Top 6 Fonts for Academic Essay Writing
Have you ever googled the ways to type an A-grade essay? No wonder. Everyone has at least once tried to find helpful tips on how to write a good essay.
Professors want essays to sound persuasive. That’s why students look for reliable data. They prepare arguments and try to write logical conclusions. At the same time, they somehow neglect the particular formatting details. Professor’s requirements concern not only essay writing. Students also get instructions on how to properly format the final academic paper.
Most scholarly formatting guides start with essay instructions on fonts and spacing. Everything is clear with spacing. You have to write either a single-spaced or double-spaced paper. There are 2 variants for spacing but countless fonts.
What fonts may be appropriate for college essay writing? Is there the safest solution for school essays? What about university papers?
Deciding on a proper font is not that easy. Font type and size are serious aspects in college essay formatting that students often think are unimportant.
Why do you need to bother about fonts and their sizes anyway?
Importance of Fonts for Essays
You might have heard about the psychology of typography. It defines how a specific font may influence our feelings and thoughts.
In short, it goes like this: some fonts are great-looking and more impactful, others are ugly and appalling. Fonts produce the first impression about your written text. Academic essays should have an understandable font.
When you type a custom essay, you want it to express a certain idea. You need to think about it wisely and use fonts with purpose. A font may help make your essay’s idea more trustworthy. It can also significantly improve the understanding of a text and boost the speed of reading.
You don’t want your professor to fall asleep while reading your essay, do you? Faster reading speed contributes to the positive impression afterward. Reading your academic paper, your teacher should not get tired either.
Consider two types of typefaces: serifs and sans-serifs.
Serifs or Sans-Serifs for Essay Formatting?
Serifs are small curves in the anatomy of letters. One stroke may be thicker than others. Serif typefaces have higher readability for custom essay writing.
If your instructor or professor doesn’t mention the font requirement for your essay, a serif font like Times New Roman is your failsafe option. Standard type size is normally between 10–14 points. But 12 pt is a commonly preferred size for college or university essays. 14 points is never a mistake either.
Sans-serifs are fonts without extra curves. They have strict lines and express modernity and simplicity. Non-serif fonts are easily understandable and clean.
Font should not distract from reading an essay. Avoid unusual fonts like Braggadocio, Comic Sans, Zapf Chancery, etc.
Play it safe and use one of the top 3 serifs or top 3 non-serif fonts to write your academic essay.
Top 3 Serif Fonts for Custom Essay Writing
Times New Roman | Georgia | Garamond | |
Key features | FormalClassicConservative | ElegantContemporaryHighly legible for low-resolution screens | Preferable for long blocks of texture of informalityRemarkable readability |
Best for | Persuasive essay | Creative essay | A 2500-word essay or longer |
Peer into the fundamental features of these top 3 serifs for academic essays: Times New Roman, Georgia, and Garamond.
- Times New Roman
The public learned about Times New Roman in 1932, though its designer created it in 1929. It is the topmost academic font among professors and learners. Sometimes, it looks like there’s an unspoken convention between educational institutions to require this font for essays and research papers. It has a high level of practicality. The 14–16 font size is good for supplementary materials in your research essay too.
- Georgia
This font was designed considerably later, in 1993, by Matthew Carter for the Microsoft Corporation. Interestingly, it may help you get higher grades as one of the top serifs.
- Garamond
It is an older serif typeface that was created in the 16th century. If you need to write a 5-page or a 10-page essay, the font is ideal for these tasks. Publishers also prefer it for books and lengthy texts.
Top 3 Sans-Serif for Essays
Arial | Calibri | Helvetica | |
Key features | Neo-grotesqueSofterMore humanist | ContemporaryModernisticFeels soft and warm | SolidDensePractical |
Best for | 200–750 word papers | Narrative essay | Argumentative essay |
Compare the features of the top 3 non-serifs: Arial, Calibri, and Helvetica.
- Arial
This sans-serif font appeared in 1982. Since then, it’s been preferred by teachers around the globe. If you want your academic essay to look longer, use Arial. With this non-serif font, the overall paper will seem bigger.
- Calibri
Calibri is one of the youngest san-serifs that students prefer for essay typing. APA formatting guides recommend 11-point Calibri and Arial fonts for university papers.
- Helvetica
It originates from Switzerland. Helvetica is a marketable font for brands and logos. But many professors like its simplest design and ask students to use Helvetica 12 pt. font or even smaller.
Best Font to Write Essays: Summing up
So, what is the best font to type a top-grade essay? It depends on professors’ requirements. Some teachers like Times New Roman, Garamond, or Georgia – the top serif fonts for essay writing. Professors may also prefer such sans-serif defaults as Calibri, Helvetica, or Arial.
Times New Roman 12 point is a go-to font for practically any college paper. Follow APA or MLA recommendations and use them for any academic work. It’s always a win-win decision, whenever you decide on fonts for your college or school essays.
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