Structure of an academic work step by step
One of the most cumbersome things is learning the structure of an academic work and knowing how to cite correctly. We explain how to do it. To obtain our eTítulo university degree, we have to submit a lot of papers, and with them come the classic doubts: what line spacing should I use? What margin? What font type should I choose? No problem: we explain it to you. Making a correct structure of an academic work is relatively simple and practically the same for all works, but at first it can be confusing. There are professors who ask for specific margins or line spacing, or a specific font type, but generally, you just have to follow the standard structure of an academic work. We'll tell you how it is:
Cover
It is not only an aesthetic question, which it is, but the main function of the cover is to identify the topic of the work and its author, so we must include the title, our name and surname, subject, course, group, etc. It is also an opportunity for our work to stand out, so it is a good idea to use our creativity. We should not be afraid to use colors or images to differentiate our work from others, but only if we believe that the work is well done.Margins
We need the work to be readable and not overwhelming, so the text must have "air" around it. It is good to keep in mind the reader who, in this case, will also be responsible for grading our work, so it is even more important that it is not stressful to the eyes. If we follow the basic structure of an academic work, the top and bottom margins should have a space of 2.54 cm and the side margins about 3.5 cm.Line Spacing
The standard structure of an academic work states that the line spacing should be double-spaced between lines and triple-spaced when there are titles or images. Each page should not have more than 30 lines, including footnotes, and be careful not to have loose lines at the beginning or end of the page (what typographers call "widows and orphans"). We will have to adjust the text to prevent this from happening.Pagination
It is important that the pages are numbered and that this numbering matches the index. Professors have many papers to correct and sometimes they do not read everything in depth, but rather guide themselves by the contents listed in the index. We can number the pages in the upper or lower margin on the right side and place the number about 2.5 cm from the edge.Typography and Font Size
Unless we are given specific instructions, we must use one of the classic font types recommended (no gothic or too artistic), such as Sans, Times New Roman, Curier New, etc. And even if we want the work to appear longer than it really is, we should not exceed size 12.Quotations
Quotations are references we make within the text to sources of information and, therefore, they must be visually distinguished so that the reader knows that what they are reading is a quoted text. It is appropriate to include a large number of quotations to show that we have searched for the necessary sources to document ourselves, but that does not mean that we have to literally copy the quoted words every time. It is correct to quote by putting into our own words what a certain author said or we can make a literal quote. Let's see some examples of quotations: In the following example, we transcribe what the author says literally, so it must be put in quotation marks (with Latin quotation marks if possible) or in italics:- This data collection is essential because, in the words of Raquel Osborne (2008), "Keeping accounts elevates the phenomenon from anecdote to category, leading to its greater visibility."
- Keep in mind that if the quote is longer than 40 words, it should be placed in a separate paragraph, with a larger margin and in smaller characters (size 10 instead of 12).
- Raquel Osborne (2008) argues that collecting data and keeping track of the occurrences of the phenomenon makes its magnitude visible and turns it into a tangible fact that can be worked on and researched.
