MLA Format Checklist – Microsoft Word By JPAugust 29, 2026September 2, 2026Uncategorized This page gives you everything you need to format your paper in correct MLA style. Choose your device and word processor below to unlock the checklist. Step 1 — Your device Windows PC Apple (Mac) Chromebook Step 2 — Your word processor Word (installed) Word in a browser Google Docs Pages Picked the wrong one? Click Start over — it clears your choices and any items you have ticked.Start over Before you start If any of these are switched off, you won’t be able to see or reach the commands used below. Work on a computer, not a phone or tablet. The steps below assume a full keyboard and the full set of menus. Turn on Print Layout. Go to View → Print Layout. Draft and Web Layout hide your margins, header, and page breaks, so you can’t tell whether they are right. Pin the ribbon open. If your toolbar shows only tab names, double-click any tab or press Ctrl + F1. A collapsed ribbon hides most of the buttons named below. Turn on the ruler. Go to View → Ruler. It shows your margins and the first-line indent marker without opening a dialog. Show formatting marks. Click ¶ on the Home tab, or press Ctrl + Shift + 8. Paragraph marks make stray blank lines and tabs visible — the errors students miss most often. Works Cited page. If your paper includes one, check its formatting here — it is not covered on this page. Work on a computer, not a phone or tablet. The steps below assume a full keyboard and the full set of menus. Turn on Print Layout. Go to View → Print Layout. Draft and Web Layout hide your margins, header, and page breaks, so you can’t tell whether they are right. Pin the ribbon open. If your toolbar shows only tab names, double-click any tab, or click the small chevron at the right end of the ribbon. A collapsed ribbon hides most of the buttons named below. Turn on the ruler. Go to View → Ruler. It shows your margins and the first-line indent marker without opening a dialog. Show formatting marks. Click ¶ on the Home tab. Paragraph marks make stray blank lines and tabs visible — the errors students miss most often. Works Cited page. If your paper includes one, check its formatting here — it is not covered on this page. Work on a computer, not a phone or tablet. The steps below assume a full keyboard and the full set of menus. There is no Print Layout to turn on. The browser version always shows the page the way it will print, so your margins and header are visible by default. Use the full ribbon. If you see a single compact toolbar, open the ribbon options at its right end and switch to the classic ribbon, or the tabs named below won’t match what you see. Turn on the ruler. Go to View → Ruler. You will need it for the first-line indent, which has no dialog in the browser version. Your file lives in OneDrive and saves itself. There is no Save button. When you are finished you will download a copy as a Word file to hand in. Works Cited page. If your paper includes one, check its formatting here — it is not covered on this page. Work on a computer, not a phone or tablet. The steps below assume a full keyboard and the full set of menus. Check you are in Pages view, not Pageless. Go to File → Page setup and choose Pages. Pageless documents have no margins, no page breaks, and no page numbers, so none of the steps below will work. There is no ribbon. Every command below lives in the menu bar across the top — File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Tools. Turn on the ruler. Go to View → Show ruler. It shows your margins and the first-line indent marker. Show formatting marks. Go to View → Show non-printing characters. Paragraph marks make stray blank lines and tabs visible — the errors students miss most often. Your file saves itself. When you are finished you will download a copy as a Word file (File → Download → Microsoft Word (.docx)) to hand in. Works Cited page. If your paper includes one, check its formatting here — it is not covered on this page. Work on a computer, not a phone or tablet. The steps below assume a full keyboard and the full set of menus. Check you started a word-processing document, not a page-layout one. Page-layout documents use floating text boxes and have no continuous body text, so the steps below will not behave as described. Open the Format sidebar. Most commands below live there rather than in a ribbon. If it is hidden, click Format in the toolbar at the top right. Turn on the rulers. Go to View → Show Rulers. They show your margins and the first-line indent marker. Show formatting marks. Go to View → Show Invisibles. Paragraph marks make stray blank lines and tabs visible — the errors students miss most often. You must export to Word to hand in. Pages files cannot be opened by your instructor: use File → Export To → Word when you are finished. Works Cited page. If your paper includes one, check its formatting here — it is not covered on this page. Using the checklist Click any numbered marker on the document for step-by-step instructions. Tick the box at the end of each set of instructions once you have done it in your own file, and that marker turns green — so the blue markers are the ones you still owe. Your progress123456789 Made a mistake on a step? Click its number above to uncheck it. To clear the whole checklist, use Start over. All nine items checked. The MLA potion is brewed — your last steps are below. 