Essay Formatting
Formal essays must adhere to the following guidelines.
- Typed and double-spaced (always!)
- Printed on standard-sized paper (8.5 inch x11 inch)
- 1 inch margins on all sides
- 10-12 pt. Times New Roman or Arial font (no ornate fonts)
- Title, centered, on the first page; create a cover sheet if directed
(otherwise, center the title above your writing as in the example below)
- Page numbers in the upper right hand corner
- Your name, the course name and number, the instructor’s name,
and the date in the upper left hand corner of the first page
- Indent all new paragraphs; pay attention to transitions from one
paragraph to the next - An Introduction (that will usually contain your thesis statement)
- A minimum of three Body paragraphs that support the thesis
- A Conclusion that revisits the main point of the essay
- No spelling errors, grammatical errors, or misplaced marks of punctuation
- No images (unless the assignment requires them)
- Cite any (ANY) information taken from any outside source
(**Information that is not created by you and that is not cited in some way
is plagiarized material)
Formatting
Click to enlarge
