Following your professor or teacher’s favorite essay format is essential. You may think that having to follow this type of style is silly, but adhering to the most popular styles, such as MLA or APA, helps students keep their papers neat, organized, and free of plagiarism. That is why you must follow these instructions.
What is an Essay Format?
An essay format is a series of guidelines that determine how your paper should be arranged. It covers the title page, basic essay structure, essay outline, conclusion, citations, etc.
How to Format an Essay
When formatting a paper, you need to have a title page, proper essay structure, appropriate text capitalization, correct in-text citations, and works cited page. For a successful paper, you also need to know how to make a hook for an essay. Below we have written a step-by-step guide on how make a proper essay format.
How to Write an Essay MLA Format vs APA Format
As you will learn the basic rules of MLA and APA citations, identifying the required essay format will be quite easy. The trick is to remember the key differences as you focus on both similarities and aspects that set these writing formats apart:
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APA FORMAT |
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Core differences |
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The style differences in essay format rules between MLA and APA are as seen below:
How to Create a Title Page
APA 7:
Your APA 7 title page should provide the original paper's title, author name(s), author affiliation, university's course number, and relevant name for which the paper is being written. Then you must add your instructor's name, assignment due date, and page number, which must start either from 1 or 0, depending on your formatting.
A typical student’s title page in APA 7 goes as follows:
NOTE: If you are writing a student paper, it does not include a running head unless your instructor tells you to!
- Title of an essay must be placed three to four lines down from the top.
- Major words of your title must be capitalized.
- If you have two authors, you must use "and" between the names or commas if there are more than two authors.
- Affiliation part must include the name of the department and your college or university. It must be centered.
- Course number must be provided exactly as shown on your instructional materials.
- Instructor's name must follow below in full name.
- Page number in APA 7 starts from number 1 in the top right corner or zero number below if requested.
Professional publications also have the following:
- Running Head. It is written in capital letters with the left margin align. The words "Running Head" are not used anymore.
- Author Note. If you have any author's notes, they are placed below Author's Affiliation. They must be centered with aligning to the left.
MLA 9 Format:
If you are asked to create an MLA title page instead of just the header, you must include:
- Your college or university name.
- Original title of your paper. Subtitle (if relevant).
- Your first and last name.
- Your professor's name.
- Class or course name (number).
- Date of the paper's deadline in Day, Month, Year formatting.
- Your lines must be double-spaced and centered.
- Use Times New Roman font.
- Size 12 font.
- The first letter of each word must be capitalized except for "the, and, of".
- The page number is not included on the title page.
If you are using the typical left top margin header, it follows the same formatting and includes:
- Your first and last name.
- Your teacher's name.
- Class name or course number.
- Due date.
What we become in practice is:
Tyler J. Andrews
Dr. John McFly
EDU 100
15 Jan. 2021
Generate citations and title page for free
The First Page of Your Essay
APA 7 Style Format:
- The first level of text must start as a new paragraph. It must be centered, bold, and use the title case heading format.
- Second level also starts as a new paragraph. It has an indent to the left, be bold and use title case heading.
- Third level is flushed to the left, remains bold but uses italics with the title case heading.
- Fourth level has an indent, bold with the title case that ends with a period. The paragraph’s text goes further on the same line and is approached as a normal paragraph.
- The fifth level goes as the previous one but adds italics.
- If you are writing an academic report or research paper, your Method, Results, and Discussion parts all must use first-level headings.
Some other changes worth mentioning:
- Running Head part is no longer required if we are dealing with a student's paper.
- Professional papers use running heads, yet it goes without the "Running Head" prefix.
- The running head must be written in capital letters.
- It is also necessary to use Bias-free and gender-neutral language.
MLA 9 style:
- It is recommended to use 12-point Times New Roman font.
- Double-spacing must be used.
- Use 1-inch margins on all sides.
- First line of each paragraph must be indented (use the TAB key).
- If you have quotes that are longer than four lines of text, they must be placed in a block of text half an inch from the left margin.;
- If you have no requirement for the separate title page, use the one from the example provided in the previous section.
Regarding headers, you must always check your paper's case and discuss it with your instructor because the rules at each institution may differ.
Introduction, Body, and Conclusion
As a rule, when you are dealing with academic writing in any format, it is crucial to follow the basic rules of Introduction, Body, and Conclusion parts. Be it a dissertation or some reflective journal, it is recommended to use a five-paragraph essay format example. It should include the first paragraph where you introduce your subject and include a thesis statement. It must be followed by three different paragraphs that have three main arguments. The final paragraph (or conclusion) is where you sum things up.
