MLA Format in Google Docs: Easy Guide to Setting Up Your Paper

Use Google Docs to properly format your paper and citations

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions.

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If you’re writing a paper that needs to be in the MLA format, there are many little formatting quirks to remember. Your instructor will inspect your paper closely to ensure you understand the formatting, so you need to get it right. Fortunately, doing MLA format in Google Docs is easy—there’s an MLA template to start with, and a citation tool that can build a Works Cited page automatically! Read on to learn how to do MLA style formatting in Google Docs, with expert advice from Middle School Teacher Annaliese Dunne.

• Your paper must be double-spaced, have 1-inch margins on all sides, be left-justified, and be written in 12-pt Times New Roman font.
• If you haven’t started writing yet, select the MLA Report template in Google Docs to skip setting margins, double-spacing, and other tasks.
• Use Google Docs’ Citations tool to format your references and create a Works Cited page automatically.

1. Try the Google Docs MLA template. First, if you’ve already started writing your paper in Google Docs, we don’t bother with the template—trying to work what you’ve already written into a template will take more time than making minor tweaks to your paper. So, jump down to Setting Margins to get started! But if you haven’t written anything yet, you can use the MLA template to set your margins, enable double-spacing, set the right font, and even position the title and header. To use the template:

   • Go to https://docs.google.com and log in.
   • Click the Template gallery menu at the top.
   • Scroll down to the “Education” section.
   • Click the Report template that says “MLA” beneath it to create your new document.

2. Fix the page numbering. MLA formatting requires your last name to come before each page number, and the template can’t do that automatically.[1]
   To fix it:

   • Double-click the page number at the top of page 1 to open the Header box.
   • Place your cursor before the page number.
   • Type your last name and press the spacebar. You should now have something like Smith 1 at the top of the first page.
   • Click anywhere on the page to close the header field.

3. Replace the template text with your own. The heading in the upper-left corner is correctly formatted, so replace the text with your name, instructor’s name, course name, and the date.

4. Reduce the space between the title and header (optional). Something we’ve noticed in the Google Docs MLA template is that it adds excess space between the last line of the heading and the title, leading to triple spacing. This extra space is not standard according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) themselves.[2]
   We’re not sure why it’s in Google’s template, because it’s not advised by the MLA or mentioned in the Purdue Owl, we advise you to fix it, as your instructor might think you’ve made a mistake. Here’s how:

   • Place your cursor at the end of the date.
   • Press the delete key on your keyboard once—this will move the title awkwardly close to the date.
   • Press Enter or Return to get the title back onto its own line.
   • Recenter the title. To do so, highlight it with your mouse, click the “Align & indent” menu (the horizontal lines with a down arrow above the document), and click the icon of center-aligned lines.

5. Work on your Works Cited page. The template assumes you want to format your references and Works Cited page manually, which is great—but Google Docs actually has a new tool that can do all of this for you! To learn how to add references manually, check out How to Cite Sources in MLA Format. To use the Citations tool instead, jump down to Works Cited Page & Citations.

1. 

   Click the File menu and select Page setup. The MLA format requires 1″ margins on all sides of each page. Fortunately, this is easy to do in Google Docs, even if you’ve already begun writing your paper.

2. Select Pages. If you’ve opted to try Google Docs’ new Pageless format, you’ll need to change it back to Pages to apply MLA formatting to your paper properly.

3. Select Whole document from the “Apply to” menu. This ensures the margins you are about to set are applied to every page in your paper.

4. Set all margins to 1 inch. 1 inch is the default margin size in Google Docs, so the proper size should already be in place. If you see a number other than “1” in the Top, Bottom, Left, or Right fields, replace it with “1” now.

5. Click OK to save your changes.

1. Select the text in your paper. MLA requires double-spaced lines throughout your entire document. If you’ve already written part of your paper, first click anywhere in the document, then press Ctrl + A (PC and Chromebook) or Cmd + A (Mac) to select everything you’ve done so far.

2. Click the Format menu and select Line & Paragraph Spacing. Another menu will expand.

3. Select Double. This applies double-spaced lines to your entire document.

1. 

