There are different styles of structuring and formatting that are used worldwide. From a broader perspective, writers consider three types of formatting styles, including APA, MLA, and CMS. The APA style is commonly used for college essays. On the other hand, the structure is a standard one which is preferred every time. Let’s discuss how to structure and format your college essays in a perfect way.
Which Tips and Techniques Can Help You in the Structure & Format of College Essays?
Following are some effective tips and techniques which can help you structure & format your college essays in one go:
Select a Compelling Topic for the Essay
Everything in college essays depends on the topic of discussion. First of all, search for a topic on which you have to write. You cannot select any topic randomly, but you have to consider many factors for topic selection. It is better to research different trendy topics. Come up with four to five topics. Now, you have to see if there is any specified topic or not. If yes, then cancel that topic. When you go for some specified topic, there are strong chances that you will not be able to write much on it. So, try to select general and effective topics for college essays.
Title Page
After detailed research, you have to actually start writing college essays. Start it from the title page. On the title page, make sure you added the following information,
- Title of your essay
- Date of submission
- Name of subject
- Name of advisor
- Writer’s name
- Name of institute
- Affiliation of institute
You can exclude or add something based on your advisor’s instructions. Make sure whatever you add should shows an attractive image. Try not to exceed 15 words counts in the title of the essay. That is how, you have to format the title page.
Abstract
As per the standard format, it is not necessary to add abstracts in college essays. It is up to you if you want to add it or not. If you are bound to follow some word count for your college essays, then you can skip it. In this way, you will get a chance to write more about different aspects of the essay. If you have the option to write as per your choice for word count, then you can add an abstract. When you decide to add an abstract, then try your level best to make it a summary of your essay. You can write an abstract at the start or end of your writing. The format of abstract demands two to three paragraphs, having 250 to 300 words.
Explaining Body of the Essay
In standard style, you have to follow a specified structure for writing college essays. Your essay has three main parts. The first part is for introduction. In the introduction, add background information and briefly explain your topic and objective. The second part is of explanation. This part addresses all the concerns and critically analyses your essay to solve the designed problem. The last part is of conclusion. Based on the whole discussion, conclude your topic in an effective way.
You can work on the formatting of college essays side by side, or you can do formatting of the whole essay at the end of writing. All the text should be in ‘Times New Roman,’ and the font size is always 12 for the whole document, including the title of the essay. Furthermore, you have to work on page numbers and margins. You need to go to the top right corner of page for a page number. In the case of page margin, you need to ensure a one-inch margin from all sides of the page. It includes the page’s top, bottom, left, and right sides. Also, make sure that all your college essays are double-spaced.
Apart from all that, the standard format demands for running head. Your running head should be on the top left side of the page. You do not have to write something new in the running head, but you need to exclude your running head from the topic of essay. You can say the running head is a subpart of your topic. Running head is more specific as compared to the topic of discussion.
Bibliography
While writing college essays, it is necessary to add references, to ensure proper structure and format. Also, you have to cite all content properly. Citation is done within the essay, while references are added at the end of an essay. You can call it a bibliography, in which you have to arrange all references alphabetically by the last name of every author. Just like other text in your essay, make sure your references are double-spaced.
First Draft of Essay
You can take your first draft as a rough one. Do not worry about spelling or formatting mistakes. In the first draft, it is better to work on the content and structure of college essays. Whatever you have done till now, compile it in a single document. Now, you must take a break from writing. In this way, you can refresh your body and mind very well. Do whatever can relax your body and mind. You can enjoy some seasons, series, or shows. Also, you can eat during this break or sleep.
Proofread and Edit your Essay
After taking a rest, you need to proofread and edit your college essays. See, if the content in your essays is according to your outlines or not. Also, see if you have achieved your writing objective or not. If you have mistakes in the first draft of a college essay, it is not a big deal. Furthermore, you need to see all spelling and formatting mistakes. Once you are done with proofreading, now edit your document. You have to ensure that there are no more errors in your college essay.
Final Draft of Essay
A college essay that is free from all grammatical, structural, formatting, and content errors, you can take it as a final draft. In the final draft, there should not be any formatting errors. Reread it after editing, or you can ask someone else to read your essay. Here, you can ask essay writing services to assist you in making the final draft of a college essay.
Final Thoughts
The right structure and format can make your college essays stand out. Follow the above-mentioned tips and get the best results in a short time. In the end, do not forget to proofread and edit your essay. Make a final draft and submit it to your professor.
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