Ensure the margins are set on all sides to 1 inch. Adjust as needed. If using Microsoft Word or a similar program, simply slide the margin rules on the top and left side of the document window to adjust the margins.
Double-space all text in the document. Use your word-processing program's paragraph settings. Do not manually hit enter twice after each line.
Indent the first line of each paragraph using the tab key on your keyboard.
Use the same standard font size and type you require your students to use. For example, if you require them to use 12-point Times New Roman on essays and papers, use this on your exams and other documents.
Remove all periods and spaces from capitalized abbreviations, such as MLA.
Place a period at the end of each abbreviation that ends in a lowercase letter.
Place a period after each letter on abbreviations for which each letter stands for a word. Abbreviations for degrees have specific formatting, such as in PhD.
If listing lowercase abbreviations, place commas after the last period on each abbreviation.
Ensure that all quotes less than four lines long are bracketed by quotation marks. Quotes pulled from poetry must also have a backslash between verses.
Format quotes four or more lines long by double-spacing between the beginning of the quote and the line before it.
Indent the long quote 1 inch from the left margin. Do not use quotation marks on long quotes.
Place periods and commas inside quotations marks and parentheses. Place the period or comma outside the quotation mark or parentheses only if the item before the period or comma is a single letter.
Insert exclamation points and question marks inside quotation marks when part of the quoted text and outside if not part of the quoted text.
Enter only one space between sentences.