School Portaal

What are the most important format requirements of an essay:

Whenever you are tasked with writing an essay for school, you will also be tasked with using a specific format. And each format has slightly different requirements, but the basics are the same:

The format requires you to cite your sources in a cohesive manner so that people who review your work can find the work you present as evidence with ease.

Format:

Remember to format your essay in accordance with the citation guidelines that are assigned to you. If you are given no format requirements, ask your teacher for more information on which style should be used. The most popular styles include:

• APA format
• MLA format
• Harvard format
• Chicago format

Any quote or borrowed/paraphrased idea needs to be properly cited in the text, based on the style assigned to you, and properly cited in your reference page.

Creating an outline of your paper:

Before you start writing your essay, sketch it out in the form of an outline. Use a single sentence to describe each of the paragraphs you will include in your essay, and then use bullet points to describe what arguments/evidence that paragraph will contain. Play around with the order until you find something that works. Map out your argument structure and ensure that every paragraph you have is unified and flows to the net.

Editing your draft:

Remember that your essay is not done until the language has been polished and reviewed. This means you correct any grammatical errors, ensure your sentences all flow, have properly formality to the writing, have an academic tone, and make any intuitive edits for rhythm and flow. You should proofread and edit your essay until it reads exactly as you want it to read. This process might take as much time as writing it did, but it will be worth the tedious time. You don’t want to ruin your perfectly conceptualized writing with a few errors and typos.

Produce the final copy

This means add any footnotes, as necessary. It is also the chance to add your bibliography. Make sure to present a neat and clean copy. If your printer is jammed, out of ink, or otherwise malfunctioning, use a different one. Do not just submit a paper in green ink. Go to the library early and print out a fresh copy. And make sure you submit it on time.