Format for a

Research Paper

Regardless of the nature of your

research, if you are writing a paper an
outline will help you to not only organize
your thoughts, but also serve as the
template for your entire paper. An outline
for a research paper is a visual reminder
to include all of the pertinent details of
your research into your essay or paper. It
is essentially a skeletal version of the
true paper, and will guide you through
the entire process.
How do you create an
outline for your paper?
Initially, dividing your essay, research or
other paper into various components
(Introduction, Body, Conclusion, etc.) will
help you to stay better organized and
reduce the risk of important information
being forgotten or unintentionally omitted.
Furthermore, breaking the essay down
into these parts will allow you to address
specific parts individually and lessen the
chances of feeling overwhelmed.

How to Write an Outline for a

Research Paper

The structure of your outline will be

similar regardless of whether you are
writing a scientific paper or something
more general. Interestingly, the structure
of a research outline is nearly identical to
that of a research paper template. In
order to better acquaint yourself with the
structure of an outline, check out sample
research papers online. The USC Guide
to Making an Outline will also help you.

The chief components to an outline are:

1. The Introduction
2. The Body
3. The Conclusion
Relatively straightforward, right?
However, the part to remember is that
each part serves a specific purpose and
how you arrange information in your
outline will drive how your paper reads
upon completion.

The Introduction is one of the most

important elements of any great research
paper, and interestingly enough, often
written LAST. This is because the
purpose of the introduction is to grab the
attention of the reader, this is done by
presenting the reader with the topic, and
using the thesis statement as an
opportunity to ‘hook’ the attention of the
reader.

The Body is the heartiest part of the

essay, it includes many fact-rich
paragraphs or subsections and will allow
you to build upon your thesis statement
by providing facts to support your
argument. This section should not only
elaborate on your opening statement, but
also provide insight into the methods
used to conduct your research and
include investigative points or answers to
questions pondered.
You will also want to consider using a
literature overview. This is achieved by
documenting the literary sources used to
support your theories and hypothesis.
The topic of your paper and the selected
literature should be adjacent.

If you used any sort of data validation,

this will typically follow the methodology
and literature sections. This is where you
will highlight your results and mention
other variables that you’ve uncovered in
your research. You might choose to use
graphs or tables, but remember to
explain these to your readers.

Lastly, you will write your Conclusion.

The conclusion typically does not offer
new information, but rather summarizes
the main points addressed in the paper.
It is mandatory to also reiterate the thesis
statement and mention any future
research.

In order to help you, we have made a

review of the top research paper writing
services:

Premium Partner
From $18.00 per page
4,8 / 5
GET HELP

Best Local Service

From £14.60 per page
4,6 / 5
GET HELP
Sitejababer Choice
From $13.90 per page
4,5 / 5
GET HELP
* All Partners were chosen among 50+ writing services
by our Customer Satisfaction Team

How to Format a Research

Paper
There are a number of sources you can
turn to for research paper examples and,
depending on your field of study, a
plethora of potential high quality topics to
pull your subject matter from.

As you will learn from looking through

any good research paper example,
writing a great paper involves so much
more than simply throwing a bunch of
text and citations into a word processor
and hoping for the best.

A passing grade means not only

thoroughly researching your topic and
ensuring that all of your sources are
accurately cited, but also ensuring that
your research essay is properly
formatted. The following guideline will
help you to create finished paper that not
only reads like it was professionally
written – but also looks like it!

Formatting A Research
Paper
1. Paper
Use clean, good quality 8 1/2″ x 11″
white paper, one side only.
2. Margins
Leave margins of your essay 1″ (2.5 cm)
at the top, bottom, left and right sides of
each and every page. 1″ is about 10
typed spaces. Exception is made for
page numbers which are placed 1/2″
(1.25 cm) from the top upper-right hand
corner, flushed to the right margin.

