Note sections of your essay in which you reference outside sources. Reread your rough draft and highlight every instance that you reference another author's ideas, thoughts or research. Attach a sticky note or flag to the page with the first mention of each work.
Locate the areas you flagged in the hard copy of your essay in your word processing document. Place your cursor behind the end of the first mention of the first reference text in your work, then click the "references" tab on Microsoft Word and select "footnote." (You may need to change the numbering from Roman to Arabic, which you can do by simply deleting the original number and replacing it with the style you choose). It will immediately bring you to the bottom of the page.
Refer to your reference materials and MLA guide to ensure correct bibliographical information. Also, ensure that each footnote is placed on the bottom of the page where the primary text is originally referenced.
Mark each subsequent mention of an individual work with an abbreviated footnote, which might just consist of the author's last name and page numbers used.
Spell-check and proofread your entire essay, printing out an additional hard copy to ensure that all footnotes are properly formatted and appear correctly. Always double-check the accuracy of your footnote references before turning in your paper.