how to write an essay in ms word

How to Use MLA Format in Microsoft Word

A popular formatting style for academic documents is the MLA format. Here’s how to use MLA formatting in Microsoft Word.

The Modern Language Association , or MLA, allows formatting guidelines for professional and academic papers—it’s uniform and easy to use. If you have an essay to write, educators could require it to be written using the MLA format.

However, specific criteria must be met to have a properly formatted MLA paper. The process involves setting correct margins, using the right font, double-spacing the body’s content, and other essential rules. If you haven’t written a document in this format before, here’s how to use the MLA format in Microsoft Word.

How to Use an MLA Formatted Document Template in Word

To most straightforward way to set up an essay in MLA format is to use one of Microsoft’s templates.

To use an MLA format template, do the following:

• Open a new blank Microsoft Word  document.

• A generic MLA formatted essay paper will appear, and you can type in the data you need for your article.

• The process is as easy as going through the document and adding your own data. For example, if you copy and paste a quote, remember to change the font to Times New Roman and set its size to 12 .

• With MLA format, the entire document needs to be double-spaced. If you need to correct a sentence or two, highlight the sentences, right-click to pull up the formatting box.

How to Manually Set Up MLA Formatting from Scratch in Word

You can also set up the MLA format manually. To set up MLA Format in Word, do the following:

• Double-click the top of the document to bring up the Header area and type your full name.

• Type your last name in the Header area and a single space.

• Double-click an empty area of the document to exit the Header area and type your full name. Ensure the Paragraph is set to Alight Left and enter the info shown in the template above—name, teacher name, course, date, etc.

• Now, before typing the body of your text, set the Paragraph section to Align Left .

Also, remember that when you’ve finished your essay, you need to insert citations for an excellent grade.

Using MLA Format in Microsoft Word

The steps above will help you set up MLA formatting in a Microsoft Word document.

It’s worth noting that some professors may put their own spin on the MLA format, so make sure you speak to them before starting your essay. You might need to make some adjustments to the template formatting to get the style right in your document.

You can do other exciting things with Microsoft Word, like transcribing audio files or seeing the word count in a Word document . It’s also worth noting that you can insert custom headers and footers or insert a block quote in Microsoft Word .

Derrick Fuentes

March 12, 2023 at 10:24 pm

Thank you veryb much for writing this article this saved my ass.

January 30, 2024 at 9:13 pm

Thank you very much for this article! My instructor asked to write all assignments in MLA format, with the textbook explaining the ins and outs of the format, all of course but how to practically use MLA in Microsoft Word! Hence I am very appreciative of this short article :-)

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HOW TO – Format papers in standard academic format (using Microsoft Word)

This guide explains how to format your documents in Microsoft Word so that they follow the standard rules for formatting academic papers as described in most MLA and APA style books for undergraduate writing. These rules apply to most of the papers you will submit in your college classes, but in some cases your professors will want you to follow specific guidelines that may differ from those below. Always clarify with your professor which set of guidelines he or she wants you to follow before you submit a paper.

Using standard formatting for academic papers shows that you understand the customs of the university community and therefore helps to boost your own credibility. Using unusual or highly distinctive formatting, on the other hand, suggests that your previous schooling did not adequately prepare you for university work. Consider the impact of unusual formatting: not only does it call attention to your paper in a way that might not be positive, professors might also see it as a sign that you’re trying to artificially inflate page length.

Note: These instructions apply to all versions of Word for Mac and for the 2003 version of Word for Windows. I haven’t yet updated them to include instructions for the 2007 version of Word for Windows, but the tools should nevertheless be easy to find if you look around on the toolbar at the top.

• 2 DOCUMENT MARGINS
• 3 INDENTATION
• 5 ALIGNMENT
• 6.1 Heading
• 6.3 Sample First Page
• 7 PAGE NUMBERS
• 8.1 Document Spacing
• 8.2 Paragraph Spacing
• 9 CREATE NEW PAGE
• 10 BLOCKED QUOTATIONS
• 11 RESOURCES

DOCUMENT MARGINS

Rule : Papers submitted for review or grading should have 1” margins all around. This should be the default for Word, but if your default setting is to have left and right margins of 1.25”, change your default. Page length requirements are based on 1” margins.

Instructions : Go to the Format menu, drag down to Document, change the margins, and the click on the Default button and accept the change to the Normal template. Make sure you leave the gutter set to 0” or you’ll mess up your document formatting.

INDENTATION

Rule : The first line of each paragraph should be automatically indented.

Instructions : This should be the default for Word, but if not, you might want to change your Normal style, as described above. To change the indentation format for a document, choose Select All from the Edit menu. Then go to the Format menu, drag down to Paragraph, look under the “Special” drop-down menu in the Indentation section, and select “First Line.” This setting automatically indents the first line of a new paragraph so that you don’t have to do it manually.

Rule : College papers should be in a standard academic font: either Times New Roman or Cambria, in 12pt size. (If you submit a paper in another font, I will change it on the file I download.)

Instructions : Times New Roman or Cambria 12pt should be the default for Word, but if yours is different then change your default. Go to the Format menu, drag down to Style, make sure “Normal” is selected from the list of styles, and click “modify.” Choose the correct font and size from the Formatting menu. Click “OK” to make the change to your default settings.

Rule : The text of your paper should be left aligned, NOT justified, as justified text is hard to read if it hasn’t been professionally typeset. The default in Word is left alignment, so don’t change it.

FIRST PAGE FORMAT

Rule : In the upper left corner of the first page of your document, type your name, the date, the course number and section (or topic), and the version of the paper (such as Paper 1 Second Draft), each on a separate line. Be sure to change the date and paper version when you submit revisions and final versions. See the sample below.

DO NOT use the “headers” feature from the header/footer menu to create this full heading as that will make it appear on every page, which is not customary in academic writing. Also do NOT use a title page unless the assignment specifically asks for one.

Rule : Skip a line after the heading and center an original title that conveys the topic of your paper. Do not use underlining or italics in the heading (unless you’re referring to the title of a book or periodical). Do not use bold text or ALL CAPS.

Sample First Page

Page numbers.

Rule : All papers should have automatically inserted page numbers that show in the upper right corner on all pages except the first. Do not insert these page numbers by hand. Instead, use Word’s Header/Footer tool.

For documents following MLA format, put your last name and page number in the upper right corner. For documents following APA format, put a short version of your title (instead of your last name) and the page number in the upper right corner.

Instructions : Go to the View menu and choose “Header and Footer.” You’ll see a header box appear at the top and a footer box at the bottom. Click in the header box, type your last name (or title), make it align to the right, and then select Page Numbers from the Insert menu.

When you’re finished, click on the “Close” tab under the Header view. Each page of your document should now display a page number at the upper right that updates automatically when you make changes to the document. It will appear as grayed out text unless you active the Header and Footer tool to make changes.

To change the setting so that page numbers do not display on the first page, go to the Format men, drag down to Document, and click on the Layout button. Then check the box next to “Different First Page.” Click OK. If necessary, remove the header that appears on the first page and insert a header on the second page, which will automatically appear on all subsequent pages as well.

Document Spacing

Rule : The entire paper should be double-spaced, including the heading and bibliography.

Instructions : Choose “Select All” from the Edit menu, go to the Format menu and drag down to Paragraph, and choose “double” from the “line spacing” menu in the Spacing section. Or you can use these keyboard shortcuts. On a Mac, use Cmd-A to select all and Cmd-2 to double-space. On a PC, use Ctrl-A to select all and Ctrl-2 to double space.

Paragraph Spacing

Rule : Papers should have no extra spacing after paragraphs. This should be the default for Word, but if your default setting is to have 10pt spacing after paragraphs, change your default.

Instructions : Go to the Format menu, drag down to Style, make sure “Normal” is selected from the list of styles, and click “modify.” In the lower left corner, select the dropdown menu that starts with “Format” and drag down to Paragraph. In the paragraph settings menu that pops up, change the settings for Spacing After to 0pt.

CREATE NEW PAGE

Instead of using a lot of returns before starting your bibliography, create a new page for it following these instructions.

Go to the Insert menu, drag down to Break, and then drag over to Page Break.

BLOCKED QUOTATIONS

Rule : If a quotation will exceed four lines within a paragraph, you should separate it out by blocking and indenting it. As with any quotation, a blocked quotation should be clearly introduced by the sentence that leads up to it and it should also be properly cited, but the rules for blocked quotations are somewhat different. The blocking take the place of quotation marks, and unlike in a regular in-paragraph quotation, the parenthetical citation goes outside of the final period instead of inside of it (given that the blocked quote might contain several sentences.)

Instructions : Type the quotation in its own paragraph, without quotation marks, and remove the indent from the first line. Type the source in parentheses after the last period of the last sentence. With your cursor, select the quotation, from the first word to the end of the parenthetical citation, and click the Increase Indent button from the Paragraph Formatting menu.

• MLA Formatting Guidelines for College Papers
• APA Formatting Guidelines for College Papers
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How to Set Up and Use MLA Format in Microsoft Word

The Modern Language Association (MLA) is an organization that provides guidelines for professional and academic writers. Many universities, employers, and professional agencies now require writers to conform to the MLA style since it’s easy to use and consistent.

In this article, we’ll cover how you can use the MLA format in Microsoft Word.

