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• IEEE Paper Format | Template & Guidelines

IEEE Paper Format | Template & Guidelines

Published on August 24, 2022 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on April 6, 2023.

IEEE provides guidelines for formatting your paper. These guidelines must be followed when you’re submitting a manuscript for publication in an IEEE journal. Some of the key guidelines are:

• Formatting the text as two columns, in Times New Roman, 10 pt.
• Including a byline, an abstract , and a set of keywords at the start of the research paper
• Placing any figures, tables, and equations at the top or bottom of a column, not in the middle
• Following the appropriate heading styles for any headings you use
• Including a full list of IEEE references at the end
• Not including page numbers

To learn more about the specifics of IEEE paper format, check out the free template below. Note that you may not need to follow these rules if you’ve only been told to use IEEE citation format for a student paper. But you do need to follow them to submit to IEEE publications.

Table of contents

Ieee format template, ieee heading styles, frequently asked questions about ieee.

The template below can be used to make sure that your paper follows IEEE format. It’s set up with custom Word styles for all the different parts of the text, with the right fonts and formatting and with further explanation of key points.

Make sure to remove all the explanatory text in the template when you insert your own.

Download IEEE paper format template

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IEEE recommends specific heading styles to distinguish the title and different levels of heading in your paper from each other. Styles for each of these are built into the template.

The paper title is written in 24 pt. Times New Roman, centered at the top of the first page. Other headings are all written in 10 pt. Times New Roman:

• Level 1 text headings begin with a roman numeral followed by a period. They are written in small caps, in title case, and centered.
• Level 2 text headings begin with a capital letter followed by a period. They are italicized, left-aligned, and written in title case.
• Level 3 text headings begin with a number followed by a closing parenthesis . They are italicized, written in sentence case, and indented like a regular paragraph. The text of the section follows the heading immediately, after a colon .
• Level 4 text headings begin with a lowercase letter followed by a closing parenthesis. They are italicized, written in sentence case, and indented slightly further than a normal paragraph. The text of the section follows the heading immediately, after a colon.
• Component headings are used for the different components of your paper outside of the main text, such as the acknowledgments and references. They are written in small caps, in title case, centered, and without any numbering.

You should use 10 pt. Times New Roman font in your IEEE format paper .

For the paper title, 26 pt. Times New Roman is used. For some other paper elements like table footnotes, the font can be slightly smaller. All the correct stylings are available in our free IEEE format template .

No, page numbers are not included in an IEEE format paper . If you’re submitting to an IEEE publication, page numbers will be added in the final publication but aren’t needed in the manuscript.

IEEE paper format requires you to include an abstract summarizing the content of your paper. It appears at the start of the paper, right after you list your name and affiliation.

The abstract begins with the word “Abstract,” italicized and followed by an em dash. The abstract itself follows immediately on the same line. The entire section is written in bold font. For example: “ Abstract —This paper discusses … ”

You can find the correct format for your IEEE abstract and other parts of the paper in our free IEEE paper format template .

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Structure Your Paper

Learn how to structure your paper for publication. IEEE has put together some tips and best practices for what should be included in your conference paper.

Your paper title should be specific, concise, and descriptive. Avoid using unnecessary words such as “new” or “novel”. Include keywords that will help a reader find your paper.

Provide a concise summary of the research conducted. Include the conclusions reached and the potential implications of those conclusions. Your abstract should also:

• consist of a single paragraph up to 250 words, with correct grammar and unambiguous terminology;
• be self-contained with no abbreviations, footnotes, references, or mathematical equations;
• highlight what is unique in your work;
• include 3-5 keywords or phrases that describe the research, with any abbreviations clearly defined,  to help readers find your paper.

First Footnote

Funding footnote.

If the research reported in your paper was supported by a funding source, include the funder’s name and grant information in a footnote on the first page of the paper.

Human and animal research statements

For papers reporting on research involving human subjects or animals, complete and include one of the following human/animal research statements in a footnote on the first page of the paper:

• Papers That Are Reporting on Human/Animal Research and Have Review Board Approval:   This work involved human subjects or animals in its research. Approval of all ethical and experimental procedures and protocols was granted by (Name of Review Board or Committee) (if provided under Application No. xx, and performed in line with the (Name of Specific Declaration (if applicable/provided)).
• Papers That Are Reporting on Human/Animal Research and Are Exempt From Review Board Approval: This work involved human subjects or animals in its research. The author(s) confirm(s) that all human/animal subject research procedures and protocols are exempt from review board approval.

Refer to the IEEE’s policy on Research on Human and Animal Subjects .

Introduction

Help the reader understand why your research is important and what it is contributing to the field.

