As we all know, essays are a part and parcel of one’s life. But when it comes to writing or in this Digi world- ‘typing’ then, one often tends to forget the formatting required for the essay. Shifting from writing to typing brings in a new change- a new task- finding an apt font for the essay. While in writing all we had was our handwriting as the one and only font, now we have a plenty million number to choose from. While writing, it is stressed upon a point to write beautifully, legibly etc. etc… Similarly, choosing the right font can make or break a reader’s experience with your essay. So how do we choose an apt font for an essay? What are the factors depending on it?? Here are some useful tips and measures to choose the best font for any type of essay:
Research Fonts Used in Other Essays
If confused, or stuck, check out other essays and works likewise to see the types of fonts used. Another way is to seek inspiration from peers and get to know what types would they be using. You don’t necessarily have to use the same but something along the same lies would do.
Best Fonts for Essays and Reports: Serif or Sans-Serif
Tiny strokes extending on letters are Serifs. The tiny strokes extending on the letters are called Serifs. When wondering which font to use it all comes down to the formality and where will the essay be published.
More readable for long paragraphs, serif fonts have clearly defined italics with a sharper contract. This elegance of serif fonts works for more formal academic papers. Therefore, they are highly recommended to be used in academics. Examples of serif fonts are Times New Roman, New Century Schoolbook, Courier, and Palatino. And of course, Times New Roman is the best of the lot.
While working on informal reports, the casual nature of sans serif fonts comes in handy. They are generally recommended for use because they’re more legible and less tiring to read on a computer screen. Examples of sans serif fonts are Verdana, Ariel, Helvetica, and Calibri, among others. Having no true italics, their letters are just slightly slanted to the right. Thus, they aren’t good for body texts. But they’re cool for headings and single-line texts.
Usually, no matter where an essay is published a combination of serif and sans serif fonts works. One style is used for the headings and the other for the body.
What to keep in mind while Choosing a Font
Content: Have a crystal-clear idea of the content. Choose multi-language friendly fonts if your content has words from various languages.
Tone: Knowing if your content has a formal or an informal tone will help you determine whether you should go for a serif or sans-serif typeface.
Readability: To give your audience a seamless reading experience, and help them easily understand and digest your content, make sure your font is legible and hassle-free. It should have two key features: readability ad clearly contrasted italics.
Size of the font
This uses a unit called the “point”. It’s basically the percentage of the screen that the letter(s) occupy and is equivalent to approximately one pixel on a computer screen. 10 to 12 points is the recommended font size, while writing academic papers. These sizes make your text reader friendly without necessarily looking bulky and oversized.
Here are some commonly used standard fonts that are best for essays and any other academic reports:
Times New Roman
A Serif font its very clear and has been staple for essays since ages. It has served its time being the default font on MS Word.
Calibri
A Sans font, this is your next best choice. A simple font, it is a very safe choice.
Arial
Another great Sans font is Arial which is a rather bland font. But that’s what makes it Arial so popular.
Georgia
Considered a traditional font, it is a great Serif alternative to Times New Roman since it’s a little unique.
Garamond
A great old-school Serif font it’s really beautiful and simplistic. This is one of the greatest choices for a traditional look ad is reader friendly too.
Book Antiqua
An old-school Serif font, fresh, new, unique and gentle. It is very beautiful and also easy to read and thus a very great choice for essays.
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Be it an academic paper or a creative essay, its highly essential to choose a font that matches the tone and content of the paper. More importantly, a readable typeface is required for the audience focus on the content. At the end of the day, hard to read essays can be off-putting.
By: Masoomi Santosh Nevgi
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