Columns can be set up easily in many desktop publishing and word processing columns.
A ragged column is justified only on the left side in English or in most European languages, or only on the right side in Hebrew or other right-to-left languages. This page has a ragged right side. Since the columns are narrower than a regular page width, there may be extra wide spaces between words when the text is justified on both sides.
There are various ways of dealing with this justification. However, none of these options work as well as a simple ragged column.
Your taste will dictate the space between columns. You will need greater space with justified columns, so that you can determine where one column ends and the next one begins. Ragged columns can be quite close, because it is visually obvious where the new column starts.
Some programs offer optional divider lines, possibly with different styles, between the columns. Again, this is a matter of taste. You may opt for lines surrounding the text as well as divider lines, so that it looks more like a table than like two columns. Make sure that your border matches the overall design of the document.
You can alternate the shading of the columns, with one column shaded and the other unshaded. Each column could be shaded in a different style, look, or color. Be sure that the shading does not conflict with the overall design.
Some people also use different typefaces or type sizes in adjacent columns. If you do not find this to be jarring or out of place, then go right ahead. However, you may want to get a second opinion before using this option.
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