MLA format requires 1-inch margins on all sides, a readable 12-point font like Times New Roman, double spacing throughout the entire document, and a specific layout for your identification block, title, and Works Cited page. Once you set up these basics in your word processor, the format is straightforward to maintain for any paper.
Page Layout Settings
Before you start typing, adjust three settings in your word processor. First, set all four margins to 1 inch. Most programs default to this, but check under Page Setup or Layout to confirm. Second, choose a clean, readable 12-point font. Times New Roman is the most common choice, though MLA also accepts other legible fonts like Calibri or Arial as long as regular text and italicized text are visually distinct from each other. Third, set your line spacing to double with no extra space before or after paragraphs.
In Google Docs, you can set double spacing by clicking the Line Spacing button in the toolbar and choosing “Double.” In Microsoft Word, go to the Home tab, click the Line Spacing dropdown, and select 2.0. While you’re there, make sure “Add space after paragraph” is unchecked so you don’t get extra gaps between paragraphs.
The First Page Identification Block
MLA papers do not use a separate title page unless your instructor specifically asks for one. Instead, in the upper left corner of the first page, type four lines of information, each on its own double-spaced line:
- Your full name
- Your instructor’s name
- The course name and number
- The date (typically in day-month-year format, like 15 January 2025)
After the date, press Enter once (which gives you a double-spaced blank line) and type your paper’s title, centered. Do not bold, underline, or increase the font size of your title. Capitalize it using standard title case. If your title references another work, italicize or put that work’s name in quotation marks as you normally would.
Running Header With Page Numbers
Every page of your paper needs a running header in the upper right corner that shows your last name followed by the page number. For example, “Smith 1” on the first page, “Smith 2” on the second, and so on. This header should appear inside the top margin, half an inch from the top of the page, and use the same 12-point font as the rest of your document.
To set this up in most word processors, open the Header area (Insert > Header in Word, or Insert > Headers and Footers in Google Docs), align the text to the right, type your last name followed by a space, then insert an automatic page number. The auto-numbering ensures the count updates if you add or remove pages later.
Body Text Formatting
Indent the first line of every paragraph by half an inch. You can do this by pressing the Tab key, but a more reliable method is to set a first-line indent in your paragraph settings so it applies automatically. Do not add extra blank lines between paragraphs. The double spacing you already set handles the visual separation.
Left-align all body text. Do not use justified alignment, which stretches words to fill each line and can create awkward spacing. Your right margin should be naturally ragged.
When you include a quotation longer than four lines of prose (or more than three lines of poetry), format it as a block quote. Start the quote on a new line, indent the entire block half an inch from the left margin, and continue double spacing. Do not add quotation marks around a block quote, since the indentation itself signals that it is quoted material.
In-Text Citations
Whenever you reference, paraphrase, or quote a source, place a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence, before the period. The standard format is the author’s last name and the page number with no comma between them: (García 45). If you mention the author’s name in the sentence itself, you only need the page number in parentheses: García argues that the data is inconclusive (45).
For sources without page numbers, such as websites or videos, use the author’s last name alone. For sources with no named author, use a shortened version of the title in the parentheses.
Works Cited Page Setup
Your Works Cited page starts on a new page after the body of your paper. Center the words “Works Cited” at the top of the page in the same 12-point font you have been using. Do not bold, italicize, or put quotation marks around it. The running header with your last name and page number continues on this page as well.
List all sources alphabetically by the first element in each entry, which is usually the author’s last name. Double-space every entry, with no extra space between entries. The key formatting detail here is the hanging indent: the first line of each citation starts at the left margin, and every subsequent line of that same citation is indented half an inch.
To create a hanging indent in Google Docs, select your citations, click the Format tab, then choose Align and Indent followed by Indentation Options. Under “Special indent,” select “Hanging” and set it to 0.5 inches. In Microsoft Word, right-click the selected text, choose Paragraph, and under “Special” select “Hanging” with a value of 0.5 inches.
Quick Setup Checklist
- Font: 12-point Times New Roman or another legible font
- Margins: 1 inch on all sides
- Spacing: Double throughout, no extra space between paragraphs
- Header: Last name and page number, right-aligned, on every page
- Identification block: Name, instructor, course, date in the upper left of page one
- Title: Centered, standard capitalization, no bold or size change
- Paragraphs: First line indented 0.5 inches, left-aligned
- Works Cited: Separate page, centered title, alphabetical entries, hanging indent of 0.5 inches
Set up your margins, spacing, and header before you start writing, and the rest of the formatting falls into place as you type. The few details that need attention later, like block quotes and the hanging indent on your Works Cited page, take only a minute to adjust once your draft is finished.