Research Paper Format

How to format your research paper using either the MLA Format Research Paper or APA Format Research Paper guidelines. Be sure to follow any additional instructions that your teacher provides.

	MLA Guidelines
Paper	Standard size (8.5 x 11" )
Page Margins	1" on all sides (top, bottom, left, right)
Font	12-pt. easily readable (e.g., Times Roman)
Spacing	Double-spaced throughout, including captions and bibliography
Alignment of Text	Flush left (with an uneven right margin)
Paragraph Indentation	1/2" (or five spaces)
End of Sentence	Leave one space after a period unless your teacher prefers two.
Page Numbers	On every page, in the upper right margin, 1/2" from the top and flush with the right margin put your last name followed by the page number.
Title Page	Only if your teacher requests one. Instead, on the first page, upper left corner place on separate lines, double-spaced: Your name Teacher's name Course name or number Date Underneath, center the title using regular title capitalization rules and no underline. Start the report immediately below the title.
Section Headings
Tables & Illustrations	Place tables and illustrations as close as possible to the text they refer to.A table is labeled Table and given a number (e.g., Table 1). The table label and caption or title appear above the table, capitalized like a title, flush left. Sources and notes appear below the table, flush left. Photos, graphs, charts or diagrams should be labeled Figure(usually abbreviate Fig.), and assigned a number (e.g., Fig. 1). The label, title, and source (if any) appear underneath the figure, flush left, in a continuous block of text rather than one element per line.

	APA Guidelines
MLA Guidelines	1" on all sides (top, bottom, left, right)
Paper	12-pt. Times Roman or Courier. For figures, however, use a sans serif font such as Arial.
Page Margins	Double-spaced
Font	Flush left (with an uneven right margin)
Spacing	5–7 spaces
Alignment of Text	Leave one space after a period unless your teacher prefers two.
Paragraph Indentation	On every page (except Figures), in the upper right margin, 1/2" from the top and flush with the right margin, two or three words of the paper title (this is called the running head) appear five spaces to the left of the page number, beginning with the title page.
End of Sentence	The title page is always the first page.On the line below the page number, the running head is typed flush left (all uppercase) following the words "Running head:" Below the running head, the following are centered on their own lines, using upper and lower case: Paper title Your name Your school
Page Numbers	Top level headings should be centered on the page, using upper and lower case.Second level headings should be flush left, italicized, using upper and lower case.
Title Page	Unless your teacher tells you otherwise, tables and illustrations appear at the end of the paper.Each table begins on a separate page with the label Table 1 (etc.) typed flush left on the first line below the page number. Double-space and type the table title flush left (italicized using uppercase and lowercase letters). Figures Captions appear on the last numbered page of the paper. In this case the label Figure 1 (etc.) is italicized and the caption itself is not. The caption uses regular sentence capitalization. The figures themselves follow, one per page.
Section Headings	Each of these sections (if present) begins on a new page: Title page Abstract Body References Appendixes Footnotes Tables Figure Captions Figures