Tasnif Style Guide

Tasnif Style Guide — Page 29

CHAPTER 2: THE PARTS OF A BOOK 29 appear on verso pages as well. Authors and translators should adopt a style and remain consistent throughout the book. The chapter's first page does not have a running head and its page number is either omitted or at the foot of the page (even when the other page numbers appear in the head margin). There is no paragraph indentation for the first text line of the chapter. It is aligned flush with the left-hand margin. Paragraphs The book's entire text is divided into paragraphs. There is no abso- lute rule on the length of a paragraph since its size varies on the text it must contain to convey its message. A paragraph is a unit of thought, not of length. Its content must focus on completely expressing a thought, while flowing in a sequence that ties it to the preceding and succeeding paragraphs. Therefore, in creating new paragraphs or continuing them, the translator, author, or editor must use their better judgement to determine whether the subject matter or thought in a single paragraph is appropriately presented for the readership. Format the first paragraph in a chapter, or the first paragraph following a block quote, without indentation. For subsequent paragraphs, the preferred formatting is to have a first-line indent without additional vertical line spacing. The reason is that it preserves the visual cadence of the lines and allows each line to remain aligned to the baseline grid (as an illustration, note the indentation of the three paragraphs in this Paragraphs section). Translators and editors may insert paragraph breaks into