MLA Format Google Docs Guide: How to Set Up Your Paper

MLA format Google Docs setup comes down to a handful of settings. The table lists what the MLA Handbook asks for, what Google Docs does by default, and where to change it. If you want the heading and running head done for you, the MLA Title Page Generator builds a correct first page that you can download and open in Google Docs.

Why Pages format comes first

New Google Docs sometimes open in pageless format, which shows one long scrolling page. Google's help page on headers and page numbers says these features aren't available in pageless documents, and headers disappear from view if you switch an existing document to pageless. Margins and page size also need Pages format. So switch to Pages before anything else: File > Page setup, choose Pages at the top, and click OK.

In MLA format Google Docs papers, these three settings affect every line, so set them before you type.

Font and size

Google Docs opens new documents in Arial 11. MLA doesn't require one font. It asks for a readable typeface in which regular and italic type look clearly different, at a size between 11 and 13 points. Times New Roman 12 is what most US teachers expect. Select all with Ctrl + A (Cmd + A on a Mac), then choose the font and size on the toolbar.

Double spacing

Go to Format > Line & paragraph spacing > Double, or use the line spacing button on the toolbar. While you're there, open Custom spacing and make sure the spacing before and after paragraphs is 0. MLA double-spaces everything, including the heading, block quotations and the Works Cited list, with no extra blank lines between paragraphs.

One-inch margins

Open File > Page setup. Google's page setup help lists margins alongside orientation, paper size and page color. Google Docs already uses 1-inch margins by default, so you usually only need to confirm them. Paper size should be Letter for US schools.

The running head is your last name and the page number, at the top right of every page, half an inch from the top. Google Docs numbers the pages for you once you set it up, and it's the step most students skip when they learn how to set up MLA format on Google Docs.

Add the page number

1. Go to Insert > Page elements > Page number.
2. Choose the option that puts the number at the top right on every page, including the first.
3. The cursor jumps into the header. Click just before the number, type your last name and press the space bar once.
4. If the header isn't right-aligned, use Format > Align & indent > Right.

Check the header distance

Click inside the header and choose Format > Headers & footers > More options to see the header margin. MLA puts the running head half an inch from the top, which is the Google Docs default. Match the header's font to the body: Times New Roman 12.

Leaving the header off page one

MLA puts the running head on every page, including the first. If your teacher wants page one without it, click in the header and check Different first page. The guide to the MLA heading explains the difference between this header and the four-line heading.

The next part of how to set up MLA format on Google Docs is the first page. Everything here stays double-spaced.

The four-line heading

At the top left of the body (not in the header area), type your name, your instructor's name, the course and the date, each on its own line: Sofia Martinez / Mr. Thompson / English 11 Honors / 26 October 2026. Press Enter after each item, with no blank lines between them. The MLA heading guide covers what to write on each line.

The title

Press Enter after the date, click the Center align button, and type your title in title case. Don't bold, underline, italicize or put it in quotation marks, unless it includes the title of another work. Press Enter, then switch back to Left align.

First-line indents

MLA indents the first line of each paragraph half an inch. Instead of pressing Tab every time, set it once: select the body text, go to Format > Align & indent > Indentation options, choose First line under Special indent, enter 0.5 and click Apply. You can also drag the small blue bar on the ruler. If you don't see the ruler, turn it on under View > Show ruler.

Yes. The Google Docs MLA template is the MLA Report in the Template gallery. Open the Google Docs home screen, click Template gallery at the top, and look in the Education section for the MLA Report. Edmonds College's MLA in Google Docs handout walks through the same path. School accounts sometimes show a different set of templates.

What the Google Docs MLA template gets right

The Google Docs MLA template opens with the margins, double spacing, a right-aligned header and a sample heading, title and Works Cited page in place. It's a quick start if you just need the shape of the paper.

What to fix in the Google Docs MLA template

• Placeholder text. The template is filled with sample Latin text, plus sample section headings. Delete it and type your own work. Short essays usually don't need section headings at all.
• Your last name. The header doesn't know your name. Type it before the page number.
• The heading lines. Replace the sample name, instructor, course and date with yours, and check the date order: 26 October 2026.
• Citations. The template shows where the Works Cited goes, but it doesn't format your sources. You still need to write each entry and apply the hanging indent.

Template or setup from scratch?

The Google Docs MLA template saves a minute, but setting up a blank document teaches you where each setting lives, which helps when a teacher hands back a file with formatting errors. Either way, check every item in the table at the top of this page before you submit.

The Works Cited page starts on a new page after the last line of your essay. The MLA citation format in Google Docs follows the same rules as anywhere else; Docs just gives you the tools to lay it out.

Set up the page

1. Click at the end of your last paragraph and go to Insert > Break > Page break.
2. Click Center align and type Works Cited, in plain text with no bold or quotation marks.
3. Press Enter and switch back to Left align. Remove the first-line indent if it carried over.

Add your entries

Type or paste each entry, one per paragraph, in alphabetical order by the first word, ignoring A, An and The. If you paste from another site, use Edit > Paste without formatting (Ctrl + Shift + V) so the font and spacing stay consistent. Then put titles back in italics where they belong. To get the MLA citation format in Google Docs right for each entry, use the free MLA citation maker, which handles books, articles, websites and films.

Citations inside your paper

MLA citation format in Google Docs also covers your sentences: each entry needs a matching citation, such as (Fitzgerald 23). The guide to MLA in-text citations covers those, and the MLA works cited page guide covers order, spacing and more examples. Citing videos? See how to cite a YouTube video in MLA.

A hanging indent keeps the first line of each entry at the left margin and indents the lines below it half an inch, so the author names line up down the page. A hanging indent in Google Docs is the step students search for most.

The menu method

1. Select all of your Works Cited entries, but not the centered title.
2. Go to Format > Align & indent > Indentation options.
3. Under Special indent, change None to Hanging.
4. Make sure the measurement is 0.5 inch, then click Apply.

The ruler method

Turn on the ruler with View > Show ruler if it's hidden. Select your entries, drag the blue triangle (the left indent) to 0.5 inch, then drag the blue bar (the first-line indent) back to 0. The result is the same hanging indent in Google Docs, but the menu is more precise.

If it doesn't look right

If your hanging indent in Google Docs covers only some entries, you didn't select them all; select them and apply it again. If the second line doesn't indent, the entry probably has a manual line break. Delete it and let the text wrap on its own.

If you write MLA papers all year, save the settings so every new document starts with MLA format Google Docs settings.

Save your default style

1. Type a line of text, set it to Times New Roman 12 with double spacing.
2. Select it and go to Format > Paragraph styles > Normal text > Update 'Normal text' to match.
3. Then choose Format > Paragraph styles > Options > Save as my default styles.
4. For margins and Pages format, open File > Page setup, set them, and click Set as default.

New documents now open with your font, spacing and margins. You'll still add the header and heading each time.

Download a .docx for Word or a class portal

Go to File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx). Open the file once before you submit to make sure the header, page numbers, indents and fonts came through. If your teacher wants a PDF, choose PDF Document (.pdf) from the same menu.

Start from a ready first page

If you'd rather skip the setup, the MLA heading and title page tool downloads a Word file with the margins, spacing and running head already set; upload it to Google Drive and open it in Docs. Every other guide is on the student writing guides page.

Teachers see the same few MLA format Google Docs errors again and again. Run through this list before you submit.

A two-page check

Open File > Print to see the pages as your teacher will. Page one should show the running head, heading, centered title and an indented paragraph. The last page should show Works Cited centered with hanging indents. If both look right, the pages between them almost always do too.