Essay Format Archives - The Nature of Writing

CMS Essay Format

Introduction

This is a quick tutorial for formatting your essay using Chicago style. Sometimes your teachers may have their own preferences, so do check with them if you have questions.

Note that many of these instructions are not found in the actual Chicago Manual of Style (17^th ed.). They’re included in Kate L. Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (9^th ed.).

General Formatting Rules

Paper Layout

Essays are printed on standard 8.5 x 11 inch paper, which so happens to be the default size of a MS Word document.

Margins

Since 2007, the default margin for any Word document has been 1 inch all around. Fortunately, CMS format has the same minimum requirement. If for some reason you need to fix the margins, go to Page Layout > Margins > Normal.

Font

The most common font is Times New Roman, size 12 (though Arial is allowed too). You are allowed to decrease the size for footnotes (e.g., size 10).

Spacing

Most of your essay should be double-spaced. To make this change quickly, first press Ctrl + A to highlight all text and then press Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing (symbol) > 2.0. Make sure you also click on “Remove Space After Paragraph.”

However, there are a few places where single spacing is required:

Single space your footnotes, but do leave a space between them
Single space the entries in your bibliography, but leave a space between them
Single space all block quotations (but leave a space before and after)

You should also single space any table of contents as well as any captions/titles for tables and pictures.

Alignment

Make sure the text of your essay is left-aligned. Look for these buttons in MS Word:

You might think that justified text looks better, but your instructor will likely disagree.

Indents

It is customary to indent your first paragraph (use the tab button). Subsequent paragraph breaks should also be shown by indents, and not by extra spacing between paragraphs.

To get rid of extra spacing, highlight the sentence before and after the paragraph break and press Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing (symbol) > Remove Space After Paragraph.

Headers

The header section only needs to include the page number. To insert page numbers, press Insert > Page Number > Top of Page > Plain Number 3.

However, as soon as you’ve done that, select the option “Different First Page” as well as Insert > Page Number > Format Page Numbers, and start the page numbering at 0. By doing these things you will ensure that the cover page is not included in the numbering.

Cover Page

CMS research papers typically require a cover page. While there is some variation in what can go on a title page, the most common elements are the title (a third of the way down, in bold, with key words capitalized), the student’s name, the course, and the date:

Note that all the text is double spaced. For subtitles, place a colon after the main title and start the subtitle on a separate line.

Footnotes and Bibliography

We’ve covered these topics elsewhere. Check out our detailed pages on formatting your footnotes and bibliography.

APA Essay Format

Introduction

Formatting your essay has gotten a lot easier with the 7th edition of the APA style guide. No longer do students have to provide a running head or an abstract (unless your instructor asks for it). The result is a more streamlined essay format, so that with just a little bit of attention to the details you can be off to the races!

Note: All detailed instructions refer to Microsoft Word. If you’re using a different word processor, you may have to look for an equivalent setting.

The Basics

Essay Components

An APA paper has three parts:

The Title Page
The Essay
The Reference List

If your instructor would like an abstract, you can insert it after the title page. It’s best to separate each section with a page break (Insert > Page Break).

Font

You have some options when it comes to choosing a font. Here are some acceptable choices:

Sans-Serif font: Calibri (size 11), Arial (size 11)
Serif font: Times New Roman (size 12), Georgia (size 11)

Whichever one you choose, make sure you use it throughout your entire essay. Footnotes are typically in size 10 font, and for captions to tables and figures please use a font size between 8 and 14.

Margins

Since 2007, the default margin for any Word document has been 1 inch all around. Fortunately, APA format has the same requirement. If for some reason you need to fix the margins, go to Page Layout > Margins > Normal.

Spacing

All the text in your essay should be double-spaced. To make this change quickly, first press Ctrl + A to highlight all text and then press Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing (symbol) > 2.0. Make sure you also click on “Remove Space After Paragraph.” There’s no need to provide extra spaces between paragraphs or around headings.

Title Page

Let’s look at the basic layout of an APA title page:

Let’s break down what goes into making a great title page. The first thing you’ll want to do is add a page number in the top right hand corner (Insert > Page Number > Plain #3).

The title of your essay should be about 3-4 double-spaced lines from the top of the page. The text should be centered and in bold font. If your title is quite long, you can split it across two lines (in such cases press Enter after the colon if you’re using a subtitle). Make sure that you capitalize important words, but not prepositions and articles.

Double space all the text on your title page and add an extra space after the title. Then provide your name, the department, course, instructor, and date. Centre all this information and don’t use bold font. The date can be formatted in different ways, but the preference is to spell out the month in full.

If you have co-written an essay, list both authors on the same line, separated by “and.” For 3+ authors, separate the names with a comma and add “and” before the final name.

