Making the width of a text section wider

Question

I am writing my thesis is latex.

My abstract section is almost exactly 2 pages long, but the final word falls on a thirds page. What would be the best way to make it all fit on 2 pages?

I thought perhaps I could make the width of the abstract text a couple of mm wider.

I don't want to change the width of any other part of the thesis (the abstract is narrower than the rest already).

Thank you.

Depending your final option, you can find your solution at either How can I change the margins for only part of the text? or Squeeze some more lines on the current page. — Werner, Mar 30 '15 at 20:00
In a pinch, the \spaceout macro with negative space, described at http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/230840/artificially-improving-default-tex-algo-results-for-balancing-interword-spacing/230855#230855 might also be of use. Also related: http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/166598/cutting-corners-how-to-delete-1-pt-0-3515-mm-or-so — Steven B. Segletes, Mar 30 '15 at 20:07

score 6 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 30 '15 at 20:03

Sometimes \looseness can be used to make paragraphs shorter. If it is set to 1, then TeX tries to make the current paragraph one line longer. In case of negative numbers, TeX tries to make the current paragraph shorter, e.g.:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{lipsum}


\begin{document}
\lipsum*[1]

\lipsum*[1]\looseness=-1
\end{document}

The best candidates for trying are long paragraphs with short final lines.

Making the width of a text section wider

1 Answers1