Proper formatting is essential for research papers. Whether you're submitting to a science fair, journal, or class assignment, incorrect formatting can undermine even excellent research.

This guide covers everything you need to know about research paper formatting, with templates and examples you can follow.

Standard Research Paper Structure

All research papers follow a similar structure, regardless of citation style:

1. Title Page

  • Paper title
  • Your name
  • School/Institution
  • Date
  • (Sometimes) Mentor name, course

2. Abstract

  • Usually 150-250 words (APA abstracts run no more than 250)
  • Problem, methods, results, conclusion
  • Written last, appears first

3. Introduction

  • Background and context
  • Literature review
  • Research gap
  • Research question/hypothesis

4. Methods

  • How you conducted research
  • Materials and procedures
  • Data collection approach
  • Analysis methods

5. Results

  • What you found
  • Data presentation (tables, figures)
  • Statistical analysis
  • No interpretation yet

6. Discussion

  • Interpretation of results
  • Comparison to prior research
  • Implications
  • Limitations
  • Future directions

7. Conclusion

  • Summary of findings
  • Key takeaways
  • Final thoughts

8. References

  • All sources cited
  • Consistent format
  • Alphabetical order

9. Appendices (if needed)

  • Supplementary data
  • Additional figures
  • Raw data

Page Layout and Formatting

Standard Requirements

ElementSpecification
FontAPA 7 allows 12pt Times New Roman, 11pt Arial, 11pt Calibri, 11pt Georgia, 10pt Lucida Sans Unicode or 10pt Computer Modern; MLA uses a legible font such as 12pt Times New Roman
SpacingDouble-spaced throughout
Margins1 inch on all sides
AlignmentLeft-aligned (not justified)
Indentation0.5 inch for first line of paragraphs
Page NumbersTop right, on every page including the title page
HeaderPage number only (APA student papers), running head plus page number (APA professional papers), or last name plus page number (MLA)

Title Page Format

Centered on page:

[Title of Your Research Paper]

[Your Full Name]
[Your School Name]
[Date]

[Optional: Mentor Name]
[Optional: Course Name]

Title Guidelines:

  • Concise but descriptive
  • Avoid abbreviations
  • No period at end
  • Capitalize major words

Example Titles:

Good: "Machine Learning Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy in Smartphone Images"

Weak: "My Science Fair Project on Eyes and AI"

Citation Style Guides

APA Format (7th Edition)

Most common for sciences, psychology, social sciences

In-text citations:

  • (Author, Year)
  • (Smith, 2024)
  • (Smith & Jones, 2024)
  • (Smith et al., 2024) for 3+ authors

Reference list format:

Journal Article:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Title of
    Periodical, Volume(Issue), Page-Page. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Example:

Smith, J. A., & Johnson, M. B. (2024). Effects of sleep on memory
    consolidation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 36(4),
    123-145. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01234

Book:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle.
    Publisher.

Website:

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL

APA Title Page (student paper):

  • No running head and no "Running head:" label; student papers use a page number only
  • Page number (top right)
  • Title (bold, centered, 3-4 lines down)
  • Author name
  • Affiliation
  • Course, instructor and due date

MLA Format (9th Edition)

Most common for humanities, literature

In-text citations:

  • (Author Page)
  • (Smith 45)
  • (Smith and Jones 45)

Works Cited format:

Journal Article:

Author Last, First. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, vol. #,
    no. #, Year, pp. #-#.

Example:

Smith, John. "Memory and Learning in Adolescents." Cognitive
    Psychology Quarterly, vol. 42, no. 3, 2024, pp. 234-256.

Book:

Author Last, First. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.

Website:

Author Last, First. "Title of Page." Website Name, Publisher,
    Day Month Year, URL.

MLA Header:

  • Your name (top left)
  • Instructor name
  • Course name
  • Date (Day Month Year)
  • Title centered (no bold/underline)

Chicago Style

Common for history, some sciences

Two systems:

  • Notes-Bibliography (humanities)
  • Author-Date (sciences)

Author-Date in-text:

  • (Author Year, Page)
  • (Smith 2024, 45)

Bibliography format:

Author Last, First. Year. "Article Title." Journal Title Volume
    (Issue): Pages. DOI.