The MLA Format Requirements

Here are the basic MLA guidelines:

• Use 1-inch margins on all sides
• Use a legible font like Times New Roman
• Use 12 size font
• Use double-spacing throughout the entire document
• Use indentation for the beginning of each paragraph
• Include a header that displays your surname and page numbers on the top right-hand side
• The first page should include your name, paper information and date
• The title of your paper should be centered on the first page
• The end of the paper should include a Works Cited page with MLA citations

How to Set Up the MLA Format in Word

Here’s how you can organize your Word document so that it conforms to the MLA guidelines. We’ll cover each requirement in turn, so start at the top and work your way down.

1. Set the Margins

To set 1-inch margins:

• Click on the Layout tab (in older versions of Word this will be Page Layout ).

• Select Margins then click Custom Margins .

• For the Top , Bottom , Right and Left margins, type 1 and press Enter .

• Select OK .

2. Set the Font and Font Size

To change the font:

• Select the Home tab.

• Click the font drop-down menu and select the Times New Roman font (or a similar font like Calibri).
• Click the font size drop-down menu and select 12 .

3. Set Double Line Spacing

To set double-spacing:

• Select the spacing drop-down menu . This icon looks like blue up and down arrows beside four horizontal lines. Click 2 .

4. Set the Indentation

To set paragraph indentation:

• Right-click the document and select Paragraph .

• Make sure the Indents and Spacing tab is selected.
• Click the drop-down menu beneath Special and select First line . Then, click the field beneath By and type 1 cm .

Alternatively, you can press the tab key before starting each new paragraph.

5. Set the Header

To set your header:

• Click the Insert tab.

• In the Header & Footer section, select Header and click Blank (the top option).

• In the header, type your name and press the spacebar once.
• Click the Home tab.
• Select Align Text Right in the Paragraph section.

6. Set the Page Number

To set page numbers:

• Using your cursor, click in the header after your name.
• Select the Header and Footer tab.

• Select Page Number , click Current Position and select Plain Number .

7. Include Key Information on the First Page

Now that your formatting is set up, it’s time to include the required information on the first page of your document.

This should be one to four lines with your full name and other key information such as your course name, course number, instructor’s name, and date (written in a day, month, year format).

After the date, click the Enter key, type your document or research paper’s title and center the text by pressing Align Text Center in the Home tab.

8. Format the Works Cited Page

If you include citations in your document, these also need to conform to the MLA handbook. The list should be:

• Titled with “Works Cited” at the top of page
• In alphabetical order
• Left-justified
• Double-spaced
• Indented with a hanging indent

To include a hanging indent, select your citation list, right-click your document and select Paragraph . In the Indentation section, select the drop-down box underneath Special , select Hanging , and click OK .

Time to Get Writing

Now that you’ve formatted your MLA paper correctly, it’s finally time to get writing. With this formatting guide, you’ll have no trouble passing the MLA requirements. Just make sure to double-check your document before you submit it!

Jake Harfield is an Australian freelance writer whose passion is finding out how different technologies work. He has written for several online publications, focusing on explaining what he has learned to help others with their tech problems. He’s an avid hiker and birder, and in his spare time you’ll find him in the Aussie bush listening to the birdsong. Read Jake's Full Bio

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Tips for Formatting an Essay in Microsoft Word: Fonts and More

• Brian D. Taylor
• Categories : Help with writing assignments paragraphs, essays, outlines & more
• Tags : Homework help & study guides

Why is Formatting Important?

Formatting refers to the arrangement of text on a document. There are many ways to format different types of documents. The focus of this guide will be formatting for essays.

In general, you will want your documents to look neat and professional. Special attention to formatting will ensure that your essays make a great first impression. In fact, some teachers will mark your paper down if you do not format correctly, or follow specific guidelines the teacher has requested (such as double spacing.)

Typography is a term that was first used when referring to how letters were chosen and set for printing on a press. In today’s age of word processors, it now refers to font selection and formatting. Pay careful attention to how you use typography in your essay. Font selection is of key importance. When you are writing an essay for a school assignment, you should make sure your font looks neat and professional. Remember, your essay will have to be read at some point, so you should make sure it can be read easily.

Fonts to Choose

Serif fonts assist with readability. A serif font has little lines on the end of the character. The lines help the eye move from letter to letter more easily. Some examples of standard serif fonts in Microsoft Word are Times New Roman, Courier New, and Book Antiqua. You should use a serif font for the majority of your essay. Be careful, though. Some serif fonts, still would not be acceptable. For instance, serif font styles such as Goudy Stout or Engravers MT would not look professional as the text of your essay because they are big and bulky. Choose carefully.

Sans serif fonts do not have the little lines at the end of the letters. Some examples of sans serif fonts are Arial, Calibri, and Comic Sans. Usually, sans serif fonts work well in short sections of text such as headings or titles. It is best not to use a sans serif font as the bulk of your essay. Furthermore, while I suggested Comic Sans as an example for a sans serif font, its use is typically frowned upon as it does not present a professional quality.

Another aspect of typography is the size of your font. Fonts are measured in points. A one point font is 1/72 of an inch. A 72 point font would measure one inch. Normally, you should choose 10 to 12 point font for all parts of your essay. Font sizes smaller than ten points become difficult to see and read. Font sizes larger than twelve point are difficult to read as well, and they make your teacher think that you’re just trying to use more space.

Bolding & Italicizing

At times, you may need to use bold, italics, or underlining. Bold is best used only in the title of your essay, if at all. Italics and underlining are typically used when you need to emphasize text or if you are referring to a title of another work.

To format your fonts in Microsoft Word, first select the text you wish to format. From there, you have a few options. You can format directly with the formatting toolbar which, by default, appears at the top of the window. You can also use the Format Font Window, which will give you more options. To get there, right click with the mouse and choose “Font” from the menu that appears. The Format Font Window looks like the image to the left (click on the image for a larger view). The selected text will appear in the preview pane. As you format the text, you can see how your text will look in the preview pane. When you have completed formatting your text, click OK to return to your document.

Spacing refers to the amount of space between lines of text. Typically, teachers ask for double spaced text for most assignments. The extra space between each line gives them room for comments and corrections. The extra space also makes the text easier to read. Always double check your teacher’s spacing policy, though. Sometimes a teacher will require a certain page total for your writing, while expecting single spaced lines. Double spacing will cut the length of your essay in half which will cause you to lose points. Always be sure to double check what the teacher wants.

Typically, headings are single spaced. There’s not much reason to have extra space between lines of your heading, so do not use it unless you’ve been directed otherwise. If you are using a quote of four lines or larger, it requires special formatting. Typically, this should be single spaced, as well.

You can also space at the paragraph level. This type of spacing appears before or after a paragraph.

To control spacing in Microsoft Word, select the text, then right click. Choose “Paragraph.” This will open the Format Paragraph Window. It should look like the image to the left (click on the image for a larger view). In the Spacing section, you’ll see two fields: one for Before and one for After. These allow you to space paragraphs apart, either before the paragraph or after. The spacing is measured in points, similar to fonts.

To the right, you can space at the line level. To double space your essay, choose Double from the drop down menu. Similarly, choose Single to single space. There are some other choices for more precise line spacing, but typically double and single will do for most school essays.

Indentation

Indentation refers to spacing from the left or right of the page. For most of the paragraphs in your essay, you will need to indent the first line. A good standard is a .5" first line indent. The tab key is usually set to tab over .5", but it is good practice to use the Format Paragraph Window to ensure that your indentations are correct.

To set a .5" first line indent for all paragraphs, select your text, then right click. Choose “Paragraph.” This will bring up the Format Paragraph Window. In the Indentation section, choose First Line from the drop down menu labeled Special. This will activate a first line indent for your text. Now choose the measurement for the indent. Again, .5" is a good standard to follow.

There are other times when you may need to pay attention to indentation. Let’s say you have a research paper that requires a bibliography or works cited page. The hanging indent option can come in handy and many works cited entries require one. A hanging indent is like the opposite of a first line indent; it indents everything but the first line. You set up a hanging indent in the same way you do a first line indent, only choose Hanging from the drop down menu in the Format Paragraph Window.

Finally, if you are quoting material of four or more lines, you will need to separate the text from the rest of the paragraph and indent both sides. To do this, go to the Format Paragraph Window. Choose the text to be indented and choose the measurement of indent for both left and right sides. Usually, you will want 1" on each side of quoted material. A sample image is attached to show how this should appear on the page.

Working with Images

Sometimes, a teacher will allow the use of images in an essay. Be sure to check with the teacher before adding images as some teachers frown upon their use. Even if the images are allowed, be sure to use them wisely and sparingly. Typically, less is more when it comes to using pictures in essay writing. Teachers want you to create pictures with your words instead!

To insert an image you can copy and paste it into the document, or you can use the insert image function. Once the image is placed into the document, it can be formatted. Begin with the layout of the photo. Right click the image and choose Format Picture. Click on the Layout tab at the top of the window. Here you have several options. In line with Text will cause your image to act as text. This option may cause your text to behave in unexpected ways. This option will almost always create large gaps of space in your essay and is best avoided. The Square or Tight options will cause the text to wrap around your image, thus eliminating the problem of the gaps. One of these two options is best.

