griffith university essay format

Assignment presentation formatting guidelines

To remain consistent with APA 7 th Edition conventions, ALL undergraduate written essay/report style assignments (for courses in Griffith Health programs) should be formatted using the following rules. To download a copy of these formatting guidelines and/or access an exemplar which demonstrates how your manuscript should look when following these guidelines, click on the buttons below.

Margins : 2.54 left, right, top and bottom (this is the pre-set default margin setting).

Font Type: ‘Times New Roman’.

Font Size: 12 point font only with no larger fonts used for headings (if used).

Line Spacing : Double line spacing should be used throughout the assignment and on the reference list with no additional spaces between paragraphs, assignment ‘sections’ or listed references. New paragraphs or sections are indicated by indenting of the first line of each new paragraph (see presentation formatting exemplar ).

Indenting: Each new paragraph should be indented 5-7 spaces (or one Tab space).

Justification: No justification of text on the right hand margin. Justify the left side of text in the body of essay/report against the left hand margin except for indents required for the first lines of each new paragraph (see presentation formatting exemplar ).

Page Numbers: Page numbers should be inserted in the upper right-hand side of the page header flush against the margin. Page numbers should start on the Title Page (starting at 1) and should be formatted with just the page number (see presentation formatting exemplar ).

Assignment Title: Devise a suitably descriptive assignment title to include on the title page. 

Footer: Your student number is to be inserted into the footer of the document (to assist with identification of lost pages if submission errors occur).

Title Page: Include a title page with the following information only (also see presentation formatting exemplar ).

  Student Name:

  Essay/Report title:

Word count: (excluding title page, reference list/bibliography and appendices).

Note : Your title page will also have a page number in the header (starting at ‘1’) and your student number in the footer (see presentation formatting exemplar ).

Word Count: Word counts will comprise all text material contained within the body of the written assignment. This will include in-text citations, quotations, and any headings (if used). This will also include any information presented in tables or figures which are included within the body of the assignment in addition to your Abstract or Executive Summary (if you are required to include one).  Information included outside of the main body of the assignment (e.g. university cover page, title page, reference list/bibliography, appendices) will NOT contribute to the word count.

You must adhere to the stipulated word count for your assignment. Assignments which go over this stated limit will be penalised, with the marker ceasing to read your paper once the word count has been reached.

Headings: Headings are generally used more in research reports than in essays. The following rules should be followed to format headings if used (see table below).

The above table has been adapted from the APA Style Guide to Electronic References (2012).

Note : In general, if you are using headings in an essay , you will format them using Level 2 heading guidelines. Headings in a research report will be mainly formatted as Level 1, 2, and 3 headings, however all five levels of headings can be used in research reports (depending on the size of your report and the nature of information you need to discuss in particular sections). 

When using Level 1 and  2 headings, your paragraph text will commence on the next line, indented by one tab space. When using Levels 3, 4 and 5, your paragraph text will commence two spaces after the full stop at the end of the heading (i.e. continuing on the same line as the heading). See the APA Annotated Exemplars (Essay and Research Report versions) in the APA Referencing Guidelines section for examples of how to format different levels of headings and associated paragraph text.

Important Tip: When writing research reports, do not include the heading 'Introduction' at the start of your report. The heading at the start of your Introduction should be the title of the report that you have included on your title page. It should be formatted as a Level 1 heading ( see table above).

Serial Comma : APA conventions require the use of a comma between elements in a series of three or more items. This is known as a ‘serial comma’. For example:

 Examining height, width, and depth indicated that ....

Use of numbers in assignment text:

·         Numbers between zero and nine should be represented in words. For example:

o   There were five experimental groups in the trial.

·         Numbers ten and above should be represented in numerical format. For example:

o   A total of 47 participants took part in the pilot test.

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Format your thesis

• by The Library
• posted August 10, 2021
• Academics Researchers

Are you starting to write your thesis, confirmation paper or some other publication? Are you having formatting issues or don’t know where to start?

Formatting your thesis or long documents can sometimes become very frustrating, time consuming and cumbersome.

The Formatting Your Thesis workshop can help you with all this and more. This workshop will teach you how to use Microsoft Word efficiently by providing you with resources and tips on how to use Word’s automated settings and features to apply consistent formatting throughout a document.

The workshop will cover how to:

• create and apply styles
• create different sections
• insert a table of contents
• create lists of figures and tables
• set the automatic numbering throughout your document
• change the format of page numbers between sections.

You may have wondered ‘How can I indent the first line of each paragraph?’ or ‘How do I change the orientation of one page to landscape without changing the other pages?’ We can answer those questions!

This workshop is for anyone working on long documents—no matter what stage of the process you’re currently in.

You can register for the Formatting Your Thesis workshop now.

You can also build your skills by working through the Formatting Your Thesis resources before attending the session.

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The video presentation for this session outlines the ‘traditional’ structure of a research report, highlighting the key information that is usually presented in each section. The Resources section includes an outline you can download which sets out the core structure of a research report presented in the video in addition to some useful links to other helpful web resources.

Here is a downloadable outline of the core ‘traditional’ structure of a research report showcased in the video presentation.

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• How to structure an essay: Templates and tips

How to Structure an Essay | Tips & Templates

Published on September 18, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

The basic structure of an essay always consists of an introduction , a body , and a conclusion . But for many students, the most difficult part of structuring an essay is deciding how to organize information within the body.

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Table of contents

The basics of essay structure, chronological structure, compare-and-contrast structure, problems-methods-solutions structure, signposting to clarify your structure, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about essay structure.

There are two main things to keep in mind when working on your essay structure: making sure to include the right information in each part, and deciding how you’ll organize the information within the body.

Parts of an essay

The three parts that make up all essays are described in the table below.

Order of information

You’ll also have to consider how to present information within the body. There are a few general principles that can guide you here.

The first is that your argument should move from the simplest claim to the most complex . The body of a good argumentative essay often begins with simple and widely accepted claims, and then moves towards more complex and contentious ones.

For example, you might begin by describing a generally accepted philosophical concept, and then apply it to a new topic. The grounding in the general concept will allow the reader to understand your unique application of it.

The second principle is that background information should appear towards the beginning of your essay . General background is presented in the introduction. If you have additional background to present, this information will usually come at the start of the body.

The third principle is that everything in your essay should be relevant to the thesis . Ask yourself whether each piece of information advances your argument or provides necessary background. And make sure that the text clearly expresses each piece of information’s relevance.

The sections below present several organizational templates for essays: the chronological approach, the compare-and-contrast approach, and the problems-methods-solutions approach.

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The chronological approach (sometimes called the cause-and-effect approach) is probably the simplest way to structure an essay. It just means discussing events in the order in which they occurred, discussing how they are related (i.e. the cause and effect involved) as you go.

A chronological approach can be useful when your essay is about a series of events. Don’t rule out other approaches, though—even when the chronological approach is the obvious one, you might be able to bring out more with a different structure.

Explore the tabs below to see a general template and a specific example outline from an essay on the invention of the printing press.

• Thesis statement
• Discussion of event/period
• Consequences
• Importance of topic
• Strong closing statement
• Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages
• Background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press
• Thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation
• High levels of illiteracy in medieval Europe
• Literacy and thus knowledge and education were mainly the domain of religious and political elites
• Consequence: this discouraged political and religious change
• Invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg
• Implications of the new technology for book production
• Consequence: Rapid spread of the technology and the printing of the Gutenberg Bible
• Trend for translating the Bible into vernacular languages during the years following the printing press’s invention
• Luther’s own translation of the Bible during the Reformation
• Consequence: The large-scale effects the Reformation would have on religion and politics
• Summarize the history described
• Stress the significance of the printing press to the events of this period

Essays with two or more main subjects are often structured around comparing and contrasting . For example, a literary analysis essay might compare two different texts, and an argumentative essay might compare the strengths of different arguments.

There are two main ways of structuring a compare-and-contrast essay: the alternating method, and the block method.

Alternating

In the alternating method, each paragraph compares your subjects in terms of a specific point of comparison. These points of comparison are therefore what defines each paragraph.

The tabs below show a general template for this structure, and a specific example for an essay comparing and contrasting distance learning with traditional classroom learning.

• Synthesis of arguments
• Topical relevance of distance learning in lockdown
• Increasing prevalence of distance learning over the last decade
• Thesis statement: While distance learning has certain advantages, it introduces multiple new accessibility issues that must be addressed for it to be as effective as classroom learning
• Classroom learning: Ease of identifying difficulties and privately discussing them
• Distance learning: Difficulty of noticing and unobtrusively helping
• Classroom learning: Difficulties accessing the classroom (disability, distance travelled from home)
• Distance learning: Difficulties with online work (lack of tech literacy, unreliable connection, distractions)
• Classroom learning: Tends to encourage personal engagement among students and with teacher, more relaxed social environment
• Distance learning: Greater ability to reach out to teacher privately
• Sum up, emphasize that distance learning introduces more difficulties than it solves
• Stress the importance of addressing issues with distance learning as it becomes increasingly common
• Distance learning may prove to be the future, but it still has a long way to go

In the block method, each subject is covered all in one go, potentially across multiple paragraphs. For example, you might write two paragraphs about your first subject and then two about your second subject, making comparisons back to the first.

The tabs again show a general template, followed by another essay on distance learning, this time with the body structured in blocks.

