When writing a research paper for a classroom at any level, there are a variety of research paper formats to choose from. Most research papers, on the other hand, will follow either the Modern Language Association (MLA) or the American Psychological Association (APA) format. If you’re writing a research paper for a class assignment, make sure to use the format that the teacher prefers or requires. Beyond the basics of these research paper formats, any specific requirements and preferences requested a teacher should be followed, and any basic MLA or APA style guidelines should be superseded.
MLA and APA style are the two most common research paper formats. Each has its own set of layout and formatting requirements, and the teacher’s preference or expectation should be followed. However, in general, MLA style is used in humanities, literature, and English classes, whereas APA style is used in psychology, history, and sociology classes.
When it comes to research paper formats, the MLA style is very popular and simple to use. In general, the research paper should be double-spaced throughout and written in an easy-to-read 12-point font like Times New Roman. Many teachers used to tell students to leave two spaces after a period or other punctuation mark, but modern printers space properly after a period, so only one space is needed now. On separate lines in the top left corner of the first page, the author’s name, the teacher for whom it is written, the class number, and the due date should all be written.
The paper’s title should be centered and capitalized appropriately for a title, and the body of the paper should begin on the following line. Although some teachers prefer the first page not to be numbered, each page should be numbered in a header in the top right corner, along with the author’s last name. Though there are some significant and notable differences between APA and MLA research paper formats, APA style is similar to MLA research paper formats. Papers written in APA style should be double-spaced and typed in a 10 to 12 point font, such as Times New Roman, that is easy to read.
According to APA guidelines, the first page should be a title page for the paper, followed a brief abstract of the paper’s main points. This is followed the first page of the paper, which begins with the title and the paper’s text at the top of the page. Each page should also have a header, with the title of the paper left justified and the page number right justified. Each style has its own set of rules for citing sources and providing a list of works cited at the end of the paper, which should be followed for various research paper formats.