Next, you will need to choose the alignment of the image. This appears near the bottom of the Layout tab. Choose which side of the page you wish the image to appear and click OK to see your results. If you change your mind about the alignment of the image, you can now click and drag the image to where you would like it. Since you’ve chosen the Square or Tight text alignment option, the text will simply wrap around the image wherever you place it. Be sure that when placing the image, the text remains in a neat and professional arrangement.

Good luck on your essay! If you have any additional Microsoft Word tips to share post them in the comments.

Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Writing > How to Write a College Essay from Start to Finish

How to Write a College Essay from Start to Finish

No matter if you’re approaching your first essay in a 101-level class or you’re a little further into your undergraduate career, crafting a college essay that gets you the grade you’re looking for is no easy feat. Use this guide on how to write the college essay—and, first, how to format it—to help pave the way toward an easier A on your next assignment.

Formatting the College Essay: Know Your Style Guide

To know the correct way to format your college essay, you will first need to know which style guide your field or course requires. More often than not, a college essay follows one of these three guides:

• Modern Language Association (MLA): Perhaps the best-known of these academic guidelines, the MLA format is widely used in research papers written at both the high school and college level. Once scholars begin specializing in specific fields, however, MLA format ends up being the preferred format for writing in the humanities—areas of study like literature, philosophy, history, and anthropology.
• American Psychological Association (APA): APA style, which differs from MLA in some small but noticeable ways, is the preferred format of most research conducted in social sciences like medicine, sociology, and psychology. Though it’s less often used in high school essays, it’s something you will likely see at some point in during your days in college.
• Chicago Manual of Style (CMS): Although rare in college, some classes might require you to use the Chicago Manual of Style. This extensive style guide offers guidance on a massive range of style and formatting questions, from the grammatical to the purely typographical. While it’s more commonly used to institute uniform style within non-academic writing found in magazines, advertising, and more, you still might encounter it in the college classroom.

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Each of these style guides has its own standards for formatting essays and their citations. Once you know which guide your professor or field prefers you to use in your essay, you can consult resources available at your college’s library or writing center, or online, from somewhere like the Purdue Online Writing Lab , to ensure your work is formatted correctly.

Where to Begin: Tips for Starting—and Finishing—the College Essay

It might be hard to know where to start with an essay, especially one with an intimidating page count. Break down the whole process into something that’s a little more manageable with these end-to-end tips for college essay writing.

Read the Assignment

The most important place to start with your essay is always the prompt or assignment that you’ve been given. Each assignment will vary in its specificity: some college essays are quite open-ended, challenging you to explore your own interests and ideas within a broader sphere of thought; others are very precise, asking you to present an argument and evidence in response to one or more concrete questions.

Familiarizing yourself with the task that’s ahead of you will not only help you find inspiration for your upcoming writing sessions but it will also help you understand straight away whether or not you need to consult your teacher or another resource about any questions you might have.

Find Some Direction

Once you have clarified just what the assignment entails, take some time to consider how you want to approach your essay. Before you sit down to write, it’s useful to first have a brainstorm. Consider your topic, along with any research you have already conducted on it, and try to develop your own take or angle. While you might change your mind as you research and write, it can helpful at this early stage to develop a hypothesis or working thesis that your research and writing will ultimately attempt to prove.

Do Your Research

Armed with this unique angle or working thesis, it’s time to hit the books. Some college essays may require that you cite a minimum number of primary and secondary sources. Regardless of whether there is a minimum number or not, though, you will want to search for authoritative sources that support and strengthen your own analysis. Explore sources online and at your school library, taking notes on each, and compile your research in one place that will be easy to access and reference once you begin writing later.

Create an Outline for Your College Essay

As you’re doing your research, you’ll likely start getting some new ideas for the direction and shape of your essay. Save yourself some work later on by organizing your research into an outline that follows the same structure that your final essay will take. Each college essay typically sticks to the following structure:

• Introduction: Every essay should begin by situating its readers. Use an opening hook to grab their attention, then provide them with the wider context that your essay is working within. Summarize the ideas that your essay will explore and end your introduction with a thesis statement. Your thesis statement, usually just one sentence long, provides a summary of your essay’s main point and describes to readers the point that your writing will attempt to prove.
• Essay Body: The body of your essay, which is where the bulk of your writing will be done, serves to present evidence in support of your thesis statement. This is where you display and cite all of that research you have done and lay out an analysis of your topic.
• Conclusion: The ending of your essay should close things out by restating your thesis statement and summarizing the points you have presented in support of this argument. It should also explore the implications or importance of the argument you have presented. In short, you should conclude your essay by not only recapping the writing that came before, but also answering the question, “So, now what?”
• Works Cited or References Page: The text of your essay will be followed by a list of the works you have cited within your essay. Be sure to follow the (sometimes stringent) citation format dictated by your style guide here. Luckily, online citation generators like EasyBib , Scribbr , or Citation Machine can help make this process a little easier.

Get Writing

By creating an outline for your essay as you research, you should be able to approach the writing of your piece with a solid skeleton or scaffolding in place, such that the writing process is mostly a matter of filling in the gaps around your research and fleshing things out with further detail. Still, as you write, you might identify areas of your essay that require further research or inquiry. For this reason, writing the body of your essay first, before an introduction or conclusion, can often be the easiest approach. Bring all of your ideas to the body of your essay, and then craft your introduction and conclusion to reflect everything that you’ve discussed within your essay.

Once you have a completed draft of your essay, take some time to revise. Using an intelligent writing assistant like Microsoft Editor can save you some time by catching typos, grammar errors, and unclear sentences as you’re writing.

Of course, you’ll also want to take some time to consider the contents of your essay more broadly and identify any places where your argument or evidence might be weaker than others. If your deadline isn’t looming right around the corner, it can be helpful to step away from your writing for a little while. After a break, you can come back to the page with a fresh set of eyes, making it that much easier to finish writing a paper that makes the grade.

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• How to Format an Essay with Microsoft Word

How To Format An Essay With Microsoft Word

Follow these steps to put a smile on your instructor’s face – and more importantly, to correctly format your essay.

• Click on the Microsoft Word icon on the computer screen
• After Microsoft Word loads, click on Format at the top of the screen and then on Paragraph
• In the Paragraph box, click inverted triangle next to Line Spacing and then click on Double from the drop down menu
• Click on “View” at top of screen and then click on “Header and Footer”
• You should now be in the “Header” box. Hold down the “Ctrl” button (on bottom of keyboard near the space bar), and press down the letter “R” once. The cursor should now be at the right hand side of the Header box
• Type in your last name (ex. Doe) and press the space-bar once
• In the blue and gray “Header and Footer” box, click on the white page icon (the one with the single pound sign: ex. # ) on the extreme left
• Click on the “Close” button. You should now see your last name and the numeral 1 in a light gray in the upper right hand corner of your document (ex. Doe 1).
• Wipe the sweat off your brow
• Type in you first and last name (ex. Jane Doe) and press the “Enter” key
• Type your Instructor’s name (ex. Dr. Bordelon) and press the “Enter” key
• Type your course name, number, and section (ex. English 021-06) and press the “Enter” key
• type in your full name and essay # (example: Emily Dickinson Essay #1)
• press the “Enter” key
• Shout “Yahoo!” really loud
• Click on “Insert” at top of the screen and then on “Date and Time”
• Click on the date in the month, day, year format (ex. July 15, 1999) and press the “Enter” key
• type in you title (Ex: How to Set Up MLA Format in Microsoft Word) and
• press the “Enter” key . (Note: do not bold or underline your title and do not put it in quotation marks)
• Press the “Back Space” key once and then the “Tab” key
• Begin typing your paper in MLA college essay format.

**Before ending your work session, remember to save back up copy to A:drive or flash drive.**

• After Microsoft Word loads, click on “Format” at the top of the screen and then on “Paragraph”
• In the “Paragraph” box, click inverted triangle next to “Line Spacing” and then click on “Double” from the drop down menu
• Type short title of essay and press the space-bar once
• Press enter until the center of the page, hold down the ctrl key and press E once: then type in your title
• Press enter twice and type first and last name (ex. Jane Doe)
• Go down to end and type your course name, number, and section (ex. English 021-06) and press the “Enter” key, type professor’s name, enter, and the date.
• Almost there . . . . Hold down the “Ctrl” key and press the “Enter” key. You should be on a new page. Hold down Ctrl and press letter “E” once.” Type title
• Begin typing your paper in APA college essay format.
• Scroll or page down to the end of your last paragraph
• Hold down the “Ctrl” key (on bottom of keyboard near the space bar) and press the “Enter” key once
• You’ve just created a “hard page break” that will keep your Works Cited page separate from the rest of your essay.
• hold down the “Ctrl” key (on bottom of keyboard near the space bar);
• press the letter “E” once (The cursor should now be at the middle of your screen);
• type “Works Cited” if using MLA citation or “References” if using APA (Note: do not bold or underline it); and
• Press the “Back Space” key once and begin adding your entries in  alphabetical order .

Need Additional Assistance?

Visit occ’s writing center.

The Writing Center is open to OCC and Kean Ocean students and is here to assist with papers, research, presentations, and reading for any course. Our staff is filled with well-trained writing consultants that are available to assist at any step of the writing process you are in, from brainstorming to final editing we are here to help you succeed!