123456789 Select a numbered marker to see how to set it up. 1. Set 1-inch margins Go to Layout → Margins → Normal All four margins — top, bottom, left, and right — should read 1″. Go to File → Page setup Set Top, Bottom, Left, and Right all to 1, then click OK. Open the Format sidebar and click Document at the top. Under Document Margins, set Top, Bottom, Left, and Right to 1 in. Check the box once you’ve done this in your own document. 2. Add your page header Go to Insert → Page Number → Top of Page → Plain Number 3 Type your last name and a space before the page number. Select your last name and the page number, then set the font to Times New Roman, 12 pt. Click anywhere in the body of the page to close the header and carry on typing. The number should increase on every page. Go to Insert → Page Number → Page Number… Mac Word opens a dialog here rather than the Plain Number gallery. Set Position to Top of page (Header) and Alignment to Right. Leave Show number on first page ticked — MLA numbers every page, including the first. Then click OK. Type your last name and a space before the page number. Select your last name and the page number, then set the font to Times New Roman, 12 pt. Click anywhere in the body of the page to close the header and carry on typing. The number should increase on every page. Go to Insert → Page Numbers and choose the top-right position. There is no named Plain Number 3 option in the browser version. Double-click the header area to open it, then type your last name and a space before the page number. Select your last name and the page number, then set the font to Times New Roman, 12 pt. Click anywhere in the body of the page to close the header and carry on typing. The number should increase on every page. Go to Insert → Page numbers and choose the option with the number at the top right of every page. Your cursor lands in the header. Click just in front of the number, then type your last name and a space. Select your last name and the page number, then set the font to Times New Roman, 12. Click anywhere in the body of the page to leave the header. The number should increase on every page. Move your pointer to the top of the page until the three header fields appear, then click the right-hand field. Type your last name and a space. Go to Insert → Page Number to add the number after your name. Select your last name and the page number, then set the font to Times New Roman, 12 pt in the Format sidebar. Click anywhere in the body of the page to leave the header. The number should increase on every page. Check the box once you’ve done this in your own document. 3. Create your identification block Top-left of the first page only. Do not indent these lines. Type it in the body of the page, not inside the header area. If your name appears greyed out or repeats on page 2, you are still in the header — click into the body and start again. Your full name Instructor’s name Course name and section Date in day–month–year format (e.g., 24 January 2025) Check the box once you’ve done this in your own document. 4. Add your title Type it on the line immediately after your identification block. Center it: Home → Paragraph → Center Align or Ctrl + E No bold, italics, underline, or font-size changes. No extra line space before or after. Type it on the line immediately after your identification block. Center it: Home → Paragraph → Center Align or ⌘ + E No bold, italics, underline, or font-size changes. No extra line space before or after. Type it on the line immediately after your identification block. Center it: Home → Center or Ctrl + E No bold, italics, underline, or font-size changes. No extra line space before or after. Type it on the line immediately after your identification block. Center it: Home → Center or ⌘ + E No bold, italics, underline, or font-size changes. No extra line space before or after. Type it on the line immediately after your identification block. Center it: Format → Align & indent → Center or Ctrl + Shift + E No bold, italics, underline, or font-size changes. No extra line space before or after. Type it on the line immediately after your identification block. Center it: Format → Align & indent → Center or ⌘ + Shift + E No bold, italics, underline, or font-size changes. No extra line space before or after. Type it on the line immediately after your identification block. Center it: in the Format sidebar, open the Style tab and click the centre alignment button. No bold, italics, underline, or font-size changes. No extra line space before or after. Check the box once you’ve done this in your own document. 5. Apply Times New Roman, 12 pt Select all of your text with Ctrl + A Go to Home → Font and choose Times New Roman, 12 pt. Select all of your text with ⌘ + A Go to Home → Font and choose Times New Roman, 12 pt. Select all of your text with Ctrl + A Go to Home → Font and choose Times New Roman, 12 pt. Select all of your text with ⌘ + A Go to Home → Font and choose Times New Roman, 12 pt. Select all of your text with Ctrl + A In the toolbar, open the font menu and choose Times New Roman, then set the size to 12. Select all of your text with ⌘ + A In the toolbar, open the font menu and choose Times New Roman, then set the size to 12. Select all of your text with ⌘ + A In the Format sidebar, open the Style tab, choose Times New Roman, and set the size to 12 pt. Check the box once you’ve done this in your own document. 