The MLA 9 First Page: A Four-Line Heading and a Centered Title

If you've written in APA, this is the biggest change. MLA skips the separate title page and puts everything the instructor needs in a few lines at the top of page 1.

The four lines of the heading

Starting one inch from the top of the page, flush with the left margin, type these four items, each on its own line:

1. Your name. Your full name, as your instructor knows you.
2. Your instructor's name. Written the way your instructor prefers: Dr. Whitfield, Professor Jones, and so on. If the course has more than one instructor, list them all.
3. The course. The course number, like ANTH 215, or the number and title if your instructor asks for it.
4. The date. Usually the due date. MLA writes dates day first: 14 October 2026. The month can be spelled out or shortened (14 Oct. 2026); ask your instructor if you're not sure which they prefer.

The heading is double-spaced like everything else. Don't add extra space above or below it.

The title

On the next double-spaced line, center your title. Keep it plain:

• Title case. Capitalize the first word, the last word, and every major word. Words like a, the, and, of, and in stay lowercase unless they come first or last.
• No special formatting. Don't bold it, italicize it, underline it, put it in quotation marks, or type it in all capitals.
• No period after the title.
• Italics only where they'd normally go. If your title names a book, italicize just the book's name: The Search for Bigfoot in Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science.

Then start your first paragraph on the very next line, with its first line indented half an inch.

The header on page 1

The header is the same as on every other page: your last name and the page number, top right. On the first page that reads Sparkles 1.

A finished first page

Here is the first page of the sample Bigfoot paper used throughout MLA 101.

1. HeaderLast name and page number, top right.
2. Your nameFirst line of the heading, flush left, one inch from the top.
3. InstructorThe way your instructor prefers.
4. CourseThe course number.
5. DateDay, month, year.
6. TitleCentered, title case, no bold, no italics, no period.
7. First paragraphStarts on the next line, indented half an inch.

When your instructor wants a title page

Some instructors ask for one anyway, and a group project should have one. MLA's guidance is simple:

• Follow your instructor's instructions for what goes on it and how it looks. MLA doesn't set a title page format of its own.
• Group projects: list every author on the title page, instead of in a heading on page 1.
• The heading on page 1: with a title page, you can usually leave the four-line heading off the first page of the essay. Check with your instructor.
• Page numbers: the title page isn't numbered. The first page of the essay is page 1.

Quick checklist

• Heading on four lines, flush left, starting one inch from the top: name, instructor, course, date
• Date written day, month, year
• Title centered, in title case, with no bold, italics, underlining, quotation marks, or period
• Everything double-spaced, with no extra space around the heading or title
• Last name and page number in the header
• A title page only if your instructor asks for one, formatted their way

How PERRLA builds the first page

PERRLA builds the first page for you. A short form asks for your name, your instructor, the course, and the date when you create the paper, and the heading appears in the right order, with the centered title below it and your last name and page number in the header.

Related MLA 101 lessons

• Basic page setup: margins, font, double spacing, indents, and the header.
• Body pages: paragraph formatting that stays the same to the last page, and no Introduction heading.
• Headings in MLA: what MLA says about headings, and a simple format that follows it.
• Final checks and common mistakes: the last pass before you submit.
• All 18 lessons in MLA 101