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How to Format Academic Papers in Microsoft Word 2022

This reference guide explains how to format your academic documents in Microsoft Word 2022, giving you the fundamental rules for formatting your academic papers as described in most guidelines, such as MLA and APA styles. The rules discussed in this guide apply to most of the academic papers you will submit as college assignments or articles for journals.

This reference guide provides some tips to format academic papers in Microsoft Word. To give you an opportunity to practice proofreading, we have left a few spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors in the text. See if you can spot them! If you spot the errors correctly, you will be entitled to a 10% discount.

Document Margins of Microsoft Word

Indentation of microsoft word documents, how to set font settings for academic papers in microsoft word, how to change the default font of your academic paper, how to format page numbers for academic papers, document spacing of academic papers in microsoft word, how to format paragraph spacing for academic papers, how to create a new page or insert a page break in microsoft word.

This reference guide will explain how to format your academic documents in Microsoft Word 2022, giving you the fundamental rules for formatting your academic papers as described in most guidelines, such as MLA and APA styles. The rules discussed in this guide apply to most of the academic papers you will submit as college assignments or articles for journals; however, keep in mind that some of your professors may want you to follow specific standards that may differ from the rules here. Adopting standard formatting for your academic papers indicates that you comprehend the rules of your college and therefore helps to improve your own credibility.

These rules and instructions can be applied to all versions of Microsoft Word for Mac and Windows. The tools, however, cannot be found at the same place on the toolbar at the top of your document.

Microsoft Word documents generally come with the default setting for margins. Check your default setting if it is to have different left and right margin. If so, change the default setting. Suppose that the paper you need to submit for review or grading should have 3.0 cm margins all around.

Here are the instructions you should follow:

Go to the Format menu at the top, scroll down to Document , change the margins, click on the Default button, and accept the change to the Normal template.

Make sure you leave the gutter set to 0 cm; otherwise, your document formatting will be messed up. 

Then, make your selection.

Suppose that you want t he first line of each paragraph to be automatically indented. Here are the instructions to follow:

To change the indentation format for an academic paper in Microsoft Word, choose Select All from the Edit   menu, or press the combinations of ⌘ A .

Then go to the Format menu, select Paragraph from the drop-down menu (or press the key combinations of ⌥⌘M ).

Indents and Spacing menu will be selected automatically.  Under this menu, go to the Special drop-down menu and select First line . This setting automatically indents the first line of the new paragraph of your academic paper so that you do not have to set it manually each time.

Guidelines may adopt different font settings for academic papers. For instance, a variety of fonts are permitted in APA Style papers. Font options in APA Style include sans serif fonts, such as 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, or 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, serif fonts, such as 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, or normal (10-point) Computer Modern (the default font for LaTeX).

To change it, go to the Format menu, select Style under the drop-down menu.  

Make sure Normal is selected from the list of styles, and click Modify . Choose your preferred font and size from the Formatting menu.

Click OK to make the change to your default settings. You may name it as you wish.

Changing the default font in any template means that the newly set font will be used in every new document that is based on that template. For instance, the default font for new blank documents is based on the Normal   template. First, open the template or a document based on the template whose default settings you wish to change. Go to the  Format  menu at the top of the screen, click the  Font tab (or press the key combinations of ⌥⌘D ) .

Make any changes that you want, and then click  Default .

You will have two options here: You can set the default font to the selected option for This document only or A ll documents based on the Normal template . Then click OK .

All documents should have automatically inserted page numbers shown in the upper right corner on all pages except the first page. Do not insert these page numbers manually. Use the  Header/Footer tool of Microsoft Word instead. 

Go to the View menu and choose Header and Footer.

A header box will appear at the top and a footer box at the bottom. Click in the header box; you can type your last name or the title of your document, and make it align to the right or left as you wish.

Then, select Page Numbers from the Insert menu. 

If you want to show the number on the first page of your document, check the box next to Show number on first page . Set your Position and Alignment as you wish.

For advanced options, click Format , and set other settings, such as your number format, chat numbers, page numbering, etc.

When you are finished with the settings, click on the Close tab under the Header view. Each page of your document should now display a page number in the upper right corner that updates automatically when you make changes to your document. It will appear as grayed-out text unless you activate the Header and Footer   tool to make changes.

If you want to change the setting so that page numbers do not display on the first page of your document, click on Document under the Format drop-down menu and click on the Layout menu.

Under this menu, check the box next to Different First Page , and click OK . If required, remove the header that appears on the first page, and insert a header on the second page. This will automatically appear on all subsequent pages.

Choose Select All from the Edit menu. Select Paragraph under the Format drop-down menu. Choose your desired spacing from the Line spacing menu under the Spacing section. Alternatively, you can use keyboard shortcuts.

Select the Style from the Format drop-down menu. Make sure that Normal is selected from the list of styles, and click Modify . In the lower-left corner, select the Paragraph under the Format drop-down menu.

In the Paragraph settings menu that pops up, change the settings for After to 0 pt under the Spacing menu.

If you wish to create a new page, instead of using numerous returns before starting your bibliography, go to the Insert menu at the top of the screen. Select Page Break under the Break drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can press ⌘+Enter to insert a page break.

If you need help with formatting your academic papers, contact us!

Best Edit & Proof expert editors aim to provide your manuscripts with proper scholarly and academic tone and style. They will significantly improve the chances of having your research manuscript accepted for publishing. They provide subject-area proofreading and editing services in several fields categorized under various disciplines. With our extensive knowledge and expertise, we will help you find the right tone and style for your manuscript.

If you need our subject-area editors to format your manuscripts, giving you the fundamental rules for formatting your manuscripts as described in your guidelines, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago/Turabian styles, then contact us. At Best Edit & Proof, our proofreaders and editors edit  every type of academic paper . We have a user-friendly website and a simplified ordering process. 

If you would like our subject-area editors and language experts to work on your project for the improvement of its academic tone and style, then please visit the  order page.  It is easy! It takes only a few minutes to submit your paper and complete the process. Click  here   to see how it works.

We have flat-rate pricing based on our type of service (editing or proofreading), word count, and turnaround time. Enter your word count or copy and paste your document into our  pricing calculator   to get an instant quote.

If you need support for academic editing and proofreading,  contact us . You can also  e-mail  us or use the 24/7 live chat module to get direct support. Our doctorally qualified editors will polish and fine-tune your projects.

Follow us on Twitter,  LinkedIn,    Facebook,  Instagram, and  Medium .

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When you enter the academic field or just begin writing a thesis, a dissertation, or an article for e peer-review journal, you will fumble upon countless new writing styles, fonts, formats, and citation styles. Academic writing differs from other forms of writing because it often follows a set of structures and involves the use of formal language, grammar, and words. Thus, you need to write in a particular style that carries its own rules and regulations. This article discusses the details and main rules of the Chicago Style Citation.

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A step-by-step guide for creating and formatting APA Style student papers

The start of the semester is the perfect time to learn how to create and format APA Style student papers. This article walks through the formatting steps needed to create an APA Style student paper, starting with a basic setup that applies to the entire paper (margins, font, line spacing, paragraph alignment and indentation, and page headers). It then covers formatting for the major sections of a student paper: the title page, the text, tables and figures, and the reference list. Finally, it concludes by describing how to organize student papers and ways to improve their quality and presentation.

The guidelines for student paper setup are described and shown using annotated diagrams in the Student Paper Setup Guide (PDF, 3.40MB) and the A Step-by-Step Guide to APA Style Student Papers webinar . Chapter 1 of the Concise Guide to APA Style and Chapter 2 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association describe the elements, format, and organization for student papers. Tables and figures are covered in Chapter 7 of both books. Information on paper format and tables and figures and a full sample student paper are also available on the APA Style website.

Basic setup

The guidelines for basic setup apply to the entire paper. Perform these steps when you first open your document, and then you do not have to worry about them again while writing your paper. Because these are general aspects of paper formatting, they apply to all APA Style papers, student or professional. Students should always check with their assigning instructor or institution for specific guidelines for their papers, which may be different than or in addition to APA Style guidelines.

Seventh edition APA Style was designed with modern word-processing programs in mind. Most default settings in programs such as Academic Writer, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs already comply with APA Style. This means that, for most paper elements, you do not have to make any changes to the default settings of your word-processing program. However, you may need to make a few adjustments before you begin writing.

Use 1-in. margins on all sides of the page (top, bottom, left, and right). This is usually how papers are automatically set.

Use a legible font. The default font of your word-processing program is acceptable. Many sans serif and serif fonts can be used in APA Style, including 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, 12-point Times New Roman, and 11-point Georgia. You can also use other fonts described on the font page of the website.

Line spacing

Double-space the entire paper including the title page, block quotations, and the reference list. This is something you usually must set using the paragraph function of your word-processing program. But once you do, you will not have to change the spacing for the entirety of your paper–just double-space everything. Do not add blank lines before or after headings. Do not add extra spacing between paragraphs. For paper sections with different line spacing, see the line spacing page.

Paragraph alignment and indentation

Align all paragraphs of text in the body of your paper to the left margin. Leave the right margin ragged. Do not use full justification. Indent the first line of every paragraph of text 0.5-in. using the tab key or the paragraph-formatting function of your word-processing program. For paper sections with different alignment and indentation, see the paragraph alignment and indentation page.

