The Modern Language Association (MLA) provides very explicit rules for the margins and spacing of academic papers. (For details on MLA’s typography guidelines, see: Document Format.) But the MLA Handbook’s advice on font selection is less precise: “Choose a standard, easily readable typeface (e.g. Times Roman) and type size (e.g. 12 point)” (4.1).

What exactly is a “standard” typeface or an “easily readable” type size? For academic papers, a “standard, easily readable typeface” means a serif font, and a readable type size is between 10 and 13 points.

Use A Serif Font

Serifs are the tiny strokes at the end of a letter’s main strokes. Serif fonts have these extra stokes; sans serif fonts do not. (Sans is French for “without.”) Serif fonts also vary the thickness of the letter strokes more than sans serifs, which have more uniform lines.

Books, newspapers, and magazines typically set their main text in a serif font because they make paragraphs and long stretches of text easier to read. Sans serifs work well for single lines of text, like headings or titles, but they rarely make a good choice for body text.

Sans serif fonts (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Gill Sans, Verdana, and so on) don’t read well over several pages of printed text, so don’t use a sans serif font for the text of an academic paper.

Use A Readable Type Size

The standard unit for measuring type size is the point. A point is 1/72 of an inch, roughly one pixel on a computer screen. Points measure the height of letters, not their width. That’s why if you set two fonts at the same point size, one usually looks bigger than the other. Compare the following paragraphs, both set at 12 points but in different fonts:

For body text in academic papers, type sizes below 10 points are usually too small to read easily, while type sizes above 13 points tend to look oversized and bulky.

As a rule, set your whole paper at 12 points. For most fonts, that size is both highly legible and also roomy enough so that your instructor can easily mark up your essay.

Font Recommendations

Times New Roman at 12 points is the standard font for academic writing. Many teachers require it because it’s a solid, legible, and universally available font.

Times New Roman Practically every computer on earth has a copy of Times New Roman. Stanley Morison designed it in 1931 for The Times newspaper, so it’s a very efficient font and legible even at very small sizes. Because Times New Roman is so ubiquitous it tends to fade into the background, letting your writing speak for itself.

Times New Roman is always a safe choice. But there are many other excellent fonts just as readable and not so overworked. Here are some widely available serif fonts perfectly suitable for academic papers:

Century Schoolbook Morris Benton designed Century Schoolbook in 1923 for elementary-school textbooks, so it’s a highly readable font. It’s one of the best fonts available with MS Word. Because its so legible, all legal documents submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court must be set in some version of Century Schoolbook.

Garamond Based on the Renaissance typography of Claude Garamond and Jean Jannon, Garamond is the classic old-style font. Garamond feels solid, traditional, and comfortable. All the Harry Potter books are set in Garamond. (Hint: MS Word’s Garamond works better at 13 points, than at 12 points.)

Georgia Matthew Carter designed Georgia in 1993 for maximum legibility on computer screens. Georgia looks nicer onscreen than it does it print, but, like Times New Roman, it’s on every computer and is quite easy to read. The name “Georgia” comes from a tabloid headline: “Alien Heads Found in Georgia.”

Palatino Hermann Zapf designed Palatino in 1948 as a display face for titles and headings, but its elegant proportions make it a good font for body text. Named for Renaissance calligrapher Giambattista Palatino, this font has the beauty, harmony, and grace of fine handwriting.

If you use a Mac, you have another excellent font available to you:

Hoefler Text In 1991 Apple commissioned Jonathan Hoefler to design a font that could show off the Mac’s ability to handle complex typography. The result was Hoefler Text, included with every Mac since then. Hoefler Text is compact without being cramped, formal without being stuffy, and distinctive without being obtrusive.