How to Format an Analytical Essay
The most commonly accepted font for analytical essays is Times New Roman. The first step in making sure your essay gets formatted correctly is to use a 12-point font size and double-spaced spacing between each paragraph. Double spacing ensures the margins are even, and there's enough space for all of your text to fit on one page without running out of room at the bottom or top.
Another essential factor when formatting essays is alignment: keep paragraphs aligned left, lined up with each other, and align headings vertically (left-justified). Aligning lines gives them more visibility and makes it easier for readers to follow your essay's structure.
Another thing to consider when formatting an analytical essay is the headings; most of the time, bold and italics are sufficient, but you always have the option for underlining or using all caps instead of only bolding/italicizing words. Be sure to use proper capitalization throughout your paper. Make sure to use punctuation properly as well.
It is essential to know that margins are a big deal when formatting an analytical essay. The margins you have can affect how your paper looks and reads, so you must find the correct margin size for your needs. There are a few different types of margins: inside, outside, top, bottom, left, and suitable. When deciding on what margin will work best for you, there are two main factors to consider: white space (or lack thereof) and readability (which is affected by font choice).
Let's start with the basics. The standard margin size for an 8.5 x 11 paper is 1 inch, which means that in your word processing program, you will most likely have margins of 0.75 inches on all sides, or "normal." Many teachers and professors expect to see this and may deduct points if you use different margins. This is probably the best margin setting for writing an extended essay because it will provide enough white space and make your writing easier to read. It would be difficult or impossible to put a whole page of text into a 0.75-inch margin with standard font size, so expect that there will be some whitespace on the top, bottom, and sides of your essay regardless of what margin you choose.
If you want to be a rule-follower or if this is a class assignment with specific guidelines on margins, then please use 1 inch for all of your margins. If you are writing an analytical essay for a college course, a teacher likely wants you to use 1-inch margins. If you are writing an argumentative essay or using a creative format that requires more space, you may want to consider larger margins. For example, if you're using double-spaced 12-point font and 1-inch margins on all sides, there will be hardly any room for your content at all.