Page numbers

Put a page number in the top right of every page header , including the title page, starting with page number 1. Use the automatic page-numbering function of your word-processing program to insert the page number in the top right corner; do not type the page numbers manually. The page number is the same font and font size as the text of your paper. Student papers do not require a running head on any page, unless specifically requested by the instructor.

Title page setup

Title page elements.

APA Style has two title page formats: student and professional (for details, see title page setup ). Unless instructed otherwise, students should use the student title page format and include the following elements, in the order listed, on the title page:

• Paper title.
• Name of each author (also known as the byline).
• Affiliation for each author.
• Course number and name.
• Instructor name.
• Assignment due date.
• Page number 1 in the top right corner of the page header.

The format for the byline depends on whether the paper has one author, two authors, or three or more authors.

• When the paper has one author, write the name on its own line (e.g., Jasmine C. Hernandez).
• When the paper has two authors, write the names on the same line and separate them with the word “and” (e.g., Upton J. Wang and Natalia Dominguez).
• When the paper has three or more authors, separate the names with commas and include “and” before the final author’s name (e.g., Malia Mohamed, Jaylen T. Brown, and Nia L. Ball).

Students have an academic affiliation, which identities where they studied when the paper was written. Because students working together on a paper are usually in the same class, they will have one shared affiliation. The affiliation consists of the name of the department and the name of the college or university, separated by a comma (e.g., Department of Psychology, George Mason University). The department is that of the course to which the paper is being submitted, which may be different than the department of the student’s major. Do not include the location unless it is part of the institution’s name.

Write the course number and name and the instructor name as shown on institutional materials (e.g., the syllabus). The course number and name are often separated by a colon (e.g., PST-4510: History and Systems Psychology). Write the assignment due date in the month, date, and year format used in your country (e.g., Sept. 10, 2020).

Title page line spacing

Double-space the whole title page. Place the paper title three or four lines down from the top of the page. Add an extra double-spaced blank like between the paper title and the byline. Then, list the other title page elements on separate lines, without extra lines in between.

Title page alignment

Center all title page elements (except the right-aligned page number in the header).

Title page font

Write the title page using the same font and font size as the rest of your paper. Bold the paper title. Use standard font (i.e., no bold, no italics) for all other title page elements.

Text elements

Repeat the paper title at the top of the first page of text. Begin the paper with an introduction to provide background on the topic, cite related studies, and contextualize the paper. Use descriptive headings to identify other sections as needed (e.g., Method, Results, Discussion for quantitative research papers). Sections and headings vary depending on the paper type and its complexity. Text can include tables and figures, block quotations, headings, and footnotes.

Text line spacing

Double-space all text, including headings and section labels, paragraphs of text, and block quotations.

Text alignment

Center the paper title on the first line of the text. Indent the first line of all paragraphs 0.5-in.

Left-align the text. Leave the right margin ragged.

Block quotation alignment

Indent the whole block quotation 0.5-in. from the left margin. Double-space the block quotation, the same as other body text. Find more information on the quotations page.

Use the same font throughout the entire paper. Write body text in standard (nonbold, nonitalic) font. Bold only headings and section labels. Use italics sparingly, for instance, to highlight a key term on first use (for more information, see the italics page).

Headings format

For detailed guidance on formatting headings, including headings in the introduction of a paper, see the headings page and the headings in sample papers .

• Alignment: Center Level 1 headings. Left-align Level 2 and Level 3 headings. Indent Level 4 and Level 5 headings like a regular paragraph.
• Font: Boldface all headings. Also italicize Level 3 and Level 5 headings. Create heading styles using your word-processing program (built into AcademicWriter, available for Word via the sample papers on the APA Style website).

Tables and figures setup

Tables and figures are only included in student papers if needed for the assignment. Tables and figures share the same elements and layout. See the website for sample tables and sample figures .

Table elements

Tables include the following four elements: 

• Body (rows and columns)
• Note (optional if needed to explain elements in the table)

Figure elements

Figures include the following four elements: 

• Image (chart, graph, etc.)
• Note (optional if needed to explain elements in the figure)

Table line spacing

Double-space the table number and title. Single-, 1.5-, or double-space the table body (adjust as needed for readability). Double-space the table note.

Figure line spacing

Double-space the figure number and title. The default settings for spacing in figure images is usually acceptable (but adjust the spacing as needed for readability). Double-space the figure note.

Table alignment

Left-align the table number and title. Center column headings. Left-align the table itself and left-align the leftmost (stub) column. Center data in the table body if it is short or left-align the data if it is long. Left-align the table note.

Figure alignment

Left-align the figure number and title. Left-align the whole figure image. The default alignment of the program in which you created your figure is usually acceptable for axis titles and data labels. Left-align the figure note.

Bold the table number. Italicize the table title. Use the same font and font size in the table body as the text of your paper. Italicize the word “Note” at the start of the table note. Write the note in the same font and font size as the text of your paper.

Figure font

Bold the figure number. Italicize the figure title. Use a sans serif font (e.g., Calibri, Arial) in the figure image in a size between 8 to 14 points. Italicize the word “Note” at the start of the figure note. Write the note in the same font and font size as the text of your paper.

Placement of tables and figures

There are two options for the placement of tables and figures in an APA Style paper. The first option is to place all tables and figures on separate pages after the reference list. The second option is to embed each table and figure within the text after its first callout. This guide describes options for the placement of tables and figures embedded in the text. If your instructor requires tables and figures to be placed at the end of the paper, see the table and figure guidelines and the sample professional paper .

Call out (mention) the table or figure in the text before embedding it (e.g., write “see Figure 1” or “Table 1 presents”). You can place the table or figure after the callout either at the bottom of the page, at the top of the next page, or by itself on the next page. Avoid placing tables and figures in the middle of the page.

Embedding at the bottom of the page

Include a callout to the table or figure in the text before that table or figure. Add a blank double-spaced line between the text and the table or figure at the bottom of the page.

Embedding at the top of the page

Include a callout to the table in the text on the previous page before that table or figure. The table or figure then appears at the top of the next page. Add a blank double-spaced line between the end of the table or figure and the text that follows.

Embedding on its own page

Embed long tables or large figures on their own page if needed. The text continues on the next page.

Reference list setup

Reference list elements.

The reference list consists of the “References” section label and the alphabetical list of references. View reference examples on the APA Style website. Consult Chapter 10 in both the Concise Guide and Publication Manual for even more examples.

Reference list line spacing

Start the reference list at the top of a new page after the text. Double-space the entire reference list (both within and between entries).

Reference list alignment

Center the “References” label. Apply a hanging indent of 0.5-in. to all reference list entries. Create the hanging indent using your word-processing program; do not manually hit the enter and tab keys.

Reference list font

Bold the “References” label at the top of the first page of references. Use italics within reference list entries on either the title (e.g., webpages, books, reports) or on the source (e.g., journal articles, edited book chapters).

Final checks

Check page order.

• Start each section on a new page.
• Arrange pages in the following order:
• Title page (page 1).
• Text (starts on page 2).
• Reference list (starts on a new page after the text).

Check headings

• Check that headings accurately reflect the content in each section.
• Start each main section with a Level 1 heading.
• Use Level 2 headings for subsections of the introduction.
• Use the same level of heading for sections of equal importance.
• Avoid having only one subsection within a section (have two or more, or none).

Check assignment instructions

• Remember that instructors’ guidelines supersede APA Style.
• Students should check their assignment guidelines or rubric for specific content to include in their papers and to make sure they are meeting assignment requirements.

Tips for better writing

• Ask for feedback on your paper from a classmate, writing center tutor, or instructor.
• Budget time to implement suggestions.
• Use spell-check and grammar-check to identify potential errors, and then manually check those flagged.
• Proofread the paper by reading it slowly and carefully aloud to yourself.
• Consult your university writing center if you need extra help.

About the author

Undergraduate student resources

Sample Papers

This page contains sample papers formatted in seventh edition APA Style. The sample papers show the format that authors should use to submit a manuscript for publication in a professional journal and that students should use to submit a paper to an instructor for a course assignment. You can download the Word files to use as templates and edit them as needed for the purposes of your own papers.

Most guidelines in the Publication Manual apply to both professional manuscripts and student papers. However, there are specific guidelines for professional papers versus student papers, including professional and student title page formats. All authors should check with the person or entity to whom they are submitting their paper (e.g., publisher or instructor) for guidelines that are different from or in addition to those specified by APA Style.

Sample papers from the Publication Manual

The following two sample papers were published in annotated form in the Publication Manual and are reproduced here as PDFs for your ease of use. The annotations draw attention to content and formatting and provide the relevant sections of the Publication Manual (7th ed.) to consult for more information.

• Student sample paper with annotations (PDF, 5MB)
• Professional sample paper with annotations (PDF, 2.7MB)

We also offer these sample papers in Microsoft Word (.docx) format with the annotations as comments to the text.

• Student sample paper with annotations as comments (DOCX, 42KB)
• Professional sample paper with annotations as comments (DOCX, 103KB)

Finally, we offer these sample papers in Microsoft Word (.docx) format without the annotations.

• Student sample paper without annotations (DOCX, 36KB)
• Professional sample paper without annotations (DOCX, 96KB)

Sample professional paper templates by paper type

These sample papers demonstrate APA Style formatting standards for different professional paper types. Professional papers can contain many different elements depending on the nature of the work. Authors seeking publication should refer to the journal’s instructions for authors or manuscript submission guidelines for specific requirements and/or sections to include.

