Free MLA Format Template

What Is MLA Format and Who Uses It

MLA format is a set of guidelines published by the Modern Language Association for formatting academic papers and citing sources. It is the standard citation and formatting style in English, literature, linguistics, foreign language studies, film studies, cultural studies, and related humanities disciplines. Most high school English classes and college-level humanities courses require MLA format for essays and research papers.

The current standard is MLA 9th edition, published in 2021. It introduced several updates from the 8th edition, including revised guidelines for citing online sources and a stronger emphasis on flexibility for new media formats. If your instructor specifies a particular edition, use that one; otherwise, default to the 9th.

MLA format governs three things: the layout of the document (margins, font, spacing, the header), the format of in-text citations within your essay, and the structure of the Works Cited page at the end. An MLA format template handles all three at once, so you spend your time writing rather than debugging font sizes and indent settings.

MLA differs from APA format primarily in the citation style and the audience it serves. APA uses author-date citations in parentheses and is standard in social sciences. MLA uses author-page citations and is standard in humanities. Chicago style uses footnotes or endnotes and is common in history and some arts disciplines.

MLA Format Requirements: What to Include

An MLA-formatted paper has specific requirements for every element of the document. This checklist covers the full set of formatting rules for a standard essay or research paper.

• Header block (top left, first page only): your full name on line 1, instructor's name on line 2, course name and number on line 3, and the date in day-month-year format (15 March 2025) on line 4
• Running header (top right of every page): your last name followed by a space and the page number, right-aligned in the header area; example: Smith 3
• Title: centered on the line after the header block, in title case with all major words capitalized, no bold, no italics, no underline; do not use a separate title page for standard MLA essays
• Font: Times New Roman 12pt throughout, or another easily readable serif font if your instructor permits
• Spacing: double-spaced throughout the entire document including the Works Cited page, with no extra blank lines between paragraphs
• Margins: 1 inch on all sides (top, bottom, left, right)
• Indentation: first line of every paragraph indented 0.5 inches using a tab stop, not the space bar
• In-text citations: author's last name and the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence before the period; example: (Smith 47); if the author's name appears in the signal phrase, include only the page number in parentheses
• Works Cited page: starts on a new page, titled Works Cited centered at the top without bold or italics; entries listed in alphabetical order by the author's last name; each entry uses a hanging indent of 0.5 inches

How to Set Up MLA Format in Google Docs or Word

Setting up MLA formatting from scratch takes 10 to 15 minutes in most word processors. Starting from a template reduces this to under two minutes. Here are the steps for both platforms.

1. Set margins to 1 inch on all sides. In Google Docs: File > Page setup > set all four margin fields to 1. In Word: Layout > Margins > Normal (the default 1-inch setting).
2. Set the font to Times New Roman, size 12. Select all text first with Ctrl+A (or Cmd+A on Mac) so the font applies to the whole document at once.
3. Set line spacing to double throughout. In Google Docs: Format > Line and paragraph spacing > Double, and remove any extra space before or after paragraphs. In Word: Home > Line spacing > 2.0, then remove space before/after paragraph in the same menu.
4. Add the running header with your last name and page number. In Google Docs: Insert > Headers and footers > Header, type your last name and a space, then Insert > Page numbers. Right-align the header text. In Word: Insert > Header > Blank, then type your last name and insert a page number field.
5. Type the four-line header block at the top of page 1: your name, instructor's name, course name and number, and the date in day-month-year format. Do not bold or resize these lines.
6. Type your essay title on the next line, centered, in title case. Press Enter once and return to left-aligned text for your introduction paragraph.
7. Set up the Works Cited hanging indent. In Google Docs: select each citation entry, go to Format > Align and indent > Indentation options, and set Special indent to Hanging at 0.5 inches. In Word: select the entry, open paragraph settings, and set Special to Hanging.

MLA In-Text Citations and Works Cited Format

The most common source of MLA errors is inconsistency between in-text citations and the Works Cited page. Every source cited in the body must appear in Works Cited, and every Works Cited entry must correspond to at least one in-text citation in the body.

In-text citation format. Place the author's last name and page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence, before the period: (Morrison 112). If you name the author in the signal phrase, include only the page number: According to Morrison (112). For sources with no author, use a shortened version of the title: ("Climate Change" 5). For sources with no page numbers such as most websites, include only the author's last name: (Park).

Works Cited entry formats. MLA 9th edition uses a flexible container system. Every entry follows the same sequence of elements: Author. Title. Container title, other contributors, version, number, publisher, date, location. Omit any element that does not apply to your source.

• Book: Last, First. Title of Book. Publisher, Year. Example: Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. McClelland and Stewart, 1985.
• Journal article (print): Last, First. "Title of Article." Journal Name, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. page range.
• Journal article (online with DOI): same as the print format above, followed by the DOI as a URL
• Website: Last, First. "Title of Page." Website Name, Day Month Year, URL. If there is no author, begin with the title of the page.
• Chapter in an edited book: Last, First. "Chapter Title." Book Title, edited by Editor Name, Publisher, Year, pp. page range.
• Film: Title of Film. Directed by Director Name, Production Company, Year.
• No author: begin the entry with the title of the work and alphabetize it by the first significant word in the title

MLA Format Mistakes That Cost Points

These are the errors that show up most often on graded MLA papers. Each has a direct fix when you start from a correctly formatted template.

• Wrong date format: MLA uses day-month-year (15 March 2025), not month-day-year; the month is spelled out in full and not abbreviated
• Missing running header or wrong placement: the running header with your last name and page number belongs in the top right of every page, including the first page
• Putting the title in bold, italics, or all caps: MLA essay titles use title case only with no special formatting; bold, italics, underline, and all caps are all incorrect for your own title
• Adding a separate title page: standard MLA essays do not use a title page; the four-line header block on page 1 replaces it
• Works Cited starting on the same page as the essay body: the Works Cited section always starts on a new page; insert a page break before it
• Missing hanging indent on Works Cited entries: the first line of each entry is flush left and all subsequent lines of the same entry are indented 0.5 inches; this is the reverse of a paragraph indent
• Italics vs. quotation marks: titles of long works such as books, journals, and films are italicized; titles of short works such as articles, short stories, and poems go in quotation marks