The Modern Language Association, or MLA, offers formatting recommendations for usage in academic and professional settings. Many companies and schools demand that manuscripts adhere to the MLA rules since it is consistent and simple to utilize. You shouldn’t have too much trouble formatting a document to adhere to MLA guidelines if you are at all familiar with Microsoft Word or other word processing tools.
Step 1
Set the margins of the page. Choose “File” from the main menu, then “Page Setup” from the drop-down menu. Set the top, bottom, left, and right margins to 1.0 inches apiece by selecting the “Margins” option. To save these options, click the “OK” button.
Step 2
Change the typeface. The Times New Roman typeface with a 12-point pitch is a requirement of the MLA for all manuscripts. Select “Font” from the drop-down menu after selecting “Format” from the main menu. Set Times New Roman as the typeface and 12 as the font size. For the primary text of the manuscript, avoid using bold, italics, or underlining. To save these options, click “OK.”
Step 3
Double the gap. Each line of text in an MLA document is double-spaced, which means that there is a space between each line of text. From the main menu, choose “Format,” then “Paragraph” from the drop-down list. Select “Indents and spacing” from the menu. Click “OK” after setting “Line spacing” to “Double.”
Step 4
Decide on a header. Your last name and a page number are listed in the header of each page in an MLA format. From the main menu, select “View,” then “Header and Footer” from the list that appears. Your document’s header section will be enclosed in a gray square with dotted lines. Add a space after your last name. Click the picture of a pound symbol (also known as the number sign) on the page to open the floating menu. The page number will be added using this.