Format your pages in MLA style. MLA style guidelines require a paper to be double-space and in 12-point font. Times New Roman is the preferred font to use, although Courier may also be acceptable. The key is to ensure that the font is legible and the regular and italic type styles differ from one another enough so that a distinction can be made. Set your margins to 1-inch on all sides. The tool to do this is located in a different place depending on which word processing program you use, but it is usually located under the "Paragraph" or "Tools" menu heading. Number all pages with a header that includes your last name and the page number. The header should be a half-inch from the top and lined up with the right-hand margin.
Begin writing. Make sure to properly cite your sources using MLA style. When taking information from your source material, you can use either a direct quote or a paraphrase. If you are using a direct quote, the information must be used word-for-word and placed in quotation marks. Then you must cite the source of the information by putting the author's last name and the page number in parentheses after the direct quote or paraphrase. Punctuation marks should be placed after the parenthetical citation unless they are part of the direct quote. Italicize the titles of books or long journal articles if you are referring to them in the text. Put short articles or other sources in quotation marks.
Create a Works Cited page. This is a page at the end of your paper that lists all the sources you used to write your paper. Center the words "Works Cited" at the top of your page. Do not use quotation marks or italics. Use the same font size and style you used in your essay. Then create a citation for each work you used. The format for the citations varies depending on the type of source (book, magazine article, website, etc.). Typically, the citation includes the author's first and last name, the title of the work and the year and place of publication. For magazine and newspaper articles, you must also list the name of the publication and the page number.