As a college student, you have encountered the task of writing a research paper. And you surely get confused about where to start. But, do you think, before the beginning of any research paper, you should know the research paper format.
Becoming academically successful is not a piece of cake for every student. In order to write an accurate and academic research paper, you should know the format of the Research paper.
In this blog, I will state the research paper format. But initially, you must know about the concept of the research paper.
What exactly is a Research Paper?
A Research Paper is a variety of essays in which you have to explain what you have learned after understanding and exploring the topic. In the research paper, you include information from the sources like books, online blogs, and articles. You can also include your thoughts, opinions, and knowledge. A research paper means that more than 75% of the data should be written in your own words.
In another word, a research paper is a part of academic writing that provides review, clarification, and reasoning based on deep research.
Usually, Research Paper can be written in two types:
- Research Paper in APA Format
- Research Paper In MLA Format
Let’s discuss the overview of both and discuss their formats.
What is APA?
The APA (American Psychological Association) is the most influential organization for professional psychologists worldwide. It has 150,000 total specialists from the US, Canada, and other countries. The primary purpose of the APA is to promote psychology as a science and profession. Along with the improvement of well-being, mental health, and education of the people.
APA formatting is mainly used in psychology, Business, Economics, Sociology, and other science-related branches.
APA Research Paper Format
Writing an APA format is simple. Honestly, nothing is challenging about this particular format. Moreover, you just need to remember certain things to write a proper paper.
Title Page: Every research paper starts with the title page. The APA format pays a lot of attention to the title page. The APA formatting requirements are simple but strictly followed in the APA paper. The requirements are as follows:
- The title should be in the center of the title page.
- The APA format recommends that the title should be less than 12 words. Furthermore, avoid using any unnecessary information and abbreviations.
- The whole title page should be double-spaced. The name of the author should be beneath the title. The author’s name should include his first name and last name. Do not include any formalities like Ph.D. or Mr., etc.
- After that, the institution, college, and university names should be mentioned on the title page.
- The running head includes the capitalization of the short name of the heading. Then the header of the title page should be within the colon and shortened title.
Abstract: In an APA paper, you should add an abstract. The motive of the abstract is to serve:
- An introduction to the author’s ideas
- A summary of the research conducted by the author
- Explain any abbreviations and vocabulary
The abstract page helps readers with a brief overview of your paper.
Body: APA style states that the text in your body paragraphs contains many paragraphs or sections. The opening of the body passage starts with the name of the survey. This should not be underlined and italicized. To identify each section, the APA style needs writers to give the heading of each paragraph in a bold font.
Text Citation and Reference: In APA format, citations are generally used. Such citations are mentioned with the author’s name and the years of their work’s publications. This information shows what you provide at the end of the paper. You should format the citation lists in the following way:
- The reference should be indented one-half from the left margin.
- References should be mentioned alphabetically.
- The year of publication should also be mentioned with the name of the author.
- Next, the name of the source is cited.
- After that, you should mention the volume or page numbers.
- Lastly, indicate where the source’s origin is.
Thus, let’s discuss another research paper format that is the MLA Research Paper Format.
Do You Know
What is MLA?
The Modern Language Association (MLA) concentrates on popularizing the teaching and studying of modern languages like English. MLA formatting is mainly used in research in the field of Humanities. Like History, philosophy, and English Studies. This detail makes this format one of the most widely used writing standards. Let’s discuss the MLA Research Paper Format.
MLA Research Paper Format
Title Page: Well, MLA formatting proposes not to add a title page. But still, there are rules on how to format the first page.
- Start from the upper-left corner of the main page and indicate your name. The following line identifies your instructor’s name, the next with the course, and the last one with the date.
- Then introduce the title of the paper in the center. The title does not need special font marking and quotation marks. Your title should be Capital only.
- Marking with fonts or quotations is only acceptable when the title cites other texts.
- Numbering starts with the first page. You have to create a header that identifies the number of the page itself and the last name before the page number. The header format concurs with the pagination rule.
The pagination means placing the numbers of the pages in the upper-right corner of a created header. Usually, the numbers are set from the first page to the last. And Arabic numerals are used.
Section Heading: It helps the writers to organize the papers appropriately. The sections mean dividing the information into sections that give more structure in editing and perceiving information. There are no strict rules in MLA format on how to format section headings. But it’s advised to use Arabic numerals for numeration. I also suggest that you put the name of the title after the space. If a subheading is required, include it in a coherent period (1.1,1.2,1.3, etc.). And place it below the main heading.
Body Format: MLA formatting does not have any requirements for the body text. It is considered that you can only write three paragraphs that represent the idea of the research. But it is not necessary; you can write five, seven, or even a single section but remember that a paper should have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
Text Citation: This is the most valuable rule in the framework of MLA Research Paper guidelines. Proper citation becomes the most important thing in how to write a research paper. The rules of an in-text citation are used in the form of brackets. That means, putting the authorship in the brackets after every quotation that implies citing. The citation page should be presented at the end of the work.
Conclusion
Thus, I have mentioned the two types of Research Paper Formats. The research paper should be written according to these types. It has become a convenient way of formatting research papers. It is essential to remember that formatting style assists you in writing an academic and accurate document.