Style Guide for Documents

These are default guidelines. Always check with your instructor; they may have different requirements.

Here is an example assignment using this style guide.

Paper

• Format the document for US Letter size paper (8.5 x 11 inches / 21.5 x 27.9 cm)
• Use Portrait orientation

Margins

• Use Normal setting
• Page margins are 2.54 cm top, bottom, left and right
• Header and footer are 1.25 cm from top/bottom

Fonts

Use common, easy-to-read fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial or Helvetica.

Title Page

Unless instructed otherwise, a title page is not necessary.

Header Material

• Top left of page
• 9-12 point, same font as body text
• No space between lines
• Include:
  • Author name
  • Student id
  • Course and section number
  • Due date

Footer Material

• Pages should be numbered, bottom right
• Numbering should be Page X of Y

Citations, Footnotes & Bibliography

• All content must be correctly cited using Chicago style footnotes and Bibliography
• Use the Insert Footnote tool
• Bibliography is on a separate page at end of document

Printing & Stapling

(For printed documents)

• Print on both sides of the paper
• Multiple-page documents should be stapled, top left of page

Document Title

• 10-14 point, bold, centered on page
• Add space after document title (6-12 points)
• Font can be different from body text
• Unless instructed otherwise, use the name of the assignment as your document title

Headings

• 10-12 point, bold, left-aligned
• Space after heading can be 0-10 points
• Same font as body text
• No following punctuation (no colon or dash)
• Do not underline or italicize
• Use upper and lower case; not ALL CAPS

Body Text

• 10-12 point, left-aligned
• Use 1.15 line spacing
• Do not underline text
• Do not use ALL CAPS
• Use italics or bold rarely

Paragraphs

• Left-aligned, do not indent first line
• Keep paragraphs short (typically fewer than six sentences)
• Add space after each paragraph (6-12 points)

Lists

• Use the List tool; do not make lists manually
• Include an introductory sentence or paragraph, followed by a colon
• Add space after lists (6-12 points)

Starting a New Page

Use the Insert Page Break tool; do not press “Enter” to make a new page. (See Insert or Remove a Page Break for more information)