College Essay Format Guide
Complete guide to college essay formatting. Learn margins, fonts, spacing, headings, and structure for APA, MLA, and Chicago papers. Free formatting tool included.
Standard College Essay Format
Different professors and citation styles require different formatting — margins, fonts, spacing, headings, page numbers, and title pages all vary. Getting it wrong loses you easy points.
APA Format Requirements
Our comprehensive formatting guide covers all major styles. Plus, Assignments Simplify auto-formats your paper in your chosen style — so you never lose points on formatting again.
MLA Format Requirements
Identify which format your professor requires (APA, MLA, Chicago, or standard)
Set margins (typically 1 inch on all sides)
Choose the correct font and size
Set up spacing (usually double-spaced)
Format title page, headings, and page numbers per style guidelines
See It in Action
Example
Standard formatting: 12pt Times New Roman, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, page numbers in header. APA adds a running head; MLA adds a name/course header on page 1.
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