What Is APA Style
- 21 November 2019
- 557 words
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers or IEEE has developed a set of manuscript preparation guidelines for engineers. Basically, the IEEE documentation style addresses language use, rendering of mathematical equations, and citation. Moreover, it is a different type of writing and requires specific knowledge. In this case, guidelines concerning the basic paper styling, reference to sources within the text, and reference list entries outline the major IEEE standards.
An IEEE styled paper adheres to some basic guidelines that dictate its general appearance. For instance, people write the title of the paper in 24-point type and horizontally centered at the top of the page. Also, IEEE standards do not have a separate title page. Below the title, writers organize a centered by-line that contains the author’s name, institutional affiliation, city and country, and email address 10-point type. Then, the title and by-line are a single paragraph. However, line-breaks separate individual elements. In turn, students present the essay’s text two columns on each page and maintain a 10-point type styling. On the other hand, the first page of an IEEE styled paper has a distinct appearance. In turn, there may be slight variation in the paper’s formatting due to modifications described by the instructor or publisher.
People realize the incorporation of sources within the IEEE styled essays through a numbering system. For instance, the reader can find the source of a particular concept or idea through Arabic numbers placed before the closing punctuation mark in square brackets. In this case, square brackets represent parenthetical in-text citations. Mostly, the square brackets are treated as footnote numbers or nouns, for example, “According to [4] and [6]-[9]” by considering IEEE standards. Besides, writers need to insert the square brackets in locations where the author’s name would have been mentioned, or the study referred to by its title. Alternatively, the name of the author may be included in the text and the square brackets placed after the name, for example, “Smith [4] and Brown and Jones [5].” In turn, the numbers in the square brackets increase with each instance of citation. However, the person can use only one technique in a single academic paper.
Writers develop a reference list at the end of the essay. Basically, it provides all the publication information of the sources. For example, square brackets containing corresponding numbers to the ones placed in the text are the first element of each reference list entry. In this case, people use the numbers as identifiers. Also, the reference list does not repeat publication information when the person uses a source repeatedly in an essay, covering IEEE standards. Instead, students assign all references to a source with the same number as the first instance of citation. Hence, there are specific arrangements for the bibliographical elements of different types of sources.
The fundamental aspects of the IEEE standards focus on general format guidelines, citations within the text, and the reference list. Basically, engineering students and researchers should strive to internalize the highlighted guidelines. Thus, the IEEE style is a complex referencing method. However, knowledge of the major standards may simplify the implementation of the documentation style.