How to properly format Word for MLA format and keep it that way!

Transcription

1 How to properly format Word for MLA format and keep it that way! If you have a MacBook but not Microsoft Word this tutorial won t help you but don t worry, you can go to the Hub and have the Office suite (including Word) installed for free. (Well not free because you paid for it with your technology fees so take advantage :) The first thing we re going to do is set your default font. Word probably has you set to use Calibri as your default but MLA dictates that you select a legible font like Times New Roman, ( so that s what we re going to use. On the menu bar, select format and then font.

2 Select Times New Roman, Regular style, and size 12. This is the standard. Click Default in the bottom left corner.

3 This message will pop up: Tell it yes. Setting Times New Roman as your default will mean all new documents you create will have it as your font without you changing anything.

4 Next we re going to double check your page margins. Mine weren t set right when I looked so I now have a new default! Go to format again and this time select document.

5 Make sure ALL of your margins are set to 1! I only had to change my left and right margins. You don t have to worry about anything else. Select Default in the lower left corner.

6 Say yes again.

7 Now for a little more about MLA styling. This is what the first page of your paper should look like. In the left hand corner you should have your name, the class abbreviation, your professor s name, and the due date. While MLA format typically dictates double spacing, Dr. Bonner prefers this area single-spaced. Centered under that but with NO extra space above or below should be the title of your paper, properly capitalized. You ll notice that it s written in a plain font: no underlining, italicizing, or quotation marks, and it s the same size as the rest of your paper. Starting from the title down, be sure everything is double-spaced (as shown by the blue 2.0)

8 Your paragraphs should all have a half an inch indent for the first line. The easiest way to do this is to move the blue slider (the hourglass shaped object on the ruler) to the half-inch mark as shown.

9 All subsequent pages should have your surname and a page number. You ll add this in what s called the header of the page this way it doesn t move around when you re editing your text and you don t have to manually add it to each page.

10 If you hover your cursor over the top half-inch of the page, it changes to what looks like a little piece of paper with a blue bar across the top. Double click and Word will open the header for you to edit. Type your last name and make sure it s aligned to the right! Click on the purple tab that says Header and Footer. Click the large button that says Page # and Word will add your page number to the header. This updates for each page so it ll always be the right number. You ll also want to make sure Different First Page is checked. You don t have to do anything else here you re done with the header.

11 Your very last page should be your Works Cited page. This page is formatted a little differently than the rest of your paper. It begins with a title that just says Works Cited and one space down you begin posting your citations. The Writers Studio ( should be able to help you with the formatting if you re not sure how to do it, but the basic format is what s called a hanging indent instead of the first line being pushed in half and inch, the first line is normal and all of the other lines have a half inch indent. If you check the blue slider in the photo (along the ruler at the top of the document) you ll see how I did it. Just slide the blue hourglass to where it should be and you re done! Make sure to me if you have any questions about the formatting. My is kknight9@student.clayton.edu. I m also available for Skype meetings in the evenings and on weekends just me and we can set up a time!