A Guide to Distinct Writing Formats & Styles

February 9, 2021

In academic writing, presenting your work is considered as critical as the information you are putting forward. Based on your education niche and the UK university guidelines, different styles and formats are prescribed. These writing formats are based on:

  • Method of referencing
  • Putting in-text and end-text sources
  • Spacing and indents
  • Font faces and the sizes
  • Rules for setting headers and footers etc.

They are generally used while writing academic articles, generals, thesis and dissertations. It is observed that 80% of students support their finance themselves by working part-time. They don’t have sufficient cash to cope-up their educational as well as living expenditures. Therefore, such guys often take online assistance and buy dissertation online. We recommend them to keenly mention the details regarding paper style to avoid mishaps ahead.

Described below are some major paper formats.

1. APA Formatting

The American Psychological Association or APA was introduced in 1929. It is a set of rules for writing style and formats used in scholarly article, journals, and books. It is more often used in the field of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences. Following are some key features of APA Format,

  • Using white paper of size 8.5 inches x 11 inches (length x height).
  • The 1-inch margin at the top, bottom, and both sides.
  • The first word of each paragraph to be indented by half an inch.
  • Use of Times New Roman with 12 pt font-size.
  • Double spaces in the entire paper.
  • A running header at the end of every page.

Apart from these APA formats includes four major components in the document which are title, abstract, main body, and references.

2. MLA Formatting

MLA formatting was introduced by the Modern Language Association. It was developed so students and scholars can format their composition and assignment in the field of literature and language. Described below are the primary guidelines for MLA formatting.

  • Paper size, margins, indents, and spacing is similar to APA formatting.
  • Use of any legible font, e.g. Arial, Courier, Verdana or Times New Roman.
  • Include headers and insert pages numbers at the upper-right-hand corner.
  • MLA also focus on using Title Case for titles and italicise, only when you want to emphasise.

Today, MLA is not only used for literature and language subjects, but many other fields have adopted this style of writing.

3. Oxford Formatting

It was developed by Oxford University and also known as Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA). The main features in the Oxford writing style are footnotes, end notes, annotated bibliography, and citations. This makes it a citation-note system. The formatting guides include,

  • Use of 8.5 inches x 11 inches (length x height) paper.
  • The margin of 1 inch at the bottom and both sides, and 2 inches at the top.
  • Use of double spacing except for the reference page.
  • Times New Roman at font-size 12 pt must be adopted.
  • Complete bibliography and footnotes or in-text citation.

Oxford style is considered different from the other forms due to its focus on in-text citation or footnotes. It is mainly used in the fields of Law, History and Philosophy.

4. Harvard Formatting

Edward Laurens Mark, professor of Anatomy from Harvard University introduced Harvard Style in 1881. It is widely used in the fields of Humanities, Behavioural Sciences and Philosophy. The dominant features include,

  • Paper size, margins, indents, and spacing is similar to APA and MLA formatting.
  • Font-Family should be Times New Roman with the 12 pt size of the text. Or you can choose Arial with 12 pt.
  • Left aligned text with a centred title.
  • Subheadings may be included divided into sections.
  • In-text citation and a proper referencing page at the end of the document.

There are several other writing formats. However, the described above are the most commonly used styles worldwide. If you wish to aware from another technique of arranging the data, you can contact UK essay writing services for assistance. We will happy to guide you as we aim to build the nation.