Conclusion What Research Paper Sections and Subsections Do You Need? Both styles allow you, however, to number your sections and subsections, for example with an Arabic number and a period, followed by a space and then the section name.ĥ. The main specifics regarding Chicago and MLA headings and subheadings are that they should be written in title case (major words capitalized, most minor words lowercase) and not end in a period. Make sure the different formatting levels indicate a hierarchy (e.g., bold face for level 1 and italics for level 2, or a larger font size for level 1 and a smaller font size for level 2). Your structure just has to be consistent with the general formatting guidelines of both styles (12-pts Times New Roman font, double-spaced text, 0.5-inch indentation for every new paragraph) and consistent throughout your paper. If you write a paper in Chicago style or MLA style, then you don’t need to follow such exact rules for headings and subheadings. Do not skip levels or combine them in a different way. If you need three levels of headings, use Levels 1, 2, and 3 (and so on). Methods) and one level of subsection headers (e.g., Participants, Experimental Design, and Statistical Analysis), use Level 1 and Level 2 headers. If you only need one section header (e.g. Same line and continues as a regular paragraph. Level 5 Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case, Period. Line and continues as a regular paragraph. Level 4 Indented, Bold, Title Case, Period. Level 3 Left-aligned, Bold Italic, Title Case To clearly indicate how each subsection fits into the rest of the text, every header level has a different format – but note that headers are usually not numbered, because the different formatting already reflects the text hierarchy. If the journal you submit to follows APA style, for example, you are allowed to use up to five levels of headings, depending on the length of your paper, the complexity of your work, and your personal preference. However, you also need to divide the content of some of these sections (e.g., the method section) into smaller subsections (e.g., Participants, Experimental Design, and Statistical Analysis), and make sure you follow specific journal formatting styles when doing so. That is why the main sections of research articles always have the same or very similar headers ( Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion), with no or only small differences between journals. Headers identify the content within the different sections of your paper and should be as descriptive and concise as possible. Style Guides: Rules on Headings and Subheadings HEADERS IN APA FORMAT EXAMPLE HOW TOKnowing how to properly format your research paper headings is essential in preparing your paper for submission to journals. How Should You Name Your Sections and Subsections?.What Sections and Subsections Do You Need?. Style Guides: Rules on Headings and Subheadings.The things to keep in mind are thus the general style your paper is supposed to follow (e.g., APA, MLA), the specific guidelines the journal you want to submit to lists in their author instructions, and your personal style (e.g., how much information you want the reader to get from just reading your subsection headers). The main sections of a research paper have general headers and are often journal-specific, but some (e.g., the methods and discussion section) can really benefit from subsections with clear and informative headers. Does it matter how I name my sections and subsections? Here we quickly summarize general guidelines, different approaches, and what not to do when choosing headings for a research paper. Different style guides have different rules regarding the formatting of headings and subheadings in a paper, but what information you should actually put into your subheadings is a different question and often up to personal taste.
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