The Main Secrets and Pitfalls of Term Paper Format

The Main Secrets and Pitfalls of Term Paper Format

Nov 24, 202411 min read

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Figuring Out What Is the Proper Term Paper Format

Your years in academia are full of rites and passages, as well as rites of passage. One of those rites is writing a term paper.
The name suggests that this paper signifies a culmination of a particular term. Not surprisingly, term papers are generally written at the end of a semester. And it’s a writing assignment that has the greatest impact on your score in a particular subject.
The term paper is mainly written in the form of a report or research. Because of the latter, there’s an overlap between the research and term papers. The key difference is that a research paper is not always a term paper, and a term paper is not always presented in the form of a research paper.
Now that we know what a term paper is, let’s figure out how to format it.
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Starting Up: Learning the Main Parts of a Term Paper

The first and the most obvious step in figuring out how to format the term paper is learning the parts it consists of. And, gladly for those who become paranoid about missing some sections in their work, the term paper’s structure is a no-brainer. And it remains the same almost all the time.
So, what to include in a term paper?
  • Title page
  • Abstract
  • Table of contents
  • Introduction
  • Main body
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Appendix
Those are the main sections of your typical term paper. As you can see, that’s quite easy to follow. But remember that we’ve said that the structure remains the same almost all the time?
The abstract and appendix are optional. Everything depends on the requirements of the institution you’re studying and the demands of the term paper per se. If you have doubts about whether to include an abstract and appendix or not, you can consult with your instructor.
Some term papers, based on the subject, may require a literature review, methodology, and results. So, it is necessary to take the type of term paper and the subject into account. Still, those eight sections mentioned above are the ones that are going to occur in most cases when you are going to write a term paper.

The Easy Tips on How to Structure a Term Paper

Wait, haven’t we just talked about the structure? Yes, we did, in terms of sections. But do you know how to start a term paper introduction or what to put in the abstract and appendix if you decide to include them?
So, the title page should contain the title, your name, course, instructor’s name, and date. The abstract, if you need to add it, contains a brief summary of the ideas of your work, theoretical approaches, and findings. You write it after you finish the whole paper.
Then goes the table of contents, the easiest part: basically, headings of each section and page numbers.
Finally, we get to the introduction. You “sell” your work in this section, so mind grabbing the reader’s attention when presenting the subject and its importance.
Then goes the main section, where you describe your research and findings.
Then, you get to the conclusion, where you restate the main point of the work, its findings, and its significance.
The reference section lists all the works cited in alphabetical order. And, if you require the appendix, there you put information that may distract the reader from the main work, like graphs, figures, tables, images, and questionnaires.

How to Format a Term Paper (What Formatting Styles to Use)

When we are talking about formats, the first thing that comes to your mind is standard academic formatting styles for writing assignments. And you are right on the money here. If your question is “What is term paper format?” the answer will be quite standard. The list of standard answers, to be more precise:
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CMOS
That’s it. Those are the formats that you are acquainted with from your previous academic ventures with writing assignments. However, there are a few exceptions.
If you are doing medical research, you may be required to apply the American Medical Association formatting, aka AMA. For certain term papers in a technical field, you can use the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers formatting, aka IEEE.
Still, in most cases, you will have to use the traditional three formatting styles listed above. Your instructor will let you know which style you should apply.

Getting to the Writing: How to Start a Term Paper

Now, upon learning the answer to the question “What does a term paper contain?”, you are ready to start writing.
So, should you go writing it section after section? No, because if the paper requires an abstract, you can’t start writing it until the paper is finished, as your findings and conclusion, although briefly, are mentioned there.
You should start with the outline of your paper. And that’s why it is crucial to make notes when you’re doing your research. This way, you can figure out how the finished paper will look before you even start typing. With the help of notes, you can easily create the outline and start working on the main body.
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College Term Paper Format: How to Craft the First Draft

When you finish with the outline, you can start making the first draft. Some students are brilliant enough to start with the introduction. If you are one of them, good for you.
Yet, we have some tips that you may find useful. Grab the attention of the reader, starting with some surprising statement that may hint at the subject of your work. Then, lay out the overview of the work. Don’t forget to address the questions your work delves into.
Yet, most students start their draft with the main body, as it’s the starting point for crafting both a good conclusion and an introduction. The notes that you’ve made during the research come in handy. Here, you can easily write paragraph after paragraph based on the notes.
This way, you can smoothly move to the conclusion, where you need to restate the previous points, lay out the findings, and suggest how they can be used for future studies.

The Most Difficult Part: How to Title a Term Paper

“Fiscal policy role in economic stabilization,” “Resurrection: facts vs. fiction,” “Social media impact on perception,” and so on – do you find those titles boring? Unimaginative?
To be fair, term paper titles are rarely that interesting. Generally, you can choose between whether to present the title as a statement or as a question.
What you need to think about is the title page as a whole. You need to indicate the subject while using words that may catch the reader’s attention. It’s better not to use “analysis of” or “study of” in the title. You should also avoid abbreviations. And make sure that capitalization and grammar are intact.

So, What Should a Term Paper Contain and How to Format It?

Yes, knowing the format in terms of formatting style is important. But you can find all the information about double-line spacing and one-inch margins on each side upon checking the respective style that you need to apply to your work. Besides, the instructor provides the style that you need to use.
Moreover, the formatting goes after you end up writing your paper. But if you know what the paper contains, it’s very difficult to mess up with its formatting.
So, in general, term papers contain six sections and two optional ones: title, abstract (if needed), table of contents, introduction, main body, conclusion, references, and (if needed) appendix.
To craft your term paper properly, you should take notes while researching. Then, you can start drafting the main body, and upon finishing it, you will be able to scribe a good conclusion and an attention-grabbing introduction. Once you’ve done all that, feel free to format the paper according to the required style.

Frequently asked questions

There are three traditional formatting styles for a college term paper: APA, MLA, and CMOS. However, certain cases may require opting for a different formatting style. For example, when writing a medical term paper, students may use AMA, while when writing particular technical term papers, students can be required to apply the IEEE formatting style.
As there’s a certain overlap between research and term papers, students often get confused. However, a term paper is not always presented as a research paper, and research papers are not necessarily done by the end of a semester or any other term. Also, a research paper requires a deeper investigation and analysis of its topic.
The appendix is an optional part of a term paper. This section contains graphs, stats, images, questionnaires, tables, and so on. Those materials of lesser significance to your work may be distracting for the reader in the main text, but they must be mentioned in your paper.
The term paper is usually assigned as research on the student’s topic of interest. Hence, a student needs to present the work they are about to do for it to be approved. The presentation is called a term paper proposal. It should contain the title and outline of the future paper with the key elements that support the research.
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