English
Guidelines for Formatting
The following are some devices used to achieve the desired effect:
- Use space creatively. Don’t cram your writing all together, but leave space between sections and subsections.
- Use descriptive headings. Try to make headings “high-information”—as descriptive and specific as possible.
- Vary the typeface and position of headings. If you look at a well-edited textbook or published report, you will notice that headings have different typefaces, depending on whether they introduce a chapter, section, or subsection.
- List information. As well as having visual impact, lists allow for quick comprehension. Use parallel phrasing for all items on a list whether the list is horizontal or vertical.
- Use illustrations. Charts, graphs, tables, and other illustrations clarify information and reinforce points. When the information is important, integrate the illustrations with your text. Provide a title, unless the text immediately before the illustration gives its purpose.
- If your essay or report is a research project, you will have gathered information from various sources. You will need to acknowledge your sources within the text of your document (footnotes, endnotes, parenthetical documentation) and at the end (bibliography, works cited list, references).
- Acknowledging your sources is called documentation. There are many different systems of documentation:
- Modern Language Association (MLA) Style
- American Psychological Association (APA) Style
- Council of Biology Editors (CBE) Style.
- Whatever documentation style you choose, you must be consistent throughout your document.
