Formatting Your Paper

MLA Style requires that you format your research paper in a specific way. Follow these guidelines and see the example paper below.

Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper.
Double-space the text of your paper and use a 12 pt. legible font like Times New Roman.
Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. (In Microsoft Word go to File → Page Setup → Margins)

Use the Tab key to indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin.
Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and aligned with the right margin. (In Microsoft Word go to View → Header and Footer)

Example Paper