First, find out from your professor which formatting type is preferred – APA, MLA or Chicago Style. There are a number of good resources for all three formats, including Purdue’s OWL. Here you can find guides to all these styles of writing plus numerous tips on formatting your paper in general. Formatting styles can change often, so it’s good to make sure you have the most up-to-date information.
When you’re incorporating research into your paper, it’s important to decide exactly how you’re going to use it. Will you be quoting directly, paraphrasing, or summarizing your findings? This doesn’t need to be the same for all of the information you use, but all three need to be cited in the same way. Again, credit should be given where credit is due! Generally, with APA and Chicago Style you will use footnotes to cite your sources, and with MLA you’ll use in-text citations, with a bibliography at the end.
As for the content of your paper itself, be sure to follow the standard protocol for a paper. Start with a good introductory paragraph that lays out what you’re going to say in your paper, and end with a good conclusion that again summarizes the main points. Starting with an outline is going to save you time later and help keep your paper organized and comprehensive. Keep that out while you’re writing so you can refer to it often and make sure you don’t get off-track. Having notes in your outline as to which resources you will be citing where will also help things move along more smoothly as you write.
Your bibliography is an important part of your paper, as well. This is where you’ll show all of your diligent research! Again, refer to a style manual or website to make sure your bibliography is formatted correctly and that you have all of the information needed from each source. Different guides will have different ways to format references such as those found online, but do your best to be consistent throughout your own work, and you’ll be good to go.
Finally, it’s good to have someone (a professor, someone at a writing center) review your paper to make sure your formatting is good, clear, and correct. A second set of eyes will do wonders for catching those little mistakes that slip by after reading over your paper so many times! Now get out there and write that paper!
This article is part of a series:
- How to Research a Good Paper
- How to Write a Good Paper
- How to Format a Good Paper
