English Composition 1

Template for Essays

It is important that your essays are formatted properly, with the correct spacing and margins, the correct information on the first page, and the correct header in the right place. The course Web page The Proper Format for Essays explains how essays should be formatted according to the MLA (the Modern Language Association). However, this page provides an easy-to-use template to help you make sure that your essays are correctly formatted. 

The file linked below is a template that you can use to format your essays:

Downloading and Saving the Template

To download and save the template, just open your Web browser and

  1. Click the link above to download the file
  2. Choose "Save"
  3. Indicate where you want to save the document (to your computer hard drive or a USB drive, for instance)
  4. Click "Save"

or

  1. Click the link above to download the file
  2. If the file does not open automatically, choose "Open"
  3. Once your file opens in your word processor, choose "Save as"
  4. Indicate where you want to save the document (to your computer hard drive or a USB, for instance)
  5. Click "Save"

Using the Template

To begin, simply click Essay Template and open the file in your word processor. Then, choose "Save As" and give your file a new name (such as Essay 1 or Essay 2, for instance). Doing this will allow you to keep the original copy of the template file on your computer.

The template is designed to help ensure that your essay has the correct formatting--the correct spacing, fonts, margins, header--but make sure that you change the information as needed. 

After you open the template file, in the upper left of the first page, you will see

Your Name
Instructor Name
ENG 1001-05
24 January 2022

Just type your name over "Your name," change "Instructor Name" to the name of your instructor, change ENG 1001-05 to accurately show your section number, and change the date.

Under the first-page heading information, you will see "Title of Essay" centered. Just type your title over "Title of Essay," and start typing your introduction by typing over the words "Beginning of the first paragraph."

In the upper right of the first page, you will see the header "Last Name 1." (If you do not see the header, choose the "Print View" in your word processor.) To change the header, just double mouse click in the header area and then type your last name over the words "Last Name." Double mouse click within the document to leave the header area.

Before submitting your essay, it might be helpful to check The Proper Format for Essays course Web page to check that your essay uses the correct formatting.


Copyright Randy Rambo, 2022.