How to List Publications on a Resume or CV (With Template)

Updated March 10, 2023

When applying for a job in a scientific or an academic field, it's important to show examples of your knowledge and accomplishments. One way to do so is by listing your publications on your resume or curriculum vitae (CV). This list will enable a potential employer to easily find a record of your published research.

In this article, we describe how to clearly list publications on a resume or CV.

What is a curriculum vitae?

A curriculum vitae is a list of your education, experience and qualifications that you send in with a job application. It is essentially a summary of your career. People use CVs instead of resumes when applying for jobs in academic, scientific or medical fields. A CV might include your:

• Education
• Teaching experience
• Awards and achievements
• Research
• Publications
• Conference presentations
• Professional affiliations

A curriculum vitae is usually longer than a resume. It might be two to three pages instead of one. If you are applying for a nonscientific job that does not require you to have published work, but you have publications that set you apart from other candidates, you can list those on a resume instead of a CV.

Why is it important to list publications on a CV?

It's important to list publications on your CV to prove that you have experience and knowledge in a particular area. They also show that you have good writing and analytical skills. Showing your knowledge and skills through your publications is important when you're applying for a scientific or an academic job, such as a:

• Researcher
• Research assistant
• Professor
• Assistant professor
• Scientist
• Laboratory director
• Dean

Your CV is the best place to list your publications because it allows a potential employer to have all your experiences and accomplishments in one place.

What publications to include

Include on your curriculum vitae any authoritative work you have had published or is about to be published. Publications are typically peer-reviewed, meaning experts on the topic have assessed the article before it is published to make sure it is accurate and of good quality. This can include:

• Academic books
• Research papers published in journals
• Research papers waiting to be published
• Scholarly articles
• Conference papers

Avoid listing blogs, websites or articles published in magazines or nonscientific publications. If your thesis was not published in a journal, list it in the “Education” section of your CV rather than under publications.

Publications to list on a resume might include:

• Trade conference presentations
• Books or book chapters
• Articles in trade association magazines
• Publications in industry journals

How to list publications on your CV or resume

When listing publications on a curriculum vitae, the most important details to include are the work’s title and where it was published. These details allow a potential employer to understand the topic quickly and find the publication if needed. Here are some accepted ways to format your list of publications on a CV:

Format your list. If you only have a few publications, you can list them as bullet points under a “Research and Publications” heading within your CV. However, most CVs include an extra page for publications.
Choose a citation style and use it consistently. You can use MLA or APA style for listing publications. However, humanities fields such as philosophy, history and language often follow MLA style, while science and engineering fields typically follow APA style.
Use reverse chronological order. Start with your most recent publication, and list the rest in descending order until you get to the first work you had published.
Leave outdated publications off the list. It is acceptable to omit publications that are no longer useful or relevant to your job or field.
Include pending work. Put publications that are still being reviewed for acceptance into a journal in italics and leave out the name of the journal you have submitted them to.
Draw attention to your byline. If your publication has co-authors, include their names, but place yours in bold.

If you want to list publications on a resume, you can take a simpler approach:

Create a dedicated section. Add a component to your resume page titled “Publications.”
Use reverse chronological order. List each publication as its own bullet point, starting with the most recently published. Choose only the most recent and relevant publications to avoid taking up valuable space on your resume.
Style your list. Rather than follow MLA or APA style, you can simply list each work’s title, publication name and date. For example: “Analyzing Gothic Architecture in German Cathedrals,” International Architecture Society, June 2018.

Publication list template

Follow these templates for listing publications on a CV based on style and publication type:

APA style journal publication
[Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year of publication). Article title. Journal title, Volume (Issue), Page range.]
MLA style journal publication
[Author’s name. “Article Title.” Journal Title, Volume, Issue, Date, Pages.]
If you have co-authors, separate each name by a comma, and add “and” before the last author name.
APA style book
[Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year of publication). Book title: Subtitle. Location: Publisher.]
Note that with APA style, publication titles should follow sentence case (only capitalize the first word), rather than title case.
MLA style book
[Author’s name. _Title of Book: Subtitle. _Publisher, Year.]

Publication list examples

Here is how to list your publications based on the type of work and style you choose.

APA style journal publication
Koy, J. C., Parker, B. V., & Lopez, D. A. (2015). A comparison of German and oriental cockroach habitats. Journal of Insect Science, 20(1), 8-12.
MLA style journal publication
Harlow, Alexander. “The Origin of Life on Mars.” International Journal of Astrobiology, vol. 30, no. 2, 2012, pp. 100-106.
APA style book
Garcia, L. O. (2017). Cognition operation: A psychological review. New York City: American Association of University Presses.
MLA style book
Terry, Jon. Equine Metabolic Disorders: Differentiating between PPID and EMS. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

As you publish more articles, books or conference presentations, add them to your CV’s publications list. If you need more help laying out your publications list, look for examples on your coworkers’ resumes or look up CVs posted on university department faculty pages. Regardless of the style you follow, keep your list neat, well-organized and easy for employers to find.