Type One, LLC
629 North Sherman Avenue • Madison, WI 53704
typeone@charter.net • 608-444-1868
Composition Style Guide
A pdf version (45 KB) of Type One’s Composition Style Guide is also available. You can download a copy of Acrobat Reader (Adobe’s free pdf viewer) for your platform from the Adobe Acrobat Reader Download page.
Contents
- Punctuation
- Abbreviations & Acronyms
- Fractions
- Hyphenation, Justification & Line Endings
- Spacing
- Typefaces
- Spread Alignment
- Minimum Line Requirements
- Footnotes
- Poetry
- Figures & Tables
This document reflects Type One’s house style for typesetting and is intended to be used as a default in the absence of instructions from the publisher. Please note that the publisher’s house style always takes precedence over the guidelines contained herein.
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition, is Type One’s hyphenation authority, and The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition, is used as a style reference.
Punctuation
- En dashes will be used in number and date ranges.
- No other adjustments will be made to the usage, placement, or style of punctuation shown in the provided copy unless specifically requested by the publisher.
Abbreviations & Acronyms
- No uniform style for abbreviations or acronyms will be applied (small caps or all caps, word spaced or closed-up) unless specifically requested by the publisher.
Fractions
- If no style is specified for fractions in text, case fractions will be set. Case fractions close up to the preceding integer (if any).
Hyphenation, Justification
& Line Endings
- Hyphenation is allowed in all text whether justified or ragged, and is disallowed in all heads and subheads unless otherwise specified.
- No more than three consecutive end-of-line hyphens are allowed.
- No more than two consecutive lines beginning or ending with the same word are allowed.
- At least two letters must appear on the line before a hyphen, and at least three letters must appear on the line following.
- Proper names may be hyphenated.
- The last line of a paragraph must contain at least four characters plus punctuation and must exceed the width of the paragraph indent.
- Hyphenating words that are already hyphenated or joined by en dashes, em dashes, or slashes should be avoided unless doing so creates a loose or tight line.
- Breaking between a person’s first and middle names, whether spelled out or in initials, should be avoided.
- In a run-in list, breaking between the letter or number and its associated text should be avoided.
- It is acceptable to break a line after, but not before, an ellipsis.
- If the last line of a paragraph is less than one em short of the full line measure, it will be justified.
- If not specified, the first text line following a title or subhead with be set flush left (no paragraph indent).
- Heads and subheads are best broken before prepositional phrases and conjunctions and after colons and em dashes.
Spacing
- A thin space equals .25 of an en space.
- Ellipses are set with thin spaces between the points and before and after the ellipsis (e.g. text before ellipsis . . . text after ellipsis). When an ellipsis is preceded by punctuation (as in a four-dot ellipsis) the punctuation is set closed up to the preceding word and is followed by a thin space; the ellipsis points follow, separated by thin spaces, and are divided from the opening of the next sentence with a word space (end of preceding sentence. . . . Beginning of next sentence).
- All numbered lists will be cleared for tens (numbers align on the period, allowing for a two digit number) unless there are no lists with two digit numbers in the manuscript.
- Letter spacing in justified text is allowed up to .01 of an em.
- Word spacing in justified text may vary between 80% and 110% of the normal word space of the font in question.
- In general, Type One favors tight-setting type.
Typefaces
- Old style figures will be used except in superior references, math, and tables unless otherwise specified.
- If not specified, all available ligatures will be used.
- True fonts, as opposed to applied font styles (italic, bold, small caps, etc.) will always be used. If a particular style or effect is desired in a face that lacks a font for that effect (e.g. italic small caps) alternatives should be discussed with the publisher.
Spread Alignment
- The first line of text on each page must fall on an even leading increment. Thus, if a subhead or text ornament falls at the top of a page, the space above the head or ornament will be adjusted. The visual space between the running head and the first text element need not be constant in this situation.
- When the design calls for spread alignment, space adjustments may be made around extracts, lists, figures, equations, and tables. Space may also be adjusted above (but not below) subheads, and between the text and footnotes.
- When pages align across spreads, it is assumed that they must also align to an even text baseline increment.
- Carding, also known as feathering (adjusting paragraph leading to achieve bottom alignment), is not allowed.
- If long and/or short spreads are allowed by the design, a short spread may not follow a long spread or vice versa. It is allowed, but not preferred, to run two short or two long spreads consecutively. The position of drop folios (if any) does not change on long or short spreads unless specified by the design.
Minimum Line Requirements
- Widows are not allowed. Type One defines a widow as the last line of a paragraph at the top of a page.
- Orphans are allowed, but avoided where possible. Type One defines an orphan as the first line of a paragraph at the bottom of a page.
- Two lines are required below a head at the bottom of a page.
- Two lines of an extract or list are required at the top or bottom of a page.
- Five lines are required on the last page of a chapter.
- Four lines are required on a page with a figure or a table.
- If extra visual space (as above or below an extract or list) falls at the top or bottom of a page, it will be crushed.
Footnotes
- Footnotes begin on the page on which they are referenced.
- A footnote may continue on the next page following a short half-point rule or other continuation element as specified in the design. Rules for widows and orphans apply.
- A footnote that appears on the last page of a chapter doesn’t drop to the bottom of the page, but rather sets at the ideal space specified between text and footnotes. If that space is not specified in the design, the footnote is is set after an intervening text line space.
Poetry
- When poetry is centered as a block on its longest line, all poems that fall on that page are set to that same indent.
- If poetry must break to a new page, all efforts will be made to do so following the logical structure of the poem. Breaks at stanzas are preferred whenever possible.
Figures & Tables
- When a figure or table falls on a page with no text, the page carries no running head or folio and the figure or table is placed flush top on the text page (the measurement at which the top of the first text line would normally fall).
- Figures and tables are placed at the top or bottom of the page, as close to their in-text reference as possible.
- A figure or table may not appear before its reference unless that reference follows within the same page spread.
- If the copy is divided by subheadings, a figure or table should be placed within the same section as its reference.
- Running text between figures and/or tables is not allowed. Multiple figures and/or tables will be stacked if necessary.
- If a figure or table continues to multiple pages, the figure or table number will be repeated followed by an em space and the text “(continued)”. Table column headings are also rerun.
- When a figure or table must be turned broadside, the page carries no running head, folio, or other text. Broadsides turn counter-clockwise.
- Placement of a figure or table on the last page of a chapter is avoided where possible.
