Creating A Biology Research Paper: Formatting Tips

You have been asked to write a research paper. Research papers are major papers that not only require research on a topic but they also require you to analyze the information that you have read about a topic. The actual formatting part of the research paper is pretty easy. It will be best to set up your paper first before you start writing. It will help to concentrate your ideas.

There are some formatting tips that you may want to look into when creating a research paper. Organization is key to the success of your paper. You want to prove your point by the proper presentation of your details. That means that you may have to present it in the best light to ensure that you are successful.

Layout

Depending on whether or not your instructor gave you information regarding whether or not you have to use a specific formatting style, will determine how you lay out your paper. The majority of schools use the APA formatting style for their papers. If this is the case, you will want to use a letter size paper, double spaced text, one inch margins, font size 12, and font style Times New Roman. These are the major layout selections that you should use.

Title page

Your paper should include a title page that has all of the pertinent information on it including the title of your paper, the author, the course name, the instructor’s name, the date, and the school. There may also be a header included that also lists the name of the paper and the page number.

Abstract page

Some papers may require that you write an abstract. This should be on its own page and will usually be on a page right after the title page.

Appendices

Your paper would usually put any diagrams and graphs at the end of the paper in various appendices. They will each contain their own section. The text would usually refer to the back of the paper in the appendices section.

Reference or Bibliography

The paper should also have a reference section that lists the resources that you used to do your research. Make sure that you learn how to properly cite the sources.

These tips should help you format your research paper correctly. It will make sure that the paper is easy to read and that it follows the rules of the assignment.