Question: How do I format a Google Doc in MLA Style?

Start the Document

Note* Google Docs works best when using Google Chrome as an internet browser.

1. Go to Google.com: https://www.google.com/
2. Sign in to your Google account (the same username and password that you use for Gmail).
3. Click on the Google Apps button.
4. Scroll down and select Docs.
5. Click on Blank to start a document from scratch. 
6. Click on Untitled Document to enter a title for this document.  This will make it easy for you to find it in the future.  

Margins

The default should already be set to one-inch all around, but it is always a good idea to double-check. 

1. Go to the File menu
2. Click on Page Setup
3. Make sure that all the margins are set up correctly to one inch from top, bottom, left, and right. 

Line Spacing

Line Spacing needs to be set up to double, this means that there is a blank line between each line of text in your essay. 

1. From the toolbar, click on the Line Spacing button: 
2. Click on Double

Font 

Font name should be set to "Times New Roman," and the font size should be "12" for most academic work, unless your professor indicates anything different.

1. From the toolbar, click on the Font menu and select Times New Roman.
2. From the toolbar, click on the Font Size menu and select 12.

Header and Page Numbering

Most academic work, unless your professor indicates anything different, requires you to add your last name and page number onto the header of every page, and aligned to the right.  Google Docs can configure the page numbers for you.

1. From the Menu bar, click on the Insert tab.
2. Click on Page Numbers
3. Select the button that that shows all pages to be numbered, and aligned to the top right of page.  
4. Enter your last name with the first letter capitalized, and press the space bar once.  There needs to be a space between your last name and the page number.
5. Make sure that the font and font size are set properly in the header
   • If they are in a different font and font size:
     1. highlight and select the last name along with the page number,
     2. then go to the Font and Font Size buttons to select the appropriate options
6. Press the Esc key, or click outside of the header to go back to the body of your document

Occasionally, when students copy and paste an essay from another application (Microsoft Word, or others), the header margins are not what they are supposed to be, and Google Docs places the header either too high or too low.  To make the corrections:

1. Go to the header of the page by double-clicking on the header area (by your last name and page number)
2. Click on Options
3. Click on Header format
4. Under Margins, look for Header and set the inches from top to 0.5
5. Click on Apply.

Heading

Enter the required elements for the heading.

Check with your professor for assignment requirements.

In most cases, you will only enter the following on the first page of your essay:

1. Your full name
2. Instructors name
3. Class name, number, and section
4. date of when the assignment is due in day month and year style

Title of your Essay

After you have entered the date for your heading, as shown above, press the enter key once.  This is the line where your title needs to go, and it also needs to be centered.   

1. From the toolbar, click on the Center align button
2. Enter a title for your essay
   • create a clear and concise title for your essay
   • make sure that the title is indicative of your essay and your ideas
   • follow your professor's instructions for creating the title
   • title only belongs on the first page of your essay
3. Press the enter key on your keyboard

Begin your Essay

After you have entered your title, and you have pressed the enter key on your keyboard:

1. From the toolbar, click on the Left align button
2. Press tab key (on your keyboard) to indent your first paragraph, and start typing your essay.

Remember to indent each paragraph within your essay, unless identified otherwise by your professor.

Works Cited and Hanging Indents

After you complete your essay, the last part is where you list all of your sources into a Works Cited page. 

The Works Cited section needs to start on a separate page in the same document.  After you type the last paragraph, place a page break.

1. From the Menu bar, click on the Insert tab
2. Click on Break
3. Click on Page break (or you can just use your keyboard and press the control and enter keys at the same time)

After you have added a new page, as per instructions above, then you are going to title this page with the words: Works Cited

This needs to be centered, and you must use same font and the same font size from your essay.  Nothing special needs to be done to the title of this section, do not italicize it, not in bold, etc.   

1. From the toolbar, press the Center align button 
2. Enter: Works Cited
3. Then press the enter key

After you have pressed then enter key, now is time to start listing all of the sources that you used according to MLA style. 

Each entry needs to:

• follow the guidelines from MLA
• be listed in alphabetical order
• have a hanging indentation

To manually enter all of your citations, first set up the hanging indentation option: 

1. From the Menu bar, click on the Format tab

2. Click on Align & Indent menu

3. Click on Indentation options

4. Under Special indent, select Hanging from the drop-down menu, and make sure that it is set to 0.5

5. Click on Apply

Instead of manually entering your citations, you can use a citation generator to create the citation.

• Once the generator has created the citation, you can copy it, then go to your Google Doc and paste the citations into your Works Cited page. 
• Then make sure that there are no errors from the generated citation
  • make sure that all the formatting is correct like the font and font size
  • make sure that each citation has hanging indents. 
• If you need to make any changes to the citations that you just pasted, then highlight them all, then use the tools from Google Docs to make the changes, such as changing the font to "Times New Roman" and the font size to "12", and add the hanging indentations by following the instructions above.  

Many times, when you copy a citation from a generator, it brings unnecessary formatting such as strange fonts, or backgrounds from different colors.  If you use the citation generator from EBSCO databases, many times a gray background also follows the citation. 

To remove the gray background:

1. Highlight all the citations that need to be fixed by using the mouse 
2. From the toolbar, click on the Highlight color button
3. Click on None

Your Works Cited List 

Tips

Explore some of the tools from Google Docs to help you create a better document, these can be found in the Tools bar:

• Use the spelling and grammar tool to help you catch errors. 
• Use the Word Count tool if you need to provide that information to your professor.
• If you are using Google Docs with Google Chrome, you can also dictate text in addition to typing.

Sharing Your Document

• You can create a link for your Google Doc to share with your professor or download it as different file types (Word, PDF, and more) to submit on Canvas.  
• Check with your professor to see how they would like your essay to be submitted.

Go to the File tab to see different download and print options:

1. Click on the Share button
2. To get a link that anybody can open in your class, under the "Get Link" section, click on the "Change with anyone with the link"
3. Click on Copy link
4. Then you can go to Canvas or send your professor or classmates the link to your essay.  Be sure to follow instructions from your professor.