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These free MLA format templates give you 2 designs as Word documents on US Letter and A4: an MLA 9 paper and a Works Cited page on its own, with the heading, the last name and page number header, the margins, font and double spacing already set. I’m Patrick Elliott, a teacher and Inclusion Lead. I built these so a student never has to fix margins, spacing or the header again: every setting is already in place, checked against the MLA 9 rules for papers and works-cited lists.

In this guide, you’ll find which MLA template to choose, how to fill it in step by step, and how to add headings, quotations and Works Cited entries without breaking the formatting.

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What’s in the MLA Format Templates

Paper	Template	What’s inside
A4	MLA 9 Paper	Heading, title, essay text and a Works Cited page
A4	MLA 9 Works Cited Page	A Works Cited page on its own, with the hanging indent set
US Letter	MLA 9 Paper	Heading, title, essay text and a Works Cited page
US Letter	MLA 9 Works Cited Page	A Works Cited page on its own, with the hanging indent set

👉 Type your last name once and it appears with the page number at the top of every page. Each box disappears as you type, so the paper you hand in is clean.

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What Is MLA Format?

MLA format is the writing style of the Modern Language Association, used for essays in English, literature, languages and the humanities. The 9th edition asks for 1 inch margins, a readable font such as 12 point Times New Roman, double spacing, your name, instructor, course and date at the top left of the first page, your last name and the page number at the top right of every page, and a Works Cited list with a hanging indent. MLA papers have no title page unless your instructor asks for one; if they do, try the cover page templates.

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Which MLA Template Should You Use?

• MLA 9 paper: for essays and research papers. The four-line heading, a centered title, your essay text and a Works Cited page.
• MLA 9 Works Cited page: when your essay is already written and you only need the list of sources set out correctly.

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How to Use the MLA Template in Word

1. Choose your paper size above, download the ZIP and open MLA 9 Paper. Save a copy under your own name before you start.
2. Click First Name and Last Name and type your name. Your last name appears with the page number at the top of every page.
3. Click the next lines and type your instructor’s name and the course name.
4. Click the date, click the small arrow and pick the date from the calendar. Word writes it in MLA style, for example 20 November 2026.
5. Click Title of Your Paper and type your title in title case. MLA titles are plain: no bold, italics or quotation marks.
6. Click the first paragraph and start writing. Press Enter for each new paragraph: the indent and double spacing are already set.
7. On the Works Cited page, type over the example entries with your sources, then save and hand in the Word file.

Your instructor’s instructions always come first. If they want a title page or no header on page 1, ask before you change the template. Every box disappears once you type in it, and Word’s spelling check works as normal.

Add Section Headings

Most MLA essays need no headings. For a longer paper, type the heading on its own line and click Heading 1 (bold, on the left) or Heading 2 (italic, on the left) on the Home tab. MLA suggests leaving out numbers and all capital letters in headings.

Add Your Works Cited Entries

Click an example entry on the Works Cited page and type your source over it, following the same pattern: author, title, container, version, publisher, date and location. Press Enter after each one and the hanging indent and double spacing carry on. Put the entries in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, and delete any examples you don’t use. To set a hanging indent anywhere else, see how to do a hanging indent in Word.

Quote a Long Passage

For a quotation of more than four lines of prose, start it on a new line and choose Block Quotation in the Styles gallery on the Home tab. Word indents the whole passage half an inch and keeps it double-spaced. Leave out the quotation marks and put the citation after the final punctuation mark.

Paste Text Without Breaking the Formatting

Text copied from a website or another document brings its own font and spacing with it. In Microsoft 365, press Ctrl + Shift + V to paste it as plain text, or go to Home > Paste > Keep Text Only in any version. The pasted text then takes on the paper’s font, spacing and indent.

Change the Font

The templates use 12 point Times New Roman. MLA accepts any readable font, so change it only if your instructor asks. To switch, press Ctrl + A, choose the font and size on the Home tab, then double-click the page number at the top of the page and change it there too.

Check Before You Hand It In

• No example text is left: search for Lastname, Firstname with Ctrl + F.
• Your last name and the page number show at the top right of every page.
• The Works Cited entries are in alphabetical order and every source you quote is on the list.
• The title is in title case, with no bold, italics or period at the end.

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How to Hand In or Print Your Paper

Most instructors want the Word file, so upload the .docx itself. To make a PDF, go to File > Save As and choose PDF. If you print, print single-sided at 100% on US Letter, or A4 if that is your school’s paper size, and staple the pages in the top left corner.

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FAQs

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Conclusion

These MLA format templates take care of every setting, human-made by a teacher in Microsoft Word, so you can spend your time on the writing.

Choose your paper size above, download the ZIP, and if your class uses APA instead, try the apa format templates.

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Related Tutorials

• Free APA Format Templates for Word
• APA and MLA Shortcuts in Word: 26 Essential Keys (Free PDF)
• Free Cover Page Templates for Word: Assignment, Report and Project