2 column format research paper

• Privacy Policy

Home » Research Paper Format – Types, Examples and Templates

Research Paper Format – Types, Examples and Templates

Table of Contents

Research paper format is an essential aspect of academic writing that plays a crucial role in the communication of research findings . The format of a research paper depends on various factors such as the discipline, style guide, and purpose of the research. It includes guidelines for the structure, citation style, referencing , and other elements of the paper that contribute to its overall presentation and coherence. Adhering to the appropriate research paper format is vital for ensuring that the research is accurately and effectively communicated to the intended audience. In this era of information, it is essential to understand the different research paper formats and their guidelines to communicate research effectively, accurately, and with the required level of detail. This post aims to provide an overview of some of the common research paper formats used in academic writing.

Research Paper Formats

Research Paper Formats are as follows:

• APA (American Psychological Association) format
• MLA (Modern Language Association) format
• Chicago/Turabian style
• IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) format
• AMA (American Medical Association) style
• Harvard style
• Vancouver style
• ACS (American Chemical Society) style
• ASA (American Sociological Association) style
• APSA (American Political Science Association) style

APA (American Psychological Association) Format

Here is a general APA format for a research paper:

• Title Page: The title page should include the title of your paper, your name, and your institutional affiliation. It should also include a running head, which is a shortened version of the title, and a page number in the upper right-hand corner.
• Abstract : The abstract is a brief summary of your paper, typically 150-250 words. It should include the purpose of your research, the main findings, and any implications or conclusions that can be drawn.
• Introduction: The introduction should provide background information on your topic, state the purpose of your research, and present your research question or hypothesis. It should also include a brief literature review that discusses previous research on your topic.
• Methods: The methods section should describe the procedures you used to collect and analyze your data. It should include information on the participants, the materials and instruments used, and the statistical analyses performed.
• Results: The results section should present the findings of your research in a clear and concise manner. Use tables and figures to help illustrate your results.
• Discussion : The discussion section should interpret your results and relate them back to your research question or hypothesis. It should also discuss the implications of your findings and any limitations of your study.
• References : The references section should include a list of all sources cited in your paper. Follow APA formatting guidelines for your citations and references.

Some additional tips for formatting your APA research paper:

• Use 12-point Times New Roman font throughout the paper.
• Double-space all text, including the references.
• Use 1-inch margins on all sides of the page.
• Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 inches.
• Use a hanging indent for the references (the first line should be flush with the left margin, and all subsequent lines should be indented).
• Number all pages, including the title page and references page, in the upper right-hand corner.

APA Research Paper Format Template

APA Research Paper Format Template is as follows:

Title Page:

• Title of the paper
• Author’s name
• Institutional affiliation
• A brief summary of the main points of the paper, including the research question, methods, findings, and conclusions. The abstract should be no more than 250 words.

Introduction:

• Background information on the topic of the research paper
• Research question or hypothesis
• Significance of the study
• Overview of the research methods and design
• Brief summary of the main findings
• Participants: description of the sample population, including the number of participants and their characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, etc.)
• Materials: description of any materials used in the study (e.g., survey questions, experimental apparatus)
• Procedure: detailed description of the steps taken to conduct the study
• Presentation of the findings of the study, including statistical analyses if applicable
• Tables and figures may be included to illustrate the results

Discussion:

• Interpretation of the results in light of the research question and hypothesis
• Implications of the study for the field
• Limitations of the study
• Suggestions for future research

References:

• A list of all sources cited in the paper, in APA format

Formatting guidelines:

• Double-spaced
• 12-point font (Times New Roman or Arial)
• 1-inch margins on all sides
• Page numbers in the top right corner
• Headings and subheadings should be used to organize the paper
• The first line of each paragraph should be indented
• Quotations of 40 or more words should be set off in a block quote with no quotation marks
• In-text citations should include the author’s last name and year of publication (e.g., Smith, 2019)

APA Research Paper Format Example

APA Research Paper Format Example is as follows:

The Effects of Social Media on Mental Health

University of XYZ

This study examines the relationship between social media use and mental health among college students. Data was collected through a survey of 500 students at the University of XYZ. Results suggest that social media use is significantly related to symptoms of depression and anxiety, and that the negative effects of social media are greater among frequent users.

Social media has become an increasingly important aspect of modern life, especially among young adults. While social media can have many positive effects, such as connecting people across distances and sharing information, there is growing concern about its impact on mental health. This study aims to examine the relationship between social media use and mental health among college students.

Participants: Participants were 500 college students at the University of XYZ, recruited through online advertisements and flyers posted on campus. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 25, with a mean age of 20.5 years. The sample was 60% female, 40% male, and 5% identified as non-binary or gender non-conforming.

Data was collected through an online survey administered through Qualtrics. The survey consisted of several measures, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression symptoms, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) for anxiety symptoms, and questions about social media use.

Procedure :

Participants were asked to complete the online survey at their convenience. The survey took approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlations, and multiple regression analysis.

Results indicated that social media use was significantly related to symptoms of depression (r = .32, p < .001) and anxiety (r = .29, p < .001). Regression analysis indicated that frequency of social media use was a significant predictor of both depression symptoms (β = .24, p < .001) and anxiety symptoms (β = .20, p < .001), even when controlling for age, gender, and other relevant factors.

The results of this study suggest that social media use is associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety among college students. The negative effects of social media are greater among frequent users. These findings have important implications for mental health professionals and educators, who should consider addressing the potential negative effects of social media use in their work with young adults.

References :

References should be listed in alphabetical order according to the author’s last name. For example:

• Chou, H. T. G., & Edge, N. (2012). “They are happier and having better lives than I am”: The impact of using Facebook on perceptions of others’ lives. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(2), 117-121.
• Twenge, J. M., Joiner, T. E., Rogers, M. L., & Martin, G. N. (2018). Increases in depressive symptoms, suicide-related outcomes, and suicide rates among U.S. adolescents after 2010 and links to increased new media screen time. Clinical Psychological Science, 6(1), 3-17.

Note: This is just a sample Example do not use this in your assignment.

MLA (Modern Language Association) Format

MLA (Modern Language Association) Format is as follows:

• Page Layout : Use 8.5 x 11-inch white paper, with 1-inch margins on all sides. The font should be 12-point Times New Roman or a similar serif font.
• Heading and Title : The first page of your research paper should include a heading and a title. The heading should include your name, your instructor’s name, the course title, and the date. The title should be centered and in title case (capitalizing the first letter of each important word).
• In-Text Citations : Use parenthetical citations to indicate the source of your information. The citation should include the author’s last name and the page number(s) of the source. For example: (Smith 23).
• Works Cited Page : At the end of your paper, include a Works Cited page that lists all the sources you used in your research. Each entry should include the author’s name, the title of the work, the publication information, and the medium of publication.
• Formatting Quotations : Use double quotation marks for short quotations and block quotations for longer quotations. Indent the entire quotation five spaces from the left margin.
• Formatting the Body : Use a clear and readable font and double-space your text throughout. The first line of each paragraph should be indented one-half inch from the left margin.

MLA Research Paper Template

MLA Research Paper Format Template is as follows:

• Use 8.5 x 11 inch white paper.
• Use a 12-point font, such as Times New Roman.
• Use double-spacing throughout the entire paper, including the title page and works cited page.
• Set the margins to 1 inch on all sides.
• Use page numbers in the upper right corner, beginning with the first page of text.
• Include a centered title for the research paper, using title case (capitalizing the first letter of each important word).
• Include your name, instructor’s name, course name, and date in the upper left corner, double-spaced.

In-Text Citations

• When quoting or paraphrasing information from sources, include an in-text citation within the text of your paper.
• Use the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence, before the punctuation mark.
• If the author’s name is mentioned in the sentence, only include the page number in parentheses.

Works Cited Page

• List all sources cited in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.
• Each entry should include the author’s name, title of the work, publication information, and medium of publication.
• Use italics for book and journal titles, and quotation marks for article and chapter titles.
• For online sources, include the date of access and the URL.

Here is an example of how the first page of a research paper in MLA format should look:

Headings and Subheadings

• Use headings and subheadings to organize your paper and make it easier to read.
• Use numerals to number your headings and subheadings (e.g. 1, 2, 3), and capitalize the first letter of each word.
• The main heading should be centered and in boldface type, while subheadings should be left-aligned and in italics.
• Use only one space after each period or punctuation mark.
• Use quotation marks to indicate direct quotes from a source.
• If the quote is more than four lines, format it as a block quote, indented one inch from the left margin and without quotation marks.
• Use ellipses (…) to indicate omitted words from a quote, and brackets ([…]) to indicate added words.

Works Cited Examples

• Book: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Year.
• Journal Article: Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, volume number, issue number, publication date, page numbers.
• Website: Last Name, First Name. “Title of Webpage.” Title of Website, publication date, URL. Accessed date.

Here is an example of how a works cited entry for a book should look:

Smith, John. The Art of Writing Research Papers. Penguin, 2021.

MLA Research Paper Example

MLA Research Paper Format Example is as follows:

Your Professor’s Name

Course Name and Number

Date (in Day Month Year format)

Word Count (not including title page or Works Cited)

Title: The Impact of Video Games on Aggression Levels

Video games have become a popular form of entertainment among people of all ages. However, the impact of video games on aggression levels has been a subject of debate among scholars and researchers. While some argue that video games promote aggression and violent behavior, others argue that there is no clear link between video games and aggression levels. This research paper aims to explore the impact of video games on aggression levels among young adults.

Background:

The debate on the impact of video games on aggression levels has been ongoing for several years. According to the American Psychological Association, exposure to violent media, including video games, can increase aggression levels in children and adolescents. However, some researchers argue that there is no clear evidence to support this claim. Several studies have been conducted to examine the impact of video games on aggression levels, but the results have been mixed.

Methodology:

This research paper used a quantitative research approach to examine the impact of video games on aggression levels among young adults. A sample of 100 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 was selected for the study. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire that measured their aggression levels and their video game habits.

The results of the study showed that there was a significant correlation between video game habits and aggression levels among young adults. The participants who reported playing violent video games for more than 5 hours per week had higher aggression levels than those who played less than 5 hours per week. The study also found that male participants were more likely to play violent video games and had higher aggression levels than female participants.

The findings of this study support the claim that video games can increase aggression levels among young adults. However, it is important to note that the study only examined the impact of video games on aggression levels and did not take into account other factors that may contribute to aggressive behavior. It is also important to note that not all video games promote violence and aggression, and some games may have a positive impact on cognitive and social skills.