• Literature review professional paper template (DOCX, 47KB)
• Mixed methods professional paper template (DOCX, 68KB)
• Qualitative professional paper template (DOCX, 72KB)
• Quantitative professional paper template (DOCX, 77KB)
• Review professional paper template (DOCX, 112KB)

Sample papers are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Chapter 2 and the Concise Guide Chapter 1

Related handouts

• Heading Levels Template: Student Paper (PDF, 257KB)
• Heading Levels Template: Professional Paper (PDF, 213KB)

Other instructional aids

• Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS)
• APA Style Tutorials and Webinars
• Handouts and Guides
• Paper Format

View all instructional aids

Sample student paper templates by paper type

These sample papers demonstrate APA Style formatting standards for different student paper types. Students may write the same types of papers as professional authors (e.g., quantitative studies, literature reviews) or other types of papers for course assignments (e.g., reaction or response papers, discussion posts), dissertations, and theses.

APA does not set formal requirements for the nature or contents of an APA Style student paper. Students should follow the guidelines and requirements of their instructor, department, and/or institution when writing papers. For instance, an abstract and keywords are not required for APA Style student papers, although an instructor may request them in student papers that are longer or more complex. Specific questions about a paper being written for a course assignment should be directed to the instructor or institution assigning the paper.

• Discussion post student paper template (DOCX, 31KB)
• Literature review student paper template (DOCX, 37KB)
• Quantitative study student paper template (DOCX, 53KB)

Sample papers in real life

Although published articles differ in format from manuscripts submitted for publication or student papers (e.g., different line spacing, font, margins, and column format), articles published in APA journals provide excellent demonstrations of APA Style in action.

APA journals began publishing papers in seventh edition APA Style in 2020. Professional authors should check the author submission guidelines for the journal to which they want to submit their paper for any journal-specific style requirements.

Credits for sample professional paper templates

Quantitative professional paper template: Adapted from “Fake News, Fast and Slow: Deliberation Reduces Belief in False (but Not True) News Headlines,” by B. Bago, D. G. Rand, and G. Pennycook, 2020, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 149 (8), pp. 1608–1613 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000729 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

Qualitative professional paper template: Adapted from “‘My Smartphone Is an Extension of Myself’: A Holistic Qualitative Exploration of the Impact of Using a Smartphone,” by L. J. Harkin and D. Kuss, 2020, Psychology of Popular Media , 10 (1), pp. 28–38 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000278 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

Mixed methods professional paper template: Adapted from “‘I Am a Change Agent’: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Students’ Social Justice Value Orientation in an Undergraduate Community Psychology Course,” by D. X. Henderson, A. T. Majors, and M. Wright, 2019,  Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology , 7 (1), 68–80. ( https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000171 ). Copyright 2019 by the American Psychological Association.

Literature review professional paper template: Adapted from “Rethinking Emotions in the Context of Infants’ Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Interest and Positive Emotions,” by S. I. Hammond and J. K. Drummond, 2019, Developmental Psychology , 55 (9), pp. 1882–1888 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000685 ). Copyright 2019 by the American Psychological Association.

Review professional paper template: Adapted from “Joining the Conversation: Teaching Students to Think and Communicate Like Scholars,” by E. L. Parks, 2022, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology , 8 (1), pp. 70–78 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000193 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

Credits for sample student paper templates

These papers came from real students who gave their permission to have them edited and posted by APA.

How-To Geek

How to double space in microsoft word.

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Microsoft Office vs. Google Docs, Sheets, Slides: Which Is Best?

Why google keep is my favorite note-taking app, i won't use a vpn without these 6 features, quick links, what is double-spacing, option 1: configure document to automatically double space, option 2: double space with a keyboard shortcut, option 3: double-space by editing the text properties.

If you need to add some line spacing to your Word document or write an APA style piece, double spacing is a useful feature. You can quickly double space your documents with just a few clicks or a keyboard shortcut.

Virtually every college student eventually has to double space a document in Microsoft Word. It provides plenty of margins to make notes or suggestions in a document. It's also a great way to make it easier to read---I can't read anything on a Kindle without changing the view to double-spaced, for instance---and can be more visually appealing for certain types of writing.

If you use Google's apps,  double spacing on Google Docs  is a common task as well. Fortunately, there are several ways to use double spacing in Microsoft Word. You can set your document up ahead of time with double-spaced formatting, or apply double spacing to the document after finishing it instead.

Related: How to Double-Space on Google Docs

If you don't have anything written yet, you can  use a cool trick  from the 2007 version of Microsoft Word (that still exists in the current version of the software) to create some random text to edit. Simply open up a new document, click anywhere in the field, and type

to create some fancy Lorem Ipsum text . Do this as many times as you like to create additional paragraphs.

Once you've generated your text or finished writing your document, it's time to set your line spacing.

Related: Undocumented Microsoft Word Feature: Insert Lorem Ipsum Text

If you want to configure your document to automatically double space as you write, there are two ways to do it.

The first method uses the "Line Spacing" icon under the "Home" tab. In the "Home" tab, navigate to the "Line Spacing" icon.

Select "2.0" from the drop-down menu. Your text will now be double spaced. You can do this to quickly double spacing at any point in the writing process, but it works best for setting up the document.

You can accomplish the same goal using the Design tab. Start by clicking the "Design" tab in the ribbon.

In the "Design" tab, navigate over to the "Paragraph Spacing" option. Select it to bring up a menu.

In the drop-down menu, select "Double :"

And that's it! Your document will now automatically set each line to double spaced as you write:

Another easy way to double space your documents is to use our old friend, the please note this method works as both a way to configure the document before writing and to double space while writing.

To double space with a keyboard shortcut, first highlight your desired text, or select everything using the Ctrl+A command.

With the desired text selected, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+2 to quickly apply double space formatting to your text.

A third method for double spacing your text is to edit the paragraph settings of specific passages. First, highlight the text you want or use Ctrl+A to select all:

Right-click your mouse to bring up a menu and select "Paragraph: "

In the "Paragraph" menu, select the drop-down menu located beneath "Line Spacing:"

Select "Double" and click "OK :"

Using these methods to quickly double space text in Microsoft Word will help you get past those formatting roadblocks with ease. Happy writing!

• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Word

Welcome to Copilot in Word

Copilot in Word ushers in a new era of writing, leveraging the power of AI. It can help you go from a blank page to a finished document in a fraction of the time it would take to compose text on your own. And while it may write exactly what you need, sometimes it may be "usefully wrong" thus giving you some helpful inspiration. Additionally, Copilot Chat can provide helpful actions based on your document content or obtain additional content from outside resources. 

And if you’re looking for something more generic, beyond what's in your draft, you can ask Copilot Chat questions to research, ideate, or iterate on for possible content to add. 

Draft with Copilot

Note:  This feature is available to customers with either a Copilot for Microsoft 365 (work) or Copilot Pro (home) license.

Whether you’re creating a new document or working on an existing one, Copilot can help you move forward. In a new, blank document or upon creating new line in an existing document, the Draft with Copilot experience appears. 

The description you provide can be a simple sentence or a more complex request with outlines, notes, or referenced files that you want Copilot to use. You could tell Copilot "Write an essay about baseball" or "C reate a paragraph about time management, " for example. 

For users with a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license, the Reference a file  button allows you to search for and include up to three of your existing files as inputs to ground the content Copilot drafts. In the compose box, you can also enter "/" and the name of the file you'd like to reference, which will update the file options shown in the menu for selection. This feature only references the files you select, not any other organizational data.

In the Copilot compose box, enter in details on how you would like Copilot's response to change. For example, write " Make this more concise, " and Copilot will fine tune its response based on your instructions.

In a document with existing content, you can also use the Inspire Me button to have Copilot automatically keep writing for you, based on the content already in your document. 

For more information, see  Start a draft with Copilot in Word.

Transform with Copilot

Sometimes rewriting and editing your documents takes more time and thought than writing your ideas down in the first place. Copilot not only helps you create new content, but it also helps you transform your existing content into a document you can be proud of.

Fine tune the table by entering details into the Copilot compose box about what to adjust in the table, like " Add an empty third column. "

For both Rewrite and Visualize as a table , select < and > to navigate through Copilot's suggestions.

For more information, see  Transform your content with Copilot in Word .

Chat with Copilot

When generating summaries or asking questions about your document, Copilot will provide references with citations to where it retrieved its information from.

For more information, see  Chat with Copilot about your Word document.

Some ideas to try 

Want to practice a bit and see what Copilot can do? Here are some starter ideas. 

Draft with Copilot 

Use the Copilot prompt in the canvas to request content for any of these.  

An article for my team on the importance of taking care of their wellbeing

Create a business plan for a new mobile pet grooming service

Write a marketing plan for a house painting business

Create a cover letter for a Finance Officer role

Ask Copilot about the document

In a document containing existing content, open Copilot Chat and try any of these. 

What are the key points in this doc?

Summarize this document.

Is there a call to action?

Ask Copilot for info that's not in the document

In the Copilot Chat pane try any of these.

I need a chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Show me the chocolate chip cookie recipe ingredients in a table.

Give me an example haiku about Contoso coffee.