   Click the font menu. The default font is called “Arial,” so that’s what you’ll see in the font menu at the top of the page. Clicking Arial will bring up additional fonts.

   • If you’ve already written part of your paper, select the text you’ve already written first.

2. Select Times New Roman. MLA formatting requires a legible, serif font like Times New Roman.[3]
   Some college instructors may allow you to choose an alternative serif font like Georgia or Cambria. Still, you should select Times New Roman to be on the safe side.

3. Type 12 into the font size field. The Google Docs default font size is 11, so you’ll see an 11 in the font field at the top of the page. Changing it to 12 ensures all your text will be the proper size for MLA.

   • While you shouldn’t write your paper using any special stylizations like bold or italics, Middle School Teacher Annaliese Dunne notes you should always use italics when mentioning the title of a book in your paper.
   • You may also use italics to provide emphasis on certain words, but only when absolutely necessary.[4]

1. 

   Click the Format menu. You can make sure your paper is properly aligned, and that your paragraph indents are the proper size in this menu.

   • If you’ve already written part of your paper, select the text you’ve already written first.

2. Select Align & indent. A list of options will appear.

3. Select Left. You can also do this quickly by pressing Ctrl + Shift + L (PC & Chromebook) or Cmd + Shift + L (Mac) while your text is selected.

1. Type your name at the top-left corner of the first page. Place the cursor on the first line of your first page, then type your full name.

   • If you wrote your paper with a group, type each group member’s name on a single line.
   • You should not add a separate cover page unless instructed by your teacher.[5]

2. Press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return and type your instructor’s name. On the next line, type your teacher’s name (e.g., “Professor Johnson”).

3. Press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return and type the course name. For example, if you’re writing the paper for English 104, type English 104 onto the next line.[6]

4. Type the date on the next line. Press Enter or Return one more time, then type the date (e.g., 25 December 2024).

5. Press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return and type the title. Use proper title case. For example, My Book Review. Do not use bold, italics, or underline the text.

6. Center the title. To do this:

   • Highlight the title you just typed with your mouse or trackpad.
   • Click the “Align & indent” menu, which is the series of horizontal lines right next to a downward-pointing arrow at the top of Google Docs.
   • Click the second icon (the centered lines) to center your title.
   • Click a blank area of your document to deselect the title.

7. Press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return to start writing your paper. On the line directly below your title, start typing your paper.

1. 

   Click the Format menu and select Page numbers. MLA format requires page numbering to appear at the top-right corner of each page.

2. Select Header as the position. This ensures your page numbers will be at the top rather than the bottom.

3. Choose whether to show a page number on the first page. By default, the box next to “Show on first page” is checked. Some instructors may request you not include a page number on the first page—if yours has requested no first-page number, uncheck the box.

   • if you’re not sure whether to include a page number on your first page, ask your instructor for clarification.[7]
   • Leave the rest of the options as their defaults.

4. Click Apply. This adds simple page numbers to the document. However, there are a few more steps for MLA formatting.

   • You’ll see a “Header” box at the top of the page now. If you click outside of this area, the box will disappear. To bring the Header box back at any point, double-click the page number.

5. Type your last name before the first page number. To do this:

   • Place your cursor right before the “1” on the first page (or the “2” on the second page, if you don’t place a page number on the first page). If the “Header” box has disappeared, double-click the page number first to select it, then place your cursor before the 1.
   • Type your last name only, followed by a space. You should now see something like Smith 1 at the top-right corner.
   • Click any other blank area of your document to close the Header box.
   • Your last name will now appear at the top-right corner of each page, right before the page number.

1. Open the Citations panel. Google Docs now has a built-in citation tool that takes all the frustration out of formatting your Works Cited page and in-text citations. There’s no need to worry about using proper quotes or that pesky hanging indent. Click the Tools menu at the top of Google Docs, then select Citations.

   • If you feel more comfortable formatting your Works Cited page manually, skip down to our instructions on formatting the page manually.
   • Annaliese Dunn reminds us of the importance of finding good sources. “Do your research—don’t just go on Google to find out what different people say”. Instead, go to the library and ask a reference librarian to help you find articles and books that relate to the topic you’re writing about.