Conclusion :

In conclusion, this research paper provides evidence to support the claim that video games can increase aggression levels among young adults. However, it is important to conduct further research to examine the impact of video games on other aspects of behavior and to explore the potential benefits of video games. Parents and educators should be aware of the potential impact of video games on aggression levels and should encourage young adults to engage in a variety of activities that promote cognitive and social skills.

Works Cited:

• American Psychological Association. (2017). Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/08/violent-video-games
• Ferguson, C. J. (2015). Do Angry Birds make for angry children? A meta-analysis of video game influences on children’s and adolescents’ aggression, mental health, prosocial behavior, and academic performance. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(5), 646-666.
• Gentile, D. A., Swing, E. L., Lim, C. G., & Khoo, A. (2012). Video game playing, attention problems, and impulsiveness: Evidence of bidirectional causality. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 1(1), 62-70.
• Greitemeyer, T. (2014). Effects of prosocial video games on prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 106(4), 530-548.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chicago/Turabian Formate is as follows:

• Margins : Use 1-inch margins on all sides of the paper.
• Font : Use a readable font such as Times New Roman or Arial, and use a 12-point font size.
• Page numbering : Number all pages in the upper right-hand corner, beginning with the first page of text. Use Arabic numerals.
• Title page: Include a title page with the title of the paper, your name, course title and number, instructor’s name, and the date. The title should be centered on the page and in title case (capitalize the first letter of each word).
• Headings: Use headings to organize your paper. The first level of headings should be centered and in boldface or italics. The second level of headings should be left-aligned and in boldface or italics. Use as many levels of headings as necessary to organize your paper.
• In-text citations : Use footnotes or endnotes to cite sources within the text of your paper. The first citation for each source should be a full citation, and subsequent citations can be shortened. Use superscript numbers to indicate footnotes or endnotes.
• Bibliography : Include a bibliography at the end of your paper, listing all sources cited in your paper. The bibliography should be in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, and each entry should include the author’s name, title of the work, publication information, and date of publication.
• Formatting of quotations: Use block quotations for quotations that are longer than four lines. Indent the entire quotation one inch from the left margin, and do not use quotation marks. Single-space the quotation, and double-space between paragraphs.
• Tables and figures: Use tables and figures to present data and illustrations. Number each table and figure sequentially, and provide a brief title for each. Place tables and figures as close as possible to the text that refers to them.
• Spelling and grammar : Use correct spelling and grammar throughout your paper. Proofread carefully for errors.

Chicago/Turabian Research Paper Template

Chicago/Turabian Research Paper Template is as folows:

Title of Paper

Name of Student

Professor’s Name

I. Introduction

A. Background Information

B. Research Question

C. Thesis Statement

II. Literature Review

A. Overview of Existing Literature

B. Analysis of Key Literature

C. Identification of Gaps in Literature

III. Methodology

A. Research Design

B. Data Collection

C. Data Analysis

IV. Results

A. Presentation of Findings

B. Analysis of Findings

C. Discussion of Implications

V. Conclusion

A. Summary of Findings

B. Implications for Future Research

C. Conclusion

VI. References

A. Bibliography

B. In-Text Citations

VII. Appendices (if necessary)

A. Data Tables

C. Additional Supporting Materials

Chicago/Turabian Research Paper Example

Title: The Impact of Social Media on Political Engagement

Name: John Smith

Class: POLS 101

Professor: Dr. Jane Doe

Date: April 8, 2023

I. Introduction:

Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives. People use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to connect with friends and family, share their opinions, and stay informed about current events. With the rise of social media, there has been a growing interest in understanding its impact on various aspects of society, including political engagement. In this paper, I will examine the relationship between social media use and political engagement, specifically focusing on how social media influences political participation and political attitudes.

II. Literature Review:

There is a growing body of literature on the impact of social media on political engagement. Some scholars argue that social media has a positive effect on political participation by providing new channels for political communication and mobilization (Delli Carpini & Keeter, 1996; Putnam, 2000). Others, however, suggest that social media can have a negative impact on political engagement by creating filter bubbles that reinforce existing beliefs and discourage political dialogue (Pariser, 2011; Sunstein, 2001).

III. Methodology:

To examine the relationship between social media use and political engagement, I conducted a survey of 500 college students. The survey included questions about social media use, political participation, and political attitudes. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis.

Iv. Results:

The results of the survey indicate that social media use is positively associated with political participation. Specifically, respondents who reported using social media to discuss politics were more likely to have participated in a political campaign, attended a political rally, or contacted a political representative. Additionally, social media use was found to be associated with more positive attitudes towards political engagement, such as increased trust in government and belief in the effectiveness of political action.

V. Conclusion:

The findings of this study suggest that social media has a positive impact on political engagement, by providing new opportunities for political communication and mobilization. However, there is also a need for caution, as social media can also create filter bubbles that reinforce existing beliefs and discourage political dialogue. Future research should continue to explore the complex relationship between social media and political engagement, and develop strategies to harness the potential benefits of social media while mitigating its potential negative effects.

Vii. References:

• Delli Carpini, M. X., & Keeter, S. (1996). What Americans know about politics and why it matters. Yale University Press.
• Pariser, E. (2011). The filter bubble: What the Internet is hiding from you. Penguin.
• Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon & Schuster.
• Sunstein, C. R. (2001). Republic.com. Princeton University Press.

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Format

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Research Paper Format is as follows:

• Title : A concise and informative title that accurately reflects the content of the paper.
• Abstract : A brief summary of the paper, typically no more than 250 words, that includes the purpose of the study, the methods used, the key findings, and the main conclusions.
• Introduction : An overview of the background, context, and motivation for the research, including a clear statement of the problem being addressed and the objectives of the study.
• Literature review: A critical analysis of the relevant research and scholarship on the topic, including a discussion of any gaps or limitations in the existing literature.
• Methodology : A detailed description of the methods used to collect and analyze data, including any experiments or simulations, data collection instruments or procedures, and statistical analyses.
• Results : A clear and concise presentation of the findings, including any relevant tables, graphs, or figures.
• Discussion : A detailed interpretation of the results, including a comparison of the findings with previous research, a discussion of the implications of the results, and any recommendations for future research.
• Conclusion : A summary of the key findings and main conclusions of the study.
• References : A list of all sources cited in the paper, formatted according to IEEE guidelines.

In addition to these elements, an IEEE research paper should also follow certain formatting guidelines, including using 12-point font, double-spaced text, and numbered headings and subheadings. Additionally, any tables, figures, or equations should be clearly labeled and referenced in the text.

AMA (American Medical Association) Style

AMA (American Medical Association) Style Research Paper Format:

• Title Page: This page includes the title of the paper, the author’s name, institutional affiliation, and any acknowledgments or disclaimers.
• Abstract: The abstract is a brief summary of the paper that outlines the purpose, methods, results, and conclusions of the study. It is typically limited to 250 words or less.
• Introduction: The introduction provides a background of the research problem, defines the research question, and outlines the objectives and hypotheses of the study.
• Methods: The methods section describes the research design, participants, procedures, and instruments used to collect and analyze data.
• Results: The results section presents the findings of the study in a clear and concise manner, using graphs, tables, and charts where appropriate.
• Discussion: The discussion section interprets the results, explains their significance, and relates them to previous research in the field.
• Conclusion: The conclusion summarizes the main points of the paper, discusses the implications of the findings, and suggests future research directions.
• References: The reference list includes all sources cited in the paper, listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name.

In addition to these sections, the AMA format requires that authors follow specific guidelines for citing sources in the text and formatting their references. The AMA style uses a superscript number system for in-text citations and provides specific formats for different types of sources, such as books, journal articles, and websites.

Harvard Style

Harvard Style Research Paper format is as follows:

• Title page: This should include the title of your paper, your name, the name of your institution, and the date of submission.
• Abstract : This is a brief summary of your paper, usually no more than 250 words. It should outline the main points of your research and highlight your findings.
• Introduction : This section should introduce your research topic, provide background information, and outline your research question or thesis statement.
• Literature review: This section should review the relevant literature on your topic, including previous research studies, academic articles, and other sources.
• Methodology : This section should describe the methods you used to conduct your research, including any data collection methods, research instruments, and sampling techniques.
• Results : This section should present your findings in a clear and concise manner, using tables, graphs, and other visual aids if necessary.
• Discussion : This section should interpret your findings and relate them to the broader research question or thesis statement. You should also discuss the implications of your research and suggest areas for future study.
• Conclusion : This section should summarize your main findings and provide a final statement on the significance of your research.
• References : This is a list of all the sources you cited in your paper, presented in alphabetical order by author name. Each citation should include the author’s name, the title of the source, the publication date, and other relevant information.

In addition to these sections, a Harvard Style research paper may also include a table of contents, appendices, and other supplementary materials as needed. It is important to follow the specific formatting guidelines provided by your instructor or academic institution when preparing your research paper in Harvard Style.

Vancouver Style

Vancouver Style Research Paper format is as follows:

The Vancouver citation style is commonly used in the biomedical sciences and is known for its use of numbered references. Here is a basic format for a research paper using the Vancouver citation style:

• Title page: Include the title of your paper, your name, the name of your institution, and the date.
• Abstract : This is a brief summary of your research paper, usually no more than 250 words.
• Introduction : Provide some background information on your topic and state the purpose of your research.
• Methods : Describe the methods you used to conduct your research, including the study design, data collection, and statistical analysis.
• Results : Present your findings in a clear and concise manner, using tables and figures as needed.
• Discussion : Interpret your results and explain their significance. Also, discuss any limitations of your study and suggest directions for future research.
• References : List all of the sources you cited in your paper in numerical order. Each reference should include the author’s name, the title of the article or book, the name of the journal or publisher, the year of publication, and the page numbers.

ACS (American Chemical Society) Style

ACS (American Chemical Society) Style Research Paper format is as follows:

The American Chemical Society (ACS) Style is a citation style commonly used in chemistry and related fields. When formatting a research paper in ACS Style, here are some guidelines to follow:

• Paper Size and Margins : Use standard 8.5″ x 11″ paper with 1-inch margins on all sides.
• Font: Use a 12-point serif font (such as Times New Roman) for the main text. The title should be in bold and a larger font size.
• Title Page : The title page should include the title of the paper, the authors’ names and affiliations, and the date of submission. The title should be centered on the page and written in bold font. The authors’ names should be centered below the title, followed by their affiliations and the date.
• Abstract : The abstract should be a brief summary of the paper, no more than 250 words. It should be on a separate page and include the title of the paper, the authors’ names and affiliations, and the text of the abstract.
• Main Text : The main text should be organized into sections with headings that clearly indicate the content of each section. The introduction should provide background information and state the research question or hypothesis. The methods section should describe the procedures used in the study. The results section should present the findings of the study, and the discussion section should interpret the results and provide conclusions.
• References: Use the ACS Style guide to format the references cited in the paper. In-text citations should be numbered sequentially throughout the text and listed in numerical order at the end of the paper.
• Figures and Tables: Figures and tables should be numbered sequentially and referenced in the text. Each should have a descriptive caption that explains its content. Figures should be submitted in a high-quality electronic format.
• Supporting Information: Additional information such as data, graphs, and videos may be included as supporting information. This should be included in a separate file and referenced in the main text.
• Acknowledgments : Acknowledge any funding sources or individuals who contributed to the research.

ASA (American Sociological Association) Style

ASA (American Sociological Association) Style Research Paper format is as follows:

• Title Page: The title page of an ASA style research paper should include the title of the paper, the author’s name, and the institutional affiliation. The title should be centered and should be in title case (the first letter of each major word should be capitalized).
• Abstract: An abstract is a brief summary of the paper that should appear on a separate page immediately following the title page. The abstract should be no more than 200 words in length and should summarize the main points of the paper.
• Main Body: The main body of the paper should begin on a new page following the abstract page. The paper should be double-spaced, with 1-inch margins on all sides, and should be written in 12-point Times New Roman font. The main body of the paper should include an introduction, a literature review, a methodology section, results, and a discussion.
• References : The reference section should appear on a separate page at the end of the paper. All sources cited in the paper should be listed in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. Each reference should include the author’s name, the title of the work, the publication information, and the date of publication.
• Appendices : Appendices are optional and should only be included if they contain information that is relevant to the study but too lengthy to be included in the main body of the paper. If you include appendices, each one should be labeled with a letter (e.g., Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.) and should be referenced in the main body of the paper.

APSA (American Political Science Association) Style

APSA (American Political Science Association) Style Research Paper format is as follows:

• Title Page: The title page should include the title of the paper, the author’s name, the name of the course or instructor, and the date.
• Abstract : An abstract is typically not required in APSA style papers, but if one is included, it should be brief and summarize the main points of the paper.
• Introduction : The introduction should provide an overview of the research topic, the research question, and the main argument or thesis of the paper.
• Literature Review : The literature review should summarize the existing research on the topic and provide a context for the research question.
• Methods : The methods section should describe the research methods used in the paper, including data collection and analysis.
• Results : The results section should present the findings of the research.
• Discussion : The discussion section should interpret the results and connect them back to the research question and argument.
• Conclusion : The conclusion should summarize the main findings and implications of the research.
• References : The reference list should include all sources cited in the paper, formatted according to APSA style guidelines.

In-text citations in APSA style use parenthetical citation, which includes the author’s last name, publication year, and page number(s) if applicable. For example, (Smith 2010, 25).

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

You may also like

Delimitations in Research – Types, Examples and...

Table of Contents – Types, Formats, Examples

Research Results Section – Writing Guide and...

Research Design – Types, Methods and Examples

Tables in Research Paper – Types, Creating Guide...

Appendices – Writing Guide, Types and Examples

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

Why is the two-column format so popular?

At least in the field of computer science, I have noticed this to be a common practice.

Why exactly is this done? I find it harder to read and follow.

• publications

• As a side note, double-column fits a lot more text –  Fábio Dias Commented Nov 11, 2019 at 1:09
• @FábioDias That literally makes no sense, as there's space taken up by additional margins –  Tobi Commented Nov 11, 2019 at 10:21
• @Tobi but the left and right margins may be smaller... –  Solar Mike Commented Nov 11, 2019 at 10:26
• You could have smaller left/right margins with a standard page layout –  Tobi Commented Nov 11, 2019 at 10:57
• 1 For each new paragraph, you lose (on average) half a line. In double-column format, the lines are shorter, so you lose less. End result: fewer pages. That consideration was important when journals were published on paper. Today it is less important. –  GEdgar Commented Nov 11, 2019 at 11:15

2 Answers 2

There are some established standards for page layout in publications. One that I'm familiar with is a set of patterns for desktop (that is, personal) publishing by Andreas Rüping, published in the EuroPloP 1999 proceedings (University of Konstanz).

One of the patterns says that a page should be no more than about half text. A fair amount of white space, margins, and other elements besides text.

Another pattern says that a line of text should be no more than about twice the length of the alphabet used, so around 52 lower case letters in English. This isn't applicable to Chinese, of course. This limit is "imposed" by the physiology of how the eye works. Among other things, if a line is too long, then it is harder to pick up the start of the next line when scanning back.

But a full line of text in a reasonable font can be nearly twice that limit.

So, just those two patterns suggest two column format or some other accommodation.

And note that, if you are young, you have an easier time reading long lines than someone older with poorer eyesight.

• The number of characters is the key argument here. Writing a single column on either A4 or US letter size paper with the font sizes commonly used is almost impossible to read. The only reason why most books can get away with a single column is because they are only half the size. –  quarague Commented Nov 11, 2019 at 11:37

I suspect it's not a matter of being "common practice" -- rather, it's the standard for IEEE and all of its associated conferences and journals (e.g., CVPR). Further, it's a sort of a nice looking formatting with plenty of infrastructure (e.g., .sty files), so it's a common choice when no particular format is prescribed.

There are plenty of other journals in CS that use a single-column format (e.g., SPIE, NeurIPS). But, this does leave a question of how many characters to allow per line. So, these single-column journals either (a) allow a large number of characters per line, which introduces some difficulty in reading, or (b) uses very large margins -- over 2" (on "letter" size paper). With respect to the latter -- perhaps this makes sense in Europe where A5 paper can be used (not sure), but in the US, I think this looks just awful.

• Just to add to this answer, part of the reason too is that for general graphic design , 2 columns can fit images more neatly (snippets of code and small equation too). Plus, for digital design the text is accommodated more easily in a justified way when there are those apparently extra spaces. –  deags Commented Nov 11, 2019 at 17:23

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged publications formatting ..

• Featured on Meta
• Join Stack Overflow’s CEO and me for the first Stack IRL Community Event in...
• User activation: Learnings and opportunities

Hot Network Questions

• '05 Scion tC, bought used. 145k miles , unknown if spark plugs were ever changed. Should I change 'em?
• Can the signing of a bill by an acting governor be overturned by the actual governor?
• Seeking a Text-Based Version of Paul Dirac's 1926 Paper on Quantum Mechanics
• On Concordant Readings in Titrations
• How to react to a rejection based on a single one-line negative review?
• Why is Germany looking to import workers from Kenya, specifically?
• Copyright on song first performed in public
• 〈ü〉 vs 〈ue〉 in German, particularly names
• "00000000000000"
• Use the lower of two voltages when one is active
• Sum of the individual kinetic energies of the particles which make the system the same as the K.E. of the center of mass? What's bad in my reasoning?
• How to rectify a mistake in DS 160
• Need help in tikzpicture
• Can foreigners use Swedish app-driven self service stores?
• Example of a forcing notion with finite-predecessor condition that does not add reals
• Grid-based pathfinding for a lot of agents: how to implement "Tight-Following"?
• Could a Gamma Ray Burst knock a Space Mirror out of orbit?
• Simple XML string to user-friendly plain text converter method in Java
• How can I use an op-amp in differential configuration to measure voltage across a MOSFET?
• How to get on to the roof?
• What was the document that Paul and Chloe signed with Sabrina?
• Emergency belt repair
• What's the strongest material known to humanity that we could use to make Powered Armor Plates?
• What is an apologetic to confront Schellenberg's non-resistant divine hiddenness argument?

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Research paper
• Research Paper Format | APA, MLA, & Chicago Templates

Research Paper Format | APA, MLA, & Chicago Templates

Published on November 19, 2022 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on January 20, 2023.

The formatting of a research paper is different depending on which style guide you’re following. In addition to citations , APA, MLA, and Chicago provide format guidelines for things like font choices, page layout, format of headings and the format of the reference page.

Scribbr offers free Microsoft Word templates for the most common formats. Simply download and get started on your paper.

APA |  MLA | Chicago author-date | Chicago notes & bibliography

• Generate an automatic table of contents
• Generate a list of tables and figures
• Ensure consistent paragraph formatting
• Insert page numbering

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

Formatting an apa paper, formatting an mla paper, formatting a chicago paper, frequently asked questions about research paper formatting.

The main guidelines for formatting a paper in APA Style are as follows:

• Use a standard font like 12 pt Times New Roman or 11 pt Arial.
• Set 1 inch page margins.
• Apply double line spacing.
• If submitting for publication, insert a APA running head on every page.
• Indent every new paragraph ½ inch.

Watch the video below for a quick guide to setting up the format in Google Docs.

The image below shows how to format an APA Style title page for a student paper.

Running head

If you are submitting a paper for publication, APA requires you to include a running head on each page. The image below shows you how this should be formatted.

For student papers, no running head is required unless you have been instructed to include one.

APA provides guidelines for formatting up to five levels of heading within your paper. Level 1 headings are the most general, level 5 the most specific.

Reference page

APA Style citation requires (author-date) APA in-text citations throughout the text and an APA Style reference page at the end. The image below shows how the reference page should be formatted.

Note that the format of reference entries is different depending on the source type. You can easily create your citations and reference list using the free APA Citation Generator.

Generate APA citations for free

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

The main guidelines for writing an MLA style paper are as follows:

• Use an easily readable font like 12 pt Times New Roman.
• Use title case capitalization for headings .

Check out the video below to see how to set up the format in Google Docs.

On the first page of an MLA paper, a heading appears above your title, featuring some key information:

• Your full name
• Your instructor’s or supervisor’s name
• The course name or number
• The due date of the assignment

Page header

A header appears at the top of each page in your paper, including your surname and the page number.

Works Cited page

MLA in-text citations appear wherever you refer to a source in your text. The MLA Works Cited page appears at the end of your text, listing all the sources used. It is formatted as shown below.

You can easily create your MLA citations and save your Works Cited list with the free MLA Citation Generator.

Generate MLA citations for free

The main guidelines for writing a paper in Chicago style (also known as Turabian style) are:

• Use a standard font like 12 pt Times New Roman.
• Use 1 inch margins or larger.
• Place page numbers in the top right or bottom center.

Chicago doesn’t require a title page , but if you want to include one, Turabian (based on Chicago) presents some guidelines. Lay out the title page as shown below.

Bibliography or reference list

Chicago offers two citation styles : author-date citations plus a reference list, or footnote citations plus a bibliography. Choose one style or the other and use it consistently.

The reference list or bibliography appears at the end of the paper. Both styles present this page similarly in terms of formatting, as shown below.

To format a paper in APA Style , follow these guidelines:

• Use a standard font like 12 pt Times New Roman or 11 pt Arial
• Set 1 inch page margins
• Apply double line spacing
• Include a title page
• If submitting for publication, insert a running head on every page
• Indent every new paragraph ½ inch
• Apply APA heading styles
• Cite your sources with APA in-text citations
• List all sources cited on a reference page at the end

The main guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA style are as follows:

• Use an easily readable font like 12 pt Times New Roman
• Include a four-line MLA heading on the first page
• Center the paper’s title
• Use title case capitalization for headings
• Cite your sources with MLA in-text citations
• List all sources cited on a Works Cited page at the end

The main guidelines for formatting a paper in Chicago style are to:

• Use a standard font like 12 pt Times New Roman
• Use 1 inch margins or larger
• Place page numbers in the top right or bottom center
• Cite your sources with author-date citations or Chicago footnotes
• Include a bibliography or reference list

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, January 20). Research Paper Format | APA, MLA, & Chicago Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved September 16, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/research-paper/research-paper-format/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, apa format for academic papers and essays, mla format for academic papers and essays, chicago style format for papers | requirements & examples, get unlimited documents corrected.

✔ Free APA citation check included ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

Why are papers printed in a two column format?

Is there a reason or is it arbitrary/tradition?

• academic-writing

• Interesting that the words 'optimal amount of text for print material is ~60 characters per column' is written here in a fixed column, >100 characters wide - and I'm finding it perfectly 'comfortable' to read. –  user780 Commented Feb 10, 2011 at 1:20
• To make it impossible to read them comfortably on e-readers? –  user3885 Commented Jul 23, 2012 at 9:38
• If it is easier to read you are more likely to agree with the findings. –  Richard Dana Commented Apr 16, 2017 at 11:10
• I think this question would be better if it was changed to "newspapers but not books" –  Andrey Commented Nov 21, 2019 at 22:02

9 Answers 9

Long lines of text can be hard to read, so doing multiple columns breaks the lines up to something more optimal.

• 2 Wouldn't this logic apply to every writing? –  juan Commented Feb 2, 2011 at 22:41
• 3 yes, and that's probably why HTML5 is supposed to include the idea of wrapping columns –  QuickerSnarkerBacker Commented Feb 3, 2011 at 1:48
• 9 @sjohnston: Novels don't use this format because they tend to have smaller pages and/or larger fonts. Hardcovers usually have large fonts and paperbacks have small pages. Contrast with newspapers or magazines, which have relatively wide pages and small fonts. –  Mr. Shiny and New 安宇 Commented Feb 3, 2011 at 18:25
• 1 I had a history book in college which, while the size of a novel (but thicker) was printed in two columns, interestingly enough. I suspect it's as much tradition as anything else in academia, I haven't seen as much of it outside scholarly work. –  atroon Commented Feb 3, 2011 at 20:19
• 3 In typesetting there is actually a sweet spot between too short lines (eyes have to constantly jump lines) and too long lines (when jumping a line it's hard to figure out which line is the next one and not accidentally skip a line). The exact ideal is a function of the font-size as well as other properties of the font such as it's x-height and proportions. –  Jakub Hampl Commented Feb 5, 2011 at 0:36

It was shown, by experiment, that optimal amount of text for print material is ~60 characters per column. This was calculated by the ratio between font size and leading which were picked by humans as most comfortable to process. Higher amount of characters per column interferes with brain's ability to scan through text easily, much like you need to break text into paragraphs for same reason.

• 15 A citation for the experiment(s) would be awesome. –  Mark Lapierre Commented Feb 4, 2011 at 21:14
• 1 +1 for citation too :) I've heard about that in the early 90's when I made my first steps into DTP and asked the same question. Answer was given to me by older repro/plate photography guys that did print layout manually without computers. –  Keyframe Commented Feb 5, 2011 at 19:34

Also when writing mathematical equations, there is a tendency to have a lot of free space on the sides. Using two columns not only to make text reading more comfortable, but it also allows to make a better use of the space on the page, by reducing the white space on the side of the equations.

• Unless your formulas are long, then it is quite the pain to get the formulas wrapped properly, which is the case for many of my formulas... –  Make42 Commented May 11, 2020 at 8:58

There's long-standing rules of thumb, and now quite good psychological research, to indicate that ease of reading requires limited line length. The rule of thumb is somewhere in the neighborhood to 43 to 60 characters per line, or around ten words per line in English.

Newspaper and magazine print is usually around 10 pitch, ie, 10 characters average per inch. Printable space on a page is usually around 6 inches wide in a letter-sixed page, 4.5 inches in a digest, 10-12 inches wide in a newspaper (tabloid vs the other format whatever the hell it's called) and the number columns of print is somewhere around (inches × pitch)/50.

(Speaking of references, the wiki page is actually quite good.)

My guess would be that it is to counterbalance a cost-saving measure. They needed to have the words be below a certain size so they could fit more of them per page; and in that quantity a single column would just look like a big chunk of text. So the reasons are two-fold; one, they reduce the size of the words to save costs by using fewer pages, and two, they partially offset the visual problems associated with having text that small by breaking it up in a way that's easier on the eyes.

• 1 Having changed papers from single-column journal article format to two-column I'd say that a single column 16+ page article would end up as less than 10 page double column (not counting the effect of smaller pictures) –  Paul de Vrieze Commented Feb 6, 2011 at 14:45
• Sorry, end up as less what? Words? –  Adam Gurri Commented Feb 7, 2011 at 2:39

The only source available for the 60 characters per line experiment that I could find appears to be from Tomás García Ferrari & Carolina Short done in 2002 .

See Test 3 in this document.

I think when Keyframe says "optimal amount of text for print material" that this is related to scanning and absorbing key words, but not deeper reading comprehension levels.

I know that when I'm reading a novel or a even a non-fiction book I pay closer attention than when I'm reading the newspaper. It might be that ~60 characters per line is optimal for that level of casual reading.

• It might be that ~60 characters is optimal for deeper reading too, and that one's subjective experience of comfort is misleading concerning what is optimal. –  Mark Lapierre Commented Feb 4, 2011 at 21:21

Earlier comments characterize 60 characters as being comfortable . I've believed it was to specifically increase reading ease and speed by enabling one to slurp in an entire line. For me, that is comfortable.

I tend to shrink the width of HTML windows that have reflowing text, so that I can gobble single lines. I find the width of an eBook line on a mobile device to be good.

For technical papers, a two-column format allows figures (e.g. graphs) to be large enough to understand , without taking up nearly as much of the limited page count. And similarly for equations, to pack as much info in a small area (without hurting the readability.)

• 1 My equations are often so long that they need to be wrapped in double column layout... this is a pain for me and the reader. –  Make42 Commented May 11, 2020 at 9:00

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged academic-writing or ask your own question .

• Featured on Meta
• User activation: Learnings and opportunities
• Join Stack Overflow’s CEO and me for the first Stack IRL Community Event in...

Hot Network Questions

• A thought experiment regarding elliptical orbits
• How is AC and DC defined?
• How to get on to the roof?
• If a mount provokes opportunity attacks, can its rider be targeted?
• A word like "science/scientific" that can be used for ALL academic fields?
• How to rectify a mistake in DS 160
• My team is not responsive to group messages and other group initiatives. What should be the appropriate solution?
• Number theory: Can all rational numbers >1 be expressed as a product of rational numbers >1?
• Smoking on a hotel room's balcony in Greece
• Is it possible/recommended to paint the side of piano's keys?
• My math professor is Chinese. Is it okay for me to speak Chinese to her in office hours?
• A certain solution for Sine-Gordon Equation
• Was the total glaciation of the world, a.k.a. snowball earth, due to Bok space clouds?
• Example of a forcing notion with finite-predecessor condition that does not add reals
• How can I use an op-amp in differential configuration to measure voltage across a MOSFET?
• Xcode 16.0 : unexpected service error: The Xcode build system has crashed
• I didn't make it into a graduate program last year. How can I make a compelling case with an unchanged profile?
• Grothendieck topoi as a constructive property
• Is it ethical to request partial reimbursement to present something from my previous position?
• Can this phrase "the Conservatives opposite" be regarded as apposition structure?
• How can "chemical-free" surface cleaners work?
• Coloring a function based on its monotonicity
• Cutting a curve through a thick timber without waste
• How to plausibly delay the creation of the telescope

Information for publishing at *ACL conferences

• Who does what?
• General Advice
• Style files
• START walkthrough
• Anthology handoff
• The order file
• Submitting your paper for review
• Submitting the final version of your paper
• Formatting guidelines
• Entering paper metadata in START
• Open Issues
• Further Reading

Paper formatting guidelines

Style files, paper length, file format, title and authors, figures and tables, non-english text, acknowledgments, supplementary material.

The following instructions are for authors of papers submitted for review to ACL conferences (hereafter, “review version”) or paper accepted for publication in its proceedings (hereafter, “final version”). All authors are required to adhere to these specifications.

Authors submitting papers for review must also follow: Submitting your paper for review .

Authors of accepted papers must also follow: Submitting the final version of your paper .

Paper Format

*ACL provides style files for LaTeX and Microsoft Word that meet these requirements. They can be found at https://github.com/acl-org/acl-style-files .

We strongly recommend the use of these style files, which have been appropriately tailored for the *ACL proceedings.

The conference accepts submissions of long papers and short papers. Review versions of long papers may have up to eight (8) pages of content plus unlimited pages for references. Upon acceptance, final versions of long papers will be given one additional page – up to nine (9) pages of content plus unlimited pages for acknowledgments and references – so that reviewers’ comments can be taken into account. Review versions of short papers may have up to four (4) pages of content, plus unlimited pages for references. Final versions of short papers may have up to five (5) pages, plus unlimited pages for acknowledgments and references. For both long and short papers, all figures and tables that are part of the main text must fit within these page limits.

The conference encourages submission of appendices and supplementary material, which are not required to fit within these page limits. However, review versions of papers must be self-contained: it is optional for reviewers to look at appendices or supplementary material. Please see Appendices and Supplementary Material for more information.

Review versions should not refer, for further detail, to documents, code or data resources that are not available to the reviewers.

Papers that do not conform to these requirements may be rejected without review.

Workshop chairs may have different rules for allowed length and whether appendices or supplementary materials are welcome. As always, the respective call for papers is the authoritative source.

Papers must be in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Some word processors may generate very large PDF files, where each page is rendered as an image. Such images may reproduce poorly. In this case, try alternative ways to obtain the PDF.

Please make sure that your PDF file embeds all necessary fonts, especially for tree diagrams, symbols, and Asian languages. If your paper uses Asian fonts, they must be embedded in the PDF file so that they can be displayed by non-Asian versions of the PDF reader (Asian versions ship with a larger set of default fonts). START will not let you upload your final PDF without all fonts embedded. When you print or create the PDF file, there is usually an option in your printer setup to include none, all or just non-standard fonts. Please make sure that you select the option of including all the fonts. If your paper includes PDF graphics, these files must also have embedded fonts.

You can check your final PDF with the command pdffonts mypaper.pdf and confirm that all the fonts say “yes” under “emb”. You can also test your PDF by viewing it and printing it on a different computer from the one where it was created.

All papers must use A4 paper format (21 cm x 29.7 cm). Papers must not be submitted with any other paper size. Here are a couple of ways to check this:

Using pdfinfo: The pdfinfo command should include

in its output.

Using Apple’s Preview.app: Open the PDF, and select Tools → Show Inspector or type ⌘I. It should report a page size of 8.27 x 11.7 inches.

Using Adobe Acrobat: Open the PDF, navigate to File → Properties… → Description. The field labeled “Page Size” should read 8.27 × 11.69 in.

If you cannot meet the above requirements, please contact the publication chairs as soon as possible.

All text except for page numbers must fit within the margins.

Review versions should have page numbers, centered in the bottom margin, but pages should not be numbered in the final version.

Manuscripts must be set in two columns. Exceptions to the two-column format include the title, authors’ names and complete addresses, which must be centered at the top of the first page, and any full-width figures or tables.

The exact dimensions for a page on A4 paper are:

• Left margin: 2.5 cm
• Right margin: 2.5 cm
• Top margin: 2.5 cm
• Bottom margin: 2.5 cm
• Column width: 7.7 cm
• Column height: 24.7 cm
• Gap between columns: 0.6 cm

In the review version, a ruler (line numbers in the left and right margins of the article) should be printed, so that reviewers may comment on particular lines in the paper. The ruler should not change the appearance of any other content on the page. The final version should not contain a ruler.

Reviewers: If the ruler measurements do not align well with lines in the paper, you can also use fractional references (e.g., “line 295.5”).

All text (except non-Latin scripts and mathematical formulas) should be set in Times Roman . If Times Roman is unavailable, you may use Times New Roman or Computer Modern Roman.

The following table specifies what font sizes and styles must be used for each type of text in the manuscript.

Center the title and the author name(s) and affiliation(s) across both columns.

Place the title centered at the top of the first page, in 15-point bold. Long titles should be typed on two lines without a blank line intervening. Put the title 2.5 cm from the top of the page. Write the title in title case ; do not write the title in all capital letters, except for acronyms and names (e.g., “BLEU”) that are normally written in all capitals.

Place the author name(s) and affiliation(s) under the title. Write authors’ full names; do not abbreviate given names to initials, unless they are normally written as initials (“Margaret Mitchell”, not “M. Mitchell”). Do not format surnames in all capitals (“Mitchell”, not “MITCHELL”).

Do not use footnotes for affiliations. The affiliation should contain the author’s complete address, and if possible, an electronic mail address.

The title, author names and addresses should be completely identical to those entered to the paper submission website in order to maintain the consistency of author information among all publications of the conference. If they are different, the publication chairs may resolve the difference without consulting with you; so it is in your own interest to double-check that the information is consistent.

Start the body of the first page 7.5 cm from the top of the page. Even in the review version of the paper, you should maintain space for names and addresses so that they will fit in the final version.

Type the abstract at the beginning of the first column. Center the word Abstract in 12 point bold above the body of the abstract. The width of the abstract should be smaller than the normal column width by 0.6 cm on each side. The abstract text should be 10 point roman, single-spaced.

The abstract should be a concise summary of the general thesis and conclusions of the paper. It should be no longer than 200 words.

Begin typing the main body of the text immediately after the abstract, continuing in two columns. The text should be 11 point roman, single-spaced.

Indent 0.4 cm when starting a new paragraph, except for the first paragraph in a section.

Use numbered sections (Arabic numerals) to facilitate cross references. Number subsections with the section number and the subsection number separated by a dot, in Arabic numerals, e.g.,

1 Introduction

6.1 File Format

Put footnotes at the bottom of the page and use 9 point font. They may be numbered or referred to by asterisks or other symbols. Footnotes should be separated from the text by a line.

Place figures and tables in the paper near where they are first discussed, rather than at the end, if possible. Wide figures/tables may run across both columns.

Graphics and photos should, if possible, use vector graphic formats (PDF, EPS), which allow the graphics to scale arbitrarily. Avoid GIF or JPEG images that are low resolution or highly compressed.

Your paper must look good both when printed (A4 size) and when viewed onscreen as PDF (zoomable to any size). Please check that graphics and photos are legible when printed and in a PDF viewer at different resolutions. At the same time, keep file sizes manageable.

Accessibility: Please prioritise the accessibility of your paper. The Diversity & Inclusion committee for ACL2020 has provided some tips on how to do this. To accommodate people who are color-blind (as well as those printing with black-and-white printers), grayscale readability is strongly encouraged. Color is not forbidden, but authors should ensure that tables and figures do not rely solely on color to convey critical distinctions.

Captions: Provide a caption for every figure/table; number each one sequentially in the form:

Figure 1: Caption of the Figure.

Table 1: Caption of the Table.

Captions should be placed below figures/tables, in 10 point roman type. Captions that are one line are centered. Captions longer than one line are left-aligned.

Within-document and external hyperlinks should be dark blue (hex #000099), not underlined or boxed.

Text in languages other than English should be accompanied by translations into English, and text in scripts other than Latin should also be accompanied by transliterations into Latin script, since not all readers can recognize non-Latin characters easily.

For example, παράδειγμα paradeigma ‘example’ is a Greek word, and this is a Greek sentence:

Αυτό είναι ένα παράδειγμα. auto einai ena paradeigma. ‘This is an example.’

Citations within the text appear in parentheses (Gusfield, 1997), or, if the author’s name appears in the text itself: Gusfield (1997). Append lowercase letters to the year in cases of ambiguities. Cite papers with two authors using both authors’ names (Aho and Ullman, 1972), but cite papers with more than two authors by the first author’s name and “et al.” (Chandra et al., 1981). Collapse multiple citations into a single pair of parentheses (Gusfield, 1997; Aho and Ullman, 1972).

Refrain from using full citations as sentence constituents. Instead of

(Gusfield, 1997) showed that … In (Gusfield, 1997), …’’

Gusfield (1997) showed that … In Gusfield (1997), …

Submissions should accurately reference prior and related work, including code and data. If a piece of prior work appeared in multiple venues, the version that appeared in a refereed, archival venue should be referenced. If multiple versions of a piece of prior work exist, the one used by the authors should be referenced.

The acknowledgments should go immediately before the references. Do not number the acknowledgments section. Do not include this section in the review version.

Gather the full set of references together under the unnumbered section heading References . Place the References section before any Appendices. Arrange the references alphabetically by first author, rather than by order of occurrence in the text.

Provide as complete a citation as possible, using a consistent format, such as the one for Computational Linguistics or the one in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . Use full names for authors, not just initials. Authors should not rely on automated citation indices to provide accurate references for prior and related work.

As part of our work to make ACL materials more widely used and cited outside of our discipline, ACL has registered as a CrossRef member, as a registrant of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), the standard for registering permanent URNs for referencing scholarly materials.

All references are required to contain DOIs of all cited works when possible, or, as a second resort, links to ACL Anthology pages. Appropriate records should be found for most materials in the current ACL Anthology .

Example article in a journal:

Rie Kubota Ando and Tong Zhang. 2005. A framework for learning predictive structures from multiple tasks and unlabeled data . Journal of Machine Learning Research , 6:1817–1853.

Example paper in non-ACL proceedings, with DOI:

Galen Andrew and Jianfeng Gao. 2007. Scalable training of L1-regularized log-linear models . In Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Machine Learning , pages 33–40.

Example ACL Anthology paper with DOI:

James Goodman, Andreas Vlachos, and Jason Naradowsky. 2016. Noise reduction and targeted exploration in imitation learning for Abstract Meaning Representation parsing . In Proceedings of the 54th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (Volume 1: Long Papers) , pages 1–45711, Berlin, Germany. Association for Computational Linguistics.

Example ACL Anthology paper without DOI:

Benjamin Börschinger and Mark Johnson. 2011. A particle filter algorithm for Bayesian word segmentation . In Proceedings of the Australasian Language Technology Association Workshop 2011 , pages 10–44718, Canberra, Australia.

Example arXiv paper:

Mohammad Sadegh Rasooli and Joel R. Tetreault. 2015. Yara parser: A fast and accurate dependency parser . Computing Research Repository , arXiv:1503.06733. Version 2.

Appendices are material that can be read, and include lemmas, formulas, proofs, and tables that are not critical to the reading and understanding of the paper. Letter them in sequence and provide an informative title:

Appendix A. Title of Appendix

The appendices come after the references.

Review versions of appendices must follow the same anonymity guidelines as the main paper.

Submissions may include non-readable supplementary material used in the work and described in the paper. Any accompanying software and/or data should include licenses and documentation of research review as appropriate. Supplementary material may report preprocessing decisions, model parameters, and other details necessary for the replication of the experiments reported in the paper. Seemingly small preprocessing decisions can sometimes make a large difference in performance, so it is crucial to record such decisions to precisely characterize state-of-the-art methods.

Nonetheless, supplementary material should be supplementary (rather than central) to the paper. Submissions that misuse the supplementary material may be rejected without review. Supplementary material may include explanations or details of proofs or derivations that do not fit into the paper, lists of features or feature templates, sample inputs and outputs for a system, pseudo-code or source code, and data. (Source code and data should be separate uploads, rather than part of the paper).

The paper should not rely on the supplementary material: while the paper may refer to and cite the supplementary material and the supplementary material will be available to the reviewers, they will not be asked to review the supplementary material.

Review versions of supplementary material must follow the same anonymity guidelines as the main paper.

This document has been adapted from the instructions for earlier ACL and NAACL proceedings, including those for ACL 2020 by Steven Bethard, Ryan Cotterell and Rui Yan, ACL 2019 by Douwe Kiela and Ivan Ivan Vulić, NAACL 2019 by Stephanie Lukin and Alla Roskovskaya, ACL 2018 by Shay Cohen, Kevin Gimpel, and Wei Lu, NAACL 2018 by Margaret Mitchell and Stephanie Lukin, BibTeX suggestions for (NA)ACL 2017/2018 from Jason Eisner, ACL 2017 by Dan Gildea and Min-Yen Kan, NAACL 2017 by Margaret Mitchell, ACL 2012 by Maggie Li and Michael White, ACL 2010 by Jing-Shin Chang and Philipp Koehn, ACL 2008 by Johanna D. Moore, Simone Teufel, James Allan, and Sadaoki Furui, ACL 2005 by Hwee Tou Ng and Kemal Oflazer, ACL 2002 by Eugene Charniak and Dekang Lin, and earlier ACL and EACL formats written by several people, including John Chen, Henry S. Thompson and Donald Walker. Additional elements were taken from the formatting instructions of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence and the Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition .

is Mainsite

• Search all IEEE websites
• Mission and vision
• IEEE at a glance
• IEEE Strategic Plan
• Organization of IEEE
• Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
• Organizational Ethics
• Annual Report
• History of IEEE
• Volunteer resources
• IEEE Corporate Awards Program
• Financials and Statistics
• IEEE Future Directions
• IEEE for Industry (Corporations, Government, Individuals)
• IEEE Climate Change
• Humanitarian and Philanthropic Opportunities
• Select an option
• Get the latest news
• Access volunteer resources (Code of Ethics, financial forms, tools and templates, and more)
• Find IEEE locations
• Get help from the IEEE Support Center
• Recover your IEEE Account username and password
• Learn about the IEEE Awards program and submit nomination
• View IEEE's organizational structure and leadership
• Apply for jobs at IEEE
• See the history of IEEE
• Learn more about Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at IEEE
• Join an IEEE Society
• Renew your membership
• Member benefits
• IEEE Contact Center
• Connect locally
• Memberships and Subscriptions Catalog
• Member insurance and discounts
• Member Grade Elevation
• Get your company engaged
• Access your Account
• Learn about membership dues
• Learn about Women in Engineering (WIE)
• Access IEEE member email
• Find information on IEEE Fellows
• Access the IEEE member directory
• Learn about the Member-Get-a-Member program
• Learn about IEEE Potentials magazine
• Learn about Student membership
• Affinity groups
• IEEE Societies
• Technical Councils
• Technical Communities
• Geographic Activities
• Working groups
• IEEE Regions
• IEEE Collabratec®
• IEEE Resource Centers
• IEEE DataPort
• See the IEEE Regions
• View the MGA Operations Manual
• Find information on IEEE Technical Activities
• Get IEEE Chapter resources
• Find IEEE Sections, Chapters, Student Branches, and other communities
• Learn how to create an IEEE Student Chapter
• Upcoming conferences
• IEEE Conferences, Events & Experiences (CEE)
• IEEE Conference Application
• See benefits of authoring a conference paper
• Search for 2025 conferences
• Search for 2024 conferences
• Find conference organizer resources
• Register a conference
• Publish conference papers
• Manage conference finances
• Learn about IEEE Conferences, Events & Experiences (CEE)
• Visit the IEEE SA site
• Become a member of the IEEE SA
• Find information on the IEEE Registration Authority
• Obtain a MAC, OUI, or Ethernet address
• Access the IEEE 802.11™ WLAN standard
• Purchase standards
• Get free select IEEE standards
• Purchase standards subscriptions on IEEE Xplore®
• Get involved with standards development
• Find a working group
• Find information on IEEE 802.11™
• Access the National Electrical Safety Code® (NESC®)
• Find MAC, OUI, and Ethernet addresses from Registration Authority (regauth)
• Get free IEEE standards
• Learn more about the IEEE Standards Association
• View Software and Systems Engineering Standards
• IEEE Xplore® Digital Library
• Subscription options
• IEEE Spectrum
• The Institute
• Proceedings of the IEEE
• IEEE Access®
• Author resources
• Get an IEEE Xplore digital library trial for IEEE members
• Review impact factors of IEEE journals
• Request access to the IEEE Thesaurus and Taxonomy
• Access the IEEE copyright form
• Find article templates in Word and LaTeX formats
• Get author education resources
• Visit the IEEE Xplore digital library
• Find Author Digital Tools for IEEE paper submission
• Review the IEEE plagiarism policy
• Get information about all stages of publishing with IEEE
• IEEE Learning Network (ILN)
• IEEE Credentialing Program
• Pre-university
• IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu
• Accreditation
• Access continuing education courses on the IEEE Learning Network
• Find STEM education resources on TryEngineering.org
• Learn about the TryEngineering Summer Institute for high school students
• Explore university education program resources
• Access pre-university STEM education resources
• Learn about IEEE certificates and how to offer them
• Find information about the IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu honor society
• Learn about resources for final-year engineering projects
• Access career resources
• Conferences

Manuscript Templates for Conference Proceedings

• IEEE Financial Reporting Form
• IEEE Publication Form
• Conference Publication Form

The purpose of a conference template is to provide a consistent format for papers appearing in the conference proceedings. IEEE strongly encourages use of the conference manuscript templates provided below. 

IEEE conference templates contain guidance text for composing and formatting conference papers. Please ensure that all guidance text is removed from your conference paper prior to submission to the conference. 

Failure to remove template text from your paper may result in your paper not being published.

Accessing the templates

Microsoft Word

• US letter (DOC, 30 KB) Updated 2024
• A4  (DOC, 30 KB) Updated 2024

LaTeX Template Instructions (PDF, 63 KB) [ Be sure to use the template's  conference  mode.]

• Template (ZIP, 700 KB) Updated 2024
• LaTeX Bibliography Files  (ZIP, 309 KB)
• When working in Overleaf, the template is available at https://www.overleaf.com/gallery/tagged/ieee-official

1. For conference organizers:  The use of the conference manuscript templates provided by  IEEE eXpress Conference Publishing  will greatly reduce the chance for errors in the metadata visible in IEEE Xplore ® , and IEEE's downstream Indexing partners. Errors may result in delays in posting or in making any approved corrections, or in some cases, may simply persist. Using the templates is one of the ways to reduce errors.

If you wish, you may link to this webpage in its entirety. It is not recommended that you link to individual files, however, because they may be updated or replaced without notice.

2. Grateful acknowledgement is made to the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society, which provided the current LaTeX template.

3. Other templates that more closely align with the IEEE Transactions article format are available.

Information

• Author Services

Initiatives

You are accessing a machine-readable page. In order to be human-readable, please install an RSS reader.

All articles published by MDPI are made immediately available worldwide under an open access license. No special permission is required to reuse all or part of the article published by MDPI, including figures and tables. For articles published under an open access Creative Common CC BY license, any part of the article may be reused without permission provided that the original article is clearly cited. For more information, please refer to https://www.mdpi.com/openaccess .

Feature papers represent the most advanced research with significant potential for high impact in the field. A Feature Paper should be a substantial original Article that involves several techniques or approaches, provides an outlook for future research directions and describes possible research applications.

Feature papers are submitted upon individual invitation or recommendation by the scientific editors and must receive positive feedback from the reviewers.

Editor’s Choice articles are based on recommendations by the scientific editors of MDPI journals from around the world. Editors select a small number of articles recently published in the journal that they believe will be particularly interesting to readers, or important in the respective research area. The aim is to provide a snapshot of some of the most exciting work published in the various research areas of the journal.

Original Submission Date Received: .

• Active Journals
• Find a Journal
• Proceedings Series
• For Authors
• For Reviewers
• For Editors
• For Librarians
• For Publishers
• For Societies
• For Conference Organizers
• Open Access Policy
• Institutional Open Access Program
• Special Issues Guidelines
• Editorial Process
• Research and Publication Ethics
• Article Processing Charges
• Testimonials
• Preprints.org
• SciProfiles
• Encyclopedia

Article Menu

• Subscribe SciFeed
• Google Scholar
• on Google Scholar
• Table of Contents

Find support for a specific problem in the support section of our website.

Please let us know what you think of our products and services.

Visit our dedicated information section to learn more about MDPI.

JSmol Viewer

Striving for modernity: layout and abstracts in the biomedical literature.

1. Introduction

2. materials and methods.

“It may seem like an extreme degree of conservatism to continue for so long a period without substantial changes. However, it was simply a matter of preserving what appeared to be a fully satisfactory style: the Editors were comfortable with it, and as far as we could determine, so were the contributors and the readers. There was little motivation for radical change. As a matter of fact, the new format was not primarily dictated by growing dissatisfaction with the old or by a strongly felt need to "modernize," but rather by the pressure to provide additional space for the rapidly increasing number of manuscripts submitted to the Journal…

…After maintaining a stable level for the first five years, there has been a steady and precipitous increase in submissions since 1985. The larger page size and double column format will allow the publication of more papers, thus alleviating the pressure resulting from this increase, and at the same time will improve the display of certain types of data. Changes other than those dictated by page size and double column format have been kept to a minimum.” [ 12 ]

“This will be more necessary than before, in view of the large American effort planned for the seventies, which will undoubtedly result in a greatly increased flow of information” , [ 16 ]

“Readers will also notice changes in the printing and format of Anaesthesia. These are designed to provide more space, more economically, with the objective of aiding the Editors in their impossible task of accommodating a quart (1140 ml) in a pint (570 ml) pot!”

“The new type is 10 point Baskerville, an attractive face and a somewhat more readable one than the condensed face formerly used. The practical effect of this change will be to reduce the number of characters in a given line, but this will be achieved in a more direct fashion by establishing two columns where one was used before. With this format, the reader’s eyes will have a shorter ‘swing’ from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. Two columns will also allow more flexibility in the arrangement of illustrative material with the text.” [ 19 ]

“conforms with most comparable international journals….will enhance the technical standard of tables and illustrations and provide more scope for their presentation” . [ 20 ]

4. A Useful Choice?

“The Journal has adopted, not without misgiving, the synoptic preface. Readers may, and editors certainly do, notice that the summary has often been the weakest part of a paper: as if the authors, exhausted by labours of composition, could not bring themselves to recrystallize their thoughts. They will now need to show special skill to summarize their aims and achievement in a space shorter than the erstwhile terminal summary.” [ 37 ]

“A touch of modernization has been added by having the summary appear at the beginning of each article, where readers are now accustomed to look for it in most publications” , [ 12 ]

5. Taking the Alternative Path?

6. where to, author contributions, acknowledgments, conflicts of interest.

• Waller, R. Graphic Literacies for a Digital Age: The Survival of Layout. Inf. Soc. 2012 , 28 , 236–252. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Moys, J.L. Typographic layout and first impressions: Testing how changes in text layout influence reader’s judgments of documents. Visible Lang. 2014 , 48 , 40–67. [ Google Scholar ]
• Sollaci, L.B.; Pereira, M.G. The introduction, methods, results, and discussion (IMRAD) structure: A fifty-year survey. J. Med. Libr. Assoc. 2004 , 92 , 364–367. [ Google Scholar ]
• Yamamoto, N. Genetic evolution of bacteriophage, I. Hybrids between unrelated bacteriphages P22 and fels 2*. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1968 , 62 , 63–69. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Upton, F.P. Electricity as power. Science 1880 , 1 , 5. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• True, F.W. Movement of the arms in walking. Science 1883 , 1 , 11. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ] [ Green Version ]
• Southall, R. First principle of typographic design for document production. TUGboat 1984 , 5 , 79–90. [ Google Scholar ]
• Landhuis, E. Scientific literature: Information overload. Nature 2016 , 535 , 457–458. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Haynes, R.B.; Mulrow, C.D.; Huth, E.J.; Altman, D.G.; Gardner, M.J. More informative abstracts revisited. Ann. Intern. Med. 1990 , 113 , 69–76. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Morison, S. New Typography of the Journal. BMJ 1937 , 1 , 32–33. [ Google Scholar ]
• Galli, C.; Sala, R.; Colangelo, M.T.; Guizzardi, S. Between Innovation and Standardization, Is There Still a Room for Scientific Reports? The Rise of a Formatting Tradition in Periodontal Research. Publications. 2019 , 7 , 67. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• McCarty, M. The Journal Prepares for its Second Century. J. Exp. Med. 1990 , 172 , 1–6. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Galli, C.; Guizzardi, S. Change in Format, Register and Narration Style in the Biomedical Literature: A 1948 Example. Publications 2020 , 8 , 10. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Foreword (Editorial). Can. Med. Assoc. J. 1921 , 11 , 1–2.
• Bachmeyer, A.C. Retrospect and prospect. J. Med. Educ. 1952 , 27 , 1–9. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Editorial. Br. J. Cancer. 1972 , 26 , 1–2. [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Editorial. Anaesthesia. 1977 , 32 , 1–2. [ CrossRef ]
• Chesterton, G.K.; Boulton, T.B. Editorial. Anaesthesia 1980 , 35 , 1–2. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• The New Format (Editorial). Angle Orthod. 1950 , 20 , 180.
• Zetterström, R. Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica–now just Acta Paediatrica. Acta Paediatr. 1992 , 81 , 95. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Moreno, R.; Mayer, R.E. Cognitive principles of multimedia learning: The role of modality and contiguity. J. Educ. Psychol. 1999 , 91 , 358–368. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Holsanova, J.; Holmberg, N.; Holmqvist, K. Reading information graphics: The role of spatial contiguity and dual attentional guidance. Appl. Cogn. Psychol. 2009 , 23 , 1215–1226. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Cordero, R.J.B.; de León-Rodriguez, C.M.; Alvarado-Torres, J.K.; Rodriguez, A.R.; Casadevall, A. Life Science’s Average Publishable Unit (APU) Has Increased over the Past Two Decades. PLoS ONE 2016 , 11 , e0156983. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Lonsdale, M.D.S. Typographic features of text and their contribution to the legibility of academic reading materials: An empirical study—White Rose Research Online. Visible Lang. 2016 , 50 , 79–111. [ Google Scholar ]
• Tarasov, D.A.; Sergeev, A.P.; Filimonov, V.V. Legibility of Textbooks: A Literature Review. Procedia—Soc. Behav. Sci. 2015 , 174 , 1300–1308. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Zaphiris, P.; Kurniawan, H. Effects of Information Layout on Reading Speed: Differences between Paper and Monitor Presentation. Proc. Hum. Factors Ergon. Soc. Annu. Meet. 2001 , 45 , 1210–1214. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Al-Samarraie, H.; Price, M.L. How reading in single-and multiple-column types influence our cognitive load: An EEG study. Electron. Libr. 2019 , 37 , 4. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Venig, S.B.; Solovyova, V.A. Eye-tracking: Regularities of educational information searching. Int. Annu. Ed. Appl. Psychol. Theory. 2016 , 3 , 97–111. [ Google Scholar ]
• Al-Samarraie, H.; Sarsam, S.M.; Umar, I.N. Visual perception of multi-column-layout text: Insight from repeated and non-repeated reading. Behav. Inf. Technol. 2016 , 36 , 1–10. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Speer, N.K.; Reynolds, J.R.; Swallow, K.M.; Zacks, J.M. Reading stories activates neural representations of visual and motor experiences. Psychol. Sci. 2009 , 20 , 989–999. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Tenopir, C.; King, D.W.; Christian, L.; Volentine, R. Scholarly article seeking, reading, and use: A continuing evolution from print to electronic in the sciences and social sciences. Learn. Publ. 2015 , 28 , 93–105. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Burrough-Boenisch, J. International Reading Strategies for IMRD Articles. Writ. Commun. 1999 , 16 , 296–316. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Clark, A. Language, embodiment, and the cognitive niche. Trends Cogn. Sci. 2006 , 10 , 370–374. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Clark, A. Supersizing the Mind ; Oxford University Press (OUP): Oxford, UK, 2008. [ Google Scholar ]
• New Title Page Inaugurated (Editorial). Diabetes 1964 , 13 , 95. [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Somerville, W. Retirement of K. Shirley Smith as Editor. Heart 1973 , 35 , 1. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Smith, K.S. The British Heart Journal Redesigned. Br. Heart J. 1970 , 32 , 1. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ] [ Green Version ]
• Atanassova, I.; Bertin, M.; Larivière, V. On the composition of scientific abstracts. J. Doc. 2016 , 72 , 636–647. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Balling, G.; Begnum, A.C.; Kuzmičová, A.; Schilhab, T. The young read in new places, the older read on new devices: A survey of digital reading practices among librarians and Information Science students in Denmark. Participations 2019 , 16 , 197–236. [ Google Scholar ]
• Balcytiene, A. Exploring individual processes of knowledge construction with hypertext. Instr. Sci. 1999 , 27 , 303–328. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Charney, D. Comprehending non-linear text. In Proceeding of the ACM Conference on Hypertext HYPERTEXT ’87 ; Association for Computing Machinery (ACM): New York, NY, USA, 1987; pp. 109–120. [ Google Scholar ]
• Holzinger, A.; Baernthaler, M.; Pammer, W.; Katz, H.; Bjelic-Radisic, V.; Ziefle, M. Investigating paper vs. screen in real-life hospital workflows: Performance contradicts perceived superiority of paper in the user experience. Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud. 2011 , 69 , 563–570. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Clinton, V. Reading from paper compared to screens: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Res. Read. 2019 , 42 , 288–325. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sidi, Y.; Shpigelman, M.; Zalmanov, H.; Ackerman, R. Understanding metacognitive inferiority on screen by exposing cues for depth of processing. Learn. Instr. 2017 , 51 , 61–73. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Kong, Y.; Seo, Y.S.; Zhai, L. Comparison of reading performance on screen and on paper: A meta-analysis. Comput. Educ. 2018 , 123 , 138–149. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Mangen, A.; Walgermo, B.R.; Brønnick, K. Reading linear texts on paper versus computer screen: Effects on reading comprehension. Int. J. Educ. Res. 2013 , 58 , 61–68. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Moustafa, K. Improving PDF readability of scientific papers on computer screens. Behav. Inf. Technol. 2016 , 35 , 319–323. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Wästlund, E.; Norlander, T.; Archer, T. The effect of page layout on mental workload: A dual-task experiment. Comput. Human Behav. 2008 , 24 , 1229–1245. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Dyson, M.C.; Kipping, G.J. Exploring the Effect of Layout on Reading from Screen. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Including Subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics) ; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 1998; pp. 294–304. [ Google Scholar ]
• Coiro, J. Toward a Multifaceted Heuristic of Digital Reading to Inform Assessment, Research, Practice, and Policy. Read. Res. Q. 2020 , rrq.302. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Ravenel, M.P. Work for the editor. Am. J. Public Health 1936 , 26 , 636–637. [ Google Scholar ]

Click here to enlarge figure

Share and Cite

Galli, C.; Colangelo, M.T.; Guizzardi, S. Striving for Modernity: Layout and Abstracts in the Biomedical Literature. Publications 2020 , 8 , 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8030038

Galli C, Colangelo MT, Guizzardi S. Striving for Modernity: Layout and Abstracts in the Biomedical Literature. Publications . 2020; 8(3):38. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8030038

Galli, Carlo, Maria Teresa Colangelo, and Stefano Guizzardi. 2020. "Striving for Modernity: Layout and Abstracts in the Biomedical Literature" Publications 8, no. 3: 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8030038

Article Metrics

Article access statistics, further information, mdpi initiatives, follow mdpi.

Subscribe to receive issue release notifications and newsletters from MDPI journals

IEEE Article Templates

IEEE article templates let you quickly format your article and prepare a draft for peer review. Templates help with the placement of specific elements, such as the author list. They also provide guidance on stylistic elements such as abbreviations and acronyms.

Use the interactive IEEE Template Selector to find the template you need by following a few easy prompts and then downloading your template.

arXiv (Two Column)

arXiv is an volunteer lead, open-access site that hosts scholarly articles from a variety of research fields including computer science, economics, electrical engineering and systems science, mathematics, physics, quantitative biology, quantitative finance, and statistics. arXiv is not a peer reviewed journal, but rather a place to distribute e-prints of your articles. The arXiv (Two Column) template on Curvenote is a compatible template for submission to arXiv.

• For Journals
• For Writing
• For Jupyter
• Publish From GitHub
• Documentation
• Slack Community

We use cookies and similar technologies to improve the experience of Curvenote. By using this website, you accept out Cookies Policy.

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

two column article templates

I have been looking on tex.stackexchange and Googling but I can't find a decent two column template.

Does anyone know of site or have a template for a two column article style tex file?

That has a bibliography portion as well?

