Formatting Your Essay
The following checklist addresses all of the important basic aspects of formatting that you should consider before submitting your essay. While the recommendations here reflect the expectations of most markers, some may prefer that you follow their own essay guidelines. Be sure to clarify this before submitting your work.
Word Processing
Your essays should always be neat and easy to read. When you use a word processor, use left justification and choose a standard font (e.g., Arial 12 pt.). Print on plain white 8 1/2" X 11" paper.
Spacing
You should always double-space the text of your essay, including indented quotations, the works cited list, and any endnotes or footnotes.
Page Numbers
Number your pages in the upper right-hand corner, starting with the first page of your text. The page number is 1/2" from the top of the page or two lines above the top line of your text. Most word processing programs have a tool which inserts page numbers for you.
Do not put an abbreviation (e.g., p.14) before your page numbers. You should, however, type your last name before the page number to prevent confusion or loss (e.g., Johnson 14).
Underlining or Italics
Underline or italicize titles of books, plays, films, long poems, magazines, CD-ROMs and any work usually published by itself. The main exceptions are the titles of sacred books (e.g., the books of the Bible, the Koran), titles of series (e.g., the Loeb Classical Library), and political documents (e.g., The Treaty of Versailles).
Do not underline or italicize the title of a work if it occurs within an underlined title (e.g., the title of a book about another book). For example, Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior is not underlined or italicized in the title of Shirley Geok-lin Lim's Approaches to teaching Kingston's The Woman Warrior.
Quotation Marks
Put quotation marks around titles of short works--such as poems, short stories, and essays--which are normally published only as part of a collection with a separate title. Note that when an anthology includes large works (e.g., novels, plays), you should still underline or italicize their titles. Hamlet does not become "Hamlet" in even the biggest anthology.
Emphasis
You should underline or italicize foreign words and phrases or words and phrases that need emphasis.
In contrast, use quotation marks around words deliberately misused or used in a special sense, words referred to as words, or parenthetical translations or definitions. Do not use quotation marks or bolding for emphasis.
Title Page
Instead of including an actual title page (often frowned upon in post-secondary classes) put the following on your first page, double-spaced, starting at the top left corner:
Start the text of your essay four spaces under the last line of your title. Indent each paragraph a single tab (equivalent to five spaces), but do not put extra space between paragraphs.
Sequence of Parts
•the text of your essay
•discursive notes (if any)
•a list of works cited or a list of works you consulted while preparing your essay