An essay is a common type of academic work that is given to both schoolchildren and students of institutes and colleges. It can be asked in various subjects: English language, literature, history, social science, jurisprudence, other humanitarian, natural, and even exact sciences. Teachers pay attention not only to the content of the work but also to the correct format of the essay. To make it easier for you to get a high mark, we will tell you how to format an essay in accordance with the academic standards.
What an essay is, the structure of the paper
An essay is a student’s text written on a given topic, expressing a reasonable author’s position. If you have not written this type of paper before, you may need help, which you can get on the essay writing service like EssayShark. Writers who work there know how to write and format essays correctly.
Usually, a quote is given as the topic of an essay, a polemical question is posed, or a situation from a professional field of activity is given that the student must comprehend. An essay usually consists of the following parts:
- introduction;
- main part;
- conclusion;
- bibliography.
According to the rules of essay format, these elements of the plan are not accompanied by headings; the paper is written in solid text. The title page is usually not included in the structure of the essay, but we advise you to clarify this point with the teacher: if the paper is large, it may be needed. In this case, it indicates the name of the educational institution, subject, topic of a paper, full name of the student, the full name, degree, and position of the teacher.
Introduction
This part occupies 15-20% of the total volume of a paper; here, the author writes about the relevance of the topic and can briefly mention those researchers who were involved in it.
Main part
In this section, the student reveals the essence of the paper, answers the question, comments on the quote, or suggests a solution to the problem. As a rule, in this part, the student writes 1-2 statements, supporting them with arguments from the literature, scientific articles, personal experience, and social life.
Conclusion
At the end of the paper, the author summarizes the above and writes about further prospects for studying the topic.
Bibliography
Here the author lists the sources used in alphabetical order or as they are mentioned in the text of the work. The rules for formatting the list of sources are standard and regulated by a specific educational institution.
There are no requirements for the amount of a paper in the rules for writing an essay according to standard requirements. It depends on the subject, topic, and recommendations of the teacher: usually, it is 2-4 pages, but it can take 10-12.
Requirements for writing and formatting an essay
The main requirement for writing an essay is to avoid plagiarism. In this type of paper, as in others, the thoughts and ideas of the author, their own view of the problem, and the ability to substantiate it with the help of evidence are important. For the rest, you can stick to free composition in your paper.
Many students are looking for a sample essay format according to standard requirements. Unfortunately, the standards do not give an exact answer to the question of how to properly format an essay for a university, so we recommend using the usual rules:
- Font size 12-14 pt (essay font according to the standards is also not defined, so it is better to use Times New Roman).
- Line spacing is single (for font 12 pt) or one and a half (for 14 pt).
- Justify text alignment.
- Paragraph indentation is one-quarter to one-half of an inch.
- Margins are one inch on all sides.
How to format an essay beautifully
If you want to not only make an essay in accordance with the standards but also take care of the aesthetic appearance of the paper, pay attention to our advice.
- The essay format in Word allows the use of capital letters to highlight the topic. In the text itself, they should not be used too much.
- If the paper is small and does not have a title page, the student’s name is usually indicated in the upper right corner before the topic.
- The topic is highlighted in bold and placed in the middle of the page.
- An important rule for formatting an electronic essay: do not use font selections too much. You can underline a key point or bold a few words, but don’t do it too often or use colored fonts.
- Quotations may be italicized, but this is not required.
- Pagination is not a mandatory requirement for an essay at a university, but it will be more convenient for the teacher to check the paper. Page numbers are best placed at the bottom and in the middle of the sheet.
- Essays rarely include illustrations, tables, or graphs, but if you do, be sure to sign them.
Now you know how an essay should be formatted and will avoid mistakes when you write it.