3. Title Page
A title page is not essential for a research
paper unless specifically requested by
your teacher. The MLA
Handbook provides a general guideline
on writing a research paper and
documenting sources. In case of conflict,
you should always follow guidelines set
down by your teacher.
If you don’t have a title page, you may
begin 1″ from the top of the first page of
your essay and start typing your name
flushed against the left margin. Then
under your name, on separate lines,
double-spaced, and flushed against the
left margin, type your teacher’s name,
your course code, and the date.

If your teacher prefers the first page of

your essay not be numbered, you will
begin numbering with page 2.

Double-space after the date. On a new

line, center the title of your essay. If you
have a long title, double-space between
lines of the title.

Example:
Jones 1
Tracy Jones
Ms. K. Smith
NRW-3A1-01
16 January 2006
Gun Control: Pros and Cons
Do not type your title all in capital letters.
Do not put quotations marks before and
after the title. Do not underline the title, or
put a period at the end of the title. Proper
names of people and places as well as
important words should be capitalized in
the title, but prepositions and
conjunctions are normally shown in lower
case letters, e.g. Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets. The same rule
applies to headings and subheadings as
well.

Follow the same capitalization rules for

acronyms as you normally would in
writing a text of the essay, e.g. FBI would
be all in capitals as it is the acronym
for Federal Bureau of Investigations.
When using an acronym, especially an
uncommon one, you must indicate what
the letters stand for at the first
occurrence in your essay. Example: The
North American Aerospace Defense
Command (NORAD) is nearly finished
converting from using standard
desktop PCs to blade PCs.

If a Title Page is a requirement for your

assignment, begin on a new page. Use a
format preferred by your teacher.
Otherwise, center each line and double-
space every line on a blank page: name
of school (optional), title of paper in
upper and lower case, course code,
course name (optional), teacher’s name,
your first and last name, and date.

Your separate title page should appear

as follows:
Gun Control: Pros and Cons
NRW-3A1-01
Ms. K. Smith
Tracy Jones
16 January 2006

The following example shows what NOT

to do for a title page:
TITLE OF ESSAY: “GUN CONTROL:
PROS AND CONS”
COURSE CODE: “NRW-3A1-01”
TO MY TEACHER: “MS. KATIE
ELIZABETH SMITH”
FROM YOUR STUDENT: “TRACY
MARIA CHRISTINA CARMELA
JONES”
ASSIGNMENT DUE DATE: “MONDAY,
JANUARY THE SIXTEENTH, IN THE
YEAR 2006”
It is not necessary to describe or explain
the title page by adding the words: Title,
Course Code, To, From, or Due Date.
More is not better. Minimal information
providing simple identification is
adequate.
 The deadline is too short to
read long manuals?
Save your time with our Writing
Partner - EduBirdie
Place order 7 minutes
Choose writer 2 minutes
Receive paper always on time
RECEIVE PAPER IN 3 HOURS
*EduBirdie as a Premium Partner was chosen among
50+ writing services by our Customer Satisfaction
Team.
4. Numbering Pages and Paragraphs
Number your pages consecutively
throughout the essay in the upper right
hand corner, flush against the right
margin and 1/2″ from the top. The MLA
Handbook recommends that you type
your last name just before the page
number in case the pages get misplaced
(134). On page 4 of your essay, for
example, your top right-hand corner
should show: Jones 4

Page numbers must be written in Arabic

numerals. Do not add anything fancy to
decorate a page number. Do not
underline it, enclose it between hyphens,
parentheses, asterisks, or precede it with
“Page”, “Pg.”, “P.”, or add a period after
the number. In other words, DO NOT use
any of the following:

PAGE 4, Page 4, Pg. 4, P 4, pg. 4, p. 4,

#4, ~ 4 ~, – 4 -, * 4*, (4), “4”, 4, or 4.
Simply write: 4

Remember, there is no period after the

page number.
If you are submitting your essay to your
teacher via e-mail, he or she may prefer
that you number all your paragraphs
consecutively with reference points by
adding [1] at the beginning of your 1st
paragraph, [2] before your
2nd paragraph, and so forth. Electronic
submission of documents is becoming
more common as e-mail is being used
widely. This system will facilitate the
citation of sources by identifying a
specific paragraph for reference very
quickly.