• Start by giving the reader a brief overview of the current state of research in your subject area.
• Progress to more detailed information on the specific topic of your research.
• End with a description of the exact question or hypothesis that your paper will address.

Also state your motivation for doing your research and what it will contribute to the field.

Formulate your research question. It should include:

• a detailed description of the question;
• the methods you used to address the question;
• the definitions of any relevant terminology;
• any equations that contributed to your work.

The methods section should be described in enough detail for someone to replicate your work.

Results and Discussion

Show the results that you achieved in your work and offer an interpretation of those results. Acknowledge any limitations of your work and avoid exaggerating the importance of the results.

Summarize your key findings. Include important conclusions that can be drawn and further implications for the field. Discuss benefits or shortcomings of your work and suggest future areas for research.

Acknowledgments

You can recognize individuals who provided assistance with your work, but who do not meet the definition of authorship . The acknowledgments section is optional.

Provide citation information for all the previous publications referred to in your paper. Cite only those references that directly support your work.

IEEE Article Templates

IEEE article templates let you quickly format your article and prepare a draft for peer review. Templates help with the placement of specific elements, such as the author list. They also provide guidance on stylistic elements such as abbreviations and acronyms.

Use the interactive IEEE Template Selector to find the template you need by following a few easy prompts and then downloading your template.

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Referencing style - IEEE: IEEE Examples

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• IEEE Examples
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IEEE All Examples

Below are examples for a few common reference types. Need more?   Consult the full  IEEE Reference Guide .

References by Format

Which information format do you need to reference? Choose from the examples below.

Note: The goal of referencing is to include enough information, so readers can find your sources if they are interested in finding out more. (And, of course, to acknowledge other authors whose ideas or information you have used.)

For additional detailed information about the style consult:

IEEE Editorial Style Manual for Authors

Preparation of Papers for IEEE TRANSACTIONS and JOURNALS

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This page will introduce you to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) style for formatting research papers and citing sources. IEEE – pronounced “I-triple-E” – is a style widely used among all branches of engineering, computer science, and other technological fields.

Though the OWL’s section on IEEE is sufficient for quick reference, if you are writing a lengthy manuscript or dissertation, or if you have detailed questions, you should consult the IEEE Editorial Style Manual, available as a PDF through the organization’s website . Alternately, if you are formatting a paper for submission to a specific organization, publication, or event, refer to the formatting guidelines provided by said organization / publication / event and privilege those guidelines over any found here.

The IEEE section contains the following pages:

General Format

• Basic formatting and page layout
• Abstracts, index terms, and other front matter
• Section headings, appendix headings, and similar
• Appendices, acknowledgements and other back matter

In-Text Citation

• Formatting in-text citations
• Citing within a reference
• Citing multiple references at once

Reference List

• Formatting reference page entries
• General principles for formatting references
• Specific instructions for formatting references to various media

Tables, Figures, and Equations

• Distinguishing between tables, figures, and equations
• Formatting tables appropriately
• Formatting labels, titles, captions, etc. appropriately
• Referring to tables, figures, and equations in text.

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As a professional engineer, you have myriad experiences solving problems. Your reports, both formal and informal, help your client, supervisor, or other stakeholders make actionable decisions about those problems. Explore these resources to learn how to write more effective reports for greater project and career success:

• How do I write an effective report?

How do I use Microsoft Word to my advantage?

• Where can I find more information about writing reports?

Whether formal or informal, interim or final, your report is an essential part of the problem-solving process. Begin by analyzing your communication situation (note: link to Communication Situation) and reviewing communication basics?? (note: link to Communication Basics), then find out how to structure and format your report as effectively as possible:

What elements should my report contain?

What is the best way to present those elements.

Whether you’re writing for a client, your supervisor, or some other project stakeholder, your audience will likely want to know [adapted from P.V. Anderson’s Technical Communication (1)]:

• What will we gain?
• Are your facts reliable?
• What do you know that is useful to us?
• How do you interpret those facts from our point of view?
• How are those facts significant to us?
• What do you think we should do?

An effective report will be structured to answer these questions clearly and specifically. Depending on its level of formality, your report structure will include all or some of these elements [adapted from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (2)]:

• Front matter This report element includes the title or cover page, letter of transmittal, acknowledgments, table of contents, and lists of figures and tables.
• Executive summary and abstract These report elements provide an overview of what you’ll discuss in the body of the report.
• Body This report element includes the introduction, summary/background, methods/procedures, results, discussion of results, conclusion, and recommendations.
• Back matter This report element includes references, appendices, and attachments.

Front matter refers to the preliminary, supporting components of a report. It appears where you might expect: at the front of the report. You will typically attend to this element last and in conjunction with back matter, after you have written the body and executive summary and abstract.

