Configuring a LibreOffice Template to follow MLA guidelines

1.1 Margins

  1. Go to Layout tab, and select “Page Style”
  2. In the “Page” tab, set the Left, Right, and Bottom margins to 1.0”. Set the Top margin to 0.5”.
  3. In the “Header” tab, enable the header.
  4. Disable “Use dynamic spacing” and “AutoFit height”.
  5. Set the spacing to 0.0” and the height to 0.5”.

1.2 Text Formatting

  1. Go to ☰ > Options.
  2. Go to LibreOffice > Basic Fonts (Western).
  3. All of the entries should be set to a readable font in which the normal and italic versions are distinguishable, Georgia, Times New Roman or Liberation Serif for example. All entries should be set to the same font size, between 11 and 13pts. Use the same font and size throughout the entire paper.
  4. LibreOffice does not hyphenate by default, and you should not hyphenate your text.
  5. Go to the “General” tab, and set “Tab stops” to 0.5”
  6. Back in the document, set the “Line Spacing” to 2.

1.3 Title

  1. Go to ☰ > Options
  2. Go to LibreOffice > User Data
  3. Set your First and Last Name, and check “Use data for document properties”
  4. Go to the File tab, click Properties
  5. Go to the “Custom Properties” tab, and add one called “Professor”
  6. Put your cursor in the header of the document.
  7. Right align the header, and double space it.
  8. Go to the Insert tab.
  9. Select Field > More fields…
  10. Go to the “Document” tab, select Sender > Last Name. Select “Insert”.
  11. Type a space. Select Field > Page Number.
  12. Put your cursor at the top of your document.
  13. Select Field > First Author
  14. Return to the next line. Select Field > More fields…
  15. Go to the “DocInformation” tab, select Custom > Professor, and select Insert
  16. Return to the next line. Select Field > Subject
  17. Return to the next line. Select Field > More fields…
  18. Go to the “Document” tab. Select Date > Date (fixed) > Additional formats
  19. Type in D MMMM YYYY into the “Format Code” entry. Press OK.
  20. Press Insert.
  21. Return to the next line. Center the line, Select Field > Title (Note: If your title has the name of a work, it must be italicized, so you must replace the field in that case.)

Saving

  1. Go to the File tab, select “Save as Template”
  2. Name it “MLA”. If you wish, check “Set as default template”
  3. Choose a category, and select “Save”