In  paragraphs of (western) [text](/glossary/text_copy), alignment refers to the invisible vertical line(s) implied by a block of [type](/glossary/type), which aids readability. When type is left-aligned, each new line begins from the same point on the X axis.

<figure>

![Three blocks of text, each with different alignment: The first is left-aligned, the second center-aligned, and the third right-aligned. Each block has a line showing where the alignment resides.](images/thumbnail.svg)

</figure>

If the text is right-aligned, the invisible vertical line sits to the right-hand side of the paragraph; if the text is center-aligned, the line sits in the center of the paragraph. It’s possible to have the text aligned to both left *and* right; this is known as justified text.

<figure>

![A justified block of text, with lines showing how the text aligns to both left and right sides. The last line, consisting of just one word, is an orphan and is highlighted.](images/Alignment_justification_2.svg)

</figure>

Because justification adds space between words, it often creates unsightly gaps and rivers in the text. This can be avoided with the liberal use of [hyphenation](/glossary/hyphenation) to avoid word spaces that are too wide or too long.

Justified text can appear neater because of its uniform alignment. However, the last line of a paragraph in justified text will not be justified; this makes the occurrence of [orphans](/glossary/widows_orphans) more problematic, since they interrupt this perceived neatness.