what is the cover page of a research paper

APA Title Page (Cover Page) Format, Example, & Templates

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In APA Style (7th edition), the cover page, or title page, should include:

• A running head (professional papers only) and page number
• The title of the paper
• The name of the author(s)
• The institutional affiliation
• An author note; optional (professional papers only)
• A student paper should also include course information

Note : APA 7 provides slightly different directions for formatting the title pages of professional papers (e.g., those intended for scholarly publication) and student papers (e.g., those turned in for credit in a high school or college course).

Professional paper APA title page

Student paper APA title page

Formatting an APA title page

Note : All text on the title page should be double-spaced and typed in either 12-point, Times New Roman font. In the 7th edition, APA increaded the flexibility regarding font options: which now include Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode 10, Times New Roman 12, or Georgia 11. All words should be centered, and capitalize the first letter of important words.

Running Head

In the 7th edition of the APA style manual, running heads are only required for professional papers that are being submitted for publication (student papers do not require a running head, but still need a page number).

Your title page should contain a running head that is flush left at the top of the page and a page number that is flush right at the top of the page.

Place the running head in the page’s header:

• The running head is the abbreviated title of the paper (IN UPPERCASE LETTERS) aligned left on the page header of all pages, including the title page. APA (7th edition) guidelines require that running heads be a maximum of 50 characters (spaces count as characters).
• The “Running head:” label used in the APA sixth edition is no longer used.
• Place the page number in this same header, but align right, beginning with page number 1 on the title page.
• This header should be 1 inch from the top. Some instructors allow for 1/2 inch, too, but the default is 1 inch.

Paper Title

Position the title of the paper in the upper half of the page. The title should be centered and written in boldface, and important words should be capitalized.

The APA recommends that your title should be a maximum of 12 words and should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose.

Author Name(s)

Institutional affiliation.

Position the school or university’s name below the author(s) name, centered.

A student paper should also include the course number and name, instructor name, and assignment due date.

Further Information

• APA Student Title Page Guide
• APA Referencing
• How to Write a Lab Report
• Essay Writing Guide for Psychology Students
• APA Style Citations & References
• Example of an APA Formatted Paper

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Home / Guides / Writing Guides / Parts of a Paper / How to Write an Essay Cover Page

How to Write an Essay Cover Page

What you include in your cover page depends slightly on which citation style you are using, but the rules are generally the same.

Guide Overview

• APA cover pages
• MLA cover pages

For APA cover pages:

Include the title of the paper, running head, the author’s name, institutional affiliation, and an author’s note.

Here is an example of a cover page in APA:

For MLA cover pages:

Cover pages are not as frequently used in MLA format, as the inclusion of headers is preferred.

A header looks like this:

Cover pages can include the name of your school, your paper title, your name, your course name, your teacher or professor’s name, and the due date of the paper. If you are unsure of what to include, check with your instructor.

Here is an example of a cover page in MLA format:

For more help making cover or title pages, visit our title page generator   here.

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• The Complete Guide to APA Format in 2020

APA Title Page / Cover Page

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Details to include

The title page (also known as the cover page) is the front page of your paper. It should contain:

• The running head , a header at the top of the page.
• The first page number .
• The title of the paper
• The institution for which you writing.

Running head

The running head should be in the top-left corner of the page in uppercase. It should include a shortened title of your paper. On the front page only, it should also be prepended with "Running head:".

First page number

The first page number -- generally page 1 -- should be in the top-right corner of the page. Both the page number and the running head should be a half inch from the top of the page.

The title of the paper can contain upper and lowercase letters, and ideally should be no more than 12 words in length. It should be direct, and should not contain abbreviations or other unnecessary words. It should not span longer than 2 lines. The first letter of each word should be uppercase, except for articles (a, an, the), and conjunctions (and, but, for, or, yet).

Underneath the title should be your name (or the author's name if you're not the author). It should be displayed as the first name , middle initial , and last name . Do not add titles (such as Dr.) to the beginning, or qualifications (such as PhD) to the end of an author's name.

Your institution

Finally, underneath the author's name, state the full name of the institution or school you're writing the paper for.

The font for all text on the title page should be Times New Roman, size 12pt, with double line-spacing.

A correct title page will look like the below image:

After completing your title page you will move on to writing an abstract of your paper.

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What is a Cover Page?

The cover page is the first page of a paper. It provides important information about the paper, including its title, author, and publication date. For a student paper, the following information is required: 

• Title of the paper
• Author's name
• Department and University the paper was written for
• Course number, section (if applicable), and name
• Professor's name 

How is a Cover Page Formatted?

• The title page should be double-spaced, with all information centered.
•  The paper's title should start 3-4 lines from the top of the page and should have all important words capitalized.
• Each piece of information goes on a new line.
• Names should be written First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name. 
• Ensure that your cursor is at the very beginning of your document.  
• Click the insert tab on the top of your document.
• Choose pages, then blank page to insert a blank page above your content.
• Go back to the home tab, then go to the paragraphs section and center your text.
• Type your title capitalizing most of the words; do not capitalize words like the, of, in, or and. 
• Add your first name, middle initial if applicable, and last name.
•  Write out your university affiliation, which will be Department of Computer Systems and Software Engineering, Valley City State University.
• Type the course number, section, and name, making sure to add a colon (:) between the section and the name. 
• Add the first and last name of your professor, making sure to include Dr. before their name if applicable.
• Add the due date for the assignment.
• Select all of your text, then go to line spacing and set everything to be double-spaced. 
• Put your cursor at the beginning of your title page, then hit enter or return 4 times to move the text down.
• under Insert, click page number, and add page number to the top right-hand side of the page.
• Put your cursor directly in front of the new page number, then type a shortened version of your title in all capital letters. If your title is less than 50 characters long, you can use the full title as your running head. 
• Hit your tab key twice to position the running head at the left of the header.
• Purdue OWL's APA Sample Paper A fully formatted sample paper in APA style. See page 9 for a sample reference list in APA style.
• Sample Paper Formatting for CIS 170 This word document is formatted to APA standards and is set up to look like your assignment will.
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• Last Updated: Feb 28, 2024 2:54 PM
• URL: https://libguides.library.vcsu.edu/cis170

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• Dissertation

Dissertation title page

Published on 30 May 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 18 October 2022.

The title page (or cover page) of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper should contain all the key information about your document. It usually includes:

• Dissertation or thesis title
• The type of document (e.g., dissertation, research paper )
• The department and institution
• The degree program (e.g., Master of Arts)
• The date of submission

It sometimes also includes your student number, your supervisor’s name, and your university’s logo.

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Table of contents

Title page format, title page templates, title page example, frequently asked questions about title pages.

Your department will usually tell you exactly what should be included on your title page and how it should be formatted. Be sure to check whether there are specific guidelines for margins, spacing, and font size.

Title pages for APA and MLA Style

The format of your title page can also depend on the citation style you’re using. There may be guidelines in regards to alignment, page numbering, and mandatory elements.

• MLA guidelines for formatting the title page
• APA guidelines for formatting the title page

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We’ve created a few templates to help you design the title page for your thesis, dissertation, or research paper. You can download them in the format of your choice by clicking on the corresponding button.

Research paper Google doc

Dissertation Google doc

Thesis Google doc

A typical example of a thesis title page looks like this:

The title page of your thesis or dissertation should include your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date.

The title page of your thesis or dissertation goes first, before all other content or lists that you may choose to include.

Usually, no title page is needed in an MLA paper . A header is generally included at the top of the first page instead. The exceptions are when:

• Your instructor requires one, or
• Your paper is a group project

In those cases, you should use a title page instead of a header, listing the same information but on a separate page.

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 Reference Generator.

McCombes, S. (2022, October 18). Dissertation title page. Scribbr. Retrieved 14 May 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/title-page/

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APA cover (title) page: format and templates

There are two types of title page required for APA style papers, a professional and a student version.

