Tip 10: Avoid unnecessary line breaks

Most of the time, you probably take advantage of the automatic word wrap feature in your word processor or text editor. This option is usually switched on by default, and it means that when you are typing and your text reaches the margin on the right-hand side of the page, the word processor automatically moves the next word that you type down to the next line. In other words, you don’t need to press the “Enter” or “Return” key to go to the next line—your tool takes you there automatically. However, sometimes you might press “Enter” to force the beginning of a new line, such as after a relatively short title or heading. It’s fine to use a line break at the end of a coherent idea, but avoid inserting a line break in the middle of a unit of meaning. For instance, you might be tempted to insert a line break partway through a title so that it centres on the page in a more appealing way, or you might insert a line break within a cell in a table so that the text aligns more pleasingly.

However, for the purposes of translation, a computer will treat the text that comes before the line break as one unit, while the text that comes after the line break will be treated as a separate unit. The two units will then be translated independently, which could lead to an error such as the following: