subject: General Style of a Research Paper [print this page] General Style of a Research Paper General Style of a Research Paper
For the submission of a manuscript specific editorial requirements always supersede instructions in these general guidelines being provided to you.
To make a paper readable:
Type or print using a minimum 12 point standard font, such Times New Roman, Geneva, Bookman, Helvetica, Calibri, etc.
Text should always be double spaced on 8 1/2" x 11" paper along with 1 inch margins, single sided
Number all the pages consecutively
Start every new section on a new separate page
Adhere to the recommended page limit
Mistakes you should always avoid:
Placing a heading at the end of the page while writing the following text on the next page that is due to lack of space available on that page.
While dividing a table or figure confine each table/figure to a single page
Submitting a term paper with pages being out of order
In all sections of your paper:
Always use normal prose including the articles ("a","the","an", etc.)
Always stay focused on the research topic of the paper.
Use paragraphs to separate each and every important point (except for the abstract)
Indent the first line of each and every paragraph
Present all the points in a logical order
Use present tense to report the well accepted facts.
Use past tense to always describe specific results.
Avoid any informal wordings, don't address the reader directly, don't use jargon, slang terms, or superlatives
Avoid any use of superfluous pictures include only the figures that are necessary to present results
Abstract
The summary should not be more than two hundred words. See the given examples in the writing portfolio package.
General intent
An abstract is a concise, relevant single paragraph summary of a completed work or work in progress. In a few seconds the reader learns the rationale behind the study, the general approach to the problem, pertinent results, and the important conclusions or the new questions.
Writing an abstract
After the rest of the paper is completed, write your summary. Economy of words is always important while writing any paper, but especially in an abstract. Make sure to use complete sentences in your writing and do not sacrifice readability for brevity. By wording sentences you can keep it concise so that they serve more than one purpose.
Summarize the study, and include the following elements in any abstract. Try to keep the first two items within a sentence each.
Purpose of the study give hypothesis, overall questions and the objective.
Model organism or system and give brief description of the experiment.
Give results, including specific data if for instance the results are quantitative then report that the data is quantitative; results that have any statistics in them should be reported
Make any important conclusions or questions that follow from the experiments
Style:
Single paragraph while keeping it concise
The summary of the work that has been done is always written in past tense
An abstract should not refer any other part of the paper such as a figure or table, but instead, stand on its own.
Try to focus on summarizing results limit all the background information to a sentence or two, if necessary
The information that you report in an abstract must be consistent with what you have reported in the paper
Correct spelling, proper reporting of quantities (proper units, significant figures) and clarity of sentences and phrases are just as important in an abstract as they are anywhere else.
