- How to setup your software
- Sample MLA Paper – normal paper
- Sample MLA Paper – has cover page
- Sample APA Paper
- Sample Chicago Paper
- Sample CSE Paper
- APA Format Guidelines
MLA Format Heading
This page contains guidelines on how to properly format the headings of your research paper using the MLA format.
1. The Opening Page:
On the opening page or the first page, you would include the whole heading and your paper’s title. The whole heading would include the following information:
- Your Instructor’s Name
- Your Class Information
- Your Paper’s Due Date
- Font: choose an easy to read font such as Times New Roman.
- Font Size: set the font size to be twelve (12) throughout your research paper, including your paper’s title. Never set the font site larger than 12.
- Margins: 1-inch for top/bottom/right/left throughout your paper.
- Double-space: double-space throughout your paper. Don’t add extra spaces (besides double-space) between your headings, your title and your paragraphs.
Sample of the Opening Page:
A sample of the first page of your paper.
2. The Inner Pages:
For the pages that follow the first page, set the heading like this: instead of the whole heading, you would use the header feature on your word processing program and including the following information: Your Last Name and the Page Number.
Sample of the Inner Page:
Example of the heading for inner pages.
3. The Works Cited Page:
Every research paper must include a works cited page.
- The works cited list is placed at the end of your paper, on a new page.
- The heading for your works cited pages should be the same as the heading for your inner pages, which include your name and the page number at the top.
- Enter the title as “ Works Cited ” and place this title 1-inch from the top of the page, see more details in the example illustration picture below.
Sample of the Works Cited Page:
Example of the works cited page.
– MLA Handbook, 8th edition
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I have the following level 3 heading in my thesis:
Project management office and (pmo) metrics team.
Should the abbreviation pmo be in lower case as it is or should it be in upper case?
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So for the works cited page, you don’t need the name, teacher, date, and period heading at all?
No. It should only be on the first page of the essay.
This is some good stuff to know.
I have to write a paper for an application and they want it to be in MLA format. I don’t know how to do the heading because it’s not going to one teacher in particular and it is not for one class.
I don’t think you need a heading besides the “Last name-1” on the inner pages.
Hey Shannon. You might try “To Whom it may concern” or something like that. Don’t trust me on this because I am not for sure on that and if you did do this you might get it wrong and whoever might not accept your application. I hope you figure out how to do it and do great on that application! đ – Christopher
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- The Format of the Research Paper
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- MLA Format Headings
- MLA Citations
- MLA Format Works Cited
- MLA Format FAQs
- MLA Format Sample Paper
- MLA Sample Paper w/ Cover and Outline Pages
HOW TO SETUP YOUR SOFTWARE
- MLA Format using Google Docs
- MLA Format Microsoft Word 2016
- MLA Format using Pages on Mac
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How do I style headings and subheadings in a research paper?
Headings and subheadings can help organize and structure your writing. In general, longer and more complex works warrant more of them than shorter ones. Avoid overusing headings in short projects; they should never be used to compensate for poor structure or to explain an underdeveloped idea.
When headings are called for in your writing project, observe the basic guidelines below.
The paper or chapter title is the first level of heading, and it must be the most prominent.
Headings should be styled in descending order of prominence. After the first level, the other headings are subheadingsâthat is, they are subordinate. Font styling and size are used to signal prominence. In general, a boldface, larger font indicates prominence; a smaller font, italics, and lack of bold can be used to signal subordination. For readability, donât go overboard: avoid using all capital letters for headings (in some cases, small capitals may be acceptable):
Heading Level 1
Heading Level 2
Heading Level 3
Note that word-processing software often has built-in heading styles.
Consistency
Consistency in the styling of headings and subheadings is key to signaling to readers the structure of a research project. That is, each level 1 heading should appear in the same style and size, as should each level 2 heading, and so on. Generally avoid numbers and letters to designate heads unless you are working in a discipline where doing so is conventional. Note that a heading labeled “1” requires a subsequent heading labeled “2,” and a heading labeled “a” requires a subsequent heading labeled “b.”Â
In a project that is not professionally designed and published, headings should be flush with the left margin, to avoid confusion with block quotations. (The exception is the paper or chapter title, which is centered in MLA style.)
