A research paper is 50% presentation, and 50% actual research and data. The presentation part consists of the format of the paper, as well as the language in which the data in the paper has been presented to the reviewers. Here, we are going to be discussing the formatting of research papers.

It takes a trained eye to recognize how exactly a thesis paper should be formatted in order to get the optimum and desired results. It depends on a number of factors, which together determine what and how a research paper should be formatted by the college or high school student.

Degree of the paper
One of the factors that determine the style of formatting that a paper should follow is the degree of advancement of the paper. That is to say, a school-level paper should be formatted in a different manner than a college-level paper, and a college-level paper should have a different formatting style than a doctoral-level paper, and so on and so forth.
The best research paper is the one that follows a particular formatting style, and is consistent with it throughout. Once you choose a format, you cannot change it midway through the paper, so be well-versed with its salient features.

Research subject
The subject of research that the paper is being written on also plays a vital role in deciding the formatting style. If you are thinking, “help me write my research paper”, this advice is the best one that you can possibly get when it comes to the job of formatting the paper.
First, figure out whether the subject is more scientific or creative. Then, figure out ways to break down the research material into sub-heads and categories. Using bullet points, and flow-charts makes the research appear all the more analytical, which makes the teacher’s job of grading the paper easier.

Formatting styles
There are three major ways in which you can format a research paper:

• APA style: This is the style that was developed by the American Psychological Association for their thesis papers.
• MLA style: This is the formatting style that is championed by the Modern Language Association.
• Chicago style: The Chicago style is the student’s favorite as the rules for this style can be bended slightly and it requires the author to do the least amount of work for the citations.

Many students ask “where can I find research papers that give me an idea of these citation styles”. The answer is also discussed here.

Finding samples
Of course, the best way to figure out all the intricacies of these various styles is to have a look at a few samples so as to understand what goes where. In some cases, you need to buy a research paper in order to get a good sample.
There are free samples available online as well, but not all of them are trustworthy when it comes to the quality or the formatting of the paper, so go through them at your own discretion. Please remember to fact-check all that you have learnt from these free samples before incorporating them in your paper.

Substitute writers
In case you feel like you do not want to take a risk on the formatting, there are plenty of sources of excellent help who can help you figure out how to deal with the citations. For example, you can get in touch with a professional writer, and buy college research papers from him or her.

In this way, you get to be rid of the whole ordeal of filling in the citations as well as any other problem involving the paper writing, because the writer will write your paper for you. They charge a very small fee for their quality services.