5. Spacing Between Lines

Whether your essay is handwritten, typed
or printed, the entire essay should be
double-spaced between lines along with
1″ margin on all sides for your teacher to
write comments.
Spacing Between Words
In general, leave one space between
words and one space after every
comma, semi-colon, or colon.
Traditionally, two spaces are required at
the end of every sentence whether the
sentence ends with a period, a question
mark, or an exclamation mark. Although
it is not wrong to leave two spaces after a
period, it is quite acceptable nowadays to
leave only one space after each
punctuation mark. However, NO space
should be left in front of a punctuation
mark; for example, the following would
be incorrect: op. cit. or “Why me?”

For details on how to place tables,

illustrations, figures, musical notations,
labels, captions, etc. in your essay,
please see the MLA Handbook (134-
137).
6. Indentation
If a handwritten essay is acceptable to
your teacher, remember to double-space
all lines, and begin each paragraph with
an indentation of 1″ from the left margin.
Use the width of your thumb as a rough
guide.

If you are using a typewriter or a word

processor on a computer, indent 5
spaces or 1/2″ at the beginning of each
paragraph. Indent set-off quotations 10
spaces or 1″ from the left margin.

Your instructor may give you a choice to

indent or not to indent your paragraphs.
No matter whichever one you choose to
use, you must be consistent throughout
your essay.
If you are NOT indenting, you will start
each paragraph flush to the left margin. It
is essential that you double-space
between lines and quadruple-space
between paragraphs. When paragraphs
are not indented, it is difficult for a reader
to see where a new paragraph begins,
hence quadruple-space is called for
between paragraphs. Set-off quotations
should still be indented 10 spaces or 1″
from the left margin.

7. Right Justify and Automatic

Hyphens:
Do not right justify your entire essay and
do not automatically format hyphens if
you are using a word processor to type
your essay. Left justify or justify your
essay and type in the hyphens yourself
where needed. Left justification is
preferred as it will not leave big gaps
between words.
8. Titles of Books, Magazines,
Newspapers, or Journals
When used within the text of your paper,
titles of all full-length works such as
novels, plays, or books, should be
underlined, e.g. Shakespeare’s Theater.

Put in quotation marks titles of shorter

works, such as newspaper, journal, and
magazine articles, chapters of books or
essays, e.g.: “Giving Back to the Earth:
Western Helps Make a Difference in
India.”

For all title citations, every word, except

articles (“a“, “an“, “the“), prepositions
(such as “in“, “on“, “under“, “over“), and
conjunctions (such as “and“, “because“,
“but“, “however“), should be capitalized,
unless they occur at the beginning of the
title or subtitle, e.g.: “And Now for
Something Completely Different: A
Hedgehog Hospital.”

Look it up in a dictionary whenever you

are not sure whether a word is being
used as a preposition, a conjunction, a
noun, a verb, or an adverb. The word
“near“, for instance, may be an adverb,
an adjective, a verb, or a preposition
depending on the context in which it is
used.

For complicated details on how to cite

titles and quotations within titles, sacred
texts, shortened titles, exceptions to the
rule, etc. please consult the MLA
Handbook (102-109).

