Student’s Last Name 1
Student’s Name
Teacher’s Name
Course Name
Due Date (ex. 18 May 2009)
Formatting Papers on Microsoft Word 2007 Using MLA Guidelines
In Word 2007, open a new document by clicking on the circular window in the top left-hand corner and selecting “New” from the drop-down menu. Under the “Home” tab, change the font to “Times New Roman” or “Arial,” 12 point.
Using the mouse select the “Page Layout” tab. Select the “Margins” icon, and make sure all margins are one inch. Next, select the “Insert” tab, and click on “Header”. Choose “Blank Header” from the drop down menu. Select the “Page Number” icon, scroll over “Top of the Page”, and select “Plain No. 3”. To type in your last name, place the cursor in front of the “1” and type your last name. The header should be in the same font as the rest of your paper and right-aligned.
To double-space, go to the “Home” tab, and find the section labeled “Paragraph”. Select the “Line Spacing” icon, directly to the right of the alignment icons. Choose 2.0. Select “Line Spacing” again and click on “Remove Space After Paragraph.” This will insure that you have no awkward, large spaces between paragraphs.
Type the four-line heading flush to the left margin. Your full name appears on the top, your teacher’s name on the second line, the course title on the third line, and the due date of the paper is on the last line. Be sure to write the date correctly with the day first, the month second, and the year last.
Think of a title for your paper. To center the title, choose the “Home” tab, “Paragraph” section, and select the “Center” icon. Type your title, and make it interesting. Your title should not be “Essay” or “Paragraph.” Capitalize the first and last words of the title and all other words except articles (a, an, the), prepositions (to, for, on, etc…), and coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS). Do not enclose your title in quotation marks; do not underline it; and do not boldface it. However, if you are using someone else’s title within your own, you need to punctuate it appropriately. To continue typed the rest of your paper, hit “Enter” and select the “Align Text Left” icon from the “Paragraph” section.
Begin to type the text of the paper. Indent the first line of each paragraph one-half inch from the left margin. Do not justify the right margin, and do not add another line of space between paragraphs. Save your work every few minutes. Whenever you quote, summarize, or paraphrase an original source, you must document that source in two places: immediately at the end of the sentence and at the end of your paper on a final page labeled “Works Cited.” Consult MLA guidelines for further instructions.
To use “Spelling and Grammar Check,” “Word Count,” or any other revising tools select the “Review” tab, and choose the appropriate icon. Be aware that everything highlighted may not be an error, and that every error may not be highlighted. Spell check will not detect the misuse of a homonym. When you are satisfied with your work, save it, and then print your document with black ink on white 8 ½ inch x 11 inch paper. Print only on one side of paper.
Do not make a title page or use a binder. Assemble pages with the final, “pretty” copy on top, followed by previous rough drafts and peer responses, and the writing prompt on the bottom. Fasten all papers together with one staple if possible. If the papers are too bulky, use a paper clip.