MLA Heading: How to Format the First Page and Page Header

A standard MLA essay doesn't have a cover page. Instead, the MLA format heading sits on the first page, flush with the left margin and one inch from the top. The MLA Handbook lists four items on separate double-spaced lines, in this order: your name, your instructor's name, the course name and number, and the date. If you'd rather not set it up by hand, the MLA Title Page Generator builds this heading and gives you a Word file to type in.

The MLA heading order

The order never changes: student, instructor, course, date. It moves from you to the class to the deadline, so a teacher grading a stack of papers can find each detail in the same spot. Don't add labels such as "Name:" or "Teacher:", and don't put a blank line between the items. Double spacing already separates them.

The instructor line

MLA doesn't set a form for the instructor's name. Most US students write a title and last name, such as "Ms. Rodriguez," "Mr. Thompson," "Dr. Okafor" or "Professor Lee." Copy what your syllabus or your teacher uses. If a course has two instructors, list both on the instructor line.

The course line

Give the course the way your school names it. A college class usually has a code and number, such as "ENGL 1301" or "HIST 2310," often with the course name after a colon. A high school class might simply be "AP Literature and Composition" or "English 10 Honors."

The MLA heading date

MLA's own samples write the date as day, month and year, with the month spelled out and no commas: 26 October 2026. Use the date the paper is due, not the day you started it. MLA also accepts October 26, 2026, and some teachers prefer it. Whichever form you use, keep it the same throughout the paper. Purdue OWL's MLA general format page shows the same four-item layout.

The MLA header is the running head at the top right of every page. MLA's term is "running head," but most students call it the header because it lives in the header area of Word or Google Docs. It's short: your last name, one space, and the page number.

Where the MLA page header goes

The MLA Handbook (section 1.4) puts it in the upper right corner, half an inch from the top and flush with the right margin. Number every page in order with plain numerals: Johnson 1, Johnson 2, Johnson 3. Don't write "p." or "pg." before the number, and don't add a dash, a comma or the paper's title.

Page one, and the pages after it

The running head appears on the first page too, above the heading. Some instructors ask you to leave it off page one, so check the assignment sheet. Word and Google Docs both have a "Different first page" option for that.

The two words sound alike, so teachers and students often swap them. Here's how to keep them straight.

The heading

The heading is the block of four lines on page one: name, instructor, course and date. It sits in the body of the document, not in the header area, and it appears only once. When a teacher says "put your heading on," this is what they mean.

The header

The header is the last name and page number at the top right. It repeats on every page because it's in the header area of the file. MLA calls it a running head.

Why it matters

A common mistake is typing all four heading lines into the header area, which repeats them on every page. The other mistake is forgetting the page header because you've already "done the header" on page one. You need both on a standard paper. If an assignment sheet names only one, ask which your teacher means.

Your title comes right after the date, on the next double-spaced line. Center it and write it in title case, capitalizing the first word, the last word and all the principal words.

How to style your title

The Handbook is specific: don't italicize or underline your title, don't put it in quotation marks or bold, don't type it in all capital letters, and don't end it with a period. The only italics allowed are for words you'd italicize anyway, such as a book title inside your title: The Green Light in The Great Gatsby. After the title, return to the left margin and start your first paragraph with a half-inch indent.

When a title page replaces the heading

A regular MLA research paper doesn't need a separate title page. You use one in two cases: your instructor asks for it, or the paper is a group project. If your teacher wants one, follow the instructions you're given, since MLA doesn't set a single layout. To make one quickly, switch the free MLA title page generator from the heading to its title page option.

Group work changes the first page. The MLA Handbook (section 1.3) says that if a paper is a group project, you create a title page and list all the authors on it, instead of putting the names in a first-page heading.

What the title page includes

List each student's full name on its own double-spaced line, then the instructor's name, the course and the date. Many university writing centers, including UNLV's, place these items at the left and center the title lower on the page. Your instructor may want a different arrangement, so check the assignment.

