Format an MLA Research Paper in Word 2007

Set Top, Bottom, Right, and Left Margins to 1"

  1. Click the Page Layout tab of the Ribbon
  2. Click the Margins button and choose Normal (1" right, left, top and bottom margins)

Figure 1 Margins

Set line spacing to double

  1. Click the Home tab on the ribbon
  2. Click the down arrow on the line spacing button.
  3. Choose 2.0
  4. Make sure the bottom of the box says "Add Space Before Paragraph" and "Add Space After Paragraph." If either of them say "Remove" instead, then click to change it to Add (removes the extra spacing).

You can press Ctrl+2 from the alphanumeric keyboard instead of using the steps above.


Figure 2 Set line spacing to double.
 

Create a Header with your last name and an automatic page number.

  1. Click the Header button on the Insert tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click Blank Header in the list of header styles that appears.
  3. Click the Right Align button on the Home tab of the ribbon (or press Ctrl+R)
  4. Make sure the font is set to a simple one like Calibri (default), Times New Roman or Arial. The size should be 12 (on the Home tab). 
  5. Type your last name and a single blank space.
  6. Click the Design tab under Header & Footer tools.
  7. Click the Page Number button and then choose Current Position.
  8. Then choose Plain Number in the sample page numbers that appear.
  9. Click Close Header and Footer or double-click in the main document.


Figure 3 Insert a Header

Figure 4 Insert the page number
 

Enter document information.

  1. Type your name and then press the Enter key once.
  2. Type your professor's name, and then Enter.
  3. Type the course identification, and then Enter.
  4. Type the date.  Or click Date & Time in the Insert Tab. The date format should be month day, year for example November 5, 2007.
  5. Click the Center Align button on the Home tab (or press Ctrl+E)
  6. Type the title of your paper, capitalizing the first word and all major words and proper nouns.  Do not use italics, boldfaced type, underlining, or all caps to format your title.  Do not type a period at the end of the title.  Press the Enter key once.
  7. Click the Align Text Left button on the Home Tab (or press Ctrl+L)
  8. Click the Paragraph arrow on the Home tab to open the Paragraph dialog box.
  9. Click the drop-down arrow next to the Special box and choose first line. Click OK to close the box. You could also just press the Tab key in front of every paragraph instead of doing steps 8 and 9.
  10. Type the text of your paper.
Note: Do not hit the return or enter key at the end of a line; allow the word processor to automatically wrap the text to the next line.  Depress the enter key only once at the end of each paragraph, and use the tab key to begin a new paragraph.


Figure 5 Setting the First Line Indent.
  

Format the Works Cited page.

  1. Immediately after typing the final line of your paper, press the CTRL key and the ENTER key at the same time.  This inserts a hard page break and will take you to the first line at the top of the next page.  Your header and page number should already appear.
  2. Click the Paragraph arrow on the Home tab to open the Paragraph dialog box.
  3. Select Centered under Alignment.
  4. Change the Special box to say none and then click OK.
  5. Type Works Cited (do not underline, boldface, italicize, or enclose in quotes).
  6. Press the Enter key once.
  7. Click on the Align Text Left button or press Ctrl+L
  8. Click the Paragraph arrow on the Home tab to open the Paragraph dialog box.
  9. Change the Special box to say Hanging.
  10. Type your first works cited entry. For a guide to the information to include in the reference, see "Citing Electronic Resources Using MLA Format" at http://www.indiana.edu/~libugls/Publications/electronic_mla.html or "MLA STYLE: Paper and Online" at http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/mlastyle.htm
  11. At the end of each entry, press the Enter key only once.  Let the entries word wrap even if the spacing looks funny. Press Enter only at the very end of the entry. Do not introduce extra spaces between entries!
  12. To put your references in alphabetical order, drag to select the entries. Click the Sort button in the Paragraph section of the Home tab. Click OK to accept the defaults. The entries should be rearranged.

 
Figure 6 Setting a hanging indent.
 

 

Figure 7 A properly-formatted Works Cited page in MLA format.
 

Proof your manuscript.

  1. Before printing, make sure your document is as finished as possible.
  2. Click the Review tab and then click the Spelling and Grammar button.
  3. Read through the document on your screen and correct any mistakes you may find. The Spelling and Grammar checker cannot find all errors.