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MLA FORMAT |
APA 7 FORMAT |
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In-Text Citation
Correct in-text citing is an essential part of avoiding plagiarism. When you aim to show your reader that you are either using a direct quote or paraphrase something, you show follow the rules. Here is how it is done in APA 7 and MLA 9 formats:
APA 7:
Here we must use the "author-date" citation method with parentheses. It must be placed right after your quote. If you have a page number, the "p." part is added before your relevant page's number.
APA essay format in-text citation:
"When the brain activity of an autistic child changes, it does not affect the basic cognitive function and reaction to refraction of light" (Matthews, 2009, pp.33-34).
When you use a narrative style, it goes like this:
In his recent study, Dr. Jones observed that many pneumatic pumps in Leiden "worked with the help of Northern Sea wind and related turbines, which made it even more efficient" (2014, p. 62).
MLA 9 Style:
It uses only the last name of the author(s) with the page number:
(Jackson 9).
If there is no author, it uses:
(“NASA”)
When you have two authors in MLA 9:
(Clark and Smith 19).
When you have three or more authors:
(Jolie et al. 34)
Works Cited Page
APA 7:
- Your sources must be listed according to the ABC.
- If your source is longer than two lines of text, the second line must be indented by using the TAB key. All the upcoming lines follow this format as well.
- Use Times New Roman, point 12 font.
- Each citation must go according to your source type.
MLA 9:
- List your references alphabetically.
- Use indents of every line after the first.
- Times New Roman, 12 pt. is recommended.
For example, if you need to cite a journal for your MLA essay format writing, use this template:
Author's Last Name, First Name. Title, Title of the journal in italics, Vol. #, no.#, Publication Date, pp. 101-202.
If you are turning to online databases, a Database in italics or URL must be added.
What is the standard essay format?
APA 7:
- All page margins must be set to 1 inch.
- Text must be double-spaced including your headings.
- First line of every paragraph must be indented 0.5 inches.
- Use Times New Roman, 12 points, or Arial 11 points.
MLA 9:
- Your paper must be typed on a standard white 8.5 x 11' paper.
- Text must be double-spaced.
- Times New Roman, 12 pt.
- Margins are set to one inch on all sides.
- Every first word in a paragraph must be tabbed.
- Italics are used to indicate titles of longer works.
How do you structure an essay?
Structuring your essay format correctly will always depend on your subject and the type of paper. Starting with an explanatory essay will not work the same way as with a good movie review. The most important is to follow the basic template where you have an introduction with a strong thesis, at least three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. It is recommended to start with your strongest argument by addressing each element of your thesis. Use topic sentences to sum things up in conclusion. It is also good to include quotes in your body paragraphs to support your ideas. If you need to include counter-arguments, they must be included right before your conclusion part. It is also necessary to make sure that you include your bibliography part by checking for every entry to be present.
How do you write a good essay?
Some key requirements for writing a good essay (besides having a clear and efficient structure) include ensuring the logical flow of your content and the use of smooth transitions as well as the use of compelling evidence taken from trustworthy sources. A lot depends on how captivating or original your information is, so it is crucial to focus on quality content.
Tips for Writing and Conducting Research
As stated previously, writing is hard, and even professional writers like myself have trouble doing it. Here are a few useful tips that I follow in order to get the most out of my writing.
- Become an expert on the topic. Do as much reading as you can on your topic so that you know more about it than your instructor. Write down the name of the author and the publishing information of the material you plan to use so that you can quickly insert it into your works cited page.
- Pre-writing. This is when you brainstorm ideas for your essay. When I do this, I write down every single word and thought that comes to mind for an hour straight - and before I know it, I am writing entire lines of text.
- Just write. When the American science fiction writer Robert Heinlein was asked what the secret to completing a novel was, he replied, “Just write.” In order to complete your task, you are going to have to sit down and do the work. Discipline yourself to commit a few hours each day to completing your paper, for as long as it takes.
- Don’t procrastinate. If you have an essay due, do not wait until the last minute to do it; instead, dedicate a few hours every day to doing a little bit of the work. Before you know it, you will be done - probably early - and your work will be superb. If you wait until the last moment to finally do it, the quality of your text will suffer.
- Check your work. No matter how skilled a writer you are, you are bound to make a few mistakes. I guarantee that you will find more than a few grammar and stylistic mistakes even in this guide. That is why you must check grammar and spelling in your own work.
Good Luck with Your Project!
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