• 2 What do you consider "decent"? –  Gonzalo Medina Commented Apr 24, 2013 at 1:22
• 1 The IEEE has the IEEEtran document class. You can see a sample document in the IEEEtran_HOWTO document. Some scientific journals provide their own tailored templates. –  Gonzalo Medina Commented Apr 24, 2013 at 1:58
• 1 (If I remember correctly, you use Ubuntu.) You can easily add a class to your personal tree. Copy/move, say, res.cls to ~/texmf/tex/latex/res/ (you can create this folder with mkdir -p ~/texmf/tex/latex/res ). As soon as you move it there, you should be able to find it with: kpsewhich res.cls , even without running mktexslr . If it can't be found, you have an unusual problem with your system, and should ask for help. –  jon Commented Apr 24, 2013 at 2:21
• 1 Once it has been copied to where I suggested, kpsewhich res.cs should return /home/<dustin>/texmf/tex/latex/res/res.cls (assuming you are logged in as 'dustin'). If it does, that means the class file should be as usable as any other regular class file. –  jon Commented Apr 24, 2013 at 3:23
• 2 No. If you put it there, you still want to follow the TDS structure and put it in /usr/local/.../texmf/tex/latex/res/ (best make the directory too while you're at it) as it is a LaTeX thing. But what is the advantage? It is easier to access and keep track of your local texmf , and there is less danger of manually installed classes and style files getting overwritten by system updates (which is probably not a serious concern, but still). –  jon Commented Apr 24, 2013 at 4:15

2 Answers 2

In www.latextemplates.com there are 3 nice general LaTeX templates for articles. One of these made with the scrartcl class have this layout:

Another good source is www.sharelatex.com . Among the 76 articles templates for submission to scientific journals or proceedings, several have a two column format. You can download or open and compile in ShareLaTeX.

In any case, as most code of article templates are interchangeable between the standard article class and others general article class (as paper , scrartcl , artikel , etc.) as well as in specific journal class (as svjour3 , etc.) you can experiment easily with most classes with the same template replacing the first line (that is, change \docummentclass{article} by \docummentclass{paper} but search in each case in the documentation for specific options to add/remove for each class (for example, paper class have a \smalltableofcontents that you cannot use in the article class, but \tableofcontents work in any class).

• The specific URL for the given example above is the Wenneker style article template . –  nilon Commented Jun 24 at 19:02

I'm new to LaTeX and I've spent a few days searching for two-column article templates and tried out the ones mentioned in the main answer and a dozen others. I hit various issues and finally landed on this clean and simple template that I think also answers this question (which is the top tex stackexchange search result for "two column") and many newbies like me will find useful (screenshot below):

Screenshot:

As noted in detail in the last line of the file, to process the inline bib file, the general procedure is to run pdflatex multiple times and bibtex after the first run. For example:

To reduce the margins:

• You are loading hyperref too early. –  Johannes_B Commented Jan 5, 2019 at 7:46
• @Johannes_B Interesting, can you explain more why that's an issue and how to fix it? –  freeradical Commented Jan 5, 2019 at 8:28
• Load the package at the end of the preamble. There are only a few exceptions, hyperref should be loaded last. –  Johannes_B Commented Jan 5, 2019 at 9:48
• @Johannes_B Thanks, so just to confirm, you're saying that \usepackage{hyperref} and \hypersetup[...] should always be loaded right before \begin{document} ? –  freeradical Commented Jan 5, 2019 at 16:45
• 1 Not always. But there are only very few exceptions. –  Johannes_B Commented Jan 5, 2019 at 23:41

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged two-column templates article ..

• The Overflow Blog
• The world’s largest open-source business has plans for enhancing LLMs
• Looking under the hood at the tech stack that powers multimodal AI
• Featured on Meta
• Join Stack Overflow’s CEO and me for the first Stack IRL Community Event in...
• User activation: Learnings and opportunities

Hot Network Questions

• Bach's figured bass notation?
• How to narrow hotel map down to Old Town of Cologne, Germany
• Are There U.S. Laws or Presidential Actions That Cannot Be Overturned by Successor Presidents?
• Why is 'это' neuter in this expression?
• Is there a "hard problem of aesthetics?"
• Class and macro with same name from different libraries
• Simple XML string to user-friendly plain text converter method in Java
• My team is not responsive to group messages and other group initiatives. What should be the appropriate solution?
• Why does fdisk create a 512B partition when I enter +256K?
• How to translate the letter Q to Japanese?
• How to rectify a mistake in DS 160
• '05 Scion tC, bought used. 145k miles , unknown if spark plugs were ever changed. Should I change 'em?
• Get the size (height, width and S=height*width in em) of the displayed image and draw it
• Rules on Feats When Creating Custom Backgrounds with Player's Handbook (2024)
• If a mount provokes opportunity attacks, can its rider be targeted?
• Hungarian Immigration wrote a code on my passport
• A function to convert numbers from scientific notation to plain decimal
• My one-liner 'delete old files' command finds the right files but will not delete them
• My math professor is Chinese. Is it okay for me to speak Chinese to her in office hours?
• How to make a soundless world
• Ellipsoid name from semi-major axis and flattening
• How can I assign a heredoc to a variable in a way that's portable across Unix and Mac?
• Can the signing of a bill by an acting governor be overturned by the actual governor?
• Is this a scammer or not

• [email protected] / [email protected]
• Create Account
• Join to Connect:

IJSRP Research Paper Format

Welcome to the IJSRP Journal's official page for Research Paper Formatting! To ensure a seamless submission process and adherence to our publication standards, we provide a comprehensive Research Paper Format Template in Microsoft Word.

Research papers must be drafted in double column standard paper format (.doc/.docx) . In case paper have technical equations and not possible to format in double column format, you can format in Single Column format. Download the IJSRP paper format (MS-Word) template and submit your research paper for review/final publishing.

In case it is not possible to send paper in word format, you can send research paper in PDF or LATEX format. Kindly mention in paper submission email that paper is in Latex format.

Download Research Paper Format Template:

To download the research paper format, right-click the above link and choose "Save Link As..." to save the sample document to your computer. Paper must be send in .doc/.docx or PDF/LATEX format only.

Research Paper Format Template:

User-friendly in microsoft word:.

By utilizing our Research Paper Format Template, you streamline the submission process, making it easier for both authors and reviewers. Consistent formatting promotes a polished appearance, demonstrating your commitment to scholarly excellence.

Ensuring Journal Standards:

We encourage all authors to download our Research Paper Format Template to enhance the presentation and organization of their research papers. For any further inquiries or assistance, please refer to the submission guidelines provided on our website or contact our editorial team.

• Stack Overflow for Teams Where developers & technologists share private knowledge with coworkers
• Advertising & Talent Reach devs & technologists worldwide about your product, service or employer brand
• OverflowAI GenAI features for Teams
• OverflowAPI Train & fine-tune LLMs
• Labs The future of collective knowledge sharing
• About the company Visit the blog

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Find centralized, trusted content and collaborate around the technologies you use most.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

Get early access and see previews of new features.

LaTeX: Multiple authors in a two-column article

I'm kind of new to LaTeX and I am having a bit of a problem..

I am using a twocolumn layout for my article . There are four authors involved with different affiliations, and I am trying to list all of them under the title so they span the entire width of the page (all on the same level). It should be similar to this:

Currently I have something along the lines:

The problem is that the authors are not displayed all on the same level, instead I get the first three next to each other, followed by the last one underneath.

Is there way to achieve what I want? Also if possible, how can I customize the font of the affiliations (to be smaller and in italic)?

• 2 It's most common, e.g., with the IEEE LNCS two-column style, to indicate affiliations with the \thanks macro, i.e., as footnotes. –  Charles Stewart Commented Jun 15, 2010 at 11:10

2 Answers 2

I put together a little test here:

Things to note, the title, author and date fields are declared before \begin{document} . Also, the multicol package is likely unnecessary in this case since you have declared twocolumn in the document class.

This example puts all four authors on the same line, but if your authors have longer names, departments or emails, this might cause it to flow over onto another line. You might be able to change the font sizes around a little bit to make things fit. This could be done by doing something like {\small First Author} . Here's a more detailed article on \LaTeX font sizes:

https://engineering.purdue.edu/ECN/Support/KB/Docs/LaTeXChangingTheFont

To italicize you can use {\it First Name} or \textit{First Name} .

Be careful though, if the document is meant for publication often times journals or conference proceedings have their own formatting guidelines so font size trickery might not be allowed.

• Unfortunately with the actual names in place, things still didn't fit on the same line. Its just a preference, but I guess I shouldn't try to interfere with the way LaTeX organizes the layout, Thanks anyway. BTW defining \title and \author after \begin{document} works ok for me.. –  Amro Commented Jun 16, 2010 at 16:05
• in my case the author names are not coming side by side, they are coming one below the other –  Prakash Vanapalli Commented Dec 6, 2018 at 14:58

What about using a tabular inside \author{} , just like in IEEE macros:

This will produce two columns authors with any documentclass .

Your Answer

Reminder: Answers generated by artificial intelligence tools are not allowed on Stack Overflow. Learn more

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest.

Required, but never shown

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy .

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged layout latex tex or ask your own question .

• The Overflow Blog
• The world’s largest open-source business has plans for enhancing LLMs
• Looking under the hood at the tech stack that powers multimodal AI
• Featured on Meta
• Join Stack Overflow’s CEO and me for the first Stack IRL Community Event in...
• User activation: Learnings and opportunities
• What does a new user need in a homepage experience on Stack Overflow?
• Announcing the new Staging Ground Reviewer Stats Widget

Hot Network Questions

• Can I use a machine washing to clean neoprene wetsuits/socks/hoods/gloves if I use cold water, no spinning, no bleach and a gentle detergent?
• Is it possible/recommended to paint the side of piano's keys?
• Cutting a curve through a thick timber without waste
• CX and CZ commutation
• Emergency belt repair
• 〈ü〉 vs 〈ue〉 in German, particularly names
• Need help in tikzpicture
• Is this a scammer or not
• Hungarian Immigration wrote a code on my passport
• A word like "science/scientific" that can be used for ALL academic fields?
• Grothendieck topoi as a constructive property
• Count squares in my pi approximation
• (How) is it possible to let portable communication devices detonate via software?
• How to react to a rejection based on a single one-line negative review?
• Is there a "hard problem of aesthetics?"
• Why is 'это' neuter in this expression?
• Smallest prime q such that concatenation (p+q)"q is a prime
• Why does fdisk create a 512B partition when I enter +256K?
• Rules on Feats When Creating Custom Backgrounds with Player's Handbook (2024)
• What is the best way to protect from polymorphic viruses?
• Why is Germany looking to import workers from Kenya, specifically?
• How to rectify a mistake in DS 160
• My team is not responsive to group messages and other group initiatives. What should be the appropriate solution?
• Can I install a screw all the way through these threaded fork crown holes?