Designing a document in MLA style requires you to adhere to a specific set of formatting guidelines. Following these rules is important because it allows readers to locate essential information, such as your name and class, in an established order. Maintaining design consistency throughout the document helps to strengthen your credibility as a writer in this field. For every MLA document:
- Use one-inch margins
- Double space the entire document
- Use 12-point Times New Roman font
- Leave one space after periods or other punctuation marks
- Italicize the names of long works (books, journals, films, etc.)
- Offset the names of shorter works in quotation marks (poems, songs, articles, etc.)
To format the first page of your document:
- Right-align the page number and your last name in the heading. To do this in Word, click Insert and select Page Number from Header and Footer. When the drop-down box appears, click Top of Page. Next, select the third option labeled Plain Number 3, which will insert the page number in the upper right corner. This creates a heading where you can type your last name before the page number. If you are using Google Docs, click Insert and select Page Numbers. A box with a series of icons will appear. Choose the first one showing the page number in the right corner. This creates a header where you can type your last name before the page number. Following this process ensures that your last name comes before each successive page number (be sure to leave a space between last name and page number).
- After creating the header, click down to the body of the first page. Left-align your name on the first line. Click Enter and write your instructor’s name on the second line. Proceed to enter the class name on the third line and follow with the date the assignment is due on the fourth line. Dates in MLA are formatted in this order: day, month, year (15 October 2024) with no commas in between.
- Next, include a title in the center of the page. To center the title in Word, highlight the text and click the Center icon under Paragraph (found in the Home tab). In Google Docs, you will highlight the text and click the Center Align icon in the top tool bar. Capitalize all words in the title except prepositions and articles. The only exception to this rule is that the first word of the title is always capitalized regardless of the word type. The title is written in normal font with no bold or underline needed.
- Once you format the title, you can begin writing paragraphs. Indent the first line of each paragraph one half-inch from the left margin (press the tab key). No extra spacing is needed between paragraphs, between the heading and the title, between the title and the first line of text, or between your Works Cited entries.
Source consulted: The Upswing Writing Lab
Guide created by: C. Jones 6/3/2020
Revised by: E. Raley 4/21/2021
