Typesetting widows and orphans manual#
However, in its 16th edition (2011) the Chicago Manual of Style suggests a new convention in which pages may end with the first line of a new paragraph. Writing guides, such as the Chicago Manual of Style, generally suggest that a manuscript should have no widows and orphans even if the result of avoiding them is additional space at the bottom of a page or column. "An orphan is alone from the beginning a widow is alone at the end," or "An orphan starts alone, a widow ends alone." Remembering the termsĪ common mnemonic is "An orphan has no past a widow has no future" or "An orphan is left behind, whereas a widow must go on alone".Īnother way to think is that orphaned lines appear at the "birth" (start) of paragraphs widowed lines appear at the "death" (end) of paragraphs. Orphans of this type give the impression of too much white space between paragraphs. Mnemonically still "alone at the bottom", just this time at the bottom of a paragraph. Alternately, A word, part of a word, or very short line that appears by itself at the end of a paragraph. Mnemonically, an orphan is "alone at the bottom" (of the family tree but, in this case, of the page). Orphan A paragraph-opening line that appears by itself at the bottom of a page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text. Mnemonically, a widow is "alone at the top" (of the family tree but, in this case, of the page). The Chicago Manual of Style provides these definitions: Widow A paragraph-ending line that falls at the beginning of the following page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text. There is some disagreement about the definitions of widow and orphan what one source calls a widow another calls an orphan.