Student APA cover page

As long as students do not have any specific guidance from their instructors in regards to a cover page format, they should include the following elements on their cover page:

• Running head : only for APA 6th you write "Running head: TITLE" as a header. APA 7th does not require a running head.
• Title of the paper : three to four lines down from the top of the title page, centered and in bold for APA 7 (APA 6 does not have a title in bold).
• Name of author(s) : include a double-spaced blank line between the paper title and the author name(s).
• Affiliation for each author (the university attended, including department)
• Course number and name
• Name of instructor
• Due date of the assignment (date format used in your location)
• Page number (included on all pages), cover page is number 1.
• Times New Roman is the preferred font, 12-point .
• Double spacing
• 1 inch margins

We created a a student APA cover page template of both 6th & 7th edition, which you can download:

Professional APA cover page

A professional APA cover page should include the following elements:

• Name of each author : include a double-spaced blank line between the paper title and the author names.
• Affiliation for each author: give the name of the institution at which the research was carried out.
• Author note : see the specific instructions below.
• Running head (included on all pages): for APA 6th you write "Running head: TITLE" and for APA 7th only the title in caps is required (omitting the phrase running head).
• Page number (included on all pages): page 1 is the cover page.
• Times New Roman is the preferred font, 12 -point.

Since there are a few slight differences between the professional cover page in APA 6th and 7th edition, we created a template for each version, which you can download.

APA cover page: Author note format

An author note in a professional paper can be found at the bottom of the cover page. It is usually composed of four paragraphs.

• In the first paragraph : for APA 6, give the name of the author and their affiliation. For APA 7, give the authors' ORCID iDs. Omit this part if the authors don't have ORCID iDs.
• Second paragraph : Specify any changes of affiliation (for both APA 6 & 7). Use the following format: “[Author’s name] is now at [affiliation].” This paragraph may also clarify the death of an author.
• Third paragraph : give any confidentiality disclosures and/or acknowledgments.
• Fourth paragraph : give the contact information of the author(s).

Format : start this section in the bottom half of the title page, below the affiliations. Leave a minimum of one blank line between the affiliation and the author note title. Center the title “Author Note” in bold. The first line of each paragraph should be indented and all aligned to the left.

Further reading

For more details not covered in this guide, take a look at the following sources:

📝 Student and Professional APA cover page (7th ed.)

🌐 APA 6th cover page tutorial

Frequently Asked Questions about APA cover (title) page

The title page of a student paper serves as a representation of the author. It is a mere formality, as it makes your paper appear more academic. As a student, the title page helps your instructor identify on a glance who wrote the paper, what the topic is, and for what course. In sum, a student should add a title page when indicated.

The title page of a professional paper serves as a representation of the author. For professionals, the function of a title page is to introduce the reader to the main facts of the paper, such as the author, the topic, the year of publication, and contact information. In sum, a professional should add a title page to comply with academic standards.

No. According to APA style, the title's font of a title page should not include any type of Word Art or "fun" fonts of any kind. APA style indicates titles should be written in the same font as the rest of the text, it should centered and in bold (for APA 7).

Yes, APA style's title page should be formated as page 1 of the paper, followed by the abstract page as page 2.

If you learn better by watching than by reading, here are two YouTube tutorials that will help you create a title page: APA Style 7th Edition: Student Paper Formatting and APA Style 7th Edition: Professional Paper Formatting by Samuel Forlenza, PhD.

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The Perfect APA Cover Page

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 Definition: APA Cover Page
• 3 What to Include?
• 5 All Components
• 6 In a Nutshell

Definition: APA Cover Page

Also known as the title page, an APA cover page is the very front page of an essay. It entails crucial information of the work presented by the author as advised by the examiner. The core duty of the APA cover page is to let the reader identify different parts of your work without having to read the paper.

Also, it also ensures that your work looks professional and well presented. To the learners, the APA cover page helps them know the work that needs to be presented.

Students are mostly asked to write essays or complete their projects in APA Format. However, quite a number of them do not have a clear understanding of what APA format entails and how to use it for their projects. This piece tends to explore the details of an APA cover page to help learners.

This section aims at answering some of the common questions asked by students and scholars looking to have a deeper understanding of the APA Cover Page. Let’s take a look at the five common questions asked about APA Cover page.

What is the APA format?

APA formatting is a style that is mainly used for academic and scholarly journals and books. Mainly, the APA style is used in citing sources that fall within the field of social sciences and other related areas. A perfectly formatted APA thesis entails following the rules of the APA formatting method for APA citation , APA title pages and finally, using these rules for your cover page.

What is the importance of an APA cover page?

To the examiner, the APA cover page helps them get an idea of the academic work in a glance since it contains all of the necessary information about the author’s work. It also allows the writers to present their research paper in an orderly manner that appears more professional and presentable. The cover page is one of the first things a reader will see (after the title page of course).

What’s the difference between the APA cover page and other cover page styles?

Compared to other styles like MLA and Harvard , APA has more details presented on the center of the cover page and a running head that bears a section of the main title of the paper written in capital letters. This is the main difference that immediately becomes obvious when trying to distinguish APA formatting from the other styles.

What are the common mistakes made in the APA cover page?

Though most students and other writers tend to research styles before writing, they make different mistakes whilst trying to craft a perfect APA cover page. Some of the most common mistakes are the placing of the page number, while others do not put page numbers at all, some APA cover pages also lack the running head, or lack clear information. Note that all of the APA title page details must be clearly formatted as well, as this is the very first view that readers will have of your paper.

Do I still have to indicate the title in the actual paper after indicating it in the APA cover page?

Yes. The APA cover page will  be one of the first pages of the essay, book, or any other academic writing work. The title should be on every page (due to the running header) as well as on the title page and cover page. The title should also appear once more on the first page of text, to remind the reader what they’re about to read.

What to Include?

If you are trying to write your piece in APA style, then you have to ensure that it entails a page number, a running head, the name of the author (your name), the title of the paper, and the institutional affiliation. These are the common components of a standard APA cover page, however, you can include more in case you are advised so by the examining body or even the editor if you are using one.

The above example of an APA Cover page depicts what a student or scholar would present in the final essay of a project. Note that what is indicated in the cover page might vary depending on what is requested by the examining body. Nevertheless, other than the details, that is what an APA cover page should look like.

All Components

Let’s take a close look at what the APA Cover page should contain.

The Running Head

Also known as the page header, a running head is a text that usually appears at the very top of the page and is always separated from the body text. It is identical in all pages when you are writing in APA Style. If it appears at the bottom of the page, it is called the page footer, but that is not recommended in APA style.

The Page Number

As mentioned above, the APA style helps the writers to make their work appears orderly. The page number helps them achieve this so that the readers can know how much of the work they have read. In APA, the page number should be made using 12 pt Times New Roman Font. The page number should appear on the top right corner of all pages.

The Title of the Page

Other than the running head, you need to clearly indicate the title of your work so that the readers know what you are writing about. The running head should only contain a section of the title of the entire piece. Make sure that the title is placed in the middle of the APA cover page.

Name of the Author (Your Name)

In APA Cover page, you must indicate your name as the name of the author. That way, the readers will know right away whose work they are reading. Normally, include your official name so that when the work is published, your name goes as the author of the piece. The name of the author usually appears beneath the title of the work.

Institutional Affiliation

If you are a student working on a project or essay, then the institutional affiliation is the name of your college. If you are working for an agency, then you will indicate the name of the organization in this section. It is crucial that you use an authentic institution so that you are recognized as a member, and that you worked on the project following their instructions.

Beneath the Institutional Affiliation, your work should have a date. The time is vital because it helps the examiners to know when the work was done. If it is a book you are writing, your readers will see when you have completed the work.

Importance of APA Cover page in Academic Writing

In academic writing , the APA cover page is essential in helping examiners identify your work easily. Being that it contains your name and the details of the work, they will have an easy time telling it from other files that they might have.

In a Nutshell

The APA style has many formats that can be used by learners and scholars to present their works. Therefore, before you get started, it is vital that to you do your homework well. Also, your institution will provide you with the latest APA cover page format that you need to use throughout your work.

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Creating a captivating research paper title page – ultimate guide with examples.

August 29, 2019

A reader can become engaged or irritated after seeing your research paper title page. Th at is why you need to put in the effort to make sure that it is done properly, and it compels the reader to continue reading the content. Creating the title page for research paper is sometimes more difficult for students than writing a research paper.