9. Writing an Essay All in Capital

Letters:
DO NOT WRITE OR TYPE
EVERYTHING ALL IN CAPITAL
LETTERS EVEN THOUGH THIS SAVES
YOU TIME AND EFFORT NOT TO
HAVE TO USE THE SHIFT KEY
REPEATEDLY OR TO HAVE TO
FIGURE OUT WHEN OR WHEN NOT
TO USE CAPITAL LETTERS.SOME
PEOPLE WRITE EVERYTHING IN
CAPITAL LETTERS BECAUSE THEY
HAD NEVER LEARNED TO WRITE
SENTENCES IN UPPER AND LOWER-
CASE LETTERS PROPERLY WHEN
THEY WERE IN ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL.OTHER PEOPLE WRITE ALL
IN CAPITAL LETTERS BECAUSE THEY
WANT TO MAKE WHAT THEY WRITE
APPEAR IMPORTANT.READING A
PAPER ALL WRITTEN IN CAPITAL
LETTERS,ESPECIALLY ONE WITHOUT
SPACES AFTER PUNCTUATION
MARKS,SLOWS DOWN READING
SPEED AND MAY EVEN REDUCE
READER COMPREHENSION,BESIDES
BEING EXTREMELY ANNOYING TO
THE READER.REMEMBER THAT THE
PURPOSE OF WRITING ANYTHING IS
TO COMMUNICATE.MOST OF US ARE
NOT CONDITIONED TO READ ALL
TEXT IN CAPITAL LETTERS.WORD
PROCESSORS ALSO TREAT WORDS
STUCK TOGETHER WITHOUT
SPACES AS SINGLE WORDS
CAUSING OTHER PROBLEMS.

10. Table of Contents

A short essay or research paper requires
no Table of Contents.

If your written report or research paper is

extremely long, it may be helpful to
include a Table of Contents showing the
page number where each section begins.
For those writing a lengthy document, i.e.
a book, here is the suggested order for
placing items in a Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements, Foreword,
Introduction, Body (Parts I, II, III),
Summary or Conclusion, Afterword,
Explanatory Notes, Appendices, Contact
Organizations, Glossary, Endnotes (if not
using Footnotes or Parenthetical
citations), Bibliography, Index.

A less involved Table of Contents may

simply include the following sections:
Introduction, Body (use main section
headings), Conclusion (or Summary),
Works Cited (or References), along with
the corresponding page number where
each section begins.

Example:
CONTENTS
Introduction
………………………………………………
………………… 1
Government
………………………………………………
………………… 3
Economy
………………………………………………
……………………… 6
Arts and Entertainment
……………………………………………….
. 10
Conclusion
………………………………………………
………………….. 14
Works Cited
………………………………………………
………………… 15

11. End of Essay

No special word, phrase or fancy symbol
is needed to mark the end of your essay.
A period at the end of your last sentence
is all that is needed.

12. Keeping Essay Together

Sheets of paper should be stapled at the
upper left-hand corner. Use a paper clip
if no stapler is available. Do not use a pin
or fold the paper. Unless specifically
requested by your teacher, do not hand
in your paper in a folder, a binder, a
plastic jacket, rolled up with an elastic
band around it, or tied with a ribbon or a
string. Do not spray perfume or cologne
on your paper or use scented paper. And
NEVER hand in your research or term
paper in loose sheets even if the sheets
are numbered and neatly placed in an
envelope or folder.
The condition of the paper you hand in is
an indication of the respect you have for
yourself and for your teacher. Before
handing in your paper, ask yourself, “Is
this the VERY BEST that I can do?”

Final Note on Your Essay

The topics used for each research paper
are inherently different, and even
identical topics will appear to be unique
based on the viewpoints and educational
level of the author. Regardless of your
grade level or the topic you’ve been
assigned, a research paper outline can
help you turn in a great essay. It should
include a bulleted list of subheadings and
headings; be sure to mention as much
detail as possible. Crossing out each
section as you finish it will help you to
stay thorough.
Here is a sample research paper outline.

INTRODUCTION

1. A quick overview or introduction of

the topic or issue
2. The methodology being used
3. The thesis statement
4. A full review of every source used
and all of the corresponding literature
5. A brief explanation of the
relevance of the research
BODY

1. Detailed and thorough information

about the main points of the argument
2. Use as many paragraphs as
necessary. Each paragraph should
represent a different point.
CONCLUSION
1. Brief summary of all of the main
points or facts mentioned in the body.
2. Reiteration of the thesis statement
3. Closing remark or thought.