1%



Formatting Mechanics

Although you will not be concerned with grammar, punctuation, and spelling at this stage (this is saved for the revision process), you should keep to the standard formatting and mechanics while typing your paper. Listed below are the basic formatting rules of most essays. However, some instructors have strict rules concerning formatting of papers. If your professor, teacher, or boss has not indicated any particular formatting rules, you should double check with them to be sure you are writing to their specifications. Be sure to set your document to the below (or assigned) formatting in whichever word processing program you are using to write your paper.

Start Writing, Save Often, Print Out

START WRITING: Gather your reference material, sit down in front of your computer, and start writing. Do NOT worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar, or sentence structure at this stage. The point of this process is to get your ideas down on paper. Later, you will work on making it perfect and more fluid.

SAVE OFTEN: During this writing process be sure to save your essay often. If you have an auto save feature in your word processing program, set it up to save every few minutes. There is nothing worse than losing a five to ten page draft or even two pages of hard work. If you have backup saving options such as a diskette, zip drive, or memory stick, save your essay there as well. If you do not have external backup, as a last resort you can email your essay to a Web based email account or to a friend.

PRINT OUT: When you are done with your rough draft, print it out, read it over, and then put it aside for a few days. If you started early enough before your essay is due, you will have time to do this. This gives you time to "rest" between your first draft and revision stages. In this way you will be able to look at your essay with a fresh eye and mind.

CONCLUSION

The idea and purpose of rough drafting is to get your ideas and thoughts onto paper. There are only three major parts of any essay: introduction, body, and conclusion. While you should not worry about spelling, grammar, or punctuation at this point, it will save you time later if you keep your essay as close to the assigned length as possible and set up your formatting as assigned or as given in this lesson.

]]>