Research Term paper - where to put tables and figures?

Hello, I need to write a research term paper and it has been a while since I have written one, so I need some help. I have the topic and can formulate the paper easily enough, but because of the analytical nature of the subject, is it acceptable to place tables and formulas in the body of the paper versus the appendix? The paper is supposed to be approximately 15 pages and I know that some students like to fill up space using figures - just need to know if it is best practice. Thanks.

Greetings!

I think the answer to that is very much dependent upon what your instructor's expectations are. Ideally, you would have been told "15 pages, not counting tables and appendices" but apparently that was not stated in your instructions. If it is possible to ask the instructor, you should do so. If not, it is something of a judgment call; however, you are right that inserting tables, graphs and such into the body can be seen as "filler" and an attempt to cheat the required word count. Personally, if I were the instructor, I would rather have the tables in the body of the paper so that I did not have to constantly be turning back to find them. If they will help make your text more easily understood and are important for comprehension and proving your point, I think at least some of them could go in the body. You just might consider not including them in the page count. If, for instance, a table takes up a third of a page, then extend the written text by that much--unless your page count really is "approximately" 15 pages, and then perhaps it won't matter. But if 15 is a minimum for a good grade, then don't let the tables cheat you out of fulfilling the required amount of pages.

I wish I could tell you "yes, it's always this way" or "no, it's that way" but I am not aware of any hard and fast rule. Different instructors have different views on this issue.

I hope this helps!

Thanks,

Sarah, EssayForum.com