LibGuides: Formatting and Outlining in MLA: Home

Fonts, Margins and Headers

If you print your paper, use only white, 8½-by-11-inch paper of good quality.
Use Times New Roman font and set it to 12 points.
Double-space the entire paper, including quotations, notes, and the list of works cited.
Leave margins of one inch at the top and bottom and on both sides of the body of the text.
Do not print the text in an area greater than 6½ by 9 inches.
Number all pages consecutively throughout the research paper in the upper right-hand corner, half an inch from the top and flush with the right margin. Type your last name, followed by a space, before the page number. Do not use the abbreviation p. before the page number or add a period, a hyphen, or any other mark or symbol.