Essay Format Examples – Basic Guidelines
There are many types of essays a writer can write on. Staring from a personal essay to an opinion essay or a narrative essay or maybe a critical analysis, one may choose anything he wants to or whatever he has been instructed to write on. One starts with essay writing by first choosing an appropriate topic. A topic or a theme must suit the interests of the writer and must simultaneously be stimulating to the reader. Besides choosing the correct topic one must also know how to cite a paper correctly or else he may be charged for plagiarism. References and citations are an integral part of academic essay writing and they must be their due credit. Different types of formatting like MLA/APA/Chicago/Harvard is another aspect all writers must be very well versed in. there are some general rules that are followed for all papers. These are as follows. The essay should be computer generated on a standard white paper measuring 8.5 inch x 11 .There should be a margin of one inch all around the written article and only one side of the page is to be utilized. There should be a title page(if instructed by the professor) containing the entire title of the project in title case, name of the student, course name , name of instructor, date of submission and any other details the professor asks for. There should be a header on all pages of the written essay containing written matter as according to the chosen format or as specified by the instructor. A reference page should be at the end to refer any direct quotations cited in the essay to avoid charges of plagiarism. the MLA/APA/Chicago and Harvard format of writing as prescribed should be followed religiously. All essays are generally written in the five paragraph format. It will have an introduction, a body consisting of generally three paragraphs or more (in odd numbers like 5 or 7 or paragraphs) and a conclusion at the end.