Guide to Formatting Essays Using Google Docs

How to Change the Margins

By default, all of your margins in Google Docs are set to 1 inch.

Step 1:
Go to File. Drag the mouse
to Page Setup and click.

Step 2:
In the window that appears,
your margins (Top. Bottom,
Left, and Right) should all
appear as 1” (one inch).

You can enter specific

numbers on your keyboard.
Click OK.

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 How to Add a Header
Step 1:
A header should offer the page number and last name. Go to Insert.
Drag the mouse to Headers
& footers.
With the side menu that
appears, click Header.

Step 2:
Your cursor will be directed
to the upper section of your
page. Type the text that you
want to appear on every
page.

Change text alignment/

position to be left justified.

Change font to be the same

font as the rest of the
document.

Alternatively, you can

double-click the top of your
page, and enter your
heading.

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 How to Align Text

Step 1:
Go to Format and
drag your mouse down
to Align & indent.

Choose the type of

alignment to use for
your highlighted text.

Use left justify for the

heading and essay.

Use center justify for

the title.

Use right justify for

the header.

Alternatively, you can click on the

alignment buttons located in the general
menu.

From left to right, the buttons are:

Left, Center, Right, and Justify

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 How to Adjust Font
Font type and size must remain the same throughout the entire document.
Times New Roman with size 12 font is the MLA standard.

Font type and font size can be changed with

the buttons on the general menu.

Step 1:
Step 2:
Click on the font type or font size menu
Select the font type or font size you want to
buttons to open a list of options to choose
use.
from.

Font Type Font Size

If you are changing the font of something you have already written, first highlight the
part you want to change before selecting the font type and size.

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 How to Add Automatic Pagination

Step 1:
Go to Insert.
Drag the mouse to
Page Numbers.

If adding page
numbers to the Header,
as with MLA style, the
cursor must be in the
header before you do
this step.

Step 2:
In the window that
appears, select the top-
left option for page
numbers.

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 How to Double-Space
By default, papers formatted in MLA style should be double-spaced from start to finish.

Step 1:
Eliminate any extra spaces
in your document (between
the title and the body,
between paragraphs, etc.)

Highlight the text to

double-space. You can hold
the shift key and drag your
mouse over the appropriate
text.

Step 2:
Go to Format. Drag the
mouse to Line spacing and
click on Double in the side
menu that appears.

Alternatively you can click on the

spacing button located in the general
menu.

Click Double in the menu that appears.

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 How to Add a Page Break
Some text, such as the Works Cited, should be placed on a separate page of the document.

Step 1:
Place the cursor where you want the new page to start (in this case, directly before the
word “Works Cited.”)

Step 2:
Go to Insert. Drag your mouse to Break.

Click on Page Break from the menu that appears.

The text will automatically move to the next page.

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 How to Add a Hanging Indent Step 1:
A hanging indent means
that every line is
indented except the first.
This is the first
appropriate way to
format entries in the
Works Cited that are
longer than one line.

Highlight the text that

needs to have a hanging
indent. Go to Format.
Drag the mouse to Align
& indent.

On the menu that

appears, click on
Indentation Options.

Step 2:
In the new menu that appears, click on the drop-down menu below Special
Indent.

Click on Hanging and Apply.

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 How to Highlight
Sometimes, when a text is copied and pasted into Google Docs from another source, it can end up being
highlighted. A text should not be highlighted within an essay.

Step 1:
Highlight the text you want to change with your
mouse.
Step 2:
Click on the Highlighter button in the general menu.
When erasing a highlighter, you will need to click on
the option “None.” This will get rid of any
highlighting on your text.

If you are highlighting a text for a draft or personal

use, you will instead select a color.

Changing Text Color:

Sometimes when you copy and paste a text, the text
color may not be black.

Step 1:
If this happens, highlight the text you want to change
with your mouse.
Step 2:
Click on the Text Color button in the general menu
(to the left of the Highlighter button) and select the
darkest black (very left) for the proper font color.

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 How to Use Suggesting Mode
When reviewing a draft (especially a peer’s draft), Google Docs has a helpful mode called
“Suggesting Mode” where any edits made will be in a different color and have to be accepted by the
writer before the document changes.

Step 1:
To change to Suggesting Mode, click on the button to the very left
of your document underneath the blue “Share” button.

This will open a menu with 3 options:

• Editing: You will be able to type and change the document
directly. This is the default mode for Google Docs.
• Suggesting: Any changes you make are in a different color and
have to be accepted before they become permanent.
• Viewing: You cannot make any changes to the document.

Select Suggesting Mode from this menu.

Step 2:
Begin editing the essay as you would for any peer review or next draft.
While in Suggesting Mode, any edits you make will appear as they do in the picture below.

What you delete gets crossed out in A comment about what you
green, with any additions being added have changed will appear on the
in green. left side of the screen.

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Finalizing a Suggestion:
When a comment is clicked, the suggestion related to that
comment will get lines above and below it so that the
suggestion is easy to see.

When clicked, the comment will also pop out and an option to
reply, accept, or reject the suggestion will appear.

• Reply: Will let you add more comments about the suggestion. If this
is a peer-review, you can add an explanation or question about what
was written.
• Accept (checkmark): Accept the suggestion and make it permanent.
This will delete anything crossed out or add anything that was added.
• Reject (X-mark): Refuse the suggestion. The suggestion will
disappear and the section will remain untouched.

How this example paragraph looks after accepting all suggestions.

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