6. Set double-spacing Ctrl + A, then Home → Paragraph → Line Spacing → Double ⌘ + A, then Home → Paragraph → Line Spacing → Double Ctrl + A, then Home → Line Spacing → 2.0 The browser version has no Paragraph submenu. It also resets to 1.15 spacing in every new document, so set this each time you start one. ⌘ + A, then Home → Line Spacing → 2.0 The browser version has no Paragraph submenu. It also resets to 1.15 spacing in every new document, so set this each time you start one. Ctrl + A, then Format → Line & paragraph spacing → Double ⌘ + A, then Format → Line & paragraph spacing → Double ⌘ + A, then, in the Format sidebar, open Spacing and choose Double. Check the box once you’ve done this in your own document. 7. No extra space between paragraphs Ctrl + A, then Home → Paragraph → Spacing. Set Before = 0 and After = 0. Make sure “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style” shows a check mark, not a dash. A dash means you have more than one style. Start each new paragraph with a single Enter, never two. The gap between paragraphs should look exactly like the gap between lines inside a paragraph. ⌘ + A, then Format → Paragraph… (or the small box-and-arrow in the lower right of the Paragraph group). Set Before and After to 0. Make sure “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style” shows a check mark, not a dash. A dash means you have more than one style. Start each new paragraph with a single Return, never two. The gap between paragraphs should look exactly like the gap between lines inside a paragraph. Ctrl + A, then Layout → Paragraph. Set the Before and After boxes to 0. The browser version has no Paragraph dialog — these boxes are the only place to change it. Start each new paragraph with a single Enter, never two. The gap between paragraphs should look exactly like the gap between lines inside a paragraph. ⌘ + A, then Layout → Paragraph. Set the Before and After boxes to 0. The browser version has no Paragraph dialog — these boxes are the only place to change it. Start each new paragraph with a single Return, never two. The gap between paragraphs should look exactly like the gap between lines inside a paragraph. Ctrl + A, then Format → Line & paragraph spacing → Custom spacing. Set Space above paragraph and Space below paragraph to 0, then click Apply. Start each new paragraph with a single Enter, never two. The gap between paragraphs should look exactly like the gap between lines inside a paragraph. ⌘ + A, then Format → Line & paragraph spacing → Custom spacing. Set Space above paragraph and Space below paragraph to 0, then click Apply. Start each new paragraph with a single Return, never two. The gap between paragraphs should look exactly like the gap between lines inside a paragraph. ⌘ + A, then, in the Format sidebar, open Spacing and set Before Paragraph and After Paragraph to 0 pt. Start each new paragraph with a single Return, never two. The gap between paragraphs should look exactly like the gap between lines inside a paragraph. Check the box once you’ve done this in your own document. 8. Indent the first line of each paragraph Select your body paragraphs only — not the identification block or title. Go to Home → Paragraph Settings (the small box-and-arrow in the lower right-hand corner of the Paragraph area). Under Special, select First line and set it to 0.5″. Click Ok. Select your body paragraphs only — not the identification block or title. Go to Format → Paragraph…, or click the small box-and-arrow in the lower right corner of the Paragraph group. Under Special, select First line and set it to 0.5″. Click OK. Select your body paragraphs only — not the identification block or title. The browser version has no Special → First line option. Drag the top triangle on the ruler to 0.5″, or press Tab once at the start of every paragraph. Select your body paragraphs only — not the identification block or title. Go to Format → Align & indent → Indentation options Under Special indent, choose First line, set it to 0.5, then click Apply. Select your body paragraphs only — not the identification block or title. In the Format sidebar, open the Layout tab. Under Indents, set First to 0.5 in. Check the box once you’ve done this in your own document. 9. Left-align your body text Select your body paragraphs, then Home → Paragraph → Left Align or Ctrl + L The left edge should be straight; the right edge should be ragged. Select your body paragraphs, then Home → Paragraph → Left Align or ⌘ + L The left edge should be straight; the right edge should be ragged. Select your body paragraphs, then Home → Align Left or Ctrl + L The left edge should be straight; the right edge should be ragged. Select your body paragraphs, then Home → Align Left or ⌘ + L The left edge should be straight; the right edge should be ragged. Select your body paragraphs, then Format → Align & indent → Left or Ctrl + Shift + L The left edge should be straight; the right edge should be ragged. Select your body paragraphs, then Format → Align & indent → Left or ⌘ + Shift + L The left edge should be straight; the right edge should be ragged. Select your body paragraphs, then, in the Format sidebar, click the left alignment button on the Style tab. The left edge should be straight; the right edge should be ragged. Check the box once you’ve done this in your own document. Last steps Your template is formatted. Now save it and check you