Your report’s front matter includes [adapted from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (3)]:

• Title or cover page Include a title, the name of the person authorizing the report, your name, your company’s name and contact information, and the date you submit the report.
• Letter of transmittal Describe the problem you’re solving for, the purpose of the work you’ve done, the time period for the work, and your results and recommendations.
• Acknowledgments Credit anyone who contributed substantially to the project, and include any permissions for copyrighted materials use.
• Table of contents Provide a guide that includes every report element and the page on which it occurs. Page number front matter with lower-case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.); page number the rest of the report with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). You can use Word to automatically generate your table of contents.
• Lists of figures and tables Provide a separate guide, like a secondary table of contents, that includes the name and page location of every figure in your report, and another for tables.

Formal reports include every component listed above; an informal report may only include some of them. In some cases, your company may specify which of these components to use and how.

Executive summary and abstract

Your engineering report may include both an executive summary and an abstract, or it may only include one or the other. These elements appear between the front matter and the report body. Write these after you have written and revised the report body.

What is an executive summary?

An executive summary is an overview of the key points in your report. It should summarize the purpose and scope of your work, the methods you used, and your key findings, conclusions, and recommendations [4].

What is an abstract?

An abstract is a short but specific summary of the details you cover in the report’s body. It should briefly mention the purpose and scope of your work, the methods you used, and your key findings, conclusions, and recommendations [5].

What’s the difference between the two?

The difference lies primarily in their purpose and length. The abstract provides a preview of the report’s content meant to entice readers to read the entire report. It is typically less than a page long. The executive summary, on the other hand, provides enough information to allow stakeholders to make a decision without reading the full report. It is typically as long as 10% of the full report [6].

The body of your report is where you provide the details of your work. It is the longest part of your report and falls after the front matter and executive summary and abstract. You will produce the body before any other element of your report, with the possible exception of graphics, like figures and tables.

Your report’s body includes [1] [7]:

• Introduction Summarize your major conclusions and recommendations. Also describe the organization of your report and its scope.
• Summary/background Describe the existing research or activity you relied on to guide your work.
• Methods/procedures Describe what you did and how you did it. Include the equipment you used.
• Results Reveal your research findings. This report component may be combined with the discussion of results.
• Discussion of results Describe what your results demonstrate and why that is important to your audience. Highlight notable trends the results reveal, as well as the limitations and assumptions in your work. This report component may be combined with the results.
• Conclusion Make meaningful statements based on the discussion of results. This report component may be combined with the recommendations.
• Recommendations Provide actionable recommendations based on your conclusions. This report component may be combined with the conclusion.

Back matter

The back matter of a report is its succeeding, supporting components. As its name implies, it appears at the back of the report. You will typically attend to this element last and in conjunction with front matter , after you have written the body and executive summary and abstract .

Your report’s back matter includes [1]:

• References List the references you cited throughout your report. Use your company’s or engineering field’s style guide (note: link to What is a style guide? Which one should I use?) to determine the appropriate format for your reference list.
• Appendices Present detailed information related, but not essential, to your report in the appendices. Some examples of materials appropriate for the appendices, includes data, analysis methods, and equipment details [3]. In some cases, you’ll include all your tables and figures here rather than in the body of the report. Put the appendices in order by their mention in the body of the report.
• Attachments Attach materials appropriate for the appendices that are too large in size to fit the report format. For instance, you may have oversize blueprints that would be unreadable if reduced to the typical 8.5×11 size of a report.

According to Paul Anderson in his book Technical Communication: A Reader-Centered Approach , “Good [formatting] helps readers understand your information, locate information, and notice highly important content” [8]. A successful report is formatted well.

What components should I consider while formatting?

When formatting your report, pay attention to these common components [8]:

• Body text Sentences and paragraphs
• Headings Titles, headings, subheadings
• Headers and footers Recurring components at the top and/or bottom of every page, like page numbers and report title
• Graphics Tables, figures, photos
• Space Empty areas between headers, paragraphs, graphics, and captions

How do I format those components?

Consider these basic principles adapted from graphic design theory when formatting your report [9]. Scroll to the bottom of this page for a rough example of these principles applied to the above components:

• Contrast Use contrasting size, weight, and typeface to establish focus and hierarchy on your pages. For instance, set your top-level headings in a bold, sans-serif, 14 point typeface like Arial; set your body text in a regular weight, serif, 10 to 12 point typeface like Times New Roman.
• Repetition Use the same formatting for every page and similar components on that page. For instance, include page numbers in the same place, with the same formatting on every page (10 point, bold, Arial, at the bottom, center of the pages, for example). Style your body text and headings the same throughout the report (Microsoft Word styles can help you do this easily).
• Alignment Connect every component on a page with a strong visual alignment. For instance, place graphics, like tables or figures, on the left side of the page in alignment with the left edge of the text. Align headings to the left like the body text.
• Proximity Use space to group related items together and separate unrelated items. For instance, place graphics near their mention in the body text. Put less space between a subhead and its related body text; put more space between the bottom of body text and the next, unrelated subhead.