How To Make A Title Page For Research Paper

The first thing you need to know is that there are primarily three formats for your title page – APA, Chicago style, and MLA. Your instructor will most likely tell you which format is ideal for the paper. The title page has to contain some precise information about the research in a few words. So, what should be contained in a research paper title page?

The front page of your research paper should contain your full name as it is stated on all your educational certificates. That should be on the same page where you put the topic.

Title Of The Research Paper

Make sure you come up with a good title for research paper and put it on the cover page along with your name. Make sure that the title is interesting. Also, it should not be misleading in any way but should provide a glimpse into the entire content. Typically, the title of the research paper title is expected to be written in capital letters and bold fonts.

Supervisor’s Name

Another important detail to add is the full name of the research supervisor. If you go through the research paper title page examples, you’ll see that adding the supervisor’s name is a must.

Course Information

You need to provide some information about the course, including the course code, academic year, and semester.

Now you know what your research paper title page is expected to contain, it’s time to dive into how to make a title page like a professional. Below are some useful tips for creating the perfect paper title page:

Use The Right Format

As stated earlier, there are three main research paper formats. The one you use will depend on what you’ve been instructed to use. However, you need to make sure you stick to one format from the title to the conclusion.

If you’ve been instructed to use the Chicago format, you have to make sure all the content on the cover page is aligned to the center. Your paper title should be halfway into the page. After the page title, write your full name followed by the name of your instructor and then the course title. There is no need to number the cover page when you’re using the Chicago style.

When you’re instructed to use the APA style, you have to number the title page at the top right corner. Use Times New Roman as your page font and keep one-inch margins on every side of the cover page. You may not need to write everything in capital letters.

For the MLA format, you need to start a third way into the paper, but it should not be as low as the Chicago style. You can add a subtitle to your original title. Just after that, add your name, the name of your school, the course title, your instructor’s name.

Writing A Research Paper – Quick Overview

After you’ve determined what you want your title page to look like, you need to find out how to start a research paper. It is important to note that each institution may have specific guidelines on how to write a research paper. So, make sure you read these guidelines thoroughly before you start. However, some general rules are as follows:

Don’t Joke With The Research

The research part of the research paper writing is crucial. Before you start writing anything, research the topic thoroughly, and get updated information about every fact you’re going to list. As soon as you understand the topic, you need to gather resources, formulate the idea, develop your thesis statement. Your research should be backed by empirical data. If possible, conduct first-hand research on the subject. Otherwise, look for reliable research on Google Scholar, government publications, encyclopedias, newspapers, and almanacs.

About Your Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement tells your reader what the main point of your essay is and what your supporting points are. It can be one or two sentences that prepare the minds of the readers for what is to come. Make sure that everything in the body of your paper is in line with the thesis statement, not opposite. Your thesis statement should appear at the end of your introduction and or should match the topic.

Work With An Outline

Your work would flow better if you use an outline from the beginning to the end. Your outline should be made up of all the points you intend to cover in the content. It can also include the research paper format. Make sure that you put down all the subheadings you intend to cover in the content as well as the details of the materials you want to use in each subheading.

Write A Draft First

To increase your chances of creating high-quality work, try writing a draft first. When you’ve completed the draft, you can start writing the content you will submit. Writing a draft first allows you to brainstorm ideas and find the perfect voice for the content.

Progress From Weakest To Strongest Point

For your content to have a logical flow, start with the weakest point, and slowly progress to the strongest. That doesn’t mean you need to start with a point that isn’t backed empirically. It just means the point you start with should not be your strongest. Each point should have a supporting argument as a backup. It makes your content better.

Restate Your Thesis Statement In Your Conclusion

When it’s time to conclude your paper after listing all the relevant points, you can restate your thesis statement as is common in research paper writing examples. That doesn’t mean you should copy and paste your thesis. Just find new words to say it and link all your points to it. Draw the reader’s attention to why all the points you’ve made support your thesis. That applies when you’re research is conclusive. If it is not, make sure you state that in the research is inconclusive.

Review Before Submission

So, you’ve completed your research paper successfully. That’s cool. However, you should not rush into submitting. Revise the work, make edits, and ask someone else to help you read it. Make sure that your work is as flawless as possible. There should be no inaccurate information, grammatical, or typographical errors. The last thing you want to do is submit a compelling research paper with bad grammar or typographical errors.

Let Our Writers Create Best Title Page For You

Writing a research paper, especially its title page, is like writing any other paper. However, it requires more precision and use of facts. Depending on the topic, make sure that everything you state is factual. These tips above will help when you’re creating a title page for your research paper and when you’re creating the paper. Also, should you feel stuck with crafting a research paper – feel free to hire our experts to help you get exciting results!

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13.1 Formatting a Research Paper

Learning objectives.

• Identify the major components of a research paper written using American Psychological Association (APA) style.
• Apply general APA style and formatting conventions in a research paper.

In this chapter, you will learn how to use APA style , the documentation and formatting style followed by the American Psychological Association, as well as MLA style , from the Modern Language Association. There are a few major formatting styles used in academic texts, including AMA, Chicago, and Turabian:

• AMA (American Medical Association) for medicine, health, and biological sciences
• APA (American Psychological Association) for education, psychology, and the social sciences
• Chicago—a common style used in everyday publications like magazines, newspapers, and books
• MLA (Modern Language Association) for English, literature, arts, and humanities
• Turabian—another common style designed for its universal application across all subjects and disciplines

While all the formatting and citation styles have their own use and applications, in this chapter we focus our attention on the two styles you are most likely to use in your academic studies: APA and MLA.

If you find that the rules of proper source documentation are difficult to keep straight, you are not alone. Writing a good research paper is, in and of itself, a major intellectual challenge. Having to follow detailed citation and formatting guidelines as well may seem like just one more task to add to an already-too-long list of requirements.

Following these guidelines, however, serves several important purposes. First, it signals to your readers that your paper should be taken seriously as a student’s contribution to a given academic or professional field; it is the literary equivalent of wearing a tailored suit to a job interview. Second, it shows that you respect other people’s work enough to give them proper credit for it. Finally, it helps your reader find additional materials if he or she wishes to learn more about your topic.

Furthermore, producing a letter-perfect APA-style paper need not be burdensome. Yes, it requires careful attention to detail. However, you can simplify the process if you keep these broad guidelines in mind:

• Work ahead whenever you can. Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” includes tips for keeping track of your sources early in the research process, which will save time later on.
• Get it right the first time. Apply APA guidelines as you write, so you will not have much to correct during the editing stage. Again, putting in a little extra time early on can save time later.
• Use the resources available to you. In addition to the guidelines provided in this chapter, you may wish to consult the APA website at http://www.apa.org or the Purdue University Online Writing lab at http://owl.english.purdue.edu , which regularly updates its online style guidelines.

General Formatting Guidelines

This chapter provides detailed guidelines for using the citation and formatting conventions developed by the American Psychological Association, or APA. Writers in disciplines as diverse as astrophysics, biology, psychology, and education follow APA style. The major components of a paper written in APA style are listed in the following box.

These are the major components of an APA-style paper:

Body, which includes the following:

• Headings and, if necessary, subheadings to organize the content
• In-text citations of research sources
• References page

All these components must be saved in one document, not as separate documents.

The title page of your paper includes the following information:

• Title of the paper
• Author’s name
• Name of the institution with which the author is affiliated
• Header at the top of the page with the paper title (in capital letters) and the page number (If the title is lengthy, you may use a shortened form of it in the header.)

List the first three elements in the order given in the previous list, centered about one third of the way down from the top of the page. Use the headers and footers tool of your word-processing program to add the header, with the title text at the left and the page number in the upper-right corner. Your title page should look like the following example.

The next page of your paper provides an abstract , or brief summary of your findings. An abstract does not need to be provided in every paper, but an abstract should be used in papers that include a hypothesis. A good abstract is concise—about one hundred fifty to two hundred fifty words—and is written in an objective, impersonal style. Your writing voice will not be as apparent here as in the body of your paper. When writing the abstract, take a just-the-facts approach, and summarize your research question and your findings in a few sentences.

In Chapter 12 “Writing a Research Paper” , you read a paper written by a student named Jorge, who researched the effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets. Read Jorge’s abstract. Note how it sums up the major ideas in his paper without going into excessive detail.

