Format of Research Paper

Every research demands acceptable form for consistency and

uniformity. Without specific format, findings are presented in various
forms, leading towards difficulties, inconsistencies and vagueness. To
be clear, precise and scientific, specific format is designed to present
the information. Format gives shape to jumbled ideas and parts of
research/writing. Doing research means not only to gather
information but also learn how to mould its shape in demanded form.
To write a research proposal and a thesis, university has designed a
format to different disciplines. For the scholars of literature in
Humanities and classroom teachers, Modern Language Association
(MLA) has developed the style i.e. MLA style which is instrumental to
achieve the goal in research. Written in plain language, it serves as a
guide in all stages of the project. English department has prescribed
MLA style for doing research or writing thesis. So, those who do
research in English department, have to follow MLA style format.
Margins

Use 8 ½ by-11-inch paper and leave the

margin of one inch at the top, bottom and
both the sides of the text. To begin the
paragraph, indent the first word one-half
inch (1/2”) from the left margin. But while
indenting the set-off quotations, leave one
inch (1”) from the left margin.
 
Text Formatting

In the text, the font of letters is twelve and

script is Roman. Justify the lines at the left margin
and do not justify at the right margin. Maintain
double space throughout the research paper
including quotations, notes and works cited. Only
single space is needed after a period or other
concluding punctuation mark.
 Page Numbers
 
Number the pages from chapter one in thesis and
continue till the end including works cited.
Similarly put the page no. on proposal for thesis.
Place it on the top of the page right hand corner,
one half (1/2”) inch from the top and flush with
right margin. The last name of the researcher has
to be followed by the page no. to make it easier in
case of misplacement. Do not type page no. at the
beginning of each chapter. Use a word processor
to create a running head which consists the last
name followed by a space and the page number.
BOLD FACE AND ITALICS

Make the title and subtitle of each chapter bold

with twelve fonts. Do not make the table of
contents bold and do not give numbers before
the titles.

Italicize foreign words used in an English text

and names of books, plays, poems published as
books, pamphlets, periodicals, newspapers,
magazines and journals, web sites, online
databases, films, television and radio
broadcasts, audio cassettes, record albums,
musical composition, works of visual art etc.
Tables and Illustrations
Tables and illustrations can be used in research paper.
Place tables and illustrations as close as possible to the part
of the text to which they are related. Give title to the tables
and use Arabic numeral and capitalize the titles. Write the
source of the data and notes below the table in a caption.

For illustrative visual material-a photograph, map, line

drawing, graph or chart, labeled figure (fig.) with Arabic
numeral and a caption is used e.g. Fig.1. If there are many
illustrations in research paper/thesis, put the number of
tables and illustrations and set them into the text.
 Paper and Printing

For research, either thesis or proposal, use white,

8 ½ -by-11-inch paper of good quality and high
quality printer. Use single side of the paper.
 Endnotes and Footnotes

If we use notes for documentation, we may not

need a list of works cited or a bibliography.
Documentation notes appear either at the end of the
text, as end note, or at the bottom of relevant pages,
as footnotes. The note referring to source includes
the publication information found in a bibliographic
entry- author’s name, the title, and the publication
facts- as well as the page reference identifying the
portion of the source you refer to at that point in the
text.
Continue…
Endnotes appear after the text, starting on a new
page numbered in sequence with the preceding
page. Place the title notes one inch from the top,
double- space, indent one-half inch from the left
margin, and add the note number, without
punctuation, slightly above the line. Type a space
and then the reference. If the note extends to two
or more lines, begin subsequent lines at the left
margin. Type the notes consecutively, double-
spaced, and number all pages.
 Continue…
Footnotes appear at the bottoms of pages, beginning
four lines (two double spaces) below the text. When a
note continues on the following pages, add a solid line
across the new page, two lines below the last line of the
text and continue the note two lines below the solid line.
Footnotes for the new page immediately follow the note
continued from the previous page, after a double space.
Example of endnote
Deborah Tannen, You Just Don’t Understand: Women
and Men in conversation (New York: Morrow, 1990) 52.
Bibliography

Tannen, Deborah. You Just Don’t Understand:

Women and Men in conversation. New York:
Morrow, 1990.

Footnote
From culture and Environment: The Training of
critical Awareness (1993), London: Chatto and
Windus, 1964.
QUOTATION AND INDENTATION

Quotation supports the statement we

make in research paper. Reliability of the
paper depends on how we support the
claim by borrowing ideas, views from
others. The accuracy of quotations in
research is very important. If any change
in original writing is made, it must be
clear to the reader following the rules.
Quotation less than four lines is
incorporated in the text within quotation
marks.
Continue…

Example:
Legacy of the Western man and the arrogance of
humanism, as Mckibben Laments over the
subordination of the non-human world by the human are
thought to be responsible for environmental catastrophe.
Mckibbean accepts the existence of nature, “Nature’s
independence is its meaning; without it there is nothing
but us” (2). But more than three lines in the paper are set
off from the text by beginning new line, indenting one
inch (two tabs) from the left margin, typing it double-
spaced, without quotation marks.
 Continue…

At the conclusion of Lord of the flies, Ralph and

the other boys realize the horror of their
actions:
The tears began to flow and sobs shook him.
He gave himself up to them new for the first
time on the island; great, shuddering spasms
of grief that seemed to wrench his whole
body. His voice rose under the black smoke
before the burning wreckage of the island; and
infected by that emotion, the other little boys
began to shake and sob too. (186).
Citing Sources in the text

Parenthetical documentation and the list of

works cited
Apart from the list of works cited at the end of
research paper/thesis, a brief parenthetical
acknowledgement is needed in the paper to
incorporate another’s words, facts or ideas.
Generally the author’s last name and a page
reference are enough to show the source and
location of borrowed material.
Continue…
Example
Medieval Europe was a place both of “raids, pillages,
slavery, and extortion” and of “traveling merchants,
monetary exchange, towns if not cities, and active
markets in grain” (Townsend 10).
The parenthetical reference “(Townsend)” shows that the
quotations are from page 10 of a work by Townsend. In
the list of works cited, it is presented the following way:
Townsend, Robert M. The Medieval village Economy.
Princeton: Princeton Up, 1993
Continue…
Information Required in Parenthetical Documentation
Reference in the text must clearly point to specific sources
in the list of works cited. The information in parenthetical
reference in the text must match the corresponding
information in the entries in the list of works cited. The
parenthetical reference must begin with the same name which
is used in works-cited-list entry. Identify the location of the
borrowed information as specifically as possible. Keep
parenthetical reference brief, clear and accurate. Give only
necessary information needed to identify a source; do not use
abbreviations such as ed. trans. and comp. after the name. If
the author’s name is included in a sentence, it is not necessary
to repeat the name in the parenthetical page citation.
 Continue…
Example
In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin states that
he prepared a list of thirteen virtues (135-37).
Author’s name in Reference
It may be true that “in the appreciation of medieval
art the attitude of the observer is of primary
importance [. . .]” (Robertson 136).
Corrections and insertion

Before submitting the paper/thesis,

proof reading and correction is needed.
Revise the thesis and reprint if any
mistakes are found.
 Binding

Submit the thesis in loose binding for viva. Use

binder clip so that it can easily be removed and
restored. Before the approval of external and
research committee, hard binding is not allowed.
 Electronic Submission

Submit the thesis in software form or CD. The

library provides the facility of computer to read it.
Sample page
Thank you