Screenwriting Basics

How to Format a Screenplay: The Standard Rules (With Examples)

Published July 10, 2026 · 8 min read

Screenplay format explained: margins, scene headings, action, dialogue, and more. Learn the industry-standard rules readers expect — with clear examples.

Screenplay format isn't decoration — it's a shared language. When your script uses the standard layout, a reader can estimate its runtime, a first assistant director can break it down, and everyone on set knows exactly where to look. Get the format wrong and a professional reader may stop before the story even starts.

Here are the core rules, element by element.

The page basics

  • Font: 12-point Courier (fixed-width). This is what makes roughly one page ≈ one minute of screen time.
  • Paper size: US Letter (8.5" × 11").
  • Margins: 1" top and bottom, 1" right, and 1.5" left (the extra left margin leaves room for brads/binding).
  • Page numbers: top-right corner, starting from page 2.
  • Length: ~90–120 pages for a feature.

Good screenwriting software applies all of this automatically — you should never be setting margins by hand.

Scene heading (slug line)

Every scene starts with a scene heading, also called a slug line. It's written in ALL CAPS and has three parts:

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY
  1. INT. or EXT. — interior or exterior.
  2. Location — where we are.
  3. Time of day — usually DAY or NIGHT.

Use INT./EXT. for a location that's both (like a moving car seen inside and out). Keep locations consistent — "COFFEE SHOP" and "CAFÉ" reading as the same place will confuse a breakdown later.

Action (description)

Action lines describe what we see and hear, written in the present tense and the full page width:

Sarah shoulders open the door, arms full of files. The papers
slip. She lunges — too late. They scatter across the wet floor.

Keep action tight and visual. Two things belong in ALL CAPS the first time they appear:

  • A character's name on their first introduction: A nervous intern, DANIEL (22), hovers by the printer.
  • Significant sounds or on-screen text: The phone BUZZES.

Character name (cue)

Before dialogue, the speaking character's name appears in ALL CAPS, indented to about 3.7" from the left:

                    DANIEL
          I think the printer hates me.

Dialogue

Dialogue sits in a centered column, roughly 2.5" from the left margin, narrower than action. It's the words the character actually speaks.

Parenthetical

A parenthetical (or "wryly") gives a brief delivery note or action, on its own line in parentheses between the character cue and the dialogue:

                    DANIEL
                (under his breath)
          Please just work.

Use them sparingly. If an actor could infer it from the scene, cut it.

Extensions: O.S., V.O., and CONT'D

Small tags next to the character name change how we hear the line:

Extension Meaning
(O.S.) Off-screen — the character is in the scene but not on camera
(V.O.) Voice-over — narration or thoughts layered over the picture
(CONT'D) The same character keeps talking after an action line

The difference between O.S. and V.O. trips up new writers: O.S. means physically present but out of frame; V.O. means not part of the scene's physical space (a narrator, a phone voice, a memory).

Transitions

Transitions like CUT TO: or DISSOLVE TO: sit against the right margin. Modern specs use them rarely — editors decide most cuts — but SMASH CUT TO: or MATCH CUT TO: can be used deliberately for effect.

A short formatted example

Putting it together:

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY

Rain streaks the window. SARAH (30s), coat still dripping,
scans the room. It's empty except for one man.

                    SARAH
                (approaching)
          You're late.

                    DANIEL (O.S.)
          You're early.

He rises from the booth behind her. She turns, startled.

                                        CUT TO:

Let the software handle the rules

Memorizing margins is a waste of a writer's attention. The point of learning the format is to recognize when something is off — the actual indentation should be automatic. Dedicated screenwriting tools apply each element style as you type, so a scene heading, a character cue, and a parenthetical all land in exactly the right place.

That's the core of how Scriptease handles writing: standard formatting out of the box, then breakdown and scheduling built on the same document — so the script you format is the same one your production team plans from. If you're comparing options, see our screenwriting software comparison.

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