Abstract

For student papers, the abstract (max: 250 words) is entirely optional. However, if your instructor does require a summary of your paper, then place the abstract on its own page, right after the title page. Centre the word “Abstract” in bold font and left-align the actual summary. Use a single paragraph and don’t indent the first line.

Essay Start Page

Your essay really begins on the third page. Your title should be in bold font, centered, with key words capitalized:

Note too that (unlike in the abstract) the first line of each paragraph is indented one tab space.

References List

Finally, don’t forget to cite your sources:

For more details, please visit our page on formatting the reference list.

Section Headings

APA papers are often divided into sections. If you’d like to organize your material with headings, you can choose from a number of different headings. Start by using first level headings and use the others for sub-headings:

First Level Heading (Bold, Centered)

Second Level Heading (Bold, Left Aligned)

Third Level Heading (Bold Italic, Left Aligned)

Fourth Level Heading (Bold, Indented, Ending with a Period).

Fifth Level Heading (Bold Italic, Indented, Ending with a Period).

As you can see, you don’t have to use some complex numbering system (e.g., 3.2.1b) to organize your ideas. The formatting of the heading does the trick.

Finally, don’t add a sub-heading (e.g., Introduction) between the essay title and the first paragraph. Also, don’t forget to capitalize important words in each heading (what’s called title case).

APA Essay Template

Make your life a little easier by downloading one of our APA templates. Enjoy!

APA Essay Template (Without Abstract or Running Head)

APA Essay Template (With Optional Running Head and Abstract)

MLA Essay Format

Introduction

There are various ways to format your essay, and your instructor might have their own preferences. Here we share how to format your essay in accordance with the MLA Handbook (9^th ed.). The instructions are for MS Word, but you can easily adapt them to whatever word processing program you use.

MLA Essay Format

Essays are printed on standard 8.5 x 11 inch paper, which happens to be the default size of a Word document.

MLA Research papers don’t require a title page. All the important information appears on the first page. Here is what the top of your first page should look like:

Now that you have a rough sense of how to start your essay, let’s take a closer look at the finer points of proper formatting.

Publication Details

Always follow the same order when you share your publication information:

Your name

The instructor’s name

The course name

The date you completed the assignment

This information should appear only on the first page, so make sure you don’t place it in the header area (where it will get repeated on every page).

Also, don’t add labels such as “Date” or “Course,” and double check that you’ve spelled your instructor’s name correctly.

For group projects, the MLA Handbook suggests that you use a separate title page. Again, place the publication information in the top left, but this time lists all the group names under each other (before adding the instructor, course, and date). Then move your essay title down to the centre of the page. Start your essay on the next page.

Header

The header section includes your last name and the page number.

To insert the page number, press Insert > Page Number > Top of Page > Plain Number 3.

As soon as you do this, the cursor is automatically placed before the page number so you can type your last name. Don’t forget to leave a space.

To access the header area, double click near the top of the page. To leave it, double click anywhere below the header area.

Now you should have the same header on every page.

Margins

Since 2007, the default margin for any Word document has been 1 inch all around. Fortunately, MLA format has the same requirement. If for some reason you need to fix the margins, go to Layout > Margins > Normal.

Font

Use a common font that is easy to read. A popular choice is Times New Roman, size 12.

Title

Resist the temptation to make your title look fancy by underlining it, adding colour or bold font, or putting it in italics. All you have to do is centre your title and capitalize key words.

Alignment

Make sure the text of your essay is left-aligned. Look for these buttons in Word:

You might think that justified text looks better, but your instructor will likely disagree.

Spacing

Indents

It is customary to indent your first paragraph (use the tab button). Subsequent paragraph breaks should also be shown by indents, and not by extra spacing between paragraphs.

To get rid of extra spacing, highlight the sentence before and after the paragraph break and press Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing (symbol) > Remove Space After Paragraph.

Works Cited Page

Make sure that your Works Cited is on a separate page. It’s a good idea to insert a page break before the Works Cited page. To do so, place your cursor at the end of your conclusion and press Insert > Page Break.

Headings (Optional)

Longer texts may benefit from headings to divide and organize the content. If you choose to add headings in your paper, be consistent in how you style them. As an example, here are three different levels of headings:

Level 1 Heading

Level 2 Heading

Level 3 Heading

In other words, the level 2 and 3 headings are subheadings. You can use font size, bold font, italics, or other typographic changes to distinguish the heading levels.

Conclusion

For more information, see chapter 1 of the MLA Handbook or consult the MLA Style Centre.

The MLA format is not flashy or cluttered. Unless your instructor asks for additional information (such as the word count), don’t go out of your way to add it.

Finally, for your convenience, here is a Word Template you can use. Just replace the instructions with your own information.

MLA Essay Template