Write an abstract summarizing your paper. Briefly introduce the topic, state your findings, and sum up what conclusions you can draw from your research. Use the word count feature of your word-processing program to make sure your abstract does not exceed one hundred fifty words.

Depending on your field of study, you may sometimes write research papers that present extensive primary research, such as your own experiment or survey. In your abstract, summarize your research question and your findings, and briefly indicate how your study relates to prior research in the field.

Margins, Pagination, and Headings

APA style requirements also address specific formatting concerns, such as margins, pagination, and heading styles, within the body of the paper. Review the following APA guidelines.

Use these general guidelines to format the paper:

• Set the top, bottom, and side margins of your paper at 1 inch.
• Use double-spaced text throughout your paper.
• Use a standard font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, in a legible size (10- to 12-point).
• Use continuous pagination throughout the paper, including the title page and the references section. Page numbers appear flush right within your header.
• Section headings and subsection headings within the body of your paper use different types of formatting depending on the level of information you are presenting. Additional details from Jorge’s paper are provided.

Begin formatting the final draft of your paper according to APA guidelines. You may work with an existing document or set up a new document if you choose. Include the following:

• Your title page
• The abstract you created in Note 13.8 “Exercise 1”
• Correct headers and page numbers for your title page and abstract

APA style uses section headings to organize information, making it easy for the reader to follow the writer’s train of thought and to know immediately what major topics are covered. Depending on the length and complexity of the paper, its major sections may also be divided into subsections, sub-subsections, and so on. These smaller sections, in turn, use different heading styles to indicate different levels of information. In essence, you are using headings to create a hierarchy of information.

The following heading styles used in APA formatting are listed in order of greatest to least importance:

• Section headings use centered, boldface type. Headings use title case, with important words in the heading capitalized.
• Subsection headings use left-aligned, boldface type. Headings use title case.
• The third level uses left-aligned, indented, boldface type. Headings use a capital letter only for the first word, and they end in a period.
• The fourth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are boldfaced and italicized.
• The fifth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are italicized and not boldfaced.

Visually, the hierarchy of information is organized as indicated in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” .

Table 13.1 Section Headings

A college research paper may not use all the heading levels shown in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” , but you are likely to encounter them in academic journal articles that use APA style. For a brief paper, you may find that level 1 headings suffice. Longer or more complex papers may need level 2 headings or other lower-level headings to organize information clearly. Use your outline to craft your major section headings and determine whether any subtopics are substantial enough to require additional levels of headings.

Working with the document you developed in Note 13.11 “Exercise 2” , begin setting up the heading structure of the final draft of your research paper according to APA guidelines. Include your title and at least two to three major section headings, and follow the formatting guidelines provided above. If your major sections should be broken into subsections, add those headings as well. Use your outline to help you.

Because Jorge used only level 1 headings, his Exercise 3 would look like the following:

Citation Guidelines

In-text citations.

Throughout the body of your paper, include a citation whenever you quote or paraphrase material from your research sources. As you learned in Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” , the purpose of citations is twofold: to give credit to others for their ideas and to allow your reader to follow up and learn more about the topic if desired. Your in-text citations provide basic information about your source; each source you cite will have a longer entry in the references section that provides more detailed information.

In-text citations must provide the name of the author or authors and the year the source was published. (When a given source does not list an individual author, you may provide the source title or the name of the organization that published the material instead.) When directly quoting a source, it is also required that you include the page number where the quote appears in your citation.

This information may be included within the sentence or in a parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence, as in these examples.

Epstein (2010) points out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Here, the writer names the source author when introducing the quote and provides the publication date in parentheses after the author’s name. The page number appears in parentheses after the closing quotation marks and before the period that ends the sentence.

Addiction researchers caution that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (Epstein, 2010, p. 137).

Here, the writer provides a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence that includes the author’s name, the year of publication, and the page number separated by commas. Again, the parenthetical citation is placed after the closing quotation marks and before the period at the end of the sentence.

As noted in the book Junk Food, Junk Science (Epstein, 2010, p. 137), “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive.”

Here, the writer chose to mention the source title in the sentence (an optional piece of information to include) and followed the title with a parenthetical citation. Note that the parenthetical citation is placed before the comma that signals the end of the introductory phrase.

David Epstein’s book Junk Food, Junk Science (2010) pointed out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Another variation is to introduce the author and the source title in your sentence and include the publication date and page number in parentheses within the sentence or at the end of the sentence. As long as you have included the essential information, you can choose the option that works best for that particular sentence and source.

Citing a book with a single author is usually a straightforward task. Of course, your research may require that you cite many other types of sources, such as books or articles with more than one author or sources with no individual author listed. You may also need to cite sources available in both print and online and nonprint sources, such as websites and personal interviews. Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.2 “Citing and Referencing Techniques” and Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provide extensive guidelines for citing a variety of source types.

Writing at Work

APA is just one of several different styles with its own guidelines for documentation, formatting, and language usage. Depending on your field of interest, you may be exposed to additional styles, such as the following:

• MLA style. Determined by the Modern Languages Association and used for papers in literature, languages, and other disciplines in the humanities.
• Chicago style. Outlined in the Chicago Manual of Style and sometimes used for papers in the humanities and the sciences; many professional organizations use this style for publications as well.
• Associated Press (AP) style. Used by professional journalists.

References List

The brief citations included in the body of your paper correspond to the more detailed citations provided at the end of the paper in the references section. In-text citations provide basic information—the author’s name, the publication date, and the page number if necessary—while the references section provides more extensive bibliographical information. Again, this information allows your reader to follow up on the sources you cited and do additional reading about the topic if desired.

The specific format of entries in the list of references varies slightly for different source types, but the entries generally include the following information:

• The name(s) of the author(s) or institution that wrote the source
• The year of publication and, where applicable, the exact date of publication
• The full title of the source
• For books, the city of publication
• For articles or essays, the name of the periodical or book in which the article or essay appears
• For magazine and journal articles, the volume number, issue number, and pages where the article appears
• For sources on the web, the URL where the source is located

The references page is double spaced and lists entries in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. If an entry continues for more than one line, the second line and each subsequent line are indented five spaces. Review the following example. ( Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provides extensive guidelines for formatting reference entries for different types of sources.)

In APA style, book and article titles are formatted in sentence case, not title case. Sentence case means that only the first word is capitalized, along with any proper nouns.

Key Takeaways

• Following proper citation and formatting guidelines helps writers ensure that their work will be taken seriously, give proper credit to other authors for their work, and provide valuable information to readers.
• Working ahead and taking care to cite sources correctly the first time are ways writers can save time during the editing stage of writing a research paper.
• APA papers usually include an abstract that concisely summarizes the paper.
• APA papers use a specific headings structure to provide a clear hierarchy of information.
• In APA papers, in-text citations usually include the name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication.
• In-text citations correspond to entries in the references section, which provide detailed bibliographical information about a source.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Wow your professors and keep your research paper or thesis looking sharp with a fully customizable research cover page. Choose from thousands of professional-looking, editable templates to start with, then click and drag your favorite fonts, icons, and images to make it your own. When you’re finished, download and share it electronically or print it out.

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• How to setup your software
• Sample MLA Paper – normal paper
• Sample MLA Paper – has cover page
• Sample APA Paper
• Sample Chicago Paper
• Sample CSE Paper
• APA Format Guidelines
• MLA Format Cover Page

The Modern Language Association (MLA) does not require you to create a cover page when you complete your research paper, but some instructors may require it.

If your instructor requires your paper to have a cover page, here is how to make it (very easy). This cover page should include: your school name, your research paper title, your name, your class, your professor name and your paper due date.

How to Format Your MLA Cover Page:

• This page is double spaced and the letters are centered.
• Font: Times New Roman
• Font size: 12
• The first letter of each word should be capitalized with the exception of very short words such as: the, and, of, or, a, an, in, to, for. Note: the first letter of the first word should be capitalized, regardless of what kind of word it is.
• Type the name of your university or college.
• Skip to about one-third of the page and type your research paper title, include a subtitle if you have.
• Skip several lines down and type your name, your course name and number, your instructor name and your paper’s due date.

