This brief but effective pre-print checklist covers common flaws in presentation. Apply it to your everyday work for more professional-looking documents that are easier to read.
1 Avoid headings falling at the bottom of a page or column with little or no body text beneath. Aim for a minimum of three lines of text between heading and page bottom.
2 If a heading falls at the top of a page/column, make sure you lose the blank line that normally separates it from the preceding text
3 Avoid having only the last line of a paragraph at the top of a page/column. Edit the text to make it at least two lines, preferably three. Similarly, avoid having only the first line of a paragraph at the bottom of the page. Make it two or three lines, or pad the preceding text to push the start of the paragraph to the top of the page.
4 Avoid paragraphs in which the last line contains only one or two words. Edit the text to fill at least a third of the line or wrap back on to the previous line.
5 Paragraphs are an aid to reading. Don't make them too long. Do separate them visually by indenting first lines or increasing the line spacing between paragraphs. But only one or the other, not both.
6 Don't make body text too wide. Lines that are long in relation to font size or the gaps between lines are hard to read. Why? Because it is harder for the brain to keep track of where the eye is and where it should go next. And the more effort that has to put in, the less comfortable and receptive your reader will be, even if it is at a subconscious level.
Don't believe it matters? Build a couple of documents with identical content. Deliberately commit all the sins mentioned in one of them. Lay out the other strictly according to the guidelines. Print them out.
Now ask six people which version looks best at first glance. Ask them which job application would make the most favourable impression, which report they would be better disposed to, which magazine or brochure they would prefer to read.
Publishing professionals routinely use little editing tricks to make text precisely fit a space and remove faults such as those described above.
To lose lines or shorten text:
To gain lines or pad a short line:
You can also add, move or remove headings and tinker with the sizes of illustrations and text boxes.
And finally... adjust the margin size, text size or line spacing by a small amount. Small changes may not be perceptible but can make a significant difference to text length and the way it falls.
This approach is frowned on in professional publishing. Or worse than frowned on – depending on who you are working with and the level at which you are operating, this may be a real taboo.
For a letter or report or one-off brochure you do not need to apply the standards of a professional designer. Just ensure that you don't go too far and compromise appearance or readability, or introduce noticeable stylistic inconsistencies.
Footnote: Text in an HTML document will flow differently according to the browser and its settings. There is no point trying to perfect the final lines of paragraphs on the Web, as they may be presented differently on other computers.