Document Formatting © 2009 M and K Solutions, LLC -- All Rights Reserved

 Report—a one-page or multi-page document used to summarize research or findings  Two of the common formatting guidelines are MLA and APA. ◦ MLA (Modern Language Association)—formatting guidelines often used by the liberal arts and humanities ◦ APA (American Psychological Association)— formatting guidelines often used by the social sciences

 The font should be 10 – 12 point standard font.  Highlight your document and set everything to double spacing. (Home tab, Paragraph)  The first line of each paragraph is indented.

 A header should go on every page, including page 1.  The header should be on the right.  It should contain the author’s last name and page number.  The first page heading should include the author’s name, the instructor’s name, the course name, and the date as shown.  Do not put this in the header since it goes on the first page only.  The title is centered on the line above the body of the report.

 The references page in MLA style should be titled Works Cited.  It should begin on a new page.  This page is double spaced.  Use a hanging indent for the entries.  If you need help with your citations, go to

 The margins of an APA paper are 1 inch on all sides.  The preferred fonts are Times New Roman and Arial.  The font size should be point. ◦ In Times New Roman, 12 point is generally preferred. ◦ In Arial, 11 point is preferred.  The entire document is double spaced.

 An APA style paper begins with a title page.  The title page includes the name of the paper, the author’s name, and the name of the school.  It should be double spaced and centered horizontally and vertically.  It should be in title case. ◦ Title case is like the title of a book, where every important word is capitalized. ◦ Words like and, of, and in are in lowercase except when they as the first word of the title.

 The header includes the name of the paper and the page number.  There should be 5 spaces between the title and the page number.  The header should be on right justified.  It starts on the first page and continues through the References page.

 An abstract is a single paragraph that summarizes briefly the content of your paper.  An abstract is required in an APA Paper. ◦ The word Abstract is centered as the title on the very first line (so that it is exactly 1 inch from the top of the paper). ◦ The word Abstract should begin with a capital letter. Do NOT use all caps, italics, underlined, bold, or quotation marks. ◦ Double space after the body before beginning the paragraph. ◦ It is on a separate page from the title page and the body. ◦ The first line of the paragraph is NOT indented. This is true for the abstract only.

 The body of the paper starts on a separate page.  The title begins on the very first line so that it is exactly 1 inch from the top of the paper.  The title should be in title case and should be exactly the same as the title on the cover page. Do NOT use all caps, italics, underlined, bold, or quotation marks.  The body begins a double space below the title.  The first line of each paragraph is indented.

 The sources page is called References.  It should be on a new page with References as the title. It should begin with a capital letter. It should NOT be in all caps, italics, bold, underlined, or in quotation marks.  It double spaced.  Use a hanging indent for the sources.  All sources used should be listed in alphabetical order.  The header should continue on this page.  If you need help with your citations, go to