One of the most difficult challenges students have when writing a good essay is conveying the essential arguments in a clear, logical manner that truly answering the issue. It’s a science to write an A-grade essay as well as how to format an A-grade essay. Only a small percentage of people succeed in creating a fantastic essay on their first try.
They go through a process of trial and error to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Fortunately, you don’t have to start at the beginning. Our essay editors understand what it takes to achieve success. The best part is that the requirements for formatting an essay are really straightforward.
Apart from knowing how to write an essay and what makes a good essay, you must also know how to format an essay. Formatting the essay properly is very essential for your essay to stand out amongst a bunch. Hence, let us see how we can do that.
Formatting a Five-Paragraph Essay
1. An Introduction
The first paragraph of your paper is crucial since it is here that you engage your reader in your essay. You’ll need a compelling introduction that entices the reader to continue reading.
The second goal of your introduction paragraph is to inform the reader about what they will learn from your essay. As a result, you should provide a thesis statement that describes the purpose of your essay. If you are still confused about thesis statements then check out the guide on how to write a strong thesis statement?
The third goal of your introduction is to hold the reader’s attention. As a result, you should add a strong transitional hook that leads from the introduction to the major body of the essay. When you combine all of these, you’ll have a fantastic first paragraph.
2. The Body
First Paragraph:
You should try to hook the reader in the opening paragraph of the body. As a result, now is the time to make your best argument. Declare your first paragraph’s topic immediately after the reversal hook. This issue should be closely related to your thesis statement from the introduction.
Close the paragraph with a transition whenever you’ve covered all of the important arguments relating to that particular argument.
Second Paragraph:
From here on, it’s just a matter of rinsing and repeating. That is, you employ a reversal hook in your second body paragraph and then provide your second strongest argument, second most relevant example, second best statement, and so on. Remember to connect the ideas you’ve made to the thesis statement.
Third Paragraph:
If you have more than three points to make, repeat the process with each additional body paragraph until you’ve covered everything. At the very least, you should strive for at least three body paragraphs, each of which makes at least three distinct yet relevant arguments relating to your thesis.
The Concluding Body Paragraph:
The conclusion paragraph in the body of your essay will follow the same pattern as the first three paragraphs. There will be one minor distinction. The last sentence will be more than simply a typical transition. It will be a last hook that informs the reader that you have completed presenting your case.
3. Conclusion
The end ties everything together and leaves a lasting effect on the reader.
The following should be included in your conclusion:
- This is a reference to your claim in the introduction.
- A reinforcement of the thesis statement in a language other than those used in the introduction (i.e., the same claim, presented slightly differently).
- A synopsis of the key points you made in your essay.
- The last statement that informs the reader that you are finished.
Few Standard Guidelines to Make Your Essay Better
If their professors or tutors have not provided detailed or precise requirements, students are frequently unclear of how to structure their essays and assignments.
Fortunately, there is a widely established standard for how to format an academic essays.
1. Font:
Times New Roman or Arial should be used. Avoid Calibri and Cambria, and don’t use anything fancy. Despite the fact that these are the default fonts in Word, they are not the recommended fonts at universities.
2. Line Spacing:
Your essay should be 1.5 line spaced at the very least, and double spacing is typically suggested. If your grader is grading on paper, this will offer them an adequate area to make adjustments or write remarks for you in the gaps. If they’re grading electronically, the extra spacing only makes it simpler to read the material on the screen.
3. Heading:
You might use the following guidelines for an essay or project with only one to three levels of headings:
- 1st Heading (Centered, bold, size 14)
- 2nd Heading (left aligned, bold, size 12)
- 3rd Heading (left aligned, bold and italics, size 12)
4. Paragraphing:
You can either use a 1.27 cm first-line indent at the beginning of each paragraph or a line gap between paragraphs, but not both.
5. Margins:
Maintain the default margins in Word, or adjust them to a minimum of 2.54 cm all around. If your teacher or lecturer is marking on paper, a 4 cm left-hand margin will provide them extra area to write remarks in the margins for you.
APA Style Guidelines
- Text style and size should be Times New Roman 12pt.
- Double spacing.
- One-inch margin.
- Include a shortened title (at the top left) and page number (at the top right) in the header of every page.
- The title page should include the name of the author and institution affiliation, date, and the name of the instructor.
- Citations are listed on the references page.
MLA Style Guidelines
- The font should be New Times Roman 12pt.
- Double spacing throughout the paper and make sure there is no extra space between paragraphs.
- One inch margin on all sides of the paper.
- Last name and page numbers in the header of every page.
- In the upper left-hand corner, write your name, instructor’s name, class, and date.
- An essay title should be centered.
- For the indentation press tab.
- List down the sources on the page entitled ‘Works Cited’.
Chicago Style Guidelines
- One inch margin on all sides of the paper.
- Double spacing everywhere.
- Text style should be Times New Roman 12pt.
- Include the last and page number in the header of every page.
- Include the last and page number in the header of every page.
- This format requires footnotes as well on the paraphrased or quoted passages.
- The bibliography of the Chicago style format is quite similar to the MLA format. List the information in alphabetical order on the page entitled ‘Bibliography’.
Conclusion
If you are still confused about how to format an essay and guidelines then let us help you. We understand it can be difficult to keep so many guidelines and formatting in your mind. It is a bit complicated, which increases the chance of mistakes. We both know, you cannot afford mistakes.
At least, not a silly mistake. Even a silly formatting mistake and make your essay evaluator have second guesses about your work. Therefore, just leave it on essay editing and proofreading services. It will make your job so much easy and perfect.
-Isabell S.
