Topic 6: Paying Attention to Typography and Other Rules
of Thumb
 Now
that you have written and revised your text, it is time
to think about layout. With word processors it has become
very easy to design your own layout, but be careful
not to use these great layout features too much. Use
a style that invites your reader to actually pick up
your document and read it. Think about what is important
and make sure it stands out. Because you chunked the
information in Topic 2, you
should have no problem creating ample white space on
the page.
In
this topic about typography and other rules of thumb,
we will briefly discuss:
Highlighting
Use
underlining, italics, bold, and color to aid comprehension.
All have been proven to aid comprehension. Avoid using
it too much though: if everything
is COLORED, bold
and in italics, nothing
stands out any more.
All
Caps
Don’t
use more than a few words in ALL CAPS per paragraph
because it actually lessens comprehension. Use of
caps for major headings and occasional words is appropriate.
Why
doesn’t ALL CAPS work? Capitalizing for emphasis encourages
word-by-word reading rather than reading for overall
sense. Typing words in all capital letters destroys
the shape of the word—all words become rectangles—and
therefore obscures information that readers use to
identify words.
Other
techniques for emphasis are more effective, including
boldface type, type size, white space and boxing.
Type
face or font
Type
faces or fonts (as they are called on the computer)
can be divided into "serif" and "sans
serif styles." Serifs are cross strokes at the
ends of the main strokes of letters. See for example
the difference between
Times
New Roman, a
serif style,
and Helvetica, a
sans serif style.
You
can use different fonts for the main text and the
headers. Research suggests that on paper the serif
styles may be easier to read, perhaps because the
horizontal lines of the serifs propel the eye across
the lines.
Often
a serif style such as Times New Roman, Garamond, or
Palatino is used for the main text, and a sans serif
type face , such as Arial or Helvetica, is used for
the headings. Similar to the caution regarding highlighting,
however, it is wise to limit the number of fonts you
use in one document.
Type
size
Use
8-12 points. These are most legible for most readers.
Point size may appear larger or smaller depending
on the font.
White
space
Make
sure it is ample. No more than 60% of your page should
be unbroken text.
Margins
Align
the text on the left hand side, but not on the right
hand side. You can use centering or alignment on both
margins for headings, but it decreases readability
in large blocks of text.
Have
margins of at least one inch on each side. The left
margin is usually a bit larger. Use for example top,
bottom, and right margins of one inch and a left margin
of 1.5 inch.
Sentence
length
Hold
sentences to 25 words.
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