Formatting Papers

In General

Take pride in your work. Improve your credibility as a hard-working conscientious student by making your written work appear neat and clear. Get in the habit of following a standard format for all your papers. Such neatness and clarity will help you keep your work organized as well. It is also an important step to becoming a professional.

Heading example

Heading

Every paper you hand should have a heading. The heading is only on the first page and should…

  • be in the upper left hand corner of your paper
  • be single spaced
  • include
    • Your name and student number
    • The course name
    • The name of the assignment
    • The date
  • If multiple drafts are due, then make sure each draft is dated appropriately.

Format Details

  • Margins: You should have one inch margins (2.5 cm) on all sides.
  • Font: The paper should be written in a standard, easy-to-read 11-12 point font.
  • Staples: Multiple pages should be stapled in the upper left-hand corner.
  • Title: Give your paper an interesting title, even if it is a simple, straight-forward, boring paper (but hopefully it isn’t boring).
  • Spacing: You may either double-space your papers or use 1.5 spacing. The length of your paper is depends on how many words you use than how many pages. (Most important is clear development of ideas.)
  • Indent paragraphs. Use the tab key to indent all paragraphs. There should be no extra spaces between paragraphs.
  • Headers and footers: It’s a good idea to get in the habit of using (but not over-using) headers and footers. The footer can be used for footnotes. The header can be used for your name and page number.

Follow MLA guidelines