Help:FAQ/Questions about contributions/Why a sentence on each line?

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Why a sentence on each line?

"I wrote a perfectly good dissertation, but then someone has come along and broken it up into simple kindergarten-level "the cat sat on the mat" style sentences, one on each line. This makes it look like a baby's first reader."

It makes it easier to follow a proof.
This is one of the more rigidly-enforced stylistic practices. Information is assimilated more easily if the flow of the argument is broken up into well-defined steps. In text books this practice is rarely seen, because that would increase the physical size of the book and the amount of paper it is printed on, hence the cost. This is why logical arguments in printed texts can be hard to follow.
On a website, there is no need to save space in this way. Therefore, we don't. We spread out the argument so it is as clear as possible.
(Little feedback has been received from the outside as to whether this approach has made the learning of mathematics in general easier as a result, but it may be worth setting up as a research project for anyone with a postgraduate degree to complete and a total lack of inspiration as to what to base the dissertation on.) --prime mover (talk) 10:51, 21 December 2012 (UTC)