Is style justified?

Every-so-often someone asks the classic question “to justify or not to justify” their documentation. People have very clear ideas about the rights and wrongs of justification and usually come out against. That is, keep it ragged and it is easier to read.

However (and there is always an “however, isn’t there?), when I took a look at those bibles of technical writing lore, the gospels according to Microsoft and Chicago I saw something quite interesting that I want to share.

The Microsoft manual of Style hasn’t had more than cosmetic changes done to it since the third edition in 2004. That means it is so out-of-date that it really doesn’t matter what it says. The Chicago Manual of Style, on the other hand, is now online and in its 16th edition, so should have a valid point of view. It says the following about justification:

To avoid the appearance of inconsistent spacing between words and sentences, all text in a manuscript should be presented flush left (ragged right)—that is, lines should not be “justified” to the right margin. To leave enough room for handwritten queries, margins of at least one inch should appear on all four sides of the hard copy.

So does this make it official: Only left justify (or right justify if the language is from right-to-left)?

If you remember, way back when, when I explained my ten rules for technical writing, I didn’t include the most important rule of them all (I restricted myself to ten), the eleventh and ultimate rule: There are no rules. So before going further, just for the record, no, it is not official – justification has its place, just like everything else.

To back me up, that there are no rules, I want to do the following:

• look at a what Jacci Howard Bear has to say on the subject, in her Rules of Desktop Publishing for Text Alignment.
• Look at what Wikipedia has to say.
• Analyze a little bit the statement from the Chicago Manual of Style.

Firstly, what Ms. Bear has to say, and I quote:

If someone insists that fully justified text is better than left-aligned text, tell them they are wrong. If someone else tells you that left-aligned text is better than justified text, tell them they are wrong.

If they are both wrong, then what’s right? Alignment is only a small piece of the puzzle. What works for one design might be totally inappropriate for another layout. As with all layouts, it depends on the purpose of the piece, the audience and its expectations, the fonts, the margins and white space, and other elements on the page. The most appropriate choice is the alignment that works for that particular design.

“Right and wrong do not exist in graphic design. There is only effective and non-effective communication.”
— Peter Bilak – Illegibility About Fully Justified Text

Note the keyword Audience (I take responsibility for the bolding). Yep, it all depends on the audience (where have I heard/written that before?).

I leave you to read what Ms. Bear actually says and her breakdown of justification and also recommend looking at what the man,Peter Bilak, responsible for the quote, has to say.

Next there is Wikipedia, which states that justification sometimes leads to typographic anomalies and that people with dyslexia (particularly Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome) find that justification interferes with cognitive understanding. Thus, the implication from Wikipedia shows a preference for left justification, but it backs up this preference with some evidence, unlike the Chicago Manual of Style.

And finally, back to the Chicago Manual of Style – the gospel truth for many technical writers. The last word when there shouldn’t be a last word. What worries me about their statement on justification, even more than its authoritarian tone, leaving no room for other opinions, such as those held by the Bears, Bilaks and Weisses of this world, is the bit about leaving room for handwritten queries. What century (OK decade, but century sounds so much better) was this written in? Remember this is from the online, up-to-date, version. Who writes queries in the margin anymore. The material is distributed, in the majority of cases, electronically as Word, PDF or HTML and notes are also added electronically. So if this part of what is declared law is so obviously out of date, what does it say for the rest of the manual.

To summarise: Mostly left-justification is the way to go, but not always, and please, please, please keep an open mind and look at each case individually, considering your audience and not antiquated literature.