For readability, it is helpful to include a line space above and below a heading, as shown in this post.
No internal heading level should have only one instance. For example, if you have one level 1 heading, you need to have a second level 1 heading. (The exceptions are the paper or chapter title and the headings for notes and the list of works cited.) You should also generally have text under each heading.
Capitalization
Capitalize headings like the titles of works, as explained in section 1.5 of the MLA Handbook .
The shorter, the better.
MLA Style Guide, 8th & 9th Editions: Formatting Your MLA Paper
- Works Cited entries: What to Include
- Title of source
- Title of container
- Contributors
- Publication date
- Supplemental Elements
- Book with Personal Author(s)
- Book with Organization as Author
- Book with Editor(s)
- Parts of Books
- Government Publication
- Journal Article
- Magazine Article
- Multivolume Works
- Newspaper Article
- Other Formats
- Websites, Social Media, and Email
- About In-text Citations
- In-text Examples
- How to Paraphrase and Quote
- Citing Poetry
- Formatting Your MLA Paper
- Formatting Your Works Cited List
- MLA Annotated Bibliography
- MLA 9th Edition Quick Guide
- Submit Your Paper for MLA Style Review
MLA recommends using 12-point Times New Roman font or another readable typeface (e.g. serif ).
Line Spacing & Margins
Use double-spacing throughout the entire paper.
Leave 1 inch margins on the top, bottom, and each side.
Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch from the left margin.
Quotes longer than 4 lines should be written as a block of text a half an inch from the left margin.
Heading and Title
An MLA research paper does not need a title page, but your instructor may require one. If no instructions are given, follow the MLA guidelines below:
Type the following one inch from the top of the first page, flush with the left margin (double spacing throughout).
Your Instructor's Name
Course Number or Name
Center the title on the next line. Follow the rules for capitalization. Do not italicize, underline, or bold the title. An exception is when your title includes a title. Example: The Attitude toward Violence in A Clockwork Orange
Indent the next line and begin typing your text.
Include your last name and page numbers in the upper right-hand corner of every page. The page numbers will be one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. If your instructor prefers no page number on the first page, begin numbering from 2 on the second page.
Sample Papers from MLA
There are sample papers available in the MLA Style Center. Check them out to see the correct formatting.
Styling Headings and Subheadings
According to the MLA Style Center website, writers should avoid using headings in shorter papers. If you are writing a longer research paper, you may want to include headings and subheadings to help organize the sections of your paper. Advice from the MLA Style Center :
"Levels
The paper or chapter title is the first level of heading, and it must be the most prominent.
Headings should be styled in descending order of prominence. After the first level, the other headings are subheadings—that is, they are subordinate. Font styling and size are used to signal prominence. In general, a boldface, larger font indicates prominence; a smaller font, italics, and lack of bold can be used to signal subordination. For readability, don’t go overboard: avoid using all capital letters for headings (in some cases, small capitals may be acceptable):
Heading Level 1
Heading Level 2
Heading Level 3
Note that word-processing software often has built-in heading styles.
Consistency
Consistency in the styling of headings and subheadings is key to signaling to readers the structure of a research project. That is, each level 1 heading should appear in the same style and size, as should each level 2 heading, and so on. Generally, avoid numbers and letters to designate heads unless you are working in a discipline where doing so is conventional. Note that a heading labeled “1” requires a subsequent heading labeled “2,” and a heading labeled “a” requires a subsequent heading labeled “b.”
In a project that is not professionally designed and published, headings should be flush with the left margin, to avoid confusion with block quotations. (The exception is the paper or chapter title, which is centered in MLA style.)
For readability, it is helpful to include a line space above and below a heading, as shown in this post.
No internal heading level should have only one instance. For example, if you have one level 1 heading, you need to have a second level 1 heading. (The exceptions are the paper or chapter title and the headings for notes and the list of works cited.) You should also generally have text under each heading.
