Who Can Help Me Choose a Research Paper Writing Format?
A research paper format can be researched on the internet, or at the library with the help of the librarian. The student’s professor can help the student with the format, or other professors in the Department or at the school. Classmates, upperclassmen, area professionals can also be of assistance. It would be helpful for the student to take English or term paper writing classes so that he may get all his questions answered and so that he may gain an understanding of the mechanics of writing research papers, including how to format papers that the student has written.
Where to Look
- English professors may be of assistance. They may be able to offer the needed advice on how to construct the selected format for the research paper. Upperclassmen students who majored in English may be of assistance in the choosing of a format for a research paper, as they would be well versed in the different forms of formatting available to the student.
- Material may also be elicited from CD’s, DVD’s, CD-ROM’s, journals, digests, and trade journals.
- A Style Manual is usually suggested, either the Modern Language Association Publication Manual, The Publication of the American Psychological Association style manual, or the Chicago Manual of Style. Strunk and White’s The Element of Style is also recommended.
Who to Ask
The ideal persons who could help the student choose a format of research paper would be those, such as a librarian, or a departmental worker in the school, that has access to or can direct the student toward areas to research. These persons would be so knowledgeable about the subject of formatting and writing research papers, that it would be easy for them to guide the student along the way to the student’s perfect choice for a format for their research paper.
In the research that the student does, he will find and should be able to refine a list of salient items that he could benefit from using. These things may include the standard typeface, treatment of special characters, line spacing, margins, the standard length of a line (with the absence of justification), and paragraphs, and indentation. Further, guidance can also be gotten from the journal to which the student is submitting his research paper. Each journal has specific guidelines which dictate how research papers are to be written.