can find it again. Save it as a Word file. Go to File → Save As. (No Save As? Use Save a Copy instead — it does the same job here.) Click Browse, then choose Documents. Note the path in the address bar at the top — that is where your file is going. You will need to find it again in a moment. In the File name box, type Lastname_MLATemplate using your own last name — for example, Earhart_MLATemplate. In Save as type, confirm it reads Word Document (.docx). On an older machine it may say Word 97-2003 Document (.doc) — both are accepted. Anything else is not. Click Save. Find it before you close Word. Open File Explorer (Windows + E) and go to the folder from the address bar above. Your file should be there. If it isn’t, type your last name into the search box and search This PC. Don’t type your essay into this file. For every future assignment, open the template, save a new copy under that assignment’s name, and write in the copy — type into the template and you’ll overwrite it. Save it as a Word file. Go to File → Save As. (No Save As? Use Save a Copy instead.) If the dialog is small, click the arrow beside the Save As box to expand it, then choose Documents in the sidebar. Note the folder shown — that is where your file is going. You will need to find it again in a moment. In the Save As box, type Lastname_MLATemplate using your own last name — for example, Earhart_MLATemplate. In File Format, confirm it reads Word Document (.docx). On an older machine it may say Word 97-2004 Document (.doc) — both are accepted. Anything else is not. Click Save. Find it before you close Word. Open Finder and click Documents in the sidebar. Your file should be there. If it isn’t, press ⌘ + Space and type your last name to search. Don’t type your essay into this file. For every future assignment, open the template, save a new copy under that assignment’s name, and write in the copy — type into the template and you’ll overwrite it. Name the document first. Click the file name at the top of the page and type Lastname_MLATemplate, using your own last name. The downloaded file takes this name, so getting it right now saves renaming it later. Download a Word copy. Word in a browser saves to the cloud as you type — there is no Save button, and the file is not on your computer yet. Go to File → Save As → Download a Copy. Your browser saves it to your Downloads folder. If it asks where to put it, choose Downloads and note the name. Find it. Open your Downloads folder — File Explorer (Windows + E) on a Windows PC or Chromebook, Finder on a Mac. Your browser also lists recent downloads under its own Downloads menu. Confirm the file is a .docx. Upload the file, don’t link it. When you submit, use Canvas’s file upload tab and browse to the file you just downloaded. Don’t use the Google Drive tab and don’t paste a share link — your instructor needs the file itself. Don’t type your essay into this file. For every future assignment, open the template and use File → Save As → Save a Copy to make a new copy under that assignment’s name. Write in the copy. Name the document first. Click the file name at the top left and type Lastname_MLATemplate, using your own last name. The downloaded file takes this name, so getting it right now saves renaming it later. Download a Word copy. Google Docs saves to Drive as you type — the file is not on your computer yet, and a Google Doc is not a Word file. Go to File → Download → Microsoft Word (.docx). Your browser saves it to your Downloads folder. Find it. Open your Downloads folder — File Explorer (Windows + E) on a Windows PC, Finder on a Mac, or the Files app on a Chromebook. Your browser also lists recent downloads under its own Downloads menu. Open the file you just downloaded and look it over. Converting to Word can shift line spacing and indents. Check the font, the double-spacing, and the first-line indents before you hand it in. Upload the file, don’t link it. When you submit, use Canvas’s file upload tab and browse to the file you just downloaded. Don’t use the Google Drive tab and don’t paste a share link — your instructor needs the file itself. Don’t type your essay into this file. For every future assignment, open the template in Google Docs and use File → Make a copy to create a new document under that assignment’s name. Write in the copy. Export it as a Word file. A Pages file cannot be opened by your instructor. The exported Word file is what you hand in. Go to File → Export To → Word…, then click Next. In the Save As box, type Lastname_MLATemplate using your own last name — for example, Earhart_MLATemplate. Choose Documents in the sidebar, then click Export. Find it before you close Pages. Open Finder and click Documents in the sidebar. You are looking for the file ending in .docx, not the Pages document. If it isn’t there, press ⌘ + Space and type your last name to search. Open the file you just exported and look it over. Converting to Word can shift line spacing and indents. Check the font, the double-spacing, and the first-line indents before you hand it in. Keep the Pages original too. Save your Pages document as well — that is the version you will reuse. For every future assignment, open it, use File → Duplicate to make a copy under that assignment’s name, write in the copy, and export that to Word when you are done. When you are ready to hand it in, follow the procedures on Lecture Notes: Submitting Files Like A Pro.