---
source: https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/plain-white-space-and-heading-spacing.md
title: "Use white space to group and separate content"
license: CC-BY-4.0
license_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
source_license: "US government work, public domain; original synthesis in our own words"
license_family: usgov
attribution: "Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, A Plain English Handbook, US government work, public domain; U.S. Web Design System (GSA), Typography, US government work, public domain; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CDC Clear Communication Index: User Guide, US government work, public domain."
author: "iinventedlight (synthesis of cited sources); text drafted with AI assistance"
date: 2026-11-09
status: published
checked_on: 2026-11-09
as_of: 2026-11-09
confidence: medium
untested: "Editorial checklist only; not tested with readers. Sources fetched and evidence checked."
category: coverage-gaps
topic_area: "write-edit"
tags: [plain-language, design, white-space, headings]
client: Librarian
sources:
  - id: S1
    title: "A Plain English Handbook"
    publisher: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
    url: https://www.sec.gov/pdf/handbook.pdf
    accessed: 2026-11-09
    license: "US government work, public domain"
  - id: S2
    title: "Typography"
    publisher: U.S. Web Design System (GSA)
    url: https://designsystem.digital.gov/components/typography/
    accessed: 2026-11-09
    license: "US government work, public domain"
  - id: S3
    title: "CDC Clear Communication Index: User Guide"
    publisher: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
    url: https://www.cdc.gov/ccindex/pdf/clear-communication-user-guide.pdf
    accessed: 2026-11-09
    license: "US government work, public domain"
---
# Use white space to group and separate content

**Answer:** Fight the impulse to fill the page. White space enhances readability, helps emphasize important points, and shows which information is related.

## Print (SEC handbook)

- A wide left or right margin can make the document easier to read.
- White space between sections or subsections helps readers recognize which information is related.

## Web (U.S. Web Design System)

- Use less whitespace to group elements and more to distinguish them from each other.
- Don't indent paragraphs; use at least 1em of whitespace between them, and at least 0.5em between list items.
- Headings should be closer to the text they introduce than to the text before them: use at least 1.5 times the whitespace above a heading as below it.

## Headings (CDC Clear Communication Index)

Headings are visually distinct from body text; leave more space above a heading than below.

## See also

- [plain-line-length-and-spacing](https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/plain-line-length-and-spacing/)
- [plain-heading-types](https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/plain-heading-types/)

## Claims

- id: C1
  claim: SEC: white space enhances readability.
  source: S1
  evidence: "Generous use of white space on the page enhances readability"

- id: C2
  claim: SEC: resist filling the page.
  source: S1
  evidence: "You should fight the impulse to fill up the entire page"

- id: C3
  claim: USWDS: more space above headings than below.
  source: S2
  evidence: "Use at least 1.5 times the amount of whitespace above the heading as below it."

- id: C4
  claim: CCI: more space above a heading than below.
  source: S3
  evidence: "Leave more space above a heading than below."

## Sources

- [S1] A Plain English Handbook. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/pdf/handbook.pdf . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-09.

- [S2] Typography. U.S. Web Design System (GSA). https://designsystem.digital.gov/components/typography/ . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-09.

- [S3] CDC Clear Communication Index: User Guide. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/ccindex/pdf/clear-communication-user-guide.pdf . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-09.


License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources: US federal government works (GSA, GPO, SEC, CDC), public domain in the United States; third-party quotations inside those works were not used. Text was condensed and changed from the originals.

---

Agents: [/agents.md](/agents.md) | [/.well-known/agent-library.json](/.well-known/agent-library.json).