Screenplay format commonly uses six elements, set in 12-point Courier on US Letter pages. Those elements distinguish where a scene happens, what happens, and what characters say. Use this guide beside your draft to check each kind of line. For other writing questions, browse the screenwriting guides.
What are the six elements of a screenplay?
The six commonly used elements are scene heading, action, character cue, parenthetical, dialogue, and transition. The ticket-booth scene below contains each element, including an optional transition to show its format. Read the excerpt, then check each element against the explanations below. The screenwriting glossary covers terms beyond this page.
INT. FERRY TICKET BOOTH - NIGHT
MARA, a clerk in a raincoat, slides a torn ticket beneath the glass. Outside, ELI, a soaked passenger, presses his palm against the window.
MARA
(through the glass)
You'll need the other half.
Eli opens his fist. A wet scrap sticks to his palm.
ELI
Then you'll have to open the door.
CUT TO:
EXT. FERRY PIER - NIGHT
Mara steps onto the empty pier. Eli is gone.
What are the margins, font, and page size?
Screenplays commonly use 12-point Courier on US Letter paper, with a wider left margin. Apply those settings to the ticket-booth scene before adjusting individual elements. Outside North America, A4 is also commonly used, so paper size varies. Avoid shrinking margins or line spacing to reduce your page count, a practice the Academy Nicholl guidance warns against.
| Setting | Common convention | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Font | 12-point Courier | Check the font and size throughout. |
| Paper | US Letter | A4 is also common outside North America. |
| Left margin | 1.5 inches | Keep the wider margin on the left. |
| Other page margins | 1 inch | Check the top, bottom, and right. |
| Page numbers | Top right, starting on page 2 | Leave page 1 unnumbered. |
| Title page | Unnumbered, before page 1 | Commonly include title, writer's name, and contact details. |
How to format a screenplay
Set the page layout, then give each line the format that matches its job. In the example, Mara sliding the ticket is action, not dialogue. Her spoken request belongs beneath her name. Work through the same distinction in your scene before checking optional directions.
Format a scene from the page outward
- Set the page
Use the common font, paper, and margin settings above. Keep those settings consistent rather than changing them to fit more text.
- Place the scene heading
Identify inside or outside, the location, and the time of day. Write the heading in capitals, as in the ticket-booth excerpt.
- Describe visible action
Write what the audience sees or hears in the present tense. Break the description into short paragraphs that follow the action.
- Separate speech from action
Put the speaker's capitalized name above the dialogue. Give the spoken words their narrower column rather than leaving them inside an action paragraph.
- Check optional directions
Keep a parenthetical only when it clarifies something the words leave unclear. Check whether a new scene heading makes a transition unnecessary.
- Review the page
Check page numbering and the unnumbered title page. Read the scene for places where speech or action has the wrong element.
How do you format a scene heading?
- Scene heading
- A scene heading is the line that opens a scene, commonly stating inside or outside, location, and time in capitals. In the excerpt, the opening heading places the reader inside the ferry ticket booth at night. INT. means indoors; EXT. means outdoors. Avoid putting action into the heading; Mara sliding the ticket belongs below it.
DAY and NIGHT are commonly used for time. Use DAWN, DUSK, or CONTINUOUS when that distinction matters to the story. INT./EXT. commonly marks a scene crossing between indoors and outdoors. The excerpt instead uses separate headings for the booth and pier, making the change of location explicit.
How do you format action lines?
- Action
- Action is the description of what an audience sees and hears, commonly written in present tense and short paragraphs. Eli opening his fist gives the reader something visible. Avoid replacing that action with an explanation of his private thoughts. If the important information is that he has kept the ticket scrap, let the scrap appear in his hand.
Character names commonly appear in capitals on their first appearance in action, followed by a brief description. Mara's raincoat supplies a visible detail without pausing for a biography. Action paragraphs commonly stay short, often no more than three or four lines. Break a dense paragraph where the reader's attention moves to a new action.
How do you format dialogue?
- Dialogue
- Dialogue is what characters say aloud, commonly placed in a narrower column than action beneath the speaker's name. Mara's request for the missing ticket half belongs in that column. Eli opening his fist does not. Avoid combining speech and physical description in the same dialogue block; give the visible action its own action paragraph.
- Character cue
- A character cue is the speaker's name, commonly in capitals above the dialogue. MARA identifies the speaker before the reader reaches her words. Avoid leaving a speech without a cue or putting the name into the spoken sentence. Keep the cue recognizable so the reader can follow the exchange without searching backward.
How do you use parentheticals?
- Parenthetical
- A parenthetical is a short direction in parentheses, commonly between the character cue and dialogue. Mara's direction clarifies that she speaks through the glass rather than through an open hatch. Use this element sparingly for something the words leave unclear. Avoid adding a tone instruction to every speech or placing a long sequence of physical actions inside parentheses.
How do transitions, O.S., V.O., and CONT'D work?
- Transition
- A transition is an instruction about how a scene moves into the next, commonly placed toward the page's right side. CUT TO: marks that movement in the excerpt. Avoid adding it after every scene; the next heading already signals the change. Keep a transition when the transition itself matters.
- O.S.
- O.S. is a common marker for a speaker in the scene but off camera. If Eli calls from outside the visible frame while the booth scene continues, O.S. can clarify his position. Phone-voice practice varies. Use the O.S. and V.O. guide to check that distinction.
- V.O.
- V.O. is a common marker for a voice outside the scene, such as narration. If Mara narrates a memory while the pier appears on screen, V.O. distinguishes that voice from speech within the scene. Choose the marker that describes the voice's relationship to the scene, not its volume.
- CONT'D
- CONT'D is a continuation marker commonly placed beside a character cue when the speaker continues after action or a page break. If Mara speaks again after moving the ticket, her cue can carry it. Many writers let software add this marker rather than placing it by hand.
- MORE
- MORE is a continuation marker commonly placed in parentheses at the bottom of a page when dialogue continues onto the next page. If Mara's speech crosses a page break, this marker signals that her speech is unfinished. Screenwriting software commonly adds it automatically.
What formatting mistakes should you avoid?
- Spec script
- A spec script is a screenplay presented for reading rather than as a shooting document. It commonly uses master scenes: scenes introduced by headings without separate shot designations. The excerpt directs attention to Eli's palm by describing it, not by prescribing a camera angle. Avoid adding production instructions when the action already shows what matters.
- Keep scene numbers out of a spec script. They commonly belong to shooting scripts.
- Describe the important object or movement instead of inserting camera directions such as CLOSE ON.
- Keep action visible or audible. Replace explanations of private thoughts with behavior the audience can observe.
- Check crowded pages for dense action and unnecessary directions, not opportunities to shrink the margins.