IEEE Paper Format – How to Format a Page in IEEE Style

The IEEE citation style is a specialized academic style used in technical fields such as engineering and information technology.

Along with citations and references, it provides instructions for page formatting as well to ensure clarity and standardization.

The paper formatting rules in IEEE style are very different from the most commonly used styles, such as APA or MLA. It has some specific requirements that make it complicated for a beginner to format accurately. 

But don’t worry! This guide simplifies the rules and guidelines you need to apply for an accurate IEEE paper.

Let’s dive in!

General Guidelines for Paper Formatting

Here are the important formatting instructions that you should follow:

Title & Byline

The title of your paper should be precise and descriptive. That is, it should accurately express what your paper is actually about. The formatting rules for the title are as follows:

• Provide the title centered at the top of the page
• Use Title Case and 24-pt size for writing the title
• Do NOT apply bold to the title

Below the title there you should add the byline. The byline presents information about the author of the paper, which includes the following aspects written on separate lines:

• The names of the authors
• The author’s institutional affiliation
• City and Country Name
• Email address

The byline is written in 10-pt size and should be aligned to the center.

Body of the Text – Columns, Paragraph, & Text Formatting

Formatting a paper in IEEE may be more complex than some other popular citation styles. That is because IEEE requires custom page settings rather than standardized options. Here’s what you should do:

Make Two Columns

According to the IEEE formatting requirements, the body of your paper should appear in two columns. 

If you’re using MS Word, here’s how you can divide the body of your paper into two columns:

• Write a few lines and select the text you want to split into two columns. 
• Click the Layout tab at the top of the document. 
• Click the Columns button on the toolbar, and select Two from the drop-down menu.

Margins

You need to provide custom margins for your IEEE paper. Enter these values to ensure that your margins are good to go:

Paragraph Indentation

The IEEE format recommends that you indent the first line of their paragraphs to make it easier to differentiate between paragraphs. Each new paragraph should have a 0.2” first-line indent.

Line Spacing

The IEEE style uses custom line spacing. The line spacing should be set to 0.95. Add a 6-point space after paragraphs, but no spaces before paragraphs.

Text Formatting

Here are the guidelines for text formatting:

Abstract & Keywords

The abstract provides a concise summary of the paper's key points, including the research objectives, methods, results, and conclusions. It is the first section of an IEEE paper that comes after the title and the byline. The length of the abstract should be limited to 150-250 words.

The abstract should be formatted exactly as the rest of the text. That is, use the same font and paragraph settings as provided in the section above. The only difference is that the text of the abstract should be written in Bold.

After the abstract, you should add the list of keywords in a new paragraph. These keywords are important terms that are central to the topic of your paper and help in the accurate indexation of your paper.

Here’s how abstract and keywords should look when accurately formatted in IEEE:

Now, once you’re done formatting your paper according to these guidelines, here is how it would look like:

Formatting IEEE Headings

Headings make it easier to organize and structure your paper. The IEEE style provides formatting rules for different levels of headings to clearly distinguish between them. 

Apart from the usual headings that are part of the main text, your paper may include component headings used to indicate other sections such as references and appendices. These are formatted a bit differently from the main headings.

Here is how you should format different levels of headings:

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