Formatting Instructions

The following steps describes how-to format the main part of the essay in Microsoft Word, before the works cited page. Many of the same procedures apply to the works cited page, as you will see. The video to the right provides a visual representation for how to format your essay as well.

Setting-Up the Page

Set the font to 12-point Times New Roman.

1. From the "Home" tab, select "Times New Roman" in the "Font" group.

2. From the "Home" tab, select "12" for the "font size" in the "Font" group.

Set the page margins to one inch all around.

1. Select the "Layout" tab.

2. Click "Margins" in the "Page Setup" group.

3. Choose "Normal," which uses 1” margins all around (top, bottom, left, and right).

Set the line spacing to double. All text is double spaced (no more or less), including quotations from other sources and the Works Cited list.

1. On the "Home" tab, in the "Paragraph" group, click "Line & Paragraph Spacing."

2. Click "2.0."

Add the Header

To insert page numbers and your last name into the header, complete the following:

1. On the "Insert" tab, in the "Header & Footer" group, click "Header."

2. Click "Edit Header."

3. Return to the "Home" tab and click the "Align Text Right" symbol in the "Paragraph" group to right-align the header.

4. Type your last name.

5. Hit the space bar once to add a single blank space after your last name.

6. Return to the "Insert" tab. In the "Header & Footer" group, click "Page Number," then "Current Position," and finally "Plain Number." It will automatically place the current page number on every page of your paper.

7. Select both the page number and your last name. Go to the "Home" tab to make sure that they are set to Times New Roman font and are a 12-point font size.

8. You can look at the top right-hand section of your page to see the header. It appears faint to remind you that it is automatic. When you print your paper or upload it to a Canvas assignment, it will not appear faded.

Add the Heading

To create the paper’s heading (name, instructor, course title, and date), complete the following:

1. Click to position the insertion point in the top left corner of the document, making sure the “Align Left” button in the "Paragraph" group on the "Home" tab is selected

2. Type your full name and press the enter key

3. the instructor’s name and press the enter key

4. the course name and number (e.g. ENGL 1A, HDEV 110, ESL 53C, HIST 106, etc.) and press the enter key

5. The paper’s due date and press the enter key. The date should be written using the international date format (DD MM YYYY) with no commas (e.g. 22 July 2020).

Add a Title Block

MLA style does not call for a separate title page. Instead, you should begin your paper with a "title block," described below:

1. Don't type spaces to center the title. Instead, click the Center icon located under the Home tab in the Paragraph group.

2. Type in your title, making sure the first word, as well as all proper nouns and major words, are capitalized.

Indenting Paragraphs

The 1st line of each paragraph needs to be indented 0.5". Instead of hitting the space bar a bunch of times to accomplish this, complete the following to make this easier for you:

1. Press enter, and click the “Align Left” button in the "Paragraph" group on the "Home" tab.

2. In the "View" tab, make sue that "Ruler" in the "Select" group has a check mark next to it. A ruler should be present at the top of your page.

3. Move the top triangle in the ruler to the 0.5" mark. Make sure that only the top triangle is moved, not the bottom triangle or the rectangle under it.

4. Start typing your paragraphs. You will now notice the first line of each paragraph will automatically indent 0.5 inches.

Indenting Long, Block Quotes

This section explains how to format long quotations in your paper. A quotation is considered "long" if it takes up four or more lines on your paper.

Note: using long quotations to pad your paper is a fairly obvious ploy. Rather than quote a whole paragraph from an outside source, just quote a single sentence, or even just a few words; use the space you save to write more of your own original thoughts.

If you do use a long quote, indent the whole quote 1" from the left of the text (2" from the left of the page):

1. Press the "Enter" key on your keyboard to start a new paragraph.

2. Type the quoted material (without adding any quotation marks).

3. Highlight the quotation by clicking and dragging your mouse over the whole quote.

4. Indent the text by simply pressing the "Tab" key on your keyboard twice.

This section describes how to format the works cited page in Microsoft Word in MLA style. Specific instructions for formatting works cited citations will be explained in a later lesson. Here is a step by step list for creating a works cited page with a video to the right that provides a visual representation of the steps.

Creating a Blank Page

Create a blank page after the conclusion of your essay.

Note: If you put your works cited list in a separate document, you may forget it when you submit your paper. Keeping it in the same document as the essay also helps to continue the header, including the page number.

Instead of hitting "return" multiple times to get blank lines, force a "page break" This is helpful if you add or subtract from the body of your text, you won't have to re-align the works cited page onto the start of its own page since the computer will take care of that for you.

Here are the steps for creating a blank page at the end of your paper:

1. Move the cursor to the very end of your document.

2. Click the "Insert" tab, then "Page Break" under the "Pages" group.

Insert the Title

1. Create the title of your works cited page by clicking the "Center" icon on the "Home" tab under the "Paragraph" group.

   • Type "Works Cited" (or "Work Cited" if you’ve used only one source).

2. Press the "Enter" key on your keyboard.

3. Click the "Left Align" icon on the "Home" tab under the "Paragraph" group.

Format Citations

Every citation that is longer than one line needs to have a "hanging indent," where the first line is flush to the left margin of the page and each line under it is indented 0.5-inches; the indents almost looks like a reverse paragraph. Create "hanging indents" for each of your citation entries by following these steps:

1. In the "Home" tab, open the "Paragraph Dialog Box" by clicking the icon that looks like a small square with an arrow.

2. In the "Indents and Spacing" section, there is a "Special" window. At that window, click the "down arrow" icon to open up a set of options. Click "Hanging" and then click "OK."

