5300 characters: 1 or 2 spaces after period?

[bumblebee611]

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Hi everyone-

I am old enough that writing with only one space after a period ending a sentence looks extremely strange to me. (I learned to type on a typewriter.) I found a thread from 2005 where folks here said they would only use one space after a period to help whittle down to 5300 characters - do people still agree that this is okay, and does it look okay in the current AMCAS format? I'm assuming the 5300 characters includes spaces so using only one space helps, as well.

 

[WedgeDawg]

I think that one space after a period is the accepted standard for 2015 in virtually all forms of writing.

 

[breakintheroof]

Med schools prefer to see the personal statement like this:

Ｄｏ　ｓｃｈｏｏｌｓ　ｐｒｅｆｅｒ　ｃｏｕｒｓｅｓ　ｔｏ　ｂｅ　ｒｅ－ｔａｋｅｎ　ａｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｓａｍｅ　ｉｎｓｔｉｔｕｔｉｏｎ？

Really, though, just use one. @WedgeDawg is right and if you want to hear a strong take on why, you can read this.

 

[ridethecliche]

Med schools prefer to see the personal statement like this:

Really, though, just use one. @WedgeDawg is right and if you want to hear a strong take on why, you can read this.

I CAME HERE TO POST THAT SLATE ARTICLE!

 

[kraskadva]

5300 characters includes not only spaces, but also counts 2 for each new paragraph.
If you're willing to sacrifice that many characters to white space, then knock yourself out. Virtually nobody else will be using 2 spaces after the period.

 

[mehc012]

Really, though, just use one. @WedgeDawg is right and if you want to hear a strong take on why, you can read this.

I don't care if it's wrong, typing 2 spaces is just so SATISFYING!!

 

[bumblebee611]

Okay, I get it! One space it is! (I had read the Slate article when it came out and found it singularly unpersuasive, but whatever. My concern was more about how it looks on the AMCAS application--wanted to make sure it is not exceptionally hard to read or squished or anything like that.)

 

[breakintheroof]

Okay, I get it! One space it is! (I had read the Slate article when it came out and found it singularly unpersuasive, but whatever. My concern was more about how it looks on the AMCAS application--wanted to make sure it is not exceptionally hard to read or squished or anything like that.)

Ha ha, fair enough about the article--even though I posted it, I agree that it is mostly just Slate being Slate. One space looks fine on AMCAS, I assure you.

 

[ridethecliche]

My PI did two spaces for a paper we submitted. I went back and deleted the second one for every sentence just out of principle.

Eff that noise.

 

[mehc012]

My PI did two spaces for a paper we submitted. I went back and deleted the second one for every sentence just out of principle.

Eff that noise.

I don't care if you delete 'em as long as I still get the satisfaction of typing them.

 

[caffeinemia]

Uhhh, so it sounds like you're 100 characters over... Do you have 100 sentences? If you do, I'd be highly concerned. My suggestion -- get some readers or professionals to help you strike down words in excess.