How to Write Publications in a Resume: 6 Full Examples

By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published 2026-10-07 · Updated 2026-10-07

7 min read

To write publications in a resume, list each one as a full citation in the style your field uses, newest first, with your name in bold, and put them in a section called Publications once you have two or more. One publication can sit under the job or the research experience it came from. Work that is not out yet still counts, as long as the status is stated plainly: in press, accepted, submitted or in preparation. The rules below come from the career and research offices at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Missouri, MIT and the University of Sydney. Six complete examples follow, from a first poster to a selected publications section for an industry move. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.

You spent eleven months on one paper, three rounds of reviewer comments and a figure you redrew nine times. It deserves better than a line at the bottom of page two that says "published research".

Where publications go on a resume

The University of Missouri undergraduate research office gives the simplest rule: "If your publication and presentation experience is limited, it is recommended that you include it with your relevant experience." Once there are more, give them their own heading. The University of Pittsburgh recommends the same split, a separate Publications or Presentations section for "Extensive or notable work".

Where the section sits depends on the job. For research, lab and academic roles, put it right after Research Experience. For an industry role where the publication is supporting evidence, put it near the end, after Skills.

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How to format each publication

Use the citation style your field uses, and use it the same way for every entry. Pitt's guidance for published work is a "Full Citation (if published)" in a discipline-specific format, and it names APA and MLA as the common choices. Psychology, education and nursing mostly use APA. English and the humanities use MLA. Medicine often uses AMA, and engineering often uses IEEE. If a posting is in a field you are not sure of, look at one paper from the team you are applying to and copy its style.

Three details make the list readable:

• Bold your own name. The University of Sydney researcher hub advises you to "bold your name in the references so it stands out."
• List all authors in the order they appear on the paper. Do not trim the list to make your position look better.
• Newest first. The MIT career office puts it in one line: "List publications in reverse chronological order."

How to list in press, submitted and in preparation work

A paper that is not published yet can go on your resume if you label its status honestly. Sydney's guidance is to "make this status very clear (e.g. under review, accepted for publication, in press)". Use these labels and nothing vaguer:

• In press or Accepted: the journal has accepted it. Give the journal name and, if you know it, the expected year.
• Submitted or Under review: it is with a journal. Give the journal and the month you submitted.
• In preparation: you are writing it. Use this sparingly, and only for papers with a draft, because an interviewer may ask what it found.

Update the list before every application. A paper still marked submitted eighteen months later makes a reader wonder what happened to it.

Publications on an industry resume

An industry resume is not an academic CV. A hiring manager in a company wants evidence that you can do the job, so pick the publications that prove a skill the posting asks for and call the section Selected Publications. If you have many, a one line summary works well above the list. For the difference between the two documents, see our guide to the CV versus the resume.

Writing, journalism and digital publications

For writers, editors and content marketers, publications are clips rather than citations. List the outlet, the headline, the month and a link, and choose the pieces closest to the job. Group them by outlet if you have several in one place.

What not to put in a publications section

• Unrelated blog posts and social media. Unless the job is writing, they dilute the list.
• Vague entries. "Several publications in leading journals" with no citations reads like a claim, not a record.
• Papers you did not author. If you ran the experiments but are only acknowledged, describe that work under Research Experience instead.
• Changed author order. Copy it exactly from the paper. A reviewer can check it in a minute.

For the rest of the page, our guide on how to make a resume covers order and length, and the resume skills section guide shows how to list the lab methods and software your papers used. If you are applying for a research post, the research assistant resume and undergraduate research assistant resume pages show where publications sit on a full page, and the best resume format guide covers the layout that keeps a long list readable.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you list publications on a resume?

List each publication as a full citation in your field's style, such as APA or MLA, newest first, with your name in bold and all authors in their original order. Use a Publications heading once you have two or more. A single publication can sit under the research experience it came from.

Where do publications go on a resume?

For research and academic roles, put Publications directly after Research Experience. For industry roles, put a Selected Publications section near the end, after Skills. If you have only one or two, list them under the job or project they came from rather than giving them a heading of their own.

Can I put submitted or in preparation papers on my resume?

Yes, if you label the status honestly. Use in press or accepted for papers a journal has taken, submitted or under review for papers with a journal, and in preparation only for drafts you could discuss. Give the journal name and the month for anything submitted.

Should I use APA or MLA for publications on a resume?

Use the style your field uses. APA is standard in psychology, education, nursing and most social sciences. MLA is standard in English and the humanities. Medicine often uses AMA and engineering often uses IEEE. Whatever you choose, use one style for every entry on the page.

How many publications should I list on a resume?

For an industry resume, list the three to five most relevant and add a summary line with the total. For a research or academic application that asks for a resume, list all peer reviewed work. A full academic CV lists everything, grouped by type, such as articles, chapters and presentations.

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