Quick Advice On Research Paper Structure And Formatting


In your efforts of writing your research paper in the correct structure and format, always remember to get started with the writing style required for your paper. In the world of academic writing, there are different writing styles such as APA, MLA, Harvard, Oxford and Chicago referencing styles among others. In some of these styles, a title page will be required while in others, it won’t be needed. In that case, the writing style used for your paper has a lot to define the final format and structure of your paper. Therefore, here are areas that highlight paper formatting according to the different writing styles used.

  1. Formatting the first page: If you are writing your paper in the APA style, your first page will be the title page. In this case, your title page will include the title of your paper, your name and institutional affiliation. Other details will also include the date the paper was submitted. For an MLA style and formatting, no title page will be required. Your details such as your name, course code and course title will appear on the same page your introduction will begin.
  2. Therefore, engage professionals to guide you on the requirements for the different paper writing styles. There are disparities that give each style its defining characteristics. It is important to note them because the formatting is different too.

  3. Header and pagination: The running head of an APA formatted paper is part of the topic whereas for MLA is your surname. This is just an example of the many other writing styles out there. All headers are written to the right hand side of the header section.
  4. Paper margins and Line Spacing: This is also another defining characteristic of the different research paper formatting and structure. Therefore, find out the details for each. For instance, an APA paper will require a Times New Roman font size 12pt double spaced content. In most cases, paper margins are all-round set to 1” i.e. top, bottom, left and right margins.
  5. Paper referencing: Citations and references involve the use of sources within your context. In-text references will need the surname of the author, the date of source publication and/or the page number of the source used. It is always different for the various writing styles. For example Harvard formatting takes this format: (James 2014, p. 5)

Writing according to the rules of formatting is important for a good grade for your paper. Consider following the outline structure always.