Guidelines for Research Paper Cover Page Format

Different styles of research paper suggest different guidelines in formatting your research paper cover page. Typically, if you use a citation style in the body of your paper, you will also have to follow the guideline of that style for your title page. If you are using APA style research paper, for example, these are some of their guidelines:

1. Make a header and write the first 2 to 3 words of the title of your paper in the right side and the page number (in this case 1) after 5 spaces.
2. In the upper half, write the full title centered horizontally. The title should be between 8 to 10 words and you can use sub-titles to make the tiles sound more scholarly. All first letters should be capitalized except for the prepositions. Do not capitalize all letters or underline the title. You should always use double spacing in your research paper cover page.
3. Two spaces below the last line of the title, write you name centered horizontally last name first and then 2 spaces below your name write the name of your university or college.
4. In the lower part, type the title of your class, name of your professor and the date of submission one entry per line and centered.
5. Do not put graphics, pictures or border decorations in your research paper cover page.

For those who are using MLA format research paper , MLA doesn’t require a title page for student papers. All the information is written in the first page of the student essay just before the essay. Just type your name, title of class, name of professor and date submitted from the top of your first page, one entry per line, flushed left and double spaced. Then write the title centered horizontally and then begin your paper. If you are writing a thesis or dissertation, just follow the title page for APA.

For those who are using Chicago style research paper, the Chicago Manual doesn’t give any guidelines on the format of a research paper cover for students. You just have to ask your professor about the format.

The Turabian style recommends the format which is very much like that of the guideline of APA.

A research paper cover page should follow the format based on the style or based on what your professor requires. For research paper help, approach your professor and ask about the format. If your professor is not strict with any format, you can just follow the APA guideline I have written here.

Why Your Research Paper Citation Needs to be Perfect

When writing research papers, you are essentially taking most of the information from another source — which is why research paper citations are so important. Even more importantly, they need to be formatted correctly. This is where a lot of students run into trouble. After all, there are so many different formats: MLA, APA, and Chicago style are just a few of the formats commonly used. So, in addition to discussing why correct citations are so important, we are also going to see a few examples for each separate style.

When writing research papers, you are essentially taking most of the information from another source — which is why research paper citations are so important. Even more importantly, they need to be formatted correctly. This is where a lot of students run into trouble. After all, there are so many different formats: MLA, APA, and Chicago style are just a few of the formats commonly used. So, in addition to discussing why correct citations are so important, we are also going to see a few examples for each separate style.

As mentioned, there are several different types of research paper citations. The MLA format research paper is one of the most common, especially in English and literature courses. There, it is the preferred format. It is arguably one of the easiest styles to master. It is also generally the first style that we learn, as it is used both in high school and in lower level college courses. Once you get higher up, however, it is most common in literature courses.

In MLA format, in text citations are relatively simple. When quoting directly or indirectly from the text, you cite using author-page format. So, if you were quoting from “She Walks in Beauty,” written by Lord Byron, and it appeared on the twentieth page of the book you used, the in text citation would appear as follows: According to the poet, talking about the lady in question, “she walks in beauty like the night” (Byron 20). The quotations do not include the citation, and the proper punctuation follows the citation rather than the quote itself.

Another common paper is the APA style research paper. This paper is significantly different than one which uses the MLA format. With short quotations, you need to include the author of the work, the year it was published, and the page number where the quote takes place. In the in text citation, the page number is preceded by a “p.” The quote should be introduced by a short statement which includes the last name of the author; the publication date should follow, in parentheses. Longer quotations in this style should be placed in a block style quote, without any quotation marks. Again, it should be introduced with the author’s last name and the date of publications. It should end with the page number.

Research paper citations for a Chicago style research paper are somewhat less complicated, but a bit more difficult to master if you are not used to this style. As mentioned in a recent post here, these papers rely on footnotes and endnotes rather than in text citations. Remembering to insert a footnote is probably the most difficult thing to remember, but once you get the hang of it, you may find that a Chicago style research paper is actually the easiest of all the different styles. Certainly, there is plenty of information out there to help you learn how to cite an essay in all different formats.

There are so many different research paper styles that mastering all the different research paper citations can be somewhat difficult. However, with a little practice you will surely discover that in text citations become second nature. Just remember, MLA, APA, and Chicago style are the most common, so familiarizing yourself with these styles can save you a lot of time and trouble.

What Chicago Style Research Papers Require

You never know what format your research paper will require; most require MLA and APA format, but due to the nature of your course or the preferences of your professor, you will no doubt find yourself writing many a Chicago style research paper as well. The format is not really difficult to follow, and there are several ways to tell if a paper should indeed follow this style.

A Chicago style research paper is most common in history courses, as well as other courses based in the humanities.  Generally, in the essays and research papers which require Chicago format, you will have to write a response to a couple of different readings.  Of course, research papers in this style will require a lot of different sources.

The main thing to remember about this research paper format is that it utilizes footnotes, or endnotes; whatever you want to call them, they are often difficult for students to deal with the first time they write a Chicago paper.  It is far easier to write up a simple in text citation, as is seen in other research paper styles like APA and MLA.  However, once you get the hang of marking your footnotes, you will find it gets easier and easier to remember them.  Like any other type of paper, it will include a section devoted to the bibliography.

For the sake of this article, let’s say you are writing a paper an anthropology class – Magic and Religion in Preliterate Society, for example.  Anthropology is a humanities course, and would reasonably require this particular research paper format.  Here is an example of what a footnote would look like in a Chicago based paper:

In the Beng culture, there is a disease known as gbri which means dirt and “a baby gets it if she’s touched by a woman who’s considered sexually polluted.”¹

The endnote (or footnote) will look like this:

1. Alma Gottlieb and Philip Graham, Parallel Worlds: An Anthropologist and a Writer Encounter Africa (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993), 242.

As you can see, the name of the author – or authors – go first, followed by the title of the document.  It is not underlined.  The city in which the publisher is located, the name of the publisher, and the year the work was published go in parenthesis.  This is followed by the page of the work on which the quote or citation is located.  As you can also see, this portion of a Chicago style research paper uses commas rather than periods.  The same is not so for the actual citation in the bibliography, which looks like this:

Gottlieb, Alma and Philip Graham. Parallel Worlds: An Anthropologist and a Writer Encounter
Africa.  Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993.

A Chicago style research paper may seem confusing and even difficult at first, but like say, the going gets much easier as you go along.  If you are having trouble from the get go, just take a look at some research paper examples which utilize this particular format.  Seeing everything “in action” may help you more.