Sample MLA Format Cover Page:

Sample MLA Format Cover Page

Alternate First Page:

If your instructor requires a cover page, you would omit the main heading on your first page. Here is an example of the first page if a cover page is used. You still need your last name and page number on the first page and every other page.

Sample MLA Format First Page with Cover Page

Sample MLA Paper:

Visit here for a sample paper with the cover page. The cover page can vary slightly. This paper also has the outline page for your sample.

If you find this website useful, please share with a friend:

How do I get the header on the second page on down? I tried editing it but then it takes the header away from all the pages.

In word select the header then go to: Header & Footer>Page Number>Format Page Numbers>Page Numbering>Start at page>Set to 0

How do I get the header on the second page on down? I tried editing it but then it takes the header away from all the pages. I am using windows. Also, the page numbers are not working for me either. Please help me.

How should I start the page after my cover page?

https://mlaformat.org/mla-format-heading/

Thank you so much Stephen !!! Helped a lot in my written assignments 🙂

Great site ! Thank you so much. Just returned to school to complete my bachelors and needed a little refreshing. Has all the information I needed !

Thanks so much for all of the great information! I have not used MLA before and was a little panic stricken. I have found all of my answers here. This is now saved to my favorites so I can use it regularly. Thanks again!

Should the lines on the cover page be double spaced?

Thanks so much for the picture of the cover page it has helped a lot. But, I was wondering do I still need to put my Title at the top of every page after the header?

Hello Lydia. You do not.

After your cover page, your next page’s heading should look like the “Alternate First Page” above.

After the “Alternate First Page” => your next pages should have “The Inner Pages” heading: https://mlaformat.org/mla-format-heading/

Sample paper: https://mlaformat.org/mla-format-sample-paper-with-cover-page-and-outline/

hey Lydia you don’t need to but if you want to you can

Thank you so so much. I love the simplicity of the website, very easy to understand. I finally have a cover page for my paper!!

I love this website!! It helped so many times with all my essays. I’m working on a college one and this was very useful. Thank you soo much. And thanks for the examples im a visual person I needed that 🙂

Hi Kaylin, I am glad you find this site useful. Take care!

By the way (sorry i forgot!) for the coverpage, would the text font be 12 times new roman???

You can set everything 12, Times New Roman. Or you can set the Title a little larger than 12, that should work too.

In the example above, I have the title larger than 12.

Here is an example with everything set at 12.

Thank you so much for your help on this useful website! I found it very organized and I’m very glad that I came across this particular article. Thanks!!!!!!!:)

I have a question regarding the cover page and the following pages. If I have a cover page as the example provided, do I still need the heading on the next page? And should the pages after that contain my last name on the top left as the header does on the on the previous pages? or do I not need the header at all if I have the cover page and just my name?

Excellence question, Stella! I have updated this article with information on the first page if a cover page is used. Please see “Alternate First Page” above.

You can omit the main heading but you still need your last name and page number on the first page and all subsequent pages. Take care!

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How to Write a Research Paper 

• Smodin Editorial Team
• Updated: May 17, 2024

Most students hate writing research papers. The process can often feel long, tedious, and sometimes outright boring. Nevertheless, these assignments are vital to a student’s academic journey. Want to learn how to write a research paper that captures the depth of the subject and maintains the reader’s interest? If so, this guide is for you.

Today, we’ll show you how to assemble a well-organized research paper to help you make the grade. You can transform any topic into a compelling research paper with a thoughtful approach to your research and a persuasive argument.

In this guide, we’ll provide seven simple but practical tips to help demystify the process and guide you on your way. We’ll also explain how AI tools can expedite the research and writing process so you can focus on critical thinking.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a clear roadmap for tackling these essays. You will also learn how to tackle them quickly and efficiently. With time and dedication, you’ll soon master the art of research paper writing.

Ready to get started?

What Is a Research Paper?

A research paper is a comprehensive essay that gives a detailed analysis, interpretation, or argument based on your own independent research. In higher-level academic settings, it goes beyond a simple summarization and includes a deep inquiry into the topic or topics.

The term “research paper” is a broad term that can be applied to many different forms of academic writing. The goal is to combine your thoughts with the findings from peer-reviewed scholarly literature.

By the time your essay is done, you should have provided your reader with a new perspective or challenged existing findings. This demonstrates your mastery of the subject and contributes to ongoing scholarly debates.

7 Tips for Writing a Research Paper

Often, getting started is the most challenging part of a research paper. While the process can seem daunting, breaking it down into manageable steps can make it easier to manage. The following are seven tips for getting your ideas out of your head and onto the page.

1. Understand Your Assignment

It may sound simple, but the first step in writing a successful research paper is to read the assignment. Sit down, take a few moments of your time, and go through the instructions so you fully understand your assignment.

Misinterpreting the assignment can not only lead to a significant waste of time but also affect your grade. No matter how patient your teacher or professor may be, ignoring basic instructions is often inexcusable.

If you read the instructions and are still confused, ask for clarification before you start writing. If that’s impossible, you can use tools like Smodin’s AI chat to help. Smodin can help highlight critical requirements that you may overlook.

This initial investment ensures that all your future efforts will be focused and efficient. Remember, thinking is just as important as actually writing the essay, and it can also pave the wave for a smoother writing process.

2. Gather Research Materials

Now comes the fun part: doing the research. As you gather research materials, always use credible sources, such as academic journals or peer-reviewed papers. Only use search engines that filter for accredited sources and academic databases so you can ensure your information is reliable.

To optimize your time, you must learn to master the art of skimming. If a source seems relevant and valuable, save it and review it later. The last thing you want to do is waste time on material that won’t make it into the final paper.

To speed up the process even more, consider using Smodin’s AI summarizer . This tool can help summarize large texts, highlighting key information relevant to your topic. By systematically gathering and filing research materials early in the writing process, you build a strong foundation for your thesis.

3. Write Your Thesis

Creating a solid thesis statement is the most important thing you can do to bring structure and focus to your research paper. Your thesis should express the main point of your argument in one or two simple sentences. Remember, when you create your thesis, you’re setting the tone and direction for the entire paper.

Of course, you can’t just pull a winning thesis out of thin air. Start by brainstorming potential thesis ideas based on your preliminary research. And don’t overthink things; sometimes, the most straightforward ideas are often the best.

You want a thesis that is specific enough to be manageable within the scope of your paper but broad enough to allow for a unique discussion. Your thesis should challenge existing expectations and provide the reader with fresh insight into the topic. Use your thesis to hook the reader in the opening paragraph and keep them engaged until the very last word.

4. Write Your Outline

An outline is an often overlooked but essential tool for organizing your thoughts and structuring your paper. Many students skip the outline because it feels like doing double work, but a strong outline will save you work in the long run.

Here’s how to effectively structure your outline.

• Introduction: List your thesis statement and outline the main questions your essay will answer.
• Literature Review: Outline the key literature you plan to discuss and explain how it will relate to your thesis.
• Methodology: Explain the research methods you will use to gather and analyze the information.
• Discussion: Plan how you will interpret the results and their implications for your thesis.
• Conclusion: Summarize the content above to elucidate your thesis fully.

To further streamline this process, consider using Smodin’s Research Writer. This tool offers a feature that allows you to generate and tweak an outline to your liking based on the initial input you provide. You can adjust this outline to fit your research findings better and ensure that your paper remains well-organized and focused.

5. Write a Rough Draft

Once your outline is in place, you can begin the writing process. Remember, when you write a rough draft, it isn’t meant to be perfect. Instead, use it as a working document where you can experiment with and rearrange your arguments and evidence.

Don’t worry too much about grammar, style, or syntax as you write your rough draft. Focus on getting your ideas down on paper and flush out your thesis arguments. You can always refine and rearrange the content the next time around.

Follow the basic structure of your outline but with the freedom to explore different ways of expressing your thoughts. Smodin’s Essay Writer offers a powerful solution for those struggling with starting or structuring their drafts.

After you approve the outline, Smodin can generate an essay based on your initial inputs. This feature can help you quickly create a comprehensive draft, which you can then review and refine. You can even use the power of AI to create multiple rough drafts from which to choose.

