Re: Using ragged right in technical publications

Subject: Re: Using ragged right in technical publications
From: The Tech Writer <techwrtr -at- CRL -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 1997 09:53:20 -0700

> My understanding (and I gleaned this from someone a few years ago) is
> that the irregular spacing between words in justified text creates a
> readability issue, causing readers' eyes to move inconsistently along
> the line they're reading. Unfortunately, I have no documentation
> supporting this claim.

Furthermore, when the eye goes from the end of the line to the next line,
it is easier with ragged text. Somehow, when you remove the "edges" from
the right side of the column, it makes the eye jump from one line to
another too easily when moving from the end of one line to the beginning
of the next. I read this at the same time as I read what was mentioned above.

-David Castro
techwrtr -at- crl -dot- com

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