How do I do a hanging indent in Google Docs?

Select the text, then click Format, Align & indent, Indentation options. Under “Special indent” choose Hanging, leave the size at 0.5 inches and click Apply. Every line after the first in each selected paragraph moves in by half an inch.

How do I add my last name and page number in Google Docs?

Click Insert, Page elements, Header. Right-align the header, type your last name and a space, then click Insert, Page elements, Page number. Leave “Different first page” unchecked so the header also shows on page one.

Does MLA require Times New Roman 12?

No. MLA asks for a legible font in a standard size, and Times New Roman 12 is the common example and the safest choice. If your instructor names a font or size, follow that instead.

Does an MLA paper need a title page?

Not unless your instructor asks for one. A standard MLA paper puts a four-line heading at the top left of the first page (your name, instructor, course, date) and the centered title on the next line.

How do I double space in Google Docs?

Select the text (Ctrl + A or Cmd + A for the whole document), then click Format, Line & paragraph spacing, Double. MLA uses double spacing everywhere, including the heading, block quotations and the Works Cited page.

Why is the hanging indent not working in Google Docs?

The usual cause is line breaks inside an entry. If you pressed Shift + Enter, or pasted a citation that came with line breaks, Google Docs treats the lines as one paragraph in the wrong places. Make each source one paragraph that ends with a single Enter, select the entries and apply the hanging indent again.

MLA Format in Google Docs: Setup and Hanging Indent

Quick answer: MLA format in Google Docs

Set the font to Times New Roman, size 12.
Click Format > Line & paragraph spacing > Double.
Click File > Page setup and set all four margins to 1 inch.
Click Insert > Page elements > Header, right-align it, type your last name and a space, then click Insert > Page elements > Page number.
On page one, type your name, your instructor’s name, the course and the date on four left-aligned lines.
Center the title on the next line. Start each paragraph with the Tab key.
On the Works Cited page, select your entries and click Format > Align & indent > Indentation options > Special indent > Hanging.

These steps are for Google Docs in a browser on a computer. Each one is explained below, with the MLA rule it follows.

MLA settings at a glance

Element	MLA 9 rule	Where in Google Docs
Font	Legible font, for example Times New Roman 12	Font and font size boxes in the toolbar
Line spacing	Double, everywhere	Format > Line & paragraph spacing > Double
Margins	1 inch on all sides	File > Page setup
Header	Last name and page number, top right, every page	Insert > Page elements > Header
Paragraphs	First line indented 0.5 inch	Tab key
Works Cited	Hanging indent of 0.5 inch	Format > Align & indent > Indentation options

The rules in the middle column match the Purdue OWL summary of MLA general format. If your instructor gives different requirements, follow your instructor.

Set the font, double spacing and 1-inch margins

Do this first, in an empty document, so everything you type afterwards is already formatted. If the paper is already written, press Ctrl + A (Cmd + A on a Mac) to select all of it before steps 1 and 2.

Font. Click the font name in the toolbar and choose Times New Roman. Set the size box next to it to 12.
Double spacing. Click Format > Line & paragraph spacing > Double. Do not add extra space before or after paragraphs.
Margins. Click File > Page setup. With Pages selected at the top of the window, set Top, Bottom, Left and Right to 1, then click OK.

Margins, headers and page numbers are not available in pageless documents. If you do not see the margin boxes, switch the document to Pages in the same Page setup window.

Add a header with your last name and page number

MLA puts your last name and the page number in the top right corner of every page, half an inch from the top, for example Rivera 1.

Click Insert > Page elements > Header. The cursor moves into the header.
Press Ctrl + Shift + R (Cmd + Shift + R on a Mac) to align the header to the right.
Type your last name, then one space.
Click Insert > Page elements > Page number, then choose Page number.
Select the header text and set it to Times New Roman 12 so it matches the paper.
Leave the Different first page box unchecked, so the header also appears on page one.

To check the distance from the top, click inside the header, then Format > Headers & footers > More options, and make sure the header margin is 0.5 inches. Do not write “p.” or “page” before the number.

Type the heading block and the title

MLA does not use a title page unless your instructor asks for one. Instead, the first page starts with a four-line heading at the left margin, double spaced like the rest of the paper:

Your full name
Your instructor’s name
The course name or number
The date, written day month year (5 October 2026)

Press Enter once and center the next line with Ctrl + Shift + E (Cmd + Shift + E on a Mac). Type your title in title case. Do not bold, underline or italicize it, do not put it in quotation marks and do not type it in all capitals. Italicize only the titles of works that appear inside your title.

Press Enter again, switch back to left alignment with Ctrl + Shift + L (Cmd + Shift + L), and press Tab to start your first paragraph. Tab gives the half-inch first-line indent MLA asks for. Do not leave extra blank lines between the heading, the title and the first paragraph.

Set up the Works Cited page

Click at the end of your last paragraph and press Ctrl + Enter (Cmd + Enter on a Mac) to start a new page.
Center the first line and type Works Cited. Plain text only: no bold, italics, underline or quotation marks.
Press Enter, switch to left alignment and type or paste your entries, one paragraph per source.
Put the entries in alphabetical order by the first word of each entry, usually the author’s last name.
Keep double spacing throughout, with no extra blank line between entries.
Apply a hanging indent to the entries, as shown in the next section.

The Works Cited page keeps the same margins and the same last name and page number header as the rest of the paper. To build the entries themselves, use the MLA citation generator, or see our guide on how to cite a website.

How to do a hanging indent in Google Docs

A hanging indent leaves the first line of a paragraph at the left margin and indents every line after it. MLA uses a 0.5 inch hanging indent for each Works Cited entry, so the author names are easy to scan.

Method 1: the Format menu

Select all of your Works Cited entries.
Click Format > Align & indent > Indentation options.
Under “Special indent”, open the drop-down and choose Hanging.
Check that the box next to it says 0.5.
Click Apply.

Method 2: the ruler

If the ruler is hidden, click View > Show ruler.
Select your entries.
Drag the left indent marker (the triangle at the left end of the ruler) to the 0.5 inch mark. The whole paragraph moves.
Drag the first line indent marker (the small rectangle above the triangle) back to the left margin.

What it should look like

Last Name, First Name. Title of the Book in Italics and Title Case, Long Enough to Run onto a Second Line. Publisher, Year of Publication.

If it does not work

Problem	Fix
Only one entry changed	Select every entry before you open Indentation options, then apply again.
Lines inside one entry start at the margin	The entry contains line breaks. Delete them so the entry is one paragraph that wraps on its own.
The second line was indented with spaces or Tab	Remove the spaces or tabs. They shift when the text or font changes.
You want to remove the indent	Open Indentation options again and set Special indent to None.

The same steps work for an APA reference list or a Chicago bibliography, which also use a 0.5 inch hanging indent.

Check the paper before you submit

Every page shows your last name and the page number at the top right.
The whole document is double spaced in one font and size, including the header and Works Cited.
Every source cited in the text has an entry in Works Cited, and every entry is cited in the text.
Entries are in alphabetical order with a hanging indent.

Formatting is separate from the writing itself. The Plagiarism Checker Plus Google Docs add-on checks a document for plagiarism, AI writing and grammar without leaving Google Docs. It does not change your formatting. For citations in MLA and other styles, use the free citation generator.

How to do MLA format on Google Docs