6. Add or Subtract Supporting Evidence

Once you have a rough draft, but before you start the final revision, it’s time to do a little cleanup. In this phase, you need to review all your supporting evidence. You want to ensure that there is nothing redundant and that you haven’t overlooked any crucial details.

Many students struggle to make the required word count for an essay and resort to padding their writing with redundant statements. Instead of adding unnecessary content, focus on expanding your analysis to provide deeper insights.

A good essay, regardless of the topic or format, needs to be streamlined. It should convey clear, convincing, relevant information supporting your thesis. If you find some information doesn’t do that, consider tweaking your sources.

Include a variety of sources, including studies, data, and quotes from scholars or other experts. Remember, you’re not just strengthening your argument but demonstrating the depth of your research.

If you want comprehensive feedback on your essay without going to a writing center or pestering your professor, use Smodin. The AI Chat can look at your draft and offer suggestions for improvement.

7. Revise, Cite, and Submit

The final stages of crafting a research paper involve revision, citation, and final review. You must ensure your paper is polished, professionally presented, and plagiarism-free. Of course, integrating Smodin’s AI tools can significantly streamline this process and enhance the quality of your final submission.

Start by using Smodin’s Rewriter tool. This AI-powered feature can help rephrase and refine your draft to improve overall readability. If a specific section of your essay just “doesn’t sound right,” the AI can suggest alternative sentence structures and word choices.

Proper citation is a must for all academic papers. Thankfully, thanks to Smodin’s Research Paper app, this once tedious process is easier than ever. The AI ensures all sources are accurately cited according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

Plagiarism Checker:

All students need to realize that accidental plagiarism can happen. That’s why using a Plagiarism Checker to scan your essay before you submit it is always useful. Smodin’s Plagiarism Checker can highlight areas of concern so you can adjust accordingly.

Final Submission

After revising, rephrasing, and ensuring all citations are in order, use Smodin’s AI Content Detector to give your paper one last review. This tool can help you analyze your paper’s overall quality and readability so you can make any final tweaks or improvements.

Mastering Research Papers

Mastering the art of the research paper cannot be overstated, whether you’re in high school, college, or postgraduate studies. You can confidently prepare your research paper for submission by leveraging the AI tools listed above.

Research papers help refine your abilities to think critically and write persuasively. The skills you develop here will serve you well beyond the walls of the classroom. Communicating complex ideas clearly and effectively is one of the most powerful tools you can possess.

With the advancements of AI tools like Smodin , writing a research paper has become more accessible than ever before. These technologies streamline the process of organizing, writing, and revising your work. Write with confidence, knowing your best work is yet to come!

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Volume 629 Issue 8012, 16 May 2024

Damage control.

The cover shows the aftermath of the collapse of a nine-storey building in Guiyang, China, in 2015. Catastrophic building collapses have a huge cost and result in the loss of life. To try to mitigate problems, conventional building design aims to redistribute the load from any failed parts of a building to the rest of the structure, but this can cause sections of the building to collapse that would otherwise have been unaffected. In this week’s issue, Jose Adam and colleagues present an alternative approach to building design that isolates the failed part of a building thereby preventing catastrophic collapse. Called ‘hierarchy-based collapse isolation’, the approach was inspired by the way lizards isolate and shed their tails to escape predators. The design allows for controlled fracture along predetermined borders in parts of the building, which stops the initial failure from propagating to the entire building. The team suggests that this can prevent full-scale collapse, limiting the affected area and allowing more inhabitants to be rescued.

Cover image: Ou Dongqu/Xinhua/Alamy Live News

Forestry social science is failing the needs of the people who need it most

Rich nations’ fixation on forests as climate offsets has resulted in the needs of those who live in or make a living from these resources being ignored. A broader view and more collaboration between disciplines is required.

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A DARPA-like agency could boost EU innovation — but cannot come at the expense of existing schemes

If Europe wants to create a high-risk, high-reward research body, it needs grass-roots backing.

Why mathematics is set to be revolutionized by AI

Cheap data and the absence of coincidences make maths an ideal testing ground for AI-assisted discovery — but only humans will be able to tell good conjectures from bad ones.

• Thomas Fink

Research Highlights

Old electric-vehicle batteries can find new purpose — on the grid.

An algorithm can monitor the health of retired vehicle batteries used to store surplus power fed into the electrical grid.

These parrots go on killing sprees over real-estate shortages

Scientists recorded green-rumped parrotlets pecking others’ chicks to death, probably to claim the nest space.

CRISPR therapy restores some vision to people with blindness

People with an inherited condition that causes vision loss in childhood had vision improvements after treatment to replace a mutated gene.

How the cauliflower got its curlicues

More than 2,000 years of domestication have given the popular vegetable its short stem and clumpy ‘curds’.

News in Focus

Major alphafold upgrade offers boost for drug discovery.

Latest version of the AI models how proteins interact with other molecules — but DeepMind restricts access to the tool.

• Ewen Callaway

US funders to tighten oversight of controversial ‘gain of function’ research

New policy on high-risk biology studies aims to address criticism that previous rules were too vague.

Argentina’s pioneering nuclear research threatened by huge budget cuts

President Javier Milei is making moves to partially privatize the sector, but in the meantime, projects have paused.

• Martín De Ambrosio
• Fermín Koop

France’s research mega-campus faces leadership crisis

The contest to elect the next president of Paris-Saclay University has collapsed, reflecting wider issues at the giant research centre.

• Barbara Casassus

Best ever clocks: breakthrough paves way for ultra-precise ‘nuclear’ timekeepers

A clock based on energy shifts in atomic nuclei could transform fundamental-physics research.

• Elizabeth Gibney

Bird flu in US cows: where will it end?

Scientists worry that the H5N1 strain of avian influenza will become endemic in cattle, which would aid its spread in people.

• Sara Reardon

How to kill the ‘zombie’ cells that make you age

Researchers are using new molecules, engineered immune cells and gene therapy to kill senescent cells and treat age-related diseases.

• Carissa Wong

Lethal AI weapons are here: how can we control them?

Autonomous weapons guided by artificial intelligence are already in use. Researchers, legal experts and ethicists are struggling with what should be allowed on the battlefield.

Books & Arts

Book review, how men evolved to care for babies — before society got in the way.

An exploration of the evolution of male nurturing shows why, unlike fathers among other great apes, human dads are biologically wired to be hands-on parents.

• Kermyt G. Anderson

Daniel Kahneman obituary: psychologist who revolutionized the way we think about thinking

Nobel prizewinner whose insights into the foibles of human decision-making launched the field of behavioural economics and sent ripples through all social sciences.

• Eldar Shafir

Neglecting sex and gender in research is a public-health risk

The data are clear: taking sex and gender into account in research and using that knowledge to change health care could benefit billions of people.

• Cheryl Carcel
• Robyn Norton

Correspondence

Inequality is bad — but that doesn’t mean the rich are.

• Henrik Ekelund

Interpersonal therapy can be an effective tool against the devastating effects of loneliness

• Myrna M. Weissman
• Jennifer J. Mootz

Standardized metadata for biological samples could unlock the potential of collections

• Vojtěch Brlík

Real-world plastic-waste success stories can help to boost global treaty

• Izni Zahidi

Scientists urged to collect royalties from the ‘magic money tree’

By joining a collecting society, researchers can ensure they are paid when copyrighted book content and papers are reproduced.

• Oscar Allan

Career Guide:

Where I Work

Why my heart beats for nigeria’s endangered bats.

Iroro Tanshi works to better understand a number of threatened species.

• Linda Nordling

News & Views

Strategic links save buildings from total collapse.

A design principle for buildings incorporates components that can control the propagation of failure by isolating parts of the structure as they fail — offering a way to prevent a partial collapse snowballing into complete destruction.

• Sarah L. Orton

Tumours form without genetic mutations

Researchers find that brief and reversible inhibition of a gene-silencing mechanism leads to irreversible tumour formation in fruit flies, challenging the idea that cancer is caused only by permanent changes to DNA.

• Anne-Kathrin Classen

Collection:

• Cancer at Nature Portfolio

Dad’s gut microbes matter for pregnancy health and baby’s growth

Altering gut bacteria in male mice revealed that microorganisms are needed for normal sperm development and offspring health. Scientists discuss the implications in terms of understanding microbes, male fertility and pregnancy.

• Liisa Veerus
• Martin J. Blaser
• Eldin Jašarević

Did atmospheric weathering help Earth’s earliest continents to survive?

What stabilized and strengthened the oldest, most robust blocks of continental crust billions of years ago during the Archaean eon has long been a mystery. It seems that a surprise helping hand might have come from the air above.

• Claire E. Bucholz

Cells destroy donated mitochondria to build blood vessels

Organelles called mitochondria are transferred to blood-vessel-forming cells by support cells. Unexpectedly, these mitochondria are degraded, kick-starting the production of new ones and boosting vessel formation.

• Chantell S. Evans

Microbubble ultrasound maps hidden signs of heart disease

Cardiovascular disease claims more lives each year than do the two next-deadliest diseases combined. An ultrasound technique that tracks tiny gas-filled bubbles could pave the way towards improved early detection.

• Elisa E. Konofagou

Decoding the interplay between genetic and non-genetic drivers of metastasis

This Review discusses the importance of genetic and non-genetic reprogramming events during the metastatic cascade.

• Panagiotis Karras
• James R. M. Black
• Jean-Christophe Marine

Refining the impact of genetic evidence on clinical success

Human genetic evidence increases the success rate of drugs from clinical development to approval but we are still far from reaching peak genetic insights to aid the discovery of targets for more effective drugs.

• Eric Vallabh Minikel
• Jeffery L. Painter
• Matthew R. Nelson

A high-density and high-confinement tokamak plasma regime for fusion energy

A stable tokamak plasma has been demonstrated with a high plasma density and a high energy confinement quality, both of which are simultaneously important for fusion reactors.

• A. M. Garofalo
• J. M. Hanson

Probing entanglement in a 2D hard-core Bose–Hubbard lattice

By emulating a 2D hard-core Bose–Hubbard lattice using a controllable 4 × 4 array of superconducting qubits, volume-law entanglement scaling as well as area-law scaling at different locations in the energy spectrum are observed.

• Amir H. Karamlou
• Ilan T. Rosen
• William D. Oliver

Fusion of deterministically generated photonic graph states

Using an optical resonator containing two individually addressable atoms in a single cavity, fusion of deterministically generated photonic graph states to create ring and tree graph states with up to eight qubits is demonstrated.

• Philip Thomas
• Leonardo Ruscio
• Gerhard Rempe

Entanglement of nanophotonic quantum memory nodes in a telecom network

Entanglement of two nanophotonic quantum network nodes is demonstrated through 40  km spools of low-loss fibre and a 35-km long fibre loop deployed in the Boston area urban environment.

• C. M. Knaut
• A. Suleymanzade
• M. D. Lukin

Creation of memory–memory entanglement in a metropolitan quantum network

A metropolitan-area quantum network based on the generation of pairwise entanglement is formed by three atomic quantum memories connected to a central photonic server.

• Jian-Long Liu
• Jian-Wei Pan

Long-range order enabled stability in quantum dot light-emitting diodes

Improving the long-range order of the quantum dots in perovskite LEDs can markedly enhance their operational stability.

• Ya-Kun Wang
• Liang-Sheng Liao

Arresting failure propagation in buildings through collapse isolation

A design approach arrests collapse propagation in buildings after major initial failures by ensuring that specific elements fail before the failure of the most important components for global stability.

• Nirvan Makoond
• Andri Setiawan
• Jose M. Adam

Regioselective hydroformylation of propene catalysed by rhodium-zeolite

Rhodium catalysts confined in zeolite pores exhibit high regioselectivity in the hydroformylation process of propene to high-value n -butanal, surpassing the performance of all heterogeneous and most homogeneous catalysts developed so far.

• Xiangjie Zhang

One-third of Southern Ocean productivity is supported by dust deposition

Nitrate observations over 11 years from autonomous biogeochemical ocean profiling combined with a Southern Hemisphere dust simulation find that iron supplied by dust supports about 30% of Southern Ocean productivity.

• Zanna Chase
• Sonya L. Fiddes

Subaerial weathering drove stabilization of continents

The geological histories of Archaean regions indicate that stabilization of the Earth’s continents and the formation of cratons was driven by continental emergence and subaerial weathering.

• Jesse R. Reimink
• Andrew J. Smye

Biogeographic response of marine plankton to Cenozoic environmental changes

Analysis of a global dataset reveals spatiotemporal patterns of marine plankton and their biogeographical responses during climatic and environmental changes across the Cenozoic era.

• Anshuman Swain
• Adam Woodhouse
• Christopher M. Lowery

Retuning of hippocampal representations during sleep

Using a Bayesian learning approach, a study tracks the spatial representations by individual hippocampal cells over time in freely moving rats, and provides insights into how ensemble patterns form and reconfigure during sleep.

• Kourosh Maboudi
• Kamran Diba

Sleep pressure modulates single-neuron synapse number in zebrafish

Synapses are gained during spontaneous or forced periods of wake and lost during sleep in a neuron-subtype-dependent manner in zebrafish.

• Anya Suppermpool
• Declan G. Lyons
• Jason Rihel

Mechanics of human embryo compaction

Using micropipette aspiration on donated human embryos, cell surface tensions during compaction were mapped, indicating a role for defective cell contractility in poor quality embryos.

• Julie Firmin
• Nicolas Ecker
• Jean-Léon Maître

Paternal microbiome perturbations impact offspring fitness

Disturbances in the gut microbiota of male mice manifest as fitness defects in their offspring by affecting plancenta function, revealing a paternal gut–germline axis.

• Ayele Argaw-Denboba
• Thomas S. B. Schmidt
• Jamie A. Hackett

Mitochondrial transfer mediates endothelial cell engraftment through mitophagy

Under stressful conditions, mesenchymal stromal cells transfer mitochondria to endothelial cells through tunnelling nanotubes, and artificially transplanting mitochondria into endothelial cells improves the ability of these cells to engraft and to revascularize ischaemic tissues.

• Ruei-Zeng Lin
• Gwang-Bum Im
• Juan M. Melero-Martin

Distal colonocytes targeted by C. rodentium recruit T-cell help for barrier defence

The murine enteropathogen Citrobacter rodentium targets a specific subset of absorptive intestinal epithelial cells in the mid–distal colon, which stimulate T cells to produce sustained IL-22 signals to mitigate further spread of the pathogen.

• Carlene L. Zindl
• C. Garrett Wilson
• Casey T. Weaver

3D genomic mapping reveals multifocality of human pancreatic precancers

Quantitative multimodal 3D reconstruction of human pancreatic tissue at single-cell resolution reveals a high burden of multifocal, genetically heterogeneous pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasias in the normal adult pancreas.

• Alicia M. Braxton
• Ashley L. Kiemen
• Laura D. Wood

Transient loss of Polycomb components induces an epigenetic cancer fate

A transient perturbation of transcriptional silencing mediated by Polycomb proteins is sufficient to induce an epigenetic cancer cell fate in Drosophila in the absence of driver mutations.

• V. Loubiere

Mechanism of single-stranded DNA annealing by RAD52–RPA complex

Single-stranded DNA annealing is driven by RAD52 open rings in association with RPA.

• Chih-Chao Liang
• Luke A. Greenhough
• Stephen C. West

Structural and molecular basis of choline uptake into the brain by FLVCR2

FLVCR2 is expressed in the blood–brain barrier of mouse and human, and is the major mediator of choline uptake into the brain.

• Rosemary J. Cater
• Dibyanti Mukherjee
• Filippo Mancia

Structural basis of lipid head group entry to the Kennedy pathway by FLVCR1

A structural, biochemical and metabolomic analysis reveals the mechanistic basis for transport of extracellular choline and ethanolamine into cells by the human transport protein FLVCR1.

• Timothy C. Kenny
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Amendments & Corrections

Author correction: targeting dcaf5 suppresses smarcb1 -mutant cancer by stabilizing swi/snf.

• Sandi Radko-Juettner
• Charles W. M. Roberts

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Your Face is Data — and Scammers Are Using it for Fraud. Here are 5 Tips When Using Identity Verification In today's crowded identity verification market, selecting the most suitable option can be daunting. There are simply too many solutions to be considered and tested out. This article highlights the key criteria to pay close attention to when deciding.

