Essay Writing Formatting Guidelines
An essay writing format is one of the most important features of an essay. It provides a structure which is easily understood by readers. By following a standard format, writers have the advantage of compiling appropriate content for the essay. Formatting guidelines are easy to follow. Once it is adapted, writers can complete a writing assignment in quick time. There are several factors to be considered while formatting an essay. Here are some basic requirements that need to be fulfilled to adequately format an essay.
The title of the essay should be the most compelling statement. There are various styles of writing like the American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), or the Turabian style. These styles can be adapted with practice, but the essence of the essay must be to communicate effectively. To be able to communicate with an audience, a solution to their problems or precise communication has to be provided. The essay offers potential to draw readers with questions, shock, controversy, challenge, curiosity or greed. These are emotions that spur people to take action. The title would have to use one or several of these emotions to attract readers. Most essay writing formats would suggest the title to appear right at the top of the page in bold type. It may also appear on a separate title page.
An example of a title page would be:
“Should Smoking Be Allowed In Public Places?”
By XYZ (Writer’s Name)
xx-xx-xxxx (Date Of Publication)
Before starting the actual essay page, writers can decide on several formatting aids.
1. The text can be left-aligned or as specified by the curriculum.
2. Set the type to Times New Roman size 12 or as instructed.
3. Include formatted page numbers.
4. Set new paragraphs with indentation.
The basic essay writing format for text includes an introduction with the essay statement. The statement takes over from the title and explains to readers the direction the essay would be taking. It introduces the most important piece of information to be conveyed to them. Writers must realize that if readers are not provided the right direction through the essay statement, they would not hesitate to stop reading the essay. The message should be loud and clear, though the solution to a problem or answer to a query need not be offered at this stage. The introduction can also provide related sub topics that would help link to the main topic.
The body of the essay follows the introduction and elaborates on the essay statement. The content should be neatly compiled with the help of bullets or numbers for better understanding. Writers can use italics for quotations, place reference values within quotes, and follow guidelines as specified by the style guide. The body would take up the most space in an essay. This has to be accounted for with the help of logically arranged points and arguments that support the essay statement.
The conclusion has to summarize the content introduced and elaborated. Essay writing formats would specify the end result in terms of the works cited and the method to do so. It could be included in a footnote or bibliography as instructed.
