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Essay Format

Last updated on: Jan 9, 2023

Essay Format - A Complete Guide to Format an Essay

By: Barbara P.

8 min read

Reviewed By: Jacklyn H.

Published on: Jan 10, 2023

High school and college students need to write essays throughout their academic life. It is an essential task that cannot be ignored. Professors expect high-quality and perfectly written essays from students. They expect you to follow all the guidelines and incorporate all the instructions in your essay.

A standard essay format follows the typical 5 paragraph essay structure. It consists of an introduction paragraph, three body, and one conclusion paragraph. This standard format is followed for all types of essays. However, the number of body paragraphs can vary according to the information and type of essay.

Find out how to format an essay and its basic components with the help of examples. Thus, continue reading this blog and know everything about it.

essay format

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What is an Essay Format?

An essay format is a set of guidelines that tells you how you can organize the research information in your essay. It helps you determine how your essay should be arranged. The basic guidelines cover the title page, outline, essay structure, conclusion, etc.

The main purpose of formatting an essay is to:

  • Enhance the presentation of your essay
  • Organize information
  • Give readers the information clearly

Further, if your essay is poorly structured, your readers will face difficulty understanding your main argument or idea in the essay.

There are several different ways to format your essay, and each professor has its requirements. Thus, you need to follow his guidelines but adhere to the standard essay formatting styles such as APA, MLA, and Chicago.

Essay Format Outline

The format is essential, whether you write a scholarship essay, college essay, or general academic essay. Each type of essay follows a specific structure consisting of an introduction, body, and conclusion.

Here is a traditional essay outline that should be followed for all essays.

  • Introduction
    An essay starts with an introduction where you are supposed to introduce the subject of your essay. Begin your essay introduction with an interesting hook to grab the reader’s attention. Provide a little background information to help the reader connect with the topic of the essay. Present the thesis statement that states the main theme of your essay.
  • Body Paragraphs
    There is a minimum of three body paragraphs in any traditional academic essay. However, the number of body paragraphs can be changed according to the type of essay and how much information you need to provide. Each paragraph discusses a separate point related to the topic and thesis statement.
  • Conclusion
    Finally, in the conclusion paragraph, you should wrap up the whole essay and give a call to action. Restate the thesis statement to remind the reader what your essay was all about.

The following is an essay format template for your help.

ESSAY FORMAT TEMPLATE

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MLA Essay Format

Modern Language Association (MLA) formatting style is the most commonly used citation style in humanities.

The below table shows the formatting guidelines that help in your writing phase.

Font Size12pt
Font StyleTimes New Roman
Spacing

Double spaced

No extra spacing between paragraphs

HeadingThe upper left corner of the first page
MarginOne-inch margin from all sides of the paper
Page NumberIt appears in the header
TitleCenter of the page
Indentation½ inch or a tab
AlignmentLeft justified
Work Cited PageAuthor’s last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, vol. Volume, no. Issue, Month Year of publication, pp. Pages, URL.
In-text CitationParenthetical: (Author’s last name Page)
Narrative: Author’s last name (Page)

Below you can find a good MLA essay format example that will guide you to write your essay.

MLA ESSAY FORMAT SAMPLE

APA Essay Format

Many students and researchers commonly use the American Psychology Association (APA) format. It is mostly used in the social sciences field.

Below are the basic guidelines provided for formatting your paper in APA style.

Font Size12pt
Font StyleTimes New Roman
SpacingDouble spaced
HeadingCenter aligned on the first page
MarginOne inch margin from all sides of the paper
Page NumberIt appears in the header, top left corner of every page
TitleTop right corner
Indentation½ inch or a tab
AlignmentLeft justified
Work Cited PageLast Name, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL
In-text CitationParenthetical: (Author’s last name, year)
Narrative: Author’s last name (year)

Here is an APA essay format example to help you nail your next APA-style essay.

APA ESSAY FORMAT SAMPLE

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Chicago Essay Format

Chicago style is the most difficult formatting style used to organize college essays and papers. It is most commonly used in the field of humanities. Refer to the table below to know the basic guidelines of the Chicago citation style.

FontTimes New Roman size 12
SpacingDouble spaced
No extra spaces between paragraphs
Heading Center aligned on the first page
MarginOne-inch margin from all sides of the paper apart from the right side
Page NumberAppears in the header, top right corner of every page
TitleMiddle of the page
Indentation½ inch or a tab
AlignmentLeft justified
FootnotesAuthor first name last name, Title of Book (Place of publication: publisher, year), page number(s).
BibliographyAuthor last name, first name. Year. Title of Book. Place of publication: publisher.
In-text Citation(Author last name year, page number(s))

Check out the Chicago-style essay format example given below and format your paper by following the guidelines.

CHICAGO ESSAY FORMAT SAMPLE

Essay Format Examples

You can easily format your paper according to the standard academic citation styles by following the guidelines given above. Moreover, we have provided some samples to help you ace your academic essay.

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY FORMAT EXAMPLE

NARRATIVE ESSAY FORMAT EXAMPLE

PERSUASIVE ESSAY FORMAT

COLLEGE ESSAY FORMAT

DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY FORMAT

EXPOSITORY ESSAY FORMAT

SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY FORMAT

SHORT ESSAY FORMAT

Furthermore, if these guidelines are not enough and you still need help, we are here for you. Our writers at SharkPapers.com can help you with all types of essay formats.

Our expert writers are proficient at their work and provide you with the best quality research paper, essays, etc. Feel free to contact our essay writer any time as we are available 24/7.

Order your essay now and blow off all your worries.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 5 parts of an essay?

The main five parts of an essay are:

  • Introduction
  • First body paragraph
  • Second body paragraph
  • Third body paragraph
  • Conclusion

What are the 4 parts of an introduction?

The four parts of an introduction are:

  • Introduce the topic
  • State why the topic is important
  • State the difference of opinion about the topic
  • State the thesis statement

What must three elements be included in an introduction?

Here are three elements that must be included in an introduction.

  • Opening statement
  • Supporting sentences
  • Introductory topic sentence
Barbara P.

Barbara P.

Finance, Business

Barbara has a Ph.D. in public health from an Ivy League university and extensive experience working in the medical field. With her practical experience conducting research on various health issues, she is skilled in writing innovative papers on healthcare. Her many works have been published in multiple publications.

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