Double spacing makes essays longer and harder to read.
To this end, you now understand what a double-spaced essay is, how to set double Spacing on your Computer, and how to make a double-spacing interesting enough to earn you a better grade.
When writing any essay, it is not the chance to measure who knows what vocabulary. Instead, it is a chance to present facts from research to reinforce your ideas and thoughts on a given topic. Resist the temptation of using tough words to impress your teacher. Simplicity always wins when it comes to essay writing. Write in plain and simple language. See, my teachers require all essays to be double space, so we just increase the size of the punctuation marks by 2pt. It takes up more space than you would think ;D The word count for a page will vary depending on word length, font size and type, margin size, and spacing elements (single/double space, blank lines, subheadings, graphics). For applicants using , the spacing question is no longer an issue. Applicants used to be able to attach their essay to the application, a feature that required the writer to make all kinds of decisions about formatting. The current version of The Common Application, however, requires you to enter the essay into a text box, and you won't have any spacing options. The website automatically formats your essay with single-spaced paragraphs with an extra space between paragraphs (a format that doesn't conform to any standard style guides). The simplicity of the software suggests that essay format really isn't a concern. You can't even hit the tab character to indent paragraphs. For Common Application users, instead of formatting, the most important focus will be on and . For a page with 1 inch margins, 12 point Times New Roman font, and minimal spacing elements, a good rule of thumb is 500 words for a single spaced page and 250 words for a double spaced page. Using this as an example, a 3-4 page double spaced paper is 750-1000 words, and a 7 page double spaced paper would be 1750 words. Academic writing, on the other hand, is different. The formatting rules for this style of writing calls for “double-spaced” text (as shown in the image below). To adjust the space settings on your own Word document, highlight the text and then follow these steps:
Should my College Essays be Double-spaced?
And yeah, all my teachers (except a couple, or for a couple assignments and most of those it’s just a matter of not saying which one they prefer) say double space so that they can mark in the lines or make it easier to read or something. However, now printing double sided makes it waste the same amount of paper, so you’re not killing trees!
Single Space to Double Space Example
While there may be some exceptions or personal preferences, double spacing is generally recommended for scholarship essays to ensure a professional and polished presentation.
In HS, all his essays were double spaced though.
If the application does not provide style guidelines, the bottom line is that either single- or double-spacing is probably fine. Many college applications don't provide spacing guidelines because the admissions folks truly don't care what spacing you use. You'll even find that many application guidelines state that the essay can be single- or double-spaced. After all, the school has an essay requirement because it has . The admissions officers want to get to know you as a whole person, so it's the content of your essay, not its spacing, that truly matters.
In HS, all his essays were double spaced though.
That said, the few colleges that do specify a preference typically request double-spacing. Also, if you read the blogs and FAQs written by college admissions officers, you'll usually find a general preference for double-spacing.
Double-space your entire essay, including quotations and works cited.
There are reasons why double-spacing is the standard for the essays you write in high school and college: double-spacing is easier to read quickly because the lines don't blur together; also, double-spacing gives your reader room to write comments on your personal statement (and yes, some admissions officers do print out essays and put comments on them for later reference).
Here are some examples of double spacing in APA and MLA formats:
Of course, most applications are read electronically, but even here, double spacing allow more room for the reader to append side comments to an essay.