Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation

Paragraph Spacing 
Paragraph spacing refers to the way separate paragraphs are presented as 
separate “chunks” of information using white space. According to Mancuso 
(1990:133) paragraphing and paragraph spacing reduce the amount of fa-
tigue experienced by readers. As regards the actual amount of space be-
tween paragraphs, Mancuso (1990:139) recommends skipping lines. 
Houghton-Alico is more specific in this regard and says that the spacing be-
tween paragraphs should be 50% more than the space between lines. 
Line Spacing 
The spacing between lines of text is generally 2 points (see 
Typography and
text. So, for example, if the font size is 10-point, the space between the 
lines will be 12-point. Mancuso (1990:139) recommends using one and a 
half or double line spacing between all lines of text. This is echoed by 
Borowick (1996:131) who states that single line spacing looks crowded and 
is difficult to read. One and a half spacing, according to Borowick (
ibid.
), 
allows the reader’s eyes to “drop naturally at the end of each line to the be-
ginning of the next line.” Double spacing, he continues, is excessive and 
makes for uncomfortable reading. 
72
Formatting
on page 73 below) larger than the size of the fonts used in the 

---

Software User Guides & Quality
Paper Size 
One rather obvious factor affecting the amount of white space is the actual 
size of the paper being used. Quite simply, a larger page allows for more 
white space once the page margins have been incorporated and the pages 
have been bound. While standard paper sizes (e.g. DIN A4 or US Letter) 
are preferable, it is possible to use different sizes. However, using non-
standard paper sizes can significantly increase production costs and may also 
affect how easy a user guide is to use (e.g. it is difficult to use a large and 
bulky guide while seated at a computer workstation or while working in a 
factory production hall).