Essay Writing's Number 1 Rule

We discussed in class today how even the introduction of your paper can help you develop ethos of yourself, as the writer. Whether or not you decide to write the font size too big or print in cursive typed letters, it is entirely up to how you wish to present yourself. I thought it would be helpful for me to point out some of the mistakes that many can make while writing a paper, especially in college.

Firstly, the awkward font sizes:

It could be 36 or 8 but the best will always be either 11 or 12. Another trick that many of my friends use is to make the periods into a bigger font. For example, your actual essay will be font 12 for the most part except the periods would be 16 or 18. It lengthens the essay and most importantly, does not show! But...when you have to hand in an electronic copy, many of the professors and TAs notice. My friend's essay went from A to a B- for that. So, watch out.

Secondly, the childish and difficult fonts:

When I was young, I never wanted to write...so I chose verdana. Everything just seemed faster that way. But now that I'm in college and writing serious papers, I can't choose that. I need to choose the good ol' Times New Roman. I have a young cousin who just turned 12 years old but whenever she types something up in word document (which is very rare), she never goes for this type of font but cursive ones or ones that look like 'natural handwriting.' Then...why type?

Lastly, lack of structure:

We were told, ever since 4^th grade that an essay should have an introduction, multiple body paragraphs and a conclusion, no matter what. But I see from time to time in my InArt class that most of the people handle 500 word essays in just ONE paragraph. No....no...It's an essay, remember?

I know I'm not perfect in writing. I have issues with grammar and sometimes my sentences are too awkward. So, I proof-read. I edit and proof-read again to make sure that my essay represents my arguments in the best light possible. In terms of its external looks, I make my font size 12 in Times New Roman and structure them for the readers to easily follow. That's one rule I never break regardless of how much tedious essay writing may be.