Formatting Nazi Christine

So, I am that formatting nazi in class that irritates everyone. Lots of people are sticklers for grammar and spelling, but a lot of people ignore format. When you format your pages, you give a first impression by the way you have set up your page. Make sure that you indent your paragraphs the same every time, even in bullet points, make sure that you have an equal amount of spaces entered or you look sloppy. Make sure that you have your margins correct. Generally speaking, you want double spaced, 12pt Times New Roman.

Now, I know that a lot of people will think I'm crazy, but I'm not (well, I am, but not about this). I would love to work for a publisher as an editor someday and I love editing other people's work, but if I ever want to do all of these things justice, I have to be on top of the small details. In one class, the professor did a rubric, which we were supposed to critique and explain our issues; I said that it had some professionalism issues because the different details weren't all the same in the indents, some were caps and some lower case, it was inconsistent. You don't want that to be the image you convey.

Here's a brief list of little things to check on your formatting to look extra professional:
1) Indent one tab at the start of every paragraph OR add an extra space between paragraphs and no indent.
2) If you use Microsoft Word, it adds a 10pt space every time you hit Enter; remove this. You don't want that extra gap, unless you aren't using indents.
3) DOUBLE SPACE!!!!
4) 12pt Times New Roman. I know it's boring, but it looks professional and straightforward.
5) If you are submitting a specific document, make sure to check their guidelines, especially for margins and page numbers.
6) Set your margins first. Don't write your paper and then change the margins, you could discover that your paper is too long or not long enough.

For the JET SoP, they give you a pretty simple guideline:
7) Statement of Purpose (3 photocopies): This is an essay, in English, of not more than two 8½" x 11" (or A4) pages, typewritten in 12 point font and double-spaced with one-inch margins. Please note that anything beyond the required two pages will not be read.Please type your name and page number (1of 2, 2 of 2) on each page. Be sure to include two copies of your statement in your application package.
Use a standard paper, 1" margins, double-spaced, 12pt. It does not list where to place your name and page number, so I recommend the top right corner. Generally speaking, you want this in the bottom right, but this acts as your header and makes it easier to reference you as the writer. Also, on the off-chance that something happens and your app gets mixed up, they can find your stuff super easy with the name/page number in the top right.

I hope this is helpful ^_^