This article will teach you how to use the APA style, the American Psychological Association’s documentation and formatting style, and the MLA style from the Modern Language Association. Several major formatting styles are used in academic texts, including AMA, Chicago, and Turabian, especially in how to format research papers.
While all formatting and citation styles have their uses and applications, you may be wondering or not have a clue about a research paper’s format. Well, at Nursingpapersmarket.com, there are guidelines on how to format a research paper step by step, and we trust you will be able to answer all your questions by the end of it.
Significance of the Guideline on How to Format a Research Paper
Following these guidelines, on the other hand, serves several important purposes.
- First, it communicates to readers that your paper should be taken seriously as a student’s contribution to a given academic or professional field.
- Second, it demonstrates that you value other people’s work enough to give them proper credit.
- Finally, it assists your reader in locating additional materials if they wish to learn more about your topic.
Furthermore, writing a flawless APA-style paper does not have to be complicated. Yes, careful attention to detail is required. However, if you keep the following broad guidelines in mind, you can simplify the process:
General Research Paper Formatting Guidelines
Variations in Research Paper Format (APA-style)
This article contains detailed instructions for using the American Psychological Association’s (APA) citation and formatting a research paper convention. The following box lists the major components of an APA-style paper.
The following are the major components of an APA-style paper:
- Title page
- Abstract Body, which includes the following:
- Headings and, if necessary, subheadings are used to organize the content.
- In-text citations of research sources
- Page of references
These components must be saved as a single document, not as separate documents.
Title Page
The following information appears on your paper’s title page:
- The title of the paper
- Author’s name
- Name of the author’s affiliation
Abstract
The following page of your paper contains an abstract or a summary of your findings. An abstract is not required in every paper but should be included in papers with a hypothesis. A good abstract is brief (150–250 words) and written in an objective, impersonal style. Your writing voice will not be as noticeable here as in the Body of your paper. When writing the abstract, please keep it simple by summarizing your research question and findings in a few sentences.
- Margin, pagination, and headings
- Within the Body of the paper, APA style requirements address specific formatting issues such as margins, pagination, and heading styles. Examine the APA guidelines below.
- Format the paper according to the following general guidelines:
- Set your paper’s top, bottom, and side margins to one inch.
- Throughout your paper, double-space the text.
- Section and subsection headings within the Body of your paper. Additional information from Jorge’s paper is provided.
Headings
Section headings are used in APA style to organize information, making it easy for the reader to follow the writer’s train of thought and understand the major topics covered. Depending on the length and complexity of the paper, its major sections may be further subdivided into subsections, sub-sub sections, etc.
The following APA formatting heading styles are listed in order of importance:
- Section headings use centered boldface type. Headings use title case, with important words capitalized.
- Subsection headings use left-aligned, boldface type. Title case is used for headings.
- The third level makes use of the left-aligned, indented, boldface type. Headings begin with a capital letter and end with a period.
- The fourth level uses the same style as the latter level, but the headings are boldfaced and italicized.
- The fifth level uses the same style as the previous level, but the headings are italicized rather than boldfaced.
A college research paper may not use all headings, but they are likely to appear in academic journal articles written in APA style. Level 1 headings may suffice for a brief paper. Longer or more complex papers may require level 2 or lower-level headings to organize information. Create your major section headings using your outline, and consider whether any subtopics are significant enough to warrant additional levels of headings.
Citations within the Text
a citation should always be included whenever you quote or paraphrase material from your research sources.
Citations serve two purposes:
- to give at least credit to others for their ideas
- to allow your reader to follow up and learn more about the topic if desired.
Your in-text citations offer basic information about your source; each source you cite will have a more extended entry in the references section that provides more detailed information.
In-text citations must include the name of the author or authors as well as the year the source was published. When directly quoting a source, you must also include the page number where the quote appears in your citation.
This information can be included within the sentence or a parenthetical reference at the end, as shown in these examples.
Primary Research Paper Format Examples
When introducing the quote, the writer names the source author and includes the publication date in parentheses after the author’s name. At the end of the sentence, the author provides a parenthetical citation that comprises the author’s name, the year it was published, and the page number, separated by commas. The parenthetical citation is again placed after the closing quotation marks and before the period at the end of the sentence.
The writer included the source title in the sentence (an optional piece of information to include) and followed it with a parenthetical citation. The parenthetical citation is usually placed before the comma that marks the end of the introductory phrase. You can select the best option for that specific sentence and source if you have included the necessary information.
Citing a single author’s book is usually a simple task. Of course, your research may require you to cite various sources, such as books or articles with multiple authors. You may also require to cite sources available in print and online and nonprint formats, such as websites and personal interviews. Sections 13.2 “Citing and Referencing Techniques” and 13.3 “Creating a References Section” in Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” provide extensive guidelines for citing a variety of source types.
Writing at Work Standard Research Paper Format
APA is just one of several styles, each with its documentation, formatting, and language usage rules.
MLA format is Determined by the Modern Languages Association and used for papers in literature, languages, and other humanities disciplines.
Chicago design. Many professional organizations also use this style for publications.
AP style. Professional journalists use this term.
List of references as a part of Research Paper
The brief citations in the Body of your paper correspond to the more detailed citations in the references section at the end. The entries generally include the following information:
- The name of the author
- The year of publication and, if applicable, the exact date of publication
- The title of the source
- For books, the city of publication
- the name of the periodical or book in which the article or essay appears.
- The URL of the source on the web
The references page is double-spaced and organized alphabetically by the author’s last name. If an entry spans more than one line, the second and subsequent lines are indented five spaces.
Practical Research Essay Format Tips
Proper citation and formatting guidelines aid writers ensure that their work is taken seriously, giving proper credit to other authors and providing readers with valuable information.
- Working ahead of time and ensuring to cite sources correctly the first time a
- APA papers typically include an abstract that concisely summarizes the paper.
- To provide a clear information hierarchy, APA papers use a specific headings structure.
- In-text citations in APA papers usually include the author(s) ‘s name(s) and the year of publication.
- In-text citations correspond to references section entries that provide detailed bibliographical information about a source.
Final Thoughts
Writing a research paper has been made easy by our professionals with the help of the above guide. You can easily beat your colleagues by following our informative tips on How to Format a Research Paper properly. You can easily pepper your knowledge and pass it to your colleagues by working alongside our professional essay writers. Contact us today at nursingpapersmarket.com for quality help.
Read More:
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH NURSING PAPERS MARKET TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT
