Check with instructor or journal specifications that predetermine specific layouts and setup of research papers. Journal specifications can be listed on the submissions page in the journal or on the journal's website. An instructor's specifications will be listed in the introductory class notes provided at the start of the course.
Change document settings on your word processing software or typewriter. Most word processing software provides access to document changes on a toolbar above the blank document. Set the line spacing to double-spaced. Set type font as Times New Roman or similarly legible format that doesn't consume too much space or ink. Set type font at 11 or 12 points. Set page borders or margins to one inch all around the paper, so that one inch of space exists between the edges of the paper and the main body of the research paper (excluding page numbers and footnotes). Borders and margins are usually preset at 1 inch; however, you can adjust the measuring toolbar across the top of the document.
Type your name and address at the top left corner of the first page. If your research paper is for school, then type your instructor's name, course number and date instead of your address.
Center the title of your paper after your contact or course information.
Open the paper's dialog with an introduction and thesis. An introduction features the foundation of the thesis. The thesis explains the conclusions that the paper expects to produce. The introduction and thesis can be labeled at the preference of the publication or instructor, but it is not necessary.
Support the thesis with at least three arguments comprising one paragraph each. Serious topics and sophisticated research demand multiple paragraphs per argument. Research papers for students in primary or secondary school can limit their arguments to one paragraph each, depending on grade and age level.
Acknowledge and weigh arguments counter to your thesis. Sophisticated researchers acknowledge and refute counterarguments as a method of further proving their research.
Conclude the paper by recapping the arguments that the thesis proved.