3. Type your citation entries and press "Enter" after each entry. You will notice that a hanging indent will be created for you.

The following steps describes how-to format the main part of the essay, before the works cited page. Many of the same procedures apply to the works cited page, as you will see. The video to the right provides a visual representation for how to format your essay as well.

Setting-Up the Page

Set the font to 12-point Times New Roman.

1. Click the “font” drop-down menu on the ribbon at the top of the page to view available fonts. Scroll down to select “Times New Roman.”

2. Click the “font size” drop-down menu on the top ribbon to view available font sizes, and select size “12.”

Set the page margins to one inch all around.

1. Select the “File” drop-down menu,

2. Click on “Page setup.”

3. If the margins are not already 1 inch, change the margins to 1 inch by typing “1” into the “Top,” “Bottom,” “Left,” and “Right” boxes

4. Click “OK”

Set the line spacing to double. All text is double spaced (no more or less), including quotations from other sources and the Works Cited list.

1. Click the “line spacing” drop-down menu on the top ribbon to view available spacing options

2. Select “Double.”

Add the Header

To insert page numbers and your last name into the header, complete the following:

1. Click the “Insert” drop-down menu and click “Page number.”

2. Select the first option from the fold-out menu that appears, where the page number appears in the upper-left corner on all pages.

3. Inside the header, make sure that the insertion point is on the left side of the number, and press the enter key on your keyboard, so the page number is in the correct position.

4. Type your last name where the insertion point is blinking, and then press the space bar.

5. If the page number and name are not in “Times New Roman,” size “12,” highlight the text (last name and page number) and follow steps 1 and 2 of the "Set the font to 12-point Times New Roman" section above.

6. Click elsewhere in the document to exit the header.

Add the Heading

To create the paper’s heading (name, instructor, course title, and date), complete the following:

1. Click to position the insertion point in the top left corner of the document, making sure the “Left Align” button is selected

2. Type your full name and press the enter key

3. the instructor’s name and press the enter key

4. the course name and number (e.g. ENGL 1A, HDEV 110, ESL 53C, HIST 106, etc.) and press the enter key

5. The paper’s due date and press the enter key. The date should be written using the international date format (DD MM YYYY) with no commas (e.g. 22 July 2020).

Add a Title Block

MLA style does not call for a separate title page. Instead, you should begin your paper with a "title block," described below:

1. Don't type spaces to center the title. Instead, click the “Center” button, and type the title of the paper.

2. Type in your title, making sure the first word, as well as all proper nouns and major words, are capitalized.

Indenting Paragraphs

The 1st line of each paragraph needs to be indented 0.5". Instead of hitting the space bar a bunch of times to accomplish this, complete the following to make this easier for you:

1. Press enter, and click “left align.”

2. Before setting the first-line indent for the rest of the paper, click the “View” drop-down menu.

3. Make sure “Show ruler” is checked. This will cause a ruler to appear above the page.

4. To set the first-line indent for the paper, use the blue, upside-down triangle on the ruler, which is under the top ribbon.

5. Click and drag the skinny, blue rectangle over the triangle to the "0.5" mark to create the indents, keeping the triangle where it originally was, at the "0.0" mark to the left, on the faint, gray line.

6. Start typing your paragraphs. You will now notice the first line of each paragraph will automatically indent 0.5 inches.

Indenting Long, Block Quotes

This section explains how to format long quotations in your paper. A quotation is considered "long" if it takes up four or more lines on your paper.

Note: using long quotations to pad your paper is a fairly obvious ploy. Rather than quote a whole paragraph from an outside source, just quote a single sentence, or even just a few words; use the space you save to write more of your own original thoughts.

If you do use a long quote, indent the whole quote 1" from the left of the text (2" from the left of the page):

1. Press the "Enter" key on your keyboard to start a new paragraph.

2. Type the quoted material (without adding any quotation marks).

3. Highlight the quotation by clicking and dragging your mouse over the whole quote.

4. Indent the text by simply dragging both the blue triangle and the rectangle above it to the "1" mark in the ruler at the top of the page.

This section describes how to format the works cited page in MLA style. Specific instructions for formatting works cited citations will be explained in a later lesson. Here is a step by step list for creating a works cited page with a video to the right that provides a visual representation of the steps.

Creating a Blank Page

Create a blank page after the conclusion of your essay.

Note: If you put your works cited list in a separate document, you may forget it when you submit your paper. Keeping it in the same document as the essay also helps to continue the header, including the page number.

Instead of hitting "return" multiple times to get blank lines, force a "page break" This is helpful if you add or subtract from the body of your text, you won't have to re-align the works cited page onto the start of its own page since the computer will take care of that for you.

Here are the steps for creating a blank page at the end of your paper:

1. Click the “Insert” drop-down menu

2. Select “Page Break” to create a new page

Insert the Title

1. Create the title of your works cited page by clicking the "Center Align" icon on the "Home" tab under the "Paragraph" group.

   • Type "Works Cited" (or "Work Cited" if you’ve used only one source).

2. Press the "Enter" key on your keyboard.

3. Click the "Left Align" icon

Format Citations

Every citation that is longer than one line needs to have a "hanging indent," where the first line is flush to the left margin of the page and each line under it is indented 0.5-inches; the indents almost looks like a reverse paragraph. Create "hanging indents" for each of your citation entries by following these steps:

1. Click on the blue triangle located on the ruler above the page

2. Slide the triangle over to the "0.5" mark.

3. Click on the small, blue rectangle over the triangle.

4. Slide only the rectangle back to the faint gray line at the "0.0" mark.

5. Type your citation entries and press "Enter" after each entry. You will notice that a hanging indent will be created for you.