Formatting Specific Elements

Headings

APA Heading Levels:

Level 1: Centered, Bold, Title Case
    Text starts on new paragraph, indented.

Level 2: Left-Aligned, Bold, Title Case
    Text starts on new paragraph, indented.

Level 3: Left-Aligned, Bold Italic, Title Case
    Text starts on new paragraph, indented.

    Level 4: Indented, Bold, Title Case, Period. Text continues
on same line.

    Level 5: Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case, Period. Text
continues on same line.

MLA Headings:

  • No strict requirements
  • Be consistent throughout
  • Use bold or larger font for main headings

Tables

Table Format:

Table 1

Title of Table in Italics

[Table content here]

Note. Explanation of abbreviations or data sources.

Guidelines:

  • Number tables sequentially (Table 1, Table 2)
  • Title above table
  • Notes below table
  • Clear column headers
  • Appropriate significant figures
  • Units in headers, not cells

Example:

Table 1

Model Performance Metrics by Dataset

Dataset          Accuracy    Sensitivity    Specificity
---------------------------------------------------------
Training         0.95        0.93           0.97
Validation       0.91        0.89           0.93
Test             0.89        0.87           0.91

Note. N = 500 images per dataset. All values represent means
across 5-fold cross-validation.

Figures

Figure Format:

Figure 1

Title of Figure in Italics

[Image/Graph here]

Note. Additional explanation if needed.

Guidelines:

  • Number figures sequentially
  • Figure number (bold) and title (italic) above the figure in APA; notes go below
  • Clear axis labels
  • Legend if multiple data series
  • High resolution (300+ DPI)
  • Reference in text: "(see Figure 1)"

Equations

Format:

  • Center equations
  • Number sequentially in parentheses on right
  • Define all variables
                    y = mx + b                    (1)

where y is the dependent variable, m is the slope, x is the
independent variable, and b is the y-intercept.

Block Quotations

When to use: Quotes of 40+ words (APA) or 4+ lines (MLA)

Format:

  • New paragraph
  • Entire quote indented 0.5 inch
  • No quotation marks
  • Citation at end
Smith (2024) found significant effects:

    The intervention group showed marked improvement in
    memory consolidation, with a 45% increase in recall
    accuracy compared to controls. This effect persisted
    at the two-week follow-up, suggesting durable changes
    in memory processing. (p. 234)

Common Formatting Mistakes

Mistake 1: Inconsistent Citation Style

Problem: Mixing APA and MLA formats Solution: Choose one style, use it throughout

Mistake 2: Missing Page Numbers

Problem: No page numbers on some pages Solution: Add page numbers to all pages (except maybe title)

Mistake 3: Wrong Margin Sizes

Problem: Margins too narrow or inconsistent Solution: Set 1-inch margins on all sides

Mistake 4: Single-Spacing

Problem: Paper is single-spaced Solution: Double-space entire paper (including references)

Mistake 5: Improper Heading Format

Problem: Headings aren't formatted correctly Solution: Follow APA/MLA heading guidelines

Mistake 6: Tables Without Titles

Problem: Tables have no numbers or titles Solution: Add "Table X" and descriptive title

Mistake 7: References Not Alphabetized

Problem: Reference list in random order Solution: Alphabetize by first author's last name

Mistake 8: Hanging Indent Missing

Problem: References don't have hanging indent Solution: First line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5"

Section-by-Section Format Guide

Abstract Formatting

Length: 150-250 words in APA (check specific requirements; many student papers do not need an abstract unless your teacher asks for one)

Format:

  • New page after title page
  • "Abstract" centered, bold at top
  • Single paragraph, no indentation
  • Double-spaced

Keywords (if required):

  • Line after abstract, first line indented 0.5 inch
  • "Keywords:" in italics
  • 3-5 keywords, lowercase, separated by commas

Introduction Formatting

Format:

  • New page after abstract
  • Paper title centered, bold at top (not "Introduction")
  • Normal paragraph formatting
  • In-text citations as needed

Methods Formatting

Format:

  • Level 1 heading: "Methods" or "Method"
  • Subsections as needed (Participants, Materials, Procedure, Analysis)
  • Past tense throughout
  • Enough detail for replication

