Formatting an essay properly helps in getting your point across clearly and professionally. It enables the reader to understand what you’re trying to convey, and it makes your argument look more logical.
Don’t worry if you are uncertain about how to format an essay like a pro. Since this exciting article covers everything in detail with practical examples to clear all your doubts. So, let’s get started.
It’s important to know what writing style you’re using when formatting your essay. Most of the time, you’ll use MLA, APA, or Chicago style. Let’s try to understand each of them in detail.
This style of writing is commonly used in the humanities or liberal arts disciplines. Its rules are as follows:
Example:
Header: Smith – 1
The MLA Style usually doesn’t require a separate title page.
Example:
Title: The Impact of Social Media on Youths’ Mental Health
For attributing information to sources, include parenthetical citations within the text. Just follow this formula:
Format: (Author Page).
Example:
Let’s suppose the author of the book is Smith, and you are referring to its 45th page; the in-text citation will be:
(Smith 45).
For Example:
Page Title: Works Cited
Smith, Jane. “The Impact of Social Media on Youths’ Mental Health.” Social Behavior Journal, vol. 25, no. 3, 2020, pp. 45-60.
If you’re writing an essay or paper in the social sciences or sciences, you’ll need to use APA style. Let’s go through its rules for formatting an essay.
Example
Running head: Social Media and Youths
Page Number: 1
Example
Title: The Impact of Social Media on Youths
Your Name: Ian Smith
Institution: XYZ University
Date: August 11, 2023
Example
Title: The Impact of Social Media on Youths
Example:
(Smith, 2020)
(Smith, 2020, p. 45)
Example:
References:
Smith, I. (2020). The Impact of Social Media on Youths. Social Behavior Journal, 25(3), 45-60.
Chicago style is commonly used in history, literature, and some social sciences for formatting essays, research papers, and academic works. Here’s how you can format your essay in Chicago Style.
Example:
Page Size: 8.5″ x 11″
Margins: 1 inch on all sides
Font: Times New Roman
Font Size: 12
A separate title page is not commonly required in Chicago style. If so, you should follow the instructor’s guidelines.
Example:
Title: The Impact of Social Media on Youths’ Mentality
Example:
Students are often distracted by the overuse of social media.^1
[At the bottom of the page or end of the essay] ^1 Jane Smith, “The Impact of Social Media on Youth Mentality,” Social Behavior Journal 25, no. 3 (2020): 45-60.
Example:
Bibliography:
Smith, Ian. “The Impact of Social Media on Youth’s Mentality.” Social Behavioral Journal 25, no. 3 (2020): 45-60.
Hopefully, you now have a good understanding of how to format an essay. It all depends on the writing style you are following. Every writing style has its own rule for formatting that you must adhere to.
You may even ask how to write an essay format. But as you know, formatting is something you do with the presentation of an essay, so you don’t write it.
Also, ensure to take care of any special requirements from your teacher regarding the formatting of your essay.
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