English Department

Morrison Junior High School

Essay Guidelines

1. Margins (standard on Microsoft Word)

Ø Top and Bottom – 1 inch

Ø Left and Right – 1.25 inches

2. Font

Ø Times New Roman 12

Ø Normal font – no bold, italic, or color

Ø Double spaced – to double space on Microsoft Word, go to “format” and then “paragraph” and change the line spacing. You will need to do this before you start typing your essay (if you forget, highlight the whole essay and then change the spacing)

Ø Indent paragraphs 1 tab

3. Heading

Ø Top right of paper should include your name, the teacher’s name, the class, and the date

Example: Joe Smith

Mrs. Scott

4^th Hour English

January 1, 2007

4. Title

Ø Times New Roman 12

Ø Normal font – no bold, italic, or color

Ø Centered two lines below the heading

5. Page Numbers

Ø Last name and page number at the top right of each page, except the first pages

Ø On Microsoft Word: Go to “insert” and “page numbers”; unclick “show number on first page”; position should be “top of page” and alignment should be “right”. Once the page number shows up on the top of your pages (it will be gray), click in front of the page number and add your last name in front of the page number. This will cause your last name to appear in front of the page number on each page.