Capitalization
Capitalize headings like the titles of works, as explained in section 1.2 of the MLA Handbook.
The shorter, the better."
Modern Language Association. "How Do I Style Headings and Subheadings in a Research Paper?" MLA Style Center., 13 December 2018, style.mla.org/styling-headings-and-subheadings .
MLA Style Paper Template
- MLA 9th Edition Paper Template This template was created and saved as a Word template for Microsoft Word 2016. The process for saving and using the template is the same for the instructions given above for 2013.
You can save a personal template in Microsoft Word (IRSC students, download Office for free, see a librarian if you need help). Above is a template you can use every time you need to set-up a research paper using MLA style format. Simply open the template and type your own information every time you need to write an MLA style paper. Microsoft Word will allow you to save personal templates. Once you have the template opened in Word
Click "Save as"
Give the file a name
Under "Save as type", select Word Template
Then when you open Word, you will be able to choose a template rather than a blank document. You might have to select Personal to find your template.
Sample MLA Paper
How to Use the MLA Style Template
Formatting Group Project Papers
For a research paper written collaboratively by several students, such as for a group project, create a title page instead of listing all authors in the header on page 1 of the essay. On the title page, list each student's full name, placing one name on each double-spaced line. After the final student name, enter the professor's name. After the professor's name, give the course name. The last line of the heading will be the date in 5 August 2021 format. Press Enter a few times to move down the page then give the paper title, centered.
- << Previous: Citing Poetry
- Next: Formatting Your Works Cited List >>
- Last Updated: Oct 30, 2024 12:46 PM
- URL: https://irsc.libguides.com/mla
Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWLÂŽ College of Liberal Arts
MLA Formatting and Style Guide
Welcome to the Purdue OWL
This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.
Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.
The following overview should help you better understand how to cite sources using MLA 9 th edition, including how to format the Works Cited page and in-text citations.
Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in MLA. See also our MLA vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel .
Creating a Works Cited list using the ninth edition
MLA is a style of documentation that may be applied to many different types of writing. Since texts have become increasingly digital, and the same document may often be found in several different sources, following a set of rigid rules no longer suffices.
Thus, the current system is based on a few guiding principles, rather than an extensive list of specific rules. While the handbook still describes how to cite sources, it is organized according to the process of documentation, rather than by the sources themselves. This gives writers a flexible method that is near-universally applicable.
Once you are familiar with the method, you can use it to document any type of source, for any type of paper, in any field.
Here is an overview of the process:
When deciding how to cite your source, start by consulting the list of core elements. These are the general pieces of information that MLA suggests including in each Works Cited entry. In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order:
- Title of source.
- Title of container,
- Other contributors,
- Publication date,
Each element should be followed by the corresponding punctuation mark shown above. Earlier editions of the handbook included the place of publication and required different punctuation (such as journal editions in parentheses and colons after issue numbers) depending on the type of source. In the current version, punctuation is simpler (only commas and periods separate the elements), and information about the source is kept to the basics.
Begin the entry with the author’s last name, followed by a comma and the rest of the name, as presented in the work. End this element with a period.
Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.
Title of source
The title of the source should follow the author’s name. Depending upon the type of source, it should be listed in italics or quotation marks.
A book should be in italics:
Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House . MacMurray, 1999.
An individual webpage should be in quotation marks. The name of the parent website, which MLA treats as a "container," should follow in italics:
Lundman, Susan. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow, www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html.*
A periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper) article should be in quotation marks:
Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature , vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 41-50.
A song or piece of music on an album should be in quotation marks. The name of the album should then follow in italics:
Beyoncé. "Pray You Catch Me." Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016, www.beyonce.com/album/lemonade-visual-album/.
*The MLA handbook recommends including URLs when citing online sources. For more information, see the “Optional Elements” section below.
Title of container
The eighth edition of the MLA handbook introduced what are referred to as "containers," which are the larger wholes in which the source is located. For example, if you want to cite a poem that is listed in a collection of poems, the individual poem is the source, while the larger collection is the container. The title of the container is usually italicized and followed by a comma, since the information that follows next describes the container.
Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories, edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.
The container may also be a television series, which is made up of episodes.
“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, performance by Amy Poehler, season 2, episode 21, Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2010.
The container may also be a website, which contains articles, postings, and other works.
Wise, DeWanda. “Why TV Shows Make Me Feel Less Alone.” NAMI, 31 May 2019, www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/May-2019/How-TV-Shows-Make-Me-Feel-Less-Alone . Accessed 3 June 2019.
In some cases, a container might be within a larger container. You might have read a book of short stories on Google Books , or watched a television series on Netflix . You might have found the electronic version of a journal on JSTOR. It is important to cite these containers within containers so that your readers can find the exact source that you used.
“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation , season 2, episode 21, NBC , 29 Apr. 2010. Netflix, www.netflix.com/watch/70152031?trackId=200256157&tctx=0%2C20%2C0974d361-27cd-44de-9c2a-2d9d868b9f64-12120962.
Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical Journal , vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest, doi:10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.
Other contributors
In addition to the author, there may be other contributors to the source who should be credited, such as editors, illustrators, translators, etc. If their contributions are relevant to your research, or necessary to identify the source, include their names in your documentation.
Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Translated by Richard Howard , Vintage-Random House, 1988.
Woolf, Virginia. Jacob’s Room . Annotated and with an introduction by Vara Neverow, Harcourt, Inc., 2008.
If a source is listed as an edition or version of a work, include it in your citation.
The Bible . Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.
Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. 3rd ed., Pearson, 2004.
If a source is part of a numbered sequence, such as a multi-volume book or journal with both volume and issue numbers, those numbers must be listed in your citation.
Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May 2009.
Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria. Translated by H. E. Butler, vol. 2, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980.
The publisher produces or distributes the source to the public. If there is more than one publisher, and they are all are relevant to your research, list them in your citation, separated by a forward slash (/).
Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive, www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klee/twittering_machine.jpg.html. Accessed May 2006.
Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System . American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2006.
Daniels, Greg and Michael Schur, creators. Parks and Recreation . Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2015.
Note : The publisher’s name need not be included in the following sources: periodicals, works published by their author or editor, websites whose titles are the same name as their publisher, websites that make works available but do not actually publish them (such as YouTube , WordPress , or JSTOR ).
Publication date
The same source may have been published on more than one date, such as an online version of an original source. For example, a television series might have aired on a broadcast network on one date, but released on Netflix on a different date. When the source has more than one date, it is sufficient to use the date that is most relevant to your writing. If you’re unsure about which date to use, go with the date of the source’s original publication.
In the following example, Mutant Enemy is the primary production company, and “Hush” was released in 1999. Below is a general citation for this television episode:
“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer , created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, Mutant Enemy, 1999 .
However, if you are discussing, for example, the historical context in which the episode originally aired, you should cite the full date. Because you are specifying the date of airing, you would then use WB Television Network (rather than Mutant Enemy), because it was the network (rather than the production company) that aired the episode on the date you’re citing.
“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, episode 10, WB Television Network, 14 Dec. 1999 .
You should be as specific as possible in identifying a work’s location.
An essay in a book or an article in a journal should include page numbers.
Adiche, Chimamanda Ngozi. “On Monday of Last Week.” The Thing around Your Neck, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, pp. 74-94 .
The location of an online work should include a URL. Remove any "http://" or "https://" tag from the beginning of the URL.
Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases , vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 8 Feb. 2009.
When citing a physical object that you experienced firsthand, identify the place of location.
Matisse, Henri. The Swimming Pool. 1952, Museum of Modern Art, New York .
Optional elements
The ninth edition is designed to be as streamlined as possible. The author should include any information that helps readers easily identify the source, without including unnecessary information that may be distracting. The following is a list of optional elements that can be included in a documented source at the writer’s discretion.
Date of original publication:
If a source has been published on more than one date, the writer may want to include both dates if it will provide the reader with necessary or helpful information.
Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine. 1984. Perennial-Harper, 1993.
City of publication:
The seventh edition handbook required the city in which a publisher is located, but the eighth edition states that this is only necessary in particular instances, such as in a work published before 1900. Since pre-1900 works were usually associated with the city in which they were published, your documentation may substitute the city name for the publisher’s name.
Thoreau, Henry David. Excursions . Boston, 1863.
Date of access:
When you cite an online source, the MLA Handbook recommends including a date of access on which you accessed the material, since an online work may change or move at any time.
Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web." A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Accessed 4 May 2009.
As mentioned above, while the MLA handbook recommends including URLs when you cite online sources, you should always check with your instructor or editor and include URLs at their discretion.
A DOI, or digital object identifier, is a series of digits and letters that leads to the location of an online source. Articles in journals are often assigned DOIs to ensure that the source is locatable, even if the URL changes. If your source is listed with a DOI, use that instead of a URL.
Alonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. "Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of Freshwater Invertebrates." Environmental Toxicology , vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library, doi: 10.1002/tox.20155.
Creating in-text citations using the previous (eighth) edition
Although the MLA handbook is currently in its ninth edition, some information about citing in the text using the older (eighth) edition is being retained. The in-text citation is a brief reference within your text that indicates the source you consulted. It should properly attribute any ideas, paraphrases, or direct quotations to your source, and should direct readers to the entry in the Works Cited list. For the most part, an in-text citation is the author’s name and the page number (or just the page number, if the author is named in the sentence) in parentheses :
When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).
Again, your goal is to attribute your source and provide a reference without interrupting your text. Your readers should be able to follow the flow of your argument without becoming distracted by extra information.
How to Cite the Purdue OWL in MLA
Entire Website
The Purdue OWL . Purdue U Writing Lab, 2019.
Individual Resources
Contributors' names. "Title of Resource." The Purdue OWL , Purdue U Writing Lab, Last edited date.
The new OWL no longer lists most pages' authors or publication dates. Thus, in most cases, citations will begin with the title of the resource, rather than the developer's name.
"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL, Purdue U Writing Lab. Accessed 18 Jun. 2018.
MLA heading and MLA header
Published October 22, 2020. Updated February 15, 2023.
On this page, we will review what an MLA heading and an MLA header are and how to format both.
For help writing your essay, research paper , or other project, check out these writing tips .
What is an MLA heading?
An MLA heading is a section of information that is included at the top-left of the first page of an MLA format paper. If you write an MLA paper, you will include these details in the MLA heading (in this order):
- Your name (author of the paper)
Instructorâs name
Class or course title or number, date paper is submitted, heading vs. title page.
According to MLA format, a title page is not necessary unless your instructor requests one. Instead, MLA format advises that you include the MLA heading and title. Together, the MLA heading and title succinctly include the same information that a title page would.
If your instructor does request a title page, follow their guidelines for creating one since there are no standard MLA guidelines for creating a title page. If you do have to create a title page, visit this page on how to create an MLA title page .
MLA heading format
Generally, the format of the MLA heading should follow the rest of your paper. The same font type, font size, and the same line spacing. Here it is broken down:
- Alignment : Left alignment, top of the page. Page margins should be 1-inch on all sides. This means the MLA heading should be 1 inch from the top of the page.
- Spacing : The heading should be double-spaced, like the rest of the paper.
- Font : Do not italicize, bold, or underline any of the font in the MLA heading. It should be plain font. It should also be a standard size, such as 12 pt.
MLA heading information
As mentioned above, an MLA heading includes four pieces of information. They are listed in the order they should be shown:
Your name / Name of paperâs author
If you are the author, your full name is listed first.
On the line after your name, write the name of your instructor in the way they prefer.
- Professor Amanda Dinh
- Amanda Dinh, PhD.
Under the instructorâs name, list the name of your class or course. Include the course number, if there is one.
