4 Vital Traits of Research Paper Format for College Students
Every semester, college students are expected to submit various term papers including research projects. This is part of learning to test how well students have understood concepts in various fields of study. The content of research project is important, and so is the format.
- Appropriate heading.
A good heading includes the name of the student, course title, professor’s name, and date of submission. Some teachers are very strict when it comes to headings. Normally, this part appears on the first page and its indentation depends on the style stipulated in the instructions. The reason why heading is important is because professors deal with countless students taking different courses and so it saves their time when perusing different works.
- Original title.
A title explains what the reader should expect. It comes at the page top and is centrally placed. If a cover page is to be used, then the title appears there.
- Margins, fonts, and spacing.
Many students forget about the little detail of margins. Some don’t even know that margins should be changed. It is important to leave allowances on all sides of the paper so that the teacher finds somewhere to write remarks. Important guidelines must be followed as far as writing styles are concerned, e.g. the standard font is the Times New Roman and double spaced lines in most writing formats. Before submission, a student must double check these elements to see if they conform to the required styles.
- Relevant citation.
In research, work must be cited in order and sufficient reference list should be provided. Citation shows that a student has indeed researched their work from relevant materials. In a college research paper format example, assuming that a student quoted some information from ‘The King of the Jungle’ by Mr. Martin Friedman and the title of the source was revolution, this is how the citation would look like in APA format:
Friedman, M., Mr. (2002).Revolution.Kanzas: High Fliers.
2002 is the publication year; Kanzas is the state; while High Fliers is the name of the publisher.
Improper formatting leads to lower grades even if the content is right. It is thus important that student follow the directions of their professors. A complete research project must feature the named characteristics.