Use nonbreaking space when cross-referencing and citing?

Using non-breaking spaces is a great way to polish your report. The goal is to keep the label and the number together so they do not get split across two lines, which looks messy and disrupts the reader. You should use a non-breaking space between any word like "Table" or "Equation" and its corresponding number. When you have lists or ranges, keep the non-breaking space between the label and the first number. For example, use "Sections~2 and 3" rather than placing a non-breaking space before every single number. The goal is to prevent the label from being stranded at the end of a line, not to glue every single element of the sentence together. For ranges like "Tables 8–9," use a non-breaking space before the first number, but you do not need one between the numbers and the dash. The dash itself should ideally be an en-dash, which naturally stays attached to the surrounding text. If you find yourself adding too many tildes, you are likely overthinking the formatting. Keep it simple: if a line break would make the reference look awkward, use the non-breaking space. Consistency makes your document much easier to read.