Copilot and Microsoft 365 are built on Microsoft's comprehensive approach to security, compliance, and privacy.

For more information about privacy, see the following information:

If you’re using Copilot for Microsoft 365 in your organization (with your work or school account), see Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 .

If you're using Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps at home as part of Copilot Pro (with your personal Microsoft account), see  Copilot Pro: Microsoft 365 apps and your privacy .

Current limitations

The content of the chat pane isn't saved, so Copilot won't be able to refer to previous interactions there.

Copilot may not work well with content containing SmartArt, tables, or charts.

Copilot currently supports fewer languages than what's available for the UI. Find more information at Microsoft Copilot supported languages .

Copilot is currently limited in the number of words it can process per prompt. For more information about processing longer documents, see  Keeping it short and sweet: a guide on the length of documents that you provide to Copilot .

Keep in mind...

The features described here use GPT, an AI system from OpenAI that creates text based on a prompt. As it is a new system, it may create things you didn’t expect. If you find its content to be unexpected or offensive, please send us feedback so we can make it better. Because content generated via AI draws from the internet, it may contain inaccuracies or sensitive material. Be sure to review and verify the information it generates. Also note that similar requests may result in the same content being generated. 

We want to hear from you!

If there's something you like about Copilot—and especially if there's something you don't like—you can submit feedback to Microsoft. Just click the thumb-up or thumb-down button in the response output. This feedback will help us improve your experience in Word. 

Frequently asked questions about Copilot in Word

Copilot in Word help & learning

Microsoft Copilot help & learning

Where can I get Microsoft Copilot?

Need more help?

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Frequently asked questions

How do i set up apa format in word.

The easiest way to set up APA format in Word is to download Scribbr’s free APA format template for student papers or professional papers.

Alternatively, you can watch Scribbr’s 5-minute step-by-step tutorial or check out our APA format guide with examples.

Frequently asked questions: APA Style

APA footnotes use superscript numbers and should appear in numerical order. You can place footnotes at the bottom of the relevant pages, or on a separate footnotes page at the end:

• For footnotes at the bottom of the page, you can use your word processor to automatically insert footnotes .
• For footnotes at the end of the text in APA, place them on a separate page entitled “Footnotes,” after the r eference page . Indent the first line of each footnote, and double-space them.

For both approaches, place a space between the superscript number and the footnote text.

APA Style requires you to use APA in-text citations , not footnotes, to cite sources .

However, you can use APA footnotes sparingly for two purposes:

• Giving additional information
• Providing copyright attribution

Yes, APA language guidelines state that you should always use the serial comma (aka Oxford comma ) in your writing.

This means including a comma before the word “and” at the end of a list of three or more items: “spelling, grammar, and punctuation.” Doing this consistently tends to make your lists less ambiguous.

Yes, it’s perfectly valid to write sentences in the passive voice . The APA language guidelines do caution against overusing the passive voice, because it can obscure your meaning or be needlessly long-winded. For this reason, default to the active voice in most cases.

The passive voice is most useful when the point of the sentence is just to state what was done, not to emphasize who did it. For example, “The projector was mounted on the wall” is better than “James and I mounted the projector on the wall” if it’s not particularly important who mounted the projector.

Yes, APA language guidelines encourage you to use the first-person pronouns “I” or “we” when referring to yourself or a group including yourself in your writing.

In APA Style, you should not refer to yourself in the third person. For example, do not refer to yourself as “the researcher” or “the author” but simply as “I” or “me.” Referring to yourself in the third person is still common practice in some academic fields, but APA Style rejects this convention.

If you cite several sources by the same author or group of authors, you’ll distinguish between them in your APA in-text citations using the year of publication.

If you cite multiple sources by the same author(s) at the same point , you can just write the author name(s) once and separate the different years with commas, e.g., (Smith, 2020, 2021).

To distinguish between sources with the same author(s) and  the same publication year, add a different lowercase letter after the year for each source, e.g., (Smith, 2020, 2021a, 2021b). Add the same letters to the corresponding reference entries .

According to the APA guidelines, you should report enough detail on inferential statistics so that your readers understand your analyses.

Report the following for each hypothesis test:

• the test statistic value
• the degrees of freedom
• the exact p value (unless it is less than 0.001)
• the magnitude and direction of the effect

You should also present confidence intervals and estimates of effect sizes where relevant.

The number of decimal places to report depends on what you’re reporting. Generally, you should aim to round numbers while retaining precision. It’s best to present fewer decimal digits to aid easy understanding.

Use one decimal place for:

• Standard deviations
• Descriptive statistics based on discrete data

Use two decimal places for:

• Correlation coefficients
• Proportions
• Inferential test statistics such as t values, F values, and chi-squares.

No, including a URL is optional in APA Style reference entries for legal sources (e.g. court cases , laws ). It can be useful to do so to aid the reader in retrieving the source, but it’s not required, since the other information included should be enough to locate it.

Generally, you should identify a law in an APA reference entry by its location in the United States Code (U.S.C.).

But if the law is either spread across various sections of the code or not featured in the code at all, include the public law number in addition to information on the source you accessed the law in, e.g.:

You should report methods using the past tense , even if you haven’t completed your study at the time of writing. That’s because the methods section is intended to describe completed actions or research.

In your APA methods section , you should report detailed information on the participants, materials, and procedures used.

• Describe all relevant participant or subject characteristics, the sampling procedures used and the sample size and power .
• Define all primary and secondary measures and discuss the quality of measurements.
• Specify the data collection methods, the research design and data analysis strategy, including any steps taken to transform the data and statistical analyses.

With APA legal citations, it’s recommended to cite all the reporters (publications reporting cases) in which a court case appears. To cite multiple reporters, just separate them with commas in your reference entry . This is called parallel citation .

Don’t repeat the name of the case, court, or year; just list the volume, reporter, and page number for each citation. For example:

In APA Style , when you’re citing a recent court case that has not yet been reported in print and thus doesn’t have a specific page number, include a series of three underscores (___) where the page number would usually appear:

In APA style, statistics can be presented in the main text or as tables or figures . To decide how to present numbers, you can follow APA guidelines:

• To present three or fewer numbers, try a sentence,
• To present between 4 and 20 numbers, try a table,
• To present more than 20 numbers, try a figure.

Since these are general guidelines, use your own judgment and feedback from others for effective presentation of numbers.

In an APA results section , you should generally report the following:

• Participant flow and recruitment period.
• Missing data and any adverse events.
• Descriptive statistics about your samples.
• Inferential statistics , including confidence intervals and effect sizes.
• Results of any subgroup or exploratory analyses, if applicable.

When citing a podcast episode in APA Style , the podcast’s host is listed as author , accompanied by a label identifying their role, e.g. Glass, I. (Host).

When citing a whole podcast series, if different episodes have different hosts, list the executive producer(s) instead. Again, include a label identifying their role, e.g. Lechtenberg, S. (Producer).

Like most style guides , APA recommends listing the book of the Bible you’re citing in your APA in-text citation , in combination with chapter and verse numbers. For example:

Books of the Bible may be abbreviated to save space; a list of standard abbreviations can be found here . Page numbers are not used in Bible citations.

Yes, in the 7th edition of APA Style , versions of the Bible are treated much like other books ; you should include the edition you used in your reference list .

Previously, in the 6th edition of the APA manual, it was recommended to just use APA 6 in-text citations to refer to the Bible, and omit it from the reference list.

To make it easy for the reader to find the YouTube video , list the person or organization who uploaded the video as the author in your reference entry and APA in-text citation .

If this isn’t the same person responsible for the content of the video, you might want to make this clear in the text. For example:

When you need to highlight a specific moment in a video or audio source, use a timestamp in your APA in-text citation . Just include the timestamp from the start of the part you’re citing. For example:

To include a direct quote in APA , follow these rules:

• Quotes under 40 words are placed in double quotation marks .
• Quotes of 40 words or more are formatted as block quote .
• The author, year, and page number are included in an APA in-text citation .

APA doesn’t require you to include a list of tables or a list of figures . However, it is advisable to do so if your text is long enough to feature a table of contents and it includes a lot of tables and/or figures .

A list of tables and list of figures appear (in that order) after your table of contents, and are presented in a similar way.

Copyright information can usually be found wherever the table or figure was published. For example, for a diagram in a journal article , look on the journal’s website or the database where you found the article. Images found on sites like Flickr are listed with clear copyright information.

If you find that permission is required to reproduce the material, be sure to contact the author or publisher and ask for it.

If you adapt or reproduce a table or figure from another source, you should include that source in your APA reference list . You should also include copyright information in the note for the table or figure, and include an APA in-text citation when you refer to it.

Tables and figures you created yourself, based on your own data, are not included in the reference list.

An APA in-text citation is placed before the final punctuation mark in a sentence.

• The company invested over 40,000 hours in optimizing its algorithm (Davis, 2011) .
• A recent poll suggests that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (Levring, 2018) .

In an APA in-text citation , you use the phrase “ as cited in ” if you want to cite a source indirectly (i.e., if you cannot find the original source).

Parenthetical citation: (Brown, 1829, as cited in Mahone, 2018) Narrative citation: Brown (1829, as cited in Mahone, 2018) states that…

On the reference page , you only include the secondary source (Mahone, 2018).

Popular word processors like Microsoft Word and Google Docs can order lists in alphabetical order, but they don’t follow the APA Style alphabetization guidelines .