Results Formatting

Format:

  • Level 1 heading: "Results"
  • Present data objectively
  • Reference all tables and figures
  • Include statistical values: F(1, 48) = 4.56, p = .038, d = 0.45

Discussion Formatting

Format:

  • Level 1 heading: "Discussion"
  • Interpret results
  • Compare to prior research
  • Acknowledge limitations

References Formatting

Format:

  • New page
  • "References" centered, bold at top
  • Double-spaced
  • Hanging indent (first line flush, rest indented 0.5")
  • Alphabetical by first author

Template: Complete Research Paper

Here's a template showing proper format:

[Page 1 - Title Page]

                                                             1



                Machine Learning Detection of
              Diabetic Retinopathy in Smartphone Images

                        Jane Smith
                    Springfield High School
                      January 15, 2025
                  Mentor: Dr. John Johnson


[Page 2 - Abstract]

                                                             2

                          Abstract

    Diabetic retinopathy affects millions worldwide and is a
leading cause of preventable blindness. This study developed
a deep learning model to detect diabetic retinopathy from
smartphone-captured retinal images. A MobileNetV3 neural
network was trained on 500 images from three diabetes clinics.
The model achieved an area under the ROC curve of 0.94, with
91.2% sensitivity and 87.3% specificity. These findings suggest
smartphone-based screening could enable widespread detection
in resource-limited settings.

Keywords: diabetic retinopathy, machine learning, smartphone,
screening, deep learning


[Page 3 - Introduction]

                                                             3

      Machine Learning Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy
                   in Smartphone Images

    Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of preventable
blindness worldwide (WHO, 2023). Early detection significantly
improves outcomes, yet access to screening remains limited in
many communities...

[Continue with background, literature review, research gap,
and hypothesis]


[Page 4+ - Methods]

                                                             4

                          Methods

Participants
    Retinal images were collected from 500 patients (mean age
52.3 ± 11.2 years) at three diabetes clinics between January
and June 2024...

Materials
    Images were captured using iPhone 13 smartphones with a
3D-printed lens adapter...

Procedure
    Each image was independently graded by two board-certified
ophthalmologists using the International Clinical Diabetic
Retinopathy scale...

Data Analysis
    We trained a MobileNetV3 neural network using TensorFlow
2.10...


[Continue through Results, Discussion, References]

Tools for Formatting

Citation Managers

  • Zotero (free): Excellent for organizing sources
  • Mendeley (free): Good for PDFs
  • EndNote (paid): Powerful but complex

Writing Software

  • Google Docs: Free, collaborative
  • Microsoft Word: Standard, good formatting tools
  • LaTeX: Best for equations, steep learning curve

Reference Generators

  • Citation Machine: Quick citations
  • BibMe: Multiple formats
  • EasyBib: Simple interface

Note: Always verify auto-generated citations for accuracy.

Getting Help with Formatting

Proper formatting takes practice. Expert mentorship helps.

The YRI Fellowship provides:

  • 1:1 PhD Mentor: Feedback on formatting and structure over 10 weeks
  • Publication Guidance: A first-author paper formatted and submitted to IEEE, Springer or Elsevier venues
  • Competition Preparation: ISEF and JSHS preparation included
  • Support Until Publication: Mentorship continues at no extra cost until the paper is published

Apply to YRI Fellowship →

Related guides

Frequently Asked Questions

What format should I use for a science fair paper? Check the specific competition requirements first. When none are given, use APA for sciences and keep the structure of a journal paper.

How do I know which citation style to use? APA for sciences, psychology, social sciences. MLA for humanities, literature. Chicago for history. Always check specific requirements for your submission.

Do I need to double-space my references? Yes, in both APA and MLA, the entire reference list is double-spaced.

What's a hanging indent? First line of each reference starts at left margin; all subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inch. This makes it easy to scan author names.

Should I use bold or italics for my title? In APA, the title on the title page is bold. In MLA, the title is not bold or italicized (unless it contains a work title that would normally be italicized).

How do I format a table in my paper? Number sequentially, add descriptive title above, include notes below for abbreviations, reference in text. Keep formatting clean and simple.

Related Guides

Sources

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