Microsoft Word allows us to use the MLA format by configuring a few options or using templates. The MLA, or Modern Language Association, allows formatting guidelines for academic and professional papers, is uniform, and very simple to use. Ideal for when we have to write an essay, teachers can request that it be written using the MLA format..
Use MLA-formatted document template in Microsoft Word
The easiest way to use the MLA format in Word is through templates. For this we are going to have to open a completely new Word document and we will click on File, in the upper left part of the window.
We'll type “MLA format” and then click the MLA Style Paper template in the search field..
Immediately, we will see that a generic test with MLA format appears and we can modify it to add the data we want. We can add our name, course instructor, course number, date, etc.
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It is a very simple process, we just have to review the document and add our data. If we copy and paste a quote, something to remember is to change the font to Times New Roman and set the size to 12.
With this format, the entire document has to be double-spaced. If one or more sentences need to be corrected, we'll highlight the sentences and right-click to open the formatting box. We will click on the Spacing between lines and paragraphs and choose 0 from the drop-down menu.
Configure the MLA from scratch manually
We will create a new Word document and go to the Home tab, set the font Times New Roman and set the size to 12.
Next, we are going to click on “Layout” and then on the “Margins” button and select “Normal”, which will leave us 1-inch margins around the document.
These kinds of documents must be double spaced. So we will click on "Start", then we will click on the Spacing between lines and paragraphs button, and we will set this to 0.
We will double click at the top of the document to open the header area and write our full name. Now we go to the “Home” tab and we will change the alignment to the right.
We proceed to write our last name in the header area and in a single space. Then we are going to click on the "Header and footer" tab and go to "Page number", where we will choose Current position and Simple number 1.
We're going to double click on an empty area of the document to get out of the header area and we'll type our full. We'll need to make sure that the paragraph is set to the left, and we'll enter the information we can see in the template above: name, teacher's name, course, date, etc. At the bottom, we are going to write the title of the essay and align it to the center.
Before we start writing, we will need to set the Paragraph section to Align Left. Now yes, we begin to write the text and we must take into account that, if we need to indent a paragraph, we will only have to press the Tab key (which is located above the Caps Lock key).