- English 101
- American History
- Intro to Psychology
Finally, include the date you submit your paper. Format it as: Day Month Year. Abbreviate any month that is more than 4 letters.
- 1 Jan. 2019
- 15 May 2020
Title format
Although the paper title isnât technically a part of the MLA heading, they are thought of as a set since the heading and title both appear on the first page, and the title comes after the heading.
- Place the title on the line after the MLA heading.
- Center the page title.
- Do not bold, italicize, or underline the title.
- Exception: If there is a source name in the title, you can italicize the source name. Example: âAnalyzing Romeo and Juliet in Detailâ
- Use title case. Capitalize all of the main words of the title.
MLA heading template:
MLA heading example:
What is an MLA header (a.k.a. running head)?
The MLA header is included so the reader knows who wrote the paper and where in the paper they are mentioned. It is also known as a running head since itâs at the top of the page and ârunsâ across all of the pages.
The MLA header consists of two details:
- Your name / Paper authorâs name
- Page number
MLA header format
Here are general guidelines for creating the MLA header.
- Include the MLA header on all pages.
- Place it ½ an inch from the top of the paper. Most word processors have a âheaderâ option that automatically places header text ½ from the top.
- The text should be aligned to the right of the page.
- Write your/the authorâs last name, followed by the page number. Most word processors have an option to auto generate the page number.
MLA header / running head template:
MLA header / running head example:
Key takeaways
- The MLA headings are included in lieu of a title page.
- An MLA heading includes information on the author of the paper, the class, the instructor the paper was submitted to, and the date it was submitted.
- The MLA header appears in the top right corner of every page.
- The MLA header includes the authorâs last name and the page number.
MLA Style Guides
MLA Format: Annotated bibliography | Abstract | Block Quote | Headings | MLA 8 vs. 9 | Outline | Page Numbers | Sample paper | Title page
Citing Sources: In-text citations | Works cited | Footnotes | Citing Multiple Authors | Citing Sources with No Authors | Using et al
MLA Citation Generator: Article | Book | Image | Interview | Journal | Movie | PDF | Textbook | Website | YouTube
Published July 14, 2021.
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IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Learn how to format your paper and cite your sources in MLA Style. Find out the basic guidelines for paper format, section headings, and Works Cited page.
This page contains guidelines on how to properly format the headings of your research paper using the MLA format. 1. The Opening Page: On the opening page or the first page, you would include the whole heading and your paper's title. The whole heading would include the following information: Your Name. Your Instructor's Name.
Include an empty line both above and below a heading. Avoid numbering or lettering your headings as lists (e.g., (1) The Beginning or (Z) The Ending), unless this is conventional for the field you're writing in. Use title capitalization for headings (e.g., The First Letter of Each Major Word Is Capitalized).
Revised on March 5, 2024. The first page of your MLA format paper starts with a four-line left-aligned header containing: Your full name. Your instructor's name. The course name and number. The date of submission. After the header, the title of the paper is centred on a new line, in title case. The header and title do not take any special ...
Learn how to format your academic paper in MLA style, including headings, citations, and Works Cited page. Download a free MLA template for Word or Google Docs.
Learn the basic guidelines for formatting headings and subheadings in a research paper according to MLA style. Find out how to use font, size, position, spacing, balance, capitalization, and length to signal prominence and structure.
If you are writing a longer research paper, you may want to include headings and subheadings to help organize the sections of your paper. Advice from the MLA Style Center: "Levels. The paper or chapter title is the first level of heading, and it must be the most prominent. Headings should be styled in descending order of prominence.
The Purdue OWL, Purdue U Writing Lab. Accessed 18 Jun. 2018. MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations ...
An MLA heading is a section of information that is included at the top-left of the first page of an MLA format paper. If you write an MLA paper, you will include these details in the MLA heading (in this order): Your name (author of the paper) Instructor's name. Class or Course title or number. Date paper is submitted.
Learn how to create an MLA heading and header for your research paper. Find out the difference between MLA heading and header, and how to format them in Word and Google Docs.