If you use Scribbr’s APA Citation Generator to create citations, references are ordered automatically based on the APA guidelines, taking into account all the exceptions.

Order numerals as though they were spelled out:

• “20 tips to relax” is ordered on the “T” of “Twenty”.
• “100 cities you should visit” is ordered on the “O” of “One hundred”.

Read more about alphabetizing the APA reference page .

If the author of a work is unknown, order the reference by its title. Disregard the words “A”, “An”, and “The” at the beginning of the title.

• The privacy concerns around social media
• Teens, social media, and privacy

Yes, if relevant you can and should include APA in-text citations in your appendices . Use author-date citations as you do in the main text.

Any sources cited in your appendices should appear in your reference list . Do not create a separate reference list for your appendices.

When you include more than one appendix in an APA Style paper , they should be labeled “Appendix A,” “Appendix B,” and so on.

When you only include a single appendix, it is simply called “Appendix” and referred to as such in the main text.

Appendices in an APA Style paper appear right at the end, after the reference list and after your tables and figures if you’ve also included these at the end.

An appendix contains information that supplements the reader’s understanding of your research but is not essential to it. For example:

• Interview transcripts
• Questionnaires
• Detailed descriptions of equipment

Something is only worth including as an appendix if you refer to information from it at some point in the text (e.g. quoting from an interview transcript). If you don’t, it should probably be removed.

If you adapt or reproduce a table or figure from another source, you should include that source in your APA reference list . You should also acknowledge the original source in the note or caption for the table or figure.

APA doesn’t require you to include a list of tables or a list of figures . However, it is advisable to do so if your text is long enough to feature a table of contents and it includes a lot of tables and/or figures.

A list of tables and list of figures appear (in that order) after your table of contents , and are presented in a similar way.

In an APA Style paper , use a table or figure when it’s a clearer way to present important data than describing it in your main text. This is often the case when you need to communicate a large amount of information.

Before including a table or figure in your text, always reflect on whether it’s useful to your readers’ understanding:

• Could this information be quickly summarized in the text instead?
• Is it important to your arguments?
• Does the table or figure require too much explanation to be efficient?

If the data you need to present only contains a few relevant numbers, try summarizing it in the text (potentially including full data in an appendix ). If describing the data makes your text overly long and difficult to read, a table or figure may be the best option.

In an APA Style paper , the abstract is placed on a separate page after the title page (page 2).

An APA abstract is around 150–250 words long. However, always check your target journal’s guidelines and don’t exceed the specified word count.

In APA Style , all sources that are not retrievable for the reader are cited as personal communications . In other words, if your source is private or inaccessible to the audience of your paper , it’s a personal communication.

Common examples include conversations, emails, messages, letters, and unrecorded interviews or performances.

Interviews you conducted yourself are not included in your reference list , but instead cited in the text as personal communications .

Published or recorded interviews are included in the reference list. Cite them in the usual format of the source type (for example, a newspaper article , website or YouTube video ).

To cite a public post from social media , use the first 20 words of the post as a title, include the date it was posted and a URL, and mention the author’s username if they have one:

Dorsey, J. [@jack]. (2018, March 1). We’re committing Twitter to help increase the collective health, openness, and civility of public conversation, and to hold ourselves publicly [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/jack/status/969234275420655616

To cite content from social media that is not publicly accessible (e.g. direct messages, posts from private groups or user profiles), cite it as a personal communication in the text, but do not include it in the reference list :

When contacted online, the minister stated that the project was proceeding “according to plan” (R. James, Twitter direct message, March 25, 2017).

When you quote or paraphrase a specific passage from a source, you need to indicate the location of the passage in your APA in-text citation . If there are no page numbers (e.g. when citing a website ) but the text is long, you can instead use section headings, paragraph numbers, or a combination of the two:

(Caulfield, 2019, Linking section, para. 1).

Section headings can be shortened if necessary. Kindle location numbers should not be used in ebook citations , as they are unreliable.

If you are referring to the source as a whole, it’s not necessary to include a page number or other marker.

When no individual author name is listed, but the source can clearly be attributed to a specific organization—e.g., a press release by a charity, a report by an agency, or a page from a company’s website—use the organization’s name as the author in the reference entry and APA in-text citations .

When no author at all can be determined—e.g. a collaboratively edited wiki or an online article published anonymously—use the title in place of the author. In the in-text citation, put the title in quotation marks if it appears in plain text in the reference list, and in italics if it appears in italics in the reference list. Shorten it if necessary.

APA Style usually does not require an access date. You never need to include one when citing journal articles , e-books , or other stable online sources.

However, if you are citing a website or online article that’s designed to change over time, it’s a good idea to include an access date. In this case, write it in the following format at the end of the reference: Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.uva.nl/en/about-the-uva/about-the-university/about-the-university.html

The 7th edition APA Manual , published in October 2019, is the most current edition. However, the 6th edition, published in 2009, is still used by many universities and journals.

The APA Manual 7th edition can be purchased at Amazon as a hardcover, paperback or spiral-bound version. You can also buy an ebook version at RedShelf .

The American Psychological Association anticipates that most people will start using the 7th edition in the spring of 2020 or thereafter.

It’s best to ask your supervisor or check the website of the journal you want to publish in to see which APA guidelines you should follow.

If you’re citing from an edition other than the first (e.g. a 2nd edition or revised edition), the edition appears in the reference, abbreviated in parentheses after the book’s title (e.g. 2nd ed. or Rev. ed.).

In the 7th edition of the APA manual, no location information is required for publishers. The 6th edition previously required you to include the city and state where the publisher was located, but this is no longer the case.

In an APA reference list , journal article citations include only the year of publication, not the exact date, month, or season.

The inclusion of volume and issue numbers makes a more specific date unnecessary.

In an APA journal citation , if a DOI (digital object identifier) is available for an article, always include it.

If an article has no DOI, and you accessed it through a database or in print, just omit the DOI.

If an article has no DOI, and you accessed it through a website other than a database (for example, the journal’s own website), include a URL linking to the article.

You may include up to 20 authors in a reference list entry .

When an article has more than 20 authors, replace the names prior to the final listed author with an ellipsis, but do not omit the final author:

Davis, Y., Smith, J., Caulfield, F., Pullman, H., Carlisle, J., Donahue, S. D., James, F., O’Donnell, K., Singh, J., Johnson, L., Streefkerk, R., McCombes, S., Corrieri, L., Valck, X., Baldwin, F. M., Lorde, J., Wardell, K., Lao, W., Yang, P., . . . O’Brien, T. (2012).

Include the DOI at the very end of the APA reference entry . If you’re using the 6th edition APA guidelines, the DOI is preceded by the label “doi:”. In the 7th edition , the DOI is preceded by ‘https://doi.org/’.

• 6th edition: doi: 10.1177/0894439316660340
• 7th edition: https://doi.org/ 10.1177/0894439316660340

APA citation example (7th edition)

Hawi, N. S., & Samaha, M. (2016). The relations among social media addiction, self-esteem, and life satisfaction in university students. Social Science Computer Review , 35 (5), 576–586. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439316660340

When citing a webpage or online article , the APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and year of publication. For example: (Worland & Williams, 2015). Note that the author can also be an organization. For example: (American Psychological Association, 2019).

If you’re quoting you should also include a locator. Since web pages don’t have page numbers, you can use one of the following options:

• Paragraph number: (Smith, 2018, para. 15).
• Heading or section name: ( CDC, 2020, Flu Season section)
• Abbreviated heading:  ( CDC, 2020, “Key Facts” section)

Always include page numbers in the APA in-text citation when quoting a source . Don’t include page numbers when referring to a work as a whole – for example, an entire book or journal article.

If your source does not have page numbers, you can use an alternative locator such as a timestamp, chapter heading or paragraph number.

Instead of the author’s name, include the first few words of the work’s title in the in-text citation. Enclose the title in double quotation marks when citing an article, web page or book chapter. Italicize the title of periodicals, books, and reports.

No publication date

If the publication date is unknown , use “n.d.” (no date) instead. For example: (Johnson, n.d.).

The abbreviation “ et al. ” (meaning “and others”) is used to shorten APA in-text citations with three or more authors . Here’s how it works:

Only include the first author’s last name, followed by “et al.”, a comma and the year of publication, for example (Taylor et al., 2018).

APA Style papers should be written in a font that is legible and widely accessible. For example:

• Times New Roman (12pt.)
• Arial (11pt.)
• Calibri (11pt.)
• Georgia (11pt.)

The same font and font size is used throughout the document, including the running head , page numbers, headings , and the reference page . Text in footnotes and figure images may be smaller and use single line spacing.

You need an APA in-text citation and reference entry . Each source type has its own format; for example, a webpage citation is different from a book citation .

Use Scribbr’s free APA Citation Generator to generate flawless citations in seconds or take a look at our APA citation examples .

APA format is widely used by professionals, researchers, and students in the social and behavioral sciences, including fields like education, psychology, and business.

Be sure to check the guidelines of your university or the journal you want to be published in to double-check which style you should be using.

Yes, page numbers are included on all pages, including the title page , table of contents , and reference page . Page numbers should be right-aligned in the page header.

To insert page numbers in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, click ‘Insert’ and then ‘Page number’.

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You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Citation Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github .