The running head for a group

If all the authors' last names fit in the header, include them. If they don't, MLA says to use only the page number. A group of two might use Patel and Garcia 1; a group of five would use just 1.

Both programs can set up the page header once so it numbers itself. Menu names change between versions; these paths match the current help pages from Microsoft and Google.

Microsoft Word

1. Select Layout > Margins. Word's default margin is already one inch on each side, which is what MLA uses.
2. Press Ctrl + A to select everything, then go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > Line Spacing Options. Choose Double and set Before and After to 0.
3. On the Insert tab, select Page Number, choose the top of the page, and pick the right-aligned style.
4. With the cursor in the header, type your last name and a space just before the number.
5. Check Header from Top on the Header & Footer tab. Its default is 0.5 inch, so you usually don't need to change it. Select Different First Page only if your teacher wants no header on page one. Microsoft's margins help page covers custom margins.

How to do an MLA header on Google Docs

1. Open File > Page setup, choose Pages (headers don't show in pageless format) and set all margins to 1 inch.
2. Select all, then go to Format > Line & paragraph spacing > Double.
3. Go to Insert > Page elements > Page number and choose the option that puts the number at the top right.
4. Click just before the number in the header and type your last name and a space. Set the header to right alignment if it isn't already.
5. To set the header distance, click in the header and use Format > Headers & footers > More options. Google's headers and page numbers help page explains the "Different first page" box.

Then type the heading

Click at the top of the body on page one and type the four lines at the left margin, pressing Enter after each. Don't use extra blank lines or tabs.

Yes. MLA allows section headings, but it doesn't require them, and most short essays are better without them. The Handbook (section 1.5) says headings can help readers of long works but are generally not needed in short, essay-length work. In a long research paper, a lab-style report or a capstone project, they help readers find their way.

Rules for MLA headings and subheadings

• Style the levels in descending order of prominence, for example bold for main sections and italics for subsections.
• Keep every heading at the same level in the same style and size.
• Don't use a level only once. If you have one subheading under a section, you need at least two.
• Align headings with the left margin; don't center or indent them. The title is the only centered line.
• Capitalize headings like titles of works, avoid all capitals, and don't end them with a period.
• Generally avoid numbering headings unless your field normally does.

A suggested pattern

Because MLA doesn't fix a heading style, Purdue OWL suggests one: level 1 bold and flush left, level 2 italic and flush left, then centered bold, centered italic and underlined flush left for deeper levels. Most student papers never need more than two. Whatever you choose, use it the same way through the whole paper.

MLA format with subheadings: a quick test

If a section would work as one paragraph with a strong topic sentence, skip the heading. When headings are required, add them for the main parts of the argument, not for every paragraph.

Here's how the whole first page fits together for a college paper in ENGL 1301, with every element in place.

From top to bottom

• Header area: "Nguyen 1" at the right, half an inch from the top.
• Heading: Daniel Nguyen, Professor Okafor, ENGL 1301: Composition I, 26 October 2026, each on its own line at the left margin, one inch from the top.
• Title: Why Community Colleges Should Keep Textbook Costs Low, centered, in plain text.
• First paragraph: begins on the next line, indented half an inch, double-spaced like everything above it.
• Section headings (optional): in a longer paper, flush left in bold, with at least two at that level.

The last page of the paper

The heading doesn't repeat, but the running head does, all the way to your sources. The MLA works cited page guide shows how that final page continues the numbering, and the guide to MLA in-text citations covers the citations inside your paragraphs.

Most points lost on formatting come from a few habits. Here's what teachers mark most often on the first page, with the MLA 9 fix.

Check before you submit

Open your file in print preview and look at page one and page two. Page one should show the running head, the four-line heading, the centered title and an indented paragraph. Page two should show only the running head with the next number. If both pages look right, the rest will too.

Start from a ready page

If you'd rather start from a correct page, the MLA heading and title page tool fills in your details and downloads a Word file with the margins, spacing and header already set. Writing in APA instead? The APA format guidelines guide covers that style's page setup, and every guide is listed on the student writing guides page.