• Point 1 (compare)
• Point 2 (compare)
• Point 3 (compare)
• Point 4 (compare)
• Advantages: Flexibility, accessibility
• Disadvantages: Discomfort, challenges for those with poor internet or tech literacy
• Advantages: Potential for teacher to discuss issues with a student in a separate private call
• Disadvantages: Difficulty of identifying struggling students and aiding them unobtrusively, lack of personal interaction among students
• Advantages: More accessible to those with low tech literacy, equality of all sharing one learning environment
• Disadvantages: Students must live close enough to attend, commutes may vary, classrooms not always accessible for disabled students
• Advantages: Ease of picking up on signs a student is struggling, more personal interaction among students
• Disadvantages: May be harder for students to approach teacher privately in person to raise issues

An essay that concerns a specific problem (practical or theoretical) may be structured according to the problems-methods-solutions approach.

This is just what it sounds like: You define the problem, characterize a method or theory that may solve it, and finally analyze the problem, using this method or theory to arrive at a solution. If the problem is theoretical, the solution might be the analysis you present in the essay itself; otherwise, you might just present a proposed solution.

The tabs below show a template for this structure and an example outline for an essay about the problem of fake news.

• Introduce the problem
• Provide background
• Describe your approach to solving it
• Define the problem precisely
• Describe why it’s important
• Indicate previous approaches to the problem
• Present your new approach, and why it’s better
• Apply the new method or theory to the problem
• Indicate the solution you arrive at by doing so
• Assess (potential or actual) effectiveness of solution
• Describe the implications
• Problem: The growth of “fake news” online
• Prevalence of polarized/conspiracy-focused news sources online
• Thesis statement: Rather than attempting to stamp out online fake news through social media moderation, an effective approach to combating it must work with educational institutions to improve media literacy
• Definition: Deliberate disinformation designed to spread virally online
• Popularization of the term, growth of the phenomenon
• Previous approaches: Labeling and moderation on social media platforms
• Critique: This approach feeds conspiracies; the real solution is to improve media literacy so users can better identify fake news
• Greater emphasis should be placed on media literacy education in schools
• This allows people to assess news sources independently, rather than just being told which ones to trust
• This is a long-term solution but could be highly effective
• It would require significant organization and investment, but would equip people to judge news sources more effectively
• Rather than trying to contain the spread of fake news, we must teach the next generation not to fall for it

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Signposting means guiding the reader through your essay with language that describes or hints at the structure of what follows.  It can help you clarify your structure for yourself as well as helping your reader follow your ideas.

The essay overview

In longer essays whose body is split into multiple named sections, the introduction often ends with an overview of the rest of the essay. This gives a brief description of the main idea or argument of each section.

The overview allows the reader to immediately understand what will be covered in the essay and in what order. Though it describes what  comes later in the text, it is generally written in the present tense . The following example is from a literary analysis essay on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .

Transitions

Transition words and phrases are used throughout all good essays to link together different ideas. They help guide the reader through your text, and an essay that uses them effectively will be much easier to follow.

Various different relationships can be expressed by transition words, as shown in this example.

Because Hitler failed to respond to the British ultimatum, France and the UK declared war on Germany. Although it was an outcome the Allies had hoped to avoid, they were prepared to back up their ultimatum in order to combat the existential threat posed by the Third Reich.

Transition sentences may be included to transition between different paragraphs or sections of an essay. A good transition sentence moves the reader on to the next topic while indicating how it relates to the previous one.

… Distance learning, then, seems to improve accessibility in some ways while representing a step backwards in others.

However , considering the issue of personal interaction among students presents a different picture.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
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The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

An essay isn’t just a loose collection of facts and ideas. Instead, it should be centered on an overarching argument (summarized in your thesis statement ) that every part of the essay relates to.

The way you structure your essay is crucial to presenting your argument coherently. A well-structured essay helps your reader follow the logic of your ideas and understand your overall point.

Comparisons in essays are generally structured in one of two ways:

• The alternating method, where you compare your subjects side by side according to one specific aspect at a time.
• The block method, where you cover each subject separately in its entirety.

It’s also possible to combine both methods, for example by writing a full paragraph on each of your topics and then a final paragraph contrasting the two according to a specific metric.

You should try to follow your outline as you write your essay . However, if your ideas change or it becomes clear that your structure could be better, it’s okay to depart from your essay outline . Just make sure you know why you’re doing so.

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Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). How to Structure an Essay | Tips & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved April 17, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/essay-structure/

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REDBOOK: Academic Writing and APA formatting guide will help you develop skills in writing research reports and essays and in following the formatting guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA).

REDBOOK is useful for university students in the social sciences, including psychology, criminology, social work, and education, as well as allied health areas, such as public health and exercise science.