Module 5 Requirements for a university essay Part 4 Transition Module 5 developed by Elisabeth Wielander

Formal aspects Every university and educational institution has its own rules and guidelines regarding the formal aspects of academic essays. These usually outline recommended fonts and font sizes, margins, line spacing, page numbers, etc. need for and contents of a cover page need for a table of contents or index (At Aston University, essays of words require a chapter structure and a table of contents with page numbers on a separate page after the cover and title page.) clear guidelines regarding reference system(s) and bibliography

Finishing touches Read your essay at least twice, leaving some time between the two run-throughs. Read once for formal aspects such as grammar, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, and once for content accuracy and completeness. If you use a computer and do not take time to spell check your work, you deserve marks off for every spelling error you make. It only takes a few minutes, and an essay rife with spelling errors looks sloppy and unfinished. Once you have finished writing your essay, make sure you have enough time to proof-read it thoroughly before you submit your work. That is probably the single most important thing you can do to improve your text.

Finishing touches Standard essays are double spaced (meaning blank lines between written lines) with a clear margins all around, and page numbers. Depending on the specific instructions, you may have to add an index or table of contents, listing the chapters, and/or a title page, listing the topic, name of the author, instructor/tutor, word count, and course/module for which the essay is submitted as assessment. Make sure the pages are formatted according to the teacher/professor's instructions.