A Research Guide for Stude nts

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Chapter 4. Format for 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 flush against the left margin. Then under your name, on separate lines, double-spaced, and
flush against the left margin, type your teacher's name, your course code, and the date.
If your teacher prefers that 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, doublespace 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 are 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 the 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.

4. Numbering Pages and Paragraphs

Number your pages consecutively throughout the essay in the upper right hand corner, flush with 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.
[1] 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. 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 theMLA 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 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. 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, 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 include simply 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 the respect
you have for your teacher. Before handing in your paper, ask yourself, "Is this the VERY BEST that I can
do?"
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