2. Select MLA (8th ed). This option ensures your citations will be in the proper MLA format.

3. Click + Add citation source. Some source types will appear.

4. Select the source type and how you accessed it. For example, if you’re referencing an article from JSTOR, select Journal Article from the “Source type,” and Online database from the “Accessed by” menu.

   • If you’re citing a book, you have the option of automatically building the citation by searching for the ISBN. If you don’t want to do that, click Cite manually to continue.

5. Fill out the citation form. Fill out all the blanks, such as title, author, volume, publication date, and anything else requested. Fields with asterisks are required fields.

   • You can list multiple contributors by clicking + Contributor under the first author or editor name.

6. Click Add citation source to add it to your citation list. You now have your first reference in the citation tool.

   • The Citations panel will remain open until you click the X to close it. If you close it, you can bring it back by clicking the Tools menu again and selecting Citations.

7. Add additional references. Continue loading your references into the citation tool until you’ve added everything you want to include on your Works Cited page.

8. Add a page break. Your Works Cited page must be the final page of your document, so you’ll want to add a page break so it stays where it needs to be.

   • Click anywhere after the last character in your paper.
   • Click the Insert menu.
   • Select Break.
   • Click Page break. This adds a new blank page.

9. Click the Insert Works Cited button on the Citations panel. This adds the title “Works Cited” to the top of the page, centers it, and then properly lists all the references you’ve added. It also adds the hanging indent to the page so any references longer than a single line are properly indented.

   • If you want to add additional sources later, reopen the Citations tool. But once you add new sources, you will need to delete your existing Works Cited page content and read it—this is so Google Docs can correctly alphabetize your sources.

10. Add in-text citations. The MLA format requires parenthetical in-text citations that can be tied back to your Works Cited page.[8]
    You can use the Citations tool in Google Docs to add in-text citations in the proper format.

    • According to Dunne, if the text you’re quoting is fewer than four lines long, it should be surrounded by quotation marks. You’ll want to place your in-text citations after the quote marks, but before the period at the end of the sentence. For example:
      • “This is a direct quote from a book” (Author 22).
    • For more detailed information about MLA in-text citations, visit our guide on How to Do In-Text Citations in MLA.
    • Click your cursor where you want to place a citation.
      • If you’re citing a block quote, click the mouse after the period at the end of the quote, then press the spacebar—insert your citation at this location.
    • In the Citations panel, hover your cursor over a source, then click Cite.
    • If the source is a book, replace the # symbol with the page number.

11. Format your Works Cited page manually (optional). If you’d rather do your citations manually, all you’ll need to do is center the words “Works Cited” at the top of the page and switch the indent type to “hanging.” Here’s how:

    • Create a blank new page at the end of your document.
    • Highlight the words Works Cited with your mouse or trackpad.
    • Click the “Align & indent” menu, which is the series of horizontal lines right next to a downward-pointing arrow at the top of Google Docs.
    • Click the second icon (the centered lines) to center the title.
    • Click a blank area of your document to deselect the title.
    • To add a hanging indent:
      • Click the Format menu and select Align & indent.
      • Click Indentation options.
      • Under “Special indent,” select Hanging, and leave the default size of 0.5 selected.
      • Click Apply.

1. 

   Select the block quote. Dunne explains that if you include a block quote in your MLA paper, which is any direct quote that spans more than four lines, you will need to indent it 1/2 inch from the left side of the page. Highlight the quote with your mouse or trackpad to select it.

2. Click the Format menu and select Align & indent. Several options will expand.

3. Return to the Align & Indent menu. To do this, click the Format menu again and select Align & Indent.

4. Click Indentation options. The default indent size, which is 0, already appears in the boxes. Because you selected the quote with your mouse, you’ll only be changing the indent size of the selected text.

5. Add a half-inch indent into the Left field. To do this, erase the “0” from the “Left” field, and type 0.5. Don’t change the “Right” field.

   • Leave the “Special indent” menu set to None.

6. 

   Click Apply. This applies the 1/2-inch indent to the selected text.

Categories: How to
Source: HIS Education