Reference Report examples

Your company likely has numerous examples of reports that include some or all of these elements and their individual components. In addition, examples of formal reports abound in professional journals in your field.

Microsoft Word includes numerous tools and functions that will save you time and hassle, and allow you to consistently format your reports. Visit the links from Where can I find more information about writing effective reports? to learn how to use these time-saving tools and functions:

• Styles Rather than manually styling text, use styles to change the formatting of the same type of text (body, headings, captions, etc.) from one formatting dialog at one time.
• Page numbering and sectioning Instead of manually numbering your pages one at a time, use automatic page numbering and sectioning to organize your report.
• Table of contents creation Instead of manually creating and numbering your report’s table of contents, use automatic table of contents creation to provide access to the organization and contents of your report.
• Graphics Place and resize graphics from programs like Excel or from other text documents to fit your report’s format.

Where can I find more information about writing effective reports?

The IEEE Professional Communication Society’s site provides you with a basic understanding of writing effective reports. Explore other resources to gain more knowledge about this topic.

• Writing an executive summary for engineering reports (vidcast) Watch this 6-minute video that demonstrates how to write an effective executive summary for an engineering report.
• Writing a title page for engineering reports (vidcast) Watch this 4-minute video that demonstrates how to put together an effective title page for engineering reports.
• Report checklist Use this checklist to make sure you’ve addressed every element in your engineering report.
• How to use styles in Microsoft Word to save a lot of work Read this resource that teaches you how to use styles in Word to make your report formatting consistent and efficient.
• Create an automatic table of contents in Word (video) Watch this 4-minute video to learn how to generate an automatic table of contents using styles in Word.
• How to create a table of contents in Microsoft Word Read this thorough resource that shows you how to automatically create a table of contents in Word.
• Table of Contents tips Consult this source that points out some fine points of creating and modifying tables of contents in Word.
• Add page numbers to documents in Word 2007 and 2010 Read this resource that shows you how to add page numbers in both Word 2007 and 2010.
• Word 2003 page numbers Watch this 3-minute video to learn how to insert page numbers in Word 2003.
• How to insert page numbers in Microsoft Word 2003 Read this quick set of instructions for inserting page numbers in Word 2003.
• How to restart page numbers in a Word document section Read this quick set of instructions for sectioning Word documents and page numbering each section differently.
• How to copy a chart from Excel into a Word document Consult this resource to learn how to place and modify Excel charts in Word documents.
• Move Excel graph to Word tutorial (video) Watch this 13-minute tutorial to learn how to place and modify Excel charts in Word documents.
• How to crop and resize an image in Word 2010 (video) Watch this 2-minute video to learn how to crop and resize images in Word.
• Insert and position graphics in Word documents Read this resource to learn how to insert and position graphics in Word.

[1] P.V. Anderson, “Writing reader-centered reports,” in Technical Communication: A Reader-Centered Approach. Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007, pp. 539-556.

[2] E. Cember, A. Heavilon, M. Seip, L. Shi, and A. Brizee. Sections of reports. Purdue Online Writing Lab. [Online]. Available: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/726/05

[3] E. Cember, A. Heavilon, M. Seip, L. Shi, and A. Brizee. Mechanical elements of reports.  Purdue Online Writing Lab.  [Online]. Available: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/726/0 8

[4] Processes for writing an executive summary.  Writing at Colorado State University.  [Online]. Available: http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/page.cfm?pageid=1508

[5] E. Cember, A. Heavilon, M. Seip, L. Shi, and A. Brizee. The report abstract and executive summary.  Purdue Online Writing Lab . [Online]. Available: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/726/07

[6] K. Khan. (2008, Sept. 19). Difference between executive summary, abstract and synopsis. University of Balochistan. [Online]. Available: http://www.scribd.com/doc/55954574/Difference-Between-Executive-Summary-Abstract-and-Synopsis

[7] E. Cember, A. Heavilon, M. Seip, L. Shi, and A. Brizee. The report body.  Purdue Online Writing Lab.  [Online]. Available: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/726/06

[8] P.V. Anderson, “Designing reader-centered pages and documents,” in  Technical Communication: A Reader-Centered Approach.  Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007, pp. 372-398.

[9] R. Williams,  The Non-Designer’s Design Book.  Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2004.