Preferred font for an essay?

[lynx]

As header. Whats the consensus for a font for an essay?

 

[Gunhawk]

for me i used to stick to the basics - Arial or Tahoma (hate Times New Roman) and the largest size i could get away with any way to write the least amount i could and still fill up lots of pages

 

[rickinyorkshire]

Comic Sans - 14

 

[MrSossidge]

Helvetica.

Don't use 12pt though cos it's massive.

Knock it down to about 10pt and increase the line spacing a little.

 

[DPinBucks]

Will it be printed or read electronically?

If printed, and assuming you're using Word, then Arial 10 or Times New Roman 12 are recommended. Although it's not my choice, most people seem to prefer TNR. Also, set the line spacing to 1.5. It will use more paper but be easier to read (always consider the reader before yourself).

If read electronically, then I would use Arial 10 and single line spacing. The reader can always adjust it himself for his own comfort.

 

[lynx]

It will be submmited on paper and requires to be double spaced.

 

[Ed Selley]

For reading on screen, I like Tahoma. Times New Roman is ideal for printed material however.

 

[Berties]

wingdings :-D

 

[Deleted member 27989]

From an accessibility perspective (if that is of any concern) you should choose 14points. Alternative a 12 or 11 is fine. These days I think a 10 is considered too small by most people and you wouldn't want to have them feel embarrassed when they can't read your essay ;-)

Serif or non-serif that is entirely your choice.

 

[kopchoir]

Academically speaking my university say that font must be times new roman or arial size 12

Comic Sans - 14

Sure for academic work comic sans is a no go due to professional quality

 

[Deleted member 30535]

I thought I read that sans-serif fonts marginally increased comprehension on behalf of the reader, but this perhaps dispels that notion.
Which Are More Legible: Serif or Sans Serif Typefaces? – alexpoole.info

I use sans-serif for reports, and Helvetica is a good clean font.

 

[kopchoir]

I thought I read that sans-serif fonts marginally increased comprehension on behalf of the reader, but this perhaps dispels that notion.
Which Are More Legible: Serif or Sans Serif Typefaces? – alexpoole.info

I use sans-serif for reports, and Helvetica is a good clean font.

I also thought there were some sort of link between dyslexia and comic sans with it being easier to read or something along those lines

 

[FruitBat]

What subject is it?

I used to use Times New Roman a lot, but for technical documentation, it doesn't really cut the mustard. Words in block capitals look a bit odd. I changed to Arial for a bit, but got caught out by lower case l and upper case I looking too similar (IT documentation is full of "ID"s). I now use Verdana almost exclusively.

 

[lynx]

What subject is it?

Sociology (loosely).

 

[rickinyorkshire]

Academically speaking my university say that font must be times new roman or arial size 12



Sure for academic work comic sans is a no go due to professional quality

Yea, i kind of forgot this smiley on the end of my last post

 

[Pincho Paxton]

Arial seems to get used a lot for such things. It's the one I usually go to.

 

[Stephen Carter]

We have to use arial size 12 at my college, it looks big on screen but once its printed its just right size

 

[Beany31]

Arial - size 10 - 1.5 line spacing, uni always used to say double but 1.5 is better, and they never said anything to me.

 

[Solomon Grundy]

The marketing and psychology gurus at my work always recommend sans-serif font.

 

[IronGiant]

Yet another Arial vote here 12 or 14. Or 18 if I need to read it myself

 

[eviljohn2]

Sans-serif for headings and titles (so bold Arial). Serifed for body text (so Times New Roman).

 

[MrSossidge]

Don't mix the two. That'll look hideous.

For your headings, Bold them and make them a point size or two larger.

 

[Citizen J]

Sociology (loosely).

I would recommend Times New Roman 12 or Arial 10/12. Anything with a 14 font is generally considered too large for an official essay.

 

[lynx]

Font size isn't really the issue. I'm trying to avoid the reader loosing the will to live by being as easy on the eye as academically acceptable.

 

[MrSossidge]

Why don't you do a little experiment with paragraphs.

Use different typefaces and see which one you like the best. Essentially you are asking a subjective question to a bunch of people who will all have their own ideas.

Try Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, Verdana, Times, etc etc and see which one you like the best.