原稿用紙・げんこうようし is Japanese composition paper. Just like folder paper, this げんこうようし has a specific format. It is usually made up of 400 boxes, lined up 20 x 20. There are different sizes, depending on the grade level, but the most common size is the one available here.

 

The narrow lines betwee the boxes are used for writing the ふりがな or readings of the kanji and are positioned on the right side of the boxes. The split in the page, if there is one, was used to bind multiple pages, just like in the ちょうめん we use to practice character writing. There is a little "bowtie" at the top and a straight line nearer to the bottom of the middle split, and maybe some numbers at the bottom to show which way is up.

 

When writing an essay, there are a few conventions to keep in mind:

1.  The writing starts in the upper right-top corner.

2.  The first line is for the title. The first character should be written in the fourth box.

3.  The second line is for your name. You should have one black box after the last character in your name. Please write last name then first name. No spaces are needed. If you have a name that is only in kana, use a dot to separate your last and first name.

4.  To start a paragraph, indent by skipping one box at the top of the line.

5.  Each character has it's own box:  small つ, long sounds (ー written vertically), small characters in blends, commas, brackets 「」, and periods.

6.  The dot used to separate katakana words goes in the middle of the box.

7.  Commas and periods are written in the upper right quadrant of the box.

8.  Do not skip any boxes, except for the indent at the beginning of a paragraph.

9.  If a punctuation falls into the first box of a line, squeeze it in the last box of the previous line or add it in under the last box of the previous line.

10.  Unlike English, words can be separated and continued on the following line without rules. Don't skip spaces, don't worry about where to separate words.

11.  If you are typing in the essay, you will need to add in the readings (ふりがな) for the kanji you use after you print it out. There may be a way to add a text field into the actual document, but I am not sure how to do that.