

However, you will not need to change them directly.

You may even want to leave a comment with a suggestion for fixing it (e.g., cutting a word or two from a preceding line). When proofreading a typeset text, such as the page proofs for a book, you’ll want to point out widows, orphans, and runts for your client. Thus, some designers and publishers prefer to avoid them.ĭue to the variation in terminology, moreover, it is always worth checking exactly what your client means if they mention widows, orphans, or runts in the brief for a proofreading job. Runts like these aren’t necessarily problems, but they can look untidy and leave a lot of extra white space on a page. What constitutes a runt also varies, though it can include anything less than half the width of a paragraph. These lonely words and phrases are also known as runts in some cases. A single word on a new line at the end of a paragraph.
