text from one another, which will make the document easier to read.
- Use spacing between lines of text when possible. This spacing should be at least 25-30% of the point size of the print. Double-space a document that will be photocopied to increase clarity on the copies.
- Avoid clutter by allowing ample space between characters. Symbols and lines closer than ¼-inch may be difficult to tell apart.
- Use extra spacing between paragraphs to separate different sets of ideas.
- Any publication should have 25% white space. Make margins at least 1-inch, and do not fit lines of text around illustrations. Too much text can be confusing to the reader.
Examples: Effective: In preparing a document for the elderly, try to keep the spacing between characters even. A little extra space between lines of text is also very helpful for giving the document a clean, readable look. Ineffective: A type that does not allow adequate or even spacing between letters and words is ineffective for an audience with vision problems. Justified lines of text and hyphenation at the end of lines are also ineffective for such a group. For more information related to spacing, see the sections on format, highlighting information, and illustrations. Further reading on spacing can be found in: Designing Instructional Text for Older Readers: A Literature Review. Author: James Hartley. British Journal of Educational Technology, 1994. 25(3): 172-188. Implications of Issues in Typographical Design for Readability and Reading Satisfaction in an Aging Population. Authors: J. Michael Adams & Lynn Hoffman. Experimental Aging Research, 1994. 20: 61-69. Return to Resources
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