The most common format is (i believe) called DDM (degrees, decimal minutes), and will typically read as follows (for example) 29Âş 08.400 N by 094Âş39.607 W. That is actually the location of a near shore rig out of Galveston. This is the format for coordinates that both of my GPS units use. You can choose which format you want to use with some units, and you can set the format you want to use on Google Earth as well. PM me if you need any more help, anything real specific.
Edit: Many times, maps may use Lat/Lon coordinates. These will need converted to the format that your GPS will accept. Easy to do by googling "convert from "XYZ" format to "QRS" format".