MLA Format 2013 3
Adapted from Dennis G. Jerz’s Weblog, available at http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/academic/mla_style.html
Note: using long quotations to pad your paper is a fairly obvious ploy. Rather than quote a whole
paragraph from an outside source, just quote a single sentence, or even just a few words; use the
space you save to write more of your own original thoughts.
If you do use a long quote, indent it one inch:
1. Press Enter to start a new paragraph.
2. Type the quoted material (without adding any quotation marks).
3. Highlight the quotation by clicking and dragging over the whole quotation.
4. Indent the text by simply pressing the tab key twice.
Formatting the Works Cited List
This section describes how to use MS-Word to format the works cited list in MLA style. Check
any freshman composition textbook or the MLA Handbook (available at the reference desk of
any library) for help on how to cite specific sources.
Here is a step by step list for creating a "Works Cited" list using MS-Word:
1. Append a blank page. (If you put your works cited list in a separate document,
you may forget it when you submit your paper.) Instead of hitting "return"
multiple times to get blank lines, force a page break -- if you add or subtract
from the body of your text, you won't have to re-align the works cited page.
1. Move the cursor to the very end of your document.
2. Click the Insert tab, then Page Break under the Pages group.
3. Click the Center icon on the Home tab under the Paragraph group.
2. Type Works Cited (or Work Cited if you’ve used only one source). Press Enter.
3. Click the Left Align icon on the Home tab under the Paragraph group.
4. In the Home tab, open the Paragraph Dialog Box by clicking the square with the
arrow.
5. In the Indents and Spacing section there is a Special window. At that window
click the down arrow to open up a set of options. Click Hanging and then click
OK.
6. Type your entries and press Enter after each entry.
Disclaimer: The Middle Georgia State University SSCs offer this handout as a guide only.
Please defer to the requirements of your professor when they differ from the guidelines
presented here.
*Updated April 2016*