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Arya Stark
WR 115
Instructor Kaely Horton
1/6/2016
How to Format an Academic Paper for WR 115
Blahdy blah bladedy blah blah blah blah and so on and so forth etc. etc. etc. This first paragraph is the introduction of my academic paper. I am probably introducing the topic at this point, trying to hook the reader in and explain why they should care. Notice how the typing is double-spaced? And 12-point font? And Times New Roman? It doesn’t have to be Times New Roman; it just has to be some kind of not-crazy font that I can read and understand. In other words, don’t use Comic Sans. By the way, your thesis (main point of your essay) will usually go somewhere right around here, at the end of the first paragraph (Targaryen 25).
In order to double-space, hit the paragraph button in Microsoft Word and then hit “double space” under “line spacing.” I am happy to show you how to do this or any other computer-y thing that is stumping you.
Notice how each paragraph is indented at the beginning. Also, notice that the paragraphs don’t have to be the same size. You may have previously learned to write a five-paragraph essay. There’s nothing wrong with five-paragraph essays, but as Joffrey Lannister writes, “not all essays have to be five paragraphs, and not all paragraphs have to be the same size” (107). You are free to organize your paper in whatever way works for the assignment.
I’m into what’s called the body (or middle) of my paper now. Having stated my thesis (main point) above, I’m probably going to have several paragraphs that go into more detail with my supporting points. Each paragraph should be about one supporting point.
Works Cited
Lannister, Joffrey. Evil Paragraphs. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2010. Print.
Targaryen, Daenerys. Fire, Blood, and Theses. New York: Random House, 2014. Print.