Headings 

For the texts section heading, the IEEE format suggests the use of four levels of hierarchy:

Though not mandatory, enumeration of section headings is preferable – the author can use their preference, but the chosen format should be followed consistently throughout the paper. Besides section headings, there are also reference, appendix, and acknowledgement headings, and are formatted differently: 

Appendix headings – The heading(s) of the primary section in the Appendix of the paper should follow the standard formatting style. The authors have the option to use either letters or Roman numerals to number the Appendix headings (for instance, Appendix A or Appendix I). However, it is important to note that the Appendix heading should not be preceded by a Roman numeral. If there is only one Appendix in the paper, its heading should not have a name or number.

Reference and acknowledgement headings should be formatted as primary headings but should never be enumerated or labeled. 

• First footnote

The initial footnote in the article is unnumbered, but all subsequent footnotes should be numbered consecutively. This first footnote consists of three paragraphs. The first paragraph should indicate the dates the paper was received and revised (if applicable). If there were multiple revised dates, all of them should be listed.

The second paragraph contains information about the authors’ affiliations. If multiple authors have different affiliations, each author should have their own separate sentence and paragraph. The initials of each author should be followed by their last name. Authors with the same affiliation should be grouped. The order of the affiliations should correspond to the order of the authors’ names in the byline.

The final paragraph of the first footnote should include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, which is assigned by the IEEE.

Body of the paper 

Abstract 

According to the IEEE format, authors are obligated to include an Abstract in their papers. The Abstract should be placed immediately after the Title Page and presented in boldface type within the text. It should be brief and contain no numbered references or mathematical equations.

Index terms 

In addition, authors are required to include Index Terms in their IEEE papers. These Index Terms should be listed in alphabetic order and presented in boldface within the Abstract as its concluding paragraphs. It is important to note that only acronyms that have been previously defined in the paper should be defined in this section.

Text equations 

When including equations in the body of the paper, they should be numbered sequentially from the beginning to the end. In certain cases, authors are allowed to use their own numbering system for equations in certain transactions.

Acknowledgement 

The acknowledgment section should be positioned after the final part of the text, following any Appendix(es) and preceding the References section. It should be written in the third person.

Avoid using full names and honorifics such as Mr., Mrs., Miss, and Ms. when mentioning names in the acknowledgment section. Instead, only include the initials followed by the family name. Titles like Prof. and Dr. can still be used, but only in the singular form and placed separately next to each name.

Any information about financial support should not be included in the acknowledgment section. Instead, it should be placed in the first paragraph of the first footnote.

References

In IEEE papers, assigning a unique number to each reference is necessary. Each reference should have its own separate entry, and using the same reference number for a group of citations within the paper is not permissible. 

• Text citation of figures and tables 

According to the IEEE citation format, figures and tables should be cited numerically. When citing a figure within the paper, it should be labeled as “Fig.” followed by the relevant figure number. Authors should use this abbreviation, even if it needs to be placed at the beginning of a sentence.

• Biographies 

IEEE Transactions require the inclusion of author biographies, which should be presented in three paragraphs. The first paragraph should begin with the author’s full name and the history of IEEE membership. It may also include the author’s date or place of birth if provided. The paragraph should then provide details about the author’s educational background, specifying the major area of study in lowercase letters. It is important to include the word “degree” after each specific degree title and indicate the years in which the degrees were obtained.

If applicable, the second paragraph should focus on the author’s work experience and military background. All job titles should be capitalized. When mentioning the author’s current job, it is necessary to specify its location, but this is not required for past experiences. Following the details of the author’s work experience, affiliations with non-IEEE journals and their current and previous fields of interest should be mentioned.

The third paragraph should begin with the title and surname of the author. It should provide information about the author’s memberships in professional societies, excluding IEEE, and mention their status as a Professional Engineer, if applicable. The paragraph should conclude with a list of the author’s awards, publications, and any work they have done for IEEE committees. In situations where the author’s biography is unavailable, a squib should be used to indicate this.

Other text 

Footnotes 

In the IEEE format, a footnote is additional information or commentary that is placed at the bottom of the page. These footnotes should be numbered and listed consecutively within the paper. The in-text references and the footnotes should be indicated with superscript numbers. When citing within the body of the paper, the superscript number should follow any punctuation marks like parentheses, commas, and periods. However, if the sentence is compound, the numbers should be placed before punctuation marks like semicolons, dashes, colons, and quotation marks. The actual footnotes should be placed at the bottom of the page where the referenced information appears.

List in text 

In IEEE style papers, lists should be labeled in the following order of formatting: 1), 2), 3) first, followed by a), b), c), and then i), ii), iii).