By Ihar Kliashchou Edited by Micah Zimmerman May 9, 2024

Key Takeaways

• By considering indicators such as customer feedback and ROI, companies can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of their IDV solution.
• It's also important to regularly monitor these indicators and make adjustments as needed to optimize the solution's performance.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Historically, many organizations deployed identity verification (IDV) procedures to meet regulatory requirements in their particular niche. However, its applications are now more varied, including processes that have already become routine for many of us: secure customer onboarding, remote hiring facilitation, online transaction safety on marketplaces and gig economy platforms and fraud detection.

This diversity of tasks complicates choosing IDV solutions , challenging the one-size-fits-all approach across different industries. Despite this, certain key considerations can guide the evaluation process beyond the usual factors like industry and company size.

What to look at first?

1. Does the solution cover all of the essential steps of the IDV procedure?

Most of the IDV solutions on the market include document and biometric verification steps, which represent the core of identity verification. The document verification step includes document capture, document assessment and data extraction for further verification. The biometric part typically includes selfie capture and face matching.

Can you measure the effectiveness of document and biometric checks? Absolutely! For instance, you can use the retake score — the need to redo the verification process, which arises when the initial attempt falls short of clarity or fails to satisfy established criteria — to evaluate the document and/or selfie capture modules.

However, there is a catch. Despite many vendors making similar claims, it's critical to consider the sampling used to measure these scores as they relate to software performance. For example, a developer may claim they have a 100% OCR accuracy — perfect effectiveness of Optical Character Recognition technology to accurately read and convert text from identification documents into digital form. High accuracy is crucial for capturing data correctly and minimizing errors throughout the verification process. But how do you know if this figure is not based solely on cases involving a specific single document type, such as German passports or Louisiana driver's licenses? If you work only with documents issued in those geographies, you will be fine. But will the same accuracy apply to documents from the United Arab Emirates, for instance?

Qualitative indicators also need to be taken into account. Advanced IDV software must properly validate all security features. In practice, it should handle all types of Machine Readable Zone ( MRZ ) codes (lines of encoded data typically found at the bottom of passports and identity documents, designed for easy scanning and processing by machines), recognize and extract data (including photos) from different barcodes and other parts of the document. Additionally, it should be able to scan the NFC chip containing the user's identity details and send the information to a secure server managed by the entity conducting the identity verification, ensuring the identity is valid and secure. This two-step process helps prevent fraud .

The comprehensiveness and accuracy of the document template database are also super important, as it is used for identifying the large variety of existing identity documents, including passports, driver's licenses and residence permits.

Related: The 'Mother of All Breaches' Just Happened — Here's the Security Implications for Businesses

2. Does the solution recognize modern types of fraud?

AI-enabled attacks like deepfakes are a growing threat that organizations can no longer ignore. Regula's global survey shows that approximately 80% of companies worldwide think that various types of deepfake fraud are a real threat. These are artificially generated images, videos or audio that highly realistically mimic real people.

A recent instance involved the Hong Kong branch of a multinational company, which lost $25 million after a scammer used deepfake technology to impersonate the firm's chief financial officer (CFO) during a group video conference call, instructed staff to transfer funds.

Not surprisingly, businesses and governments perceive the identity fraud detection capabilities of an IDV solution to be one of the most crucial selection criteria.

It is imperative to understand how the vendor confronts the deepfake threat by asking precise questions about the relevant features. For instance, inquire about the software's capability to detect various types of presentation attacks — when a fraudster presents fake, altered or otherwise manipulated biometric samples (like facial images, video or voice recordings) to deceive and gain access through a biometric security system — and the mechanisms it employs to unveil them.

You may also want to assess how the solution tackles the particular types of identity fraud employing deepfakes. Fraudsters may display a fake photo or video of a "live" person on a secondary device at the selfie stage. For proper identification, the software should be able to detect static face images, electronic devices, video replays and video injections.

Related: Facial Recognition Technology Is Streamlining Check-in Processes — and Raising Privacy Concerns

3. Does the vendor's development strategy reflect current changes in the market?

Businesses' demands, end users' expectations and industry standards are changing. With the emergence of new ID formats like digital identities and mobile driver's licenses, vendors have to consider these verification scenarios when bringing their solutions to the market.

For this reason, flexibility and technological competence have become crucial criteria when assessing IDV developers. For instance, mono solutions that only verify domestic documents seem out-of-date in the era of global migration, digital nomadism, remote customer onboarding and online transactions. With physical document fraud still prevalent, robust IDV systems must include a complete set of authenticity checks, like document liveness — a verification method used to ensure a document is original and not forged or altered, typically checked through real-time presentation or authenticity features.

The vendor's product development roadmap is the right starting point to gain the required insight. The roadmap visualizes the vendor's strategic plan, showing the details of upcoming improvements and features that will roll out soon.

Related: Deepfakes Are on the Rise — Will They Change How Businesses Verify Their Users?

4. Are your customers fully satisfied with the IDV flow?

A customer-centric approach is now at the core of many business processes, including identity verification. A better customer experience (CX) is both a driver and success determiner for many organizations implementing IDV solutions. Regula's survey finds that customer satisfaction improvements were the main reason for 29% of companies deploying such solutions. Additionally, 55% of business representatives named improved CX as the top success indicator for IDV.

Usually, it's up to you to decide how to smoothly embed the IDV solution into your current processes. However, interoperability, cross-platforming and customization features are the sole responsibility of the developer. As a quick rule of thumb, cross-platform solutions that perform well on websites and in mobile apps enable you to set up a seamless IDV flow that enhances customer satisfaction.

Automation is also a cornerstone of a customer-centric approach. Both clients and employees will appreciate it if they can skip routine parts of the IDV process like data entry or document type detection.

For instance, Skylegs, an aviation management platform, reports positive client feedback after it implemented IDV software for aircraft operators. With data entry automation, the operators can now process passports and ID cards more easily, faster and more accurately.

5. Does the solution enhance ROI for your IDV investment?

Evaluate an IDV solution as a strategic investment that impacts numerous outcomes. As an example, the Canadian travel solution Sherpa cut annual operational costs by 15% after IDV automation.

Identity verification is more than simply authenticating documents and individuals; in most instances, multiple adjacent use cases exist in any given company. A solid all-in-one IDV solution can help businesses reduce security risks, comply with KYC requirements and increase customer satisfaction.

The completeness of a given solution often implies broad coverage of diverse IDV use cases. The solution must be versatile enough to cover many industries, from regulated ones like Aviation, Gambling and Banking, to more unconstrained businesses like eLearning or eCommerce.

By favoring single-vendor solutions, covering all aspects of IDV from biometrics to document verification, you get comprehensive and easy-to-maintain software as a bonus. First, all the updates will be applied universally, instead of piecemeal. Second, you will be protected against asynchronous updating, in which one of the modules loses interoperability with all the other systems because of mistiming by one of the developers.

A bonus piece of advice: The dataset matters

IDV vendors usually offer a demo or trial period to test the waters. You can try out various solutions and assess how their products accomplish your tasks. Some businesses test out solutions using the vendor's datasets. This approach may seem a bit biased, which is why the number and variety of specimens available for testing, as well as the level of detail in the verification results, are also important criteria to consider.

However, many organizations prefer "real data" involving physical IDs volunteered by employees from a focus group. To make the most out of this experience, you need to prepare your dataset properly.

First, it should match your company's demands. If you deal with identity documents issued in the UK only, you can simply scan and verify the passports of your British volunteers during the test. But the results will be inadequate if identity documents from other countries like Germany, UAE and Italy also flow into your systems.

Second, your dataset should be complete to provide statistically valid metrics. As mentioned above, to obtain accurate measurements for all four scenarios, you would need an equal number of passports from British, German, UAE and Italian individuals.

In conclusion

Measuring the success of an IDV solution helps businesses ensure they are achieving their desired outcomes. By considering indicators such as customer feedback and ROI, companies can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of their IDV solution. It's also important to regularly monitor these indicators and make adjustments as needed to optimize the solution's performance.

Entrepreneur Leadership Network® Contributor

Chief Technology Officer at Regula

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