MLA heading format (9th edition) with example

An MLA heading is a four-line block at the top left of page one that lists your name, your instructor, the course, and the date (day, month, year). The title is centered below it, and a running header with your last name and page number sits at the top right of every page. This MLA format guide explains each line, the difference between the heading and the header, when a title page is allowed, and how group projects work. For citations and the works cited page, see our MLA citation guide.

What goes in the MLA heading

In MLA style, an ordinary paper has no title page. The heading does that job at the top of the first page. According to the Purdue OWL guide to MLA general format, you set it in the upper left corner and double-space every line, including the gap before the title.

Line	What to write
1. Your name	Your full name as your instructor knows it, with no title or abbreviation.
2. Instructor	Your instructor’s name, for example Professor Daniels or Dr. Lee. Use the form your instructor prefers.
3. Course	The course name and number, for example English 101. Add the section if your instructor asks for it.
4. Date	The due date in day, month, year order with the month spelled out, for example 7 November 2026. No comma and no ordinal such as 7th.

Leave off the punctuation at the end of each line. Use the same font and size as the rest of the paper, such as 12 pt Times New Roman, with no bold, italics, or underlining. Set 1-inch margins on all sides. The MLA formatting guidelines apply to the whole document, so the heading follows the same rules as your body text and your works cited page.

MLA heading vs. header: which is which

Students mix these up because many guides use “header” for both. They are two different things on the same page.

Element	Where it goes	What it holds
Heading	Top left of page one only, in the body of the page	Name, instructor, course, date
Running header	Top right of every page, half an inch from the top	Your last name, a space, and the page number
Title	Centered on the line under the heading	Your paper’s title in title case

Put the running header in the header area of your word processor, so it repeats on each page. Type the heading as ordinary text on page one, because it appears only once.

How to format the MLA running header

Write your last name, press the space bar once, and insert an automatic page number. Right-align the line so it ends at the right margin, half an inch below the top edge of the page. With a student named Okafor, page one reads Okafor 1 and page two reads Okafor 2. The MLA Style Center says not to add “p.” before the number or any period, hyphen, or other mark.

Some teachers ask you to leave the header off page one, and a one-page assignment may not need a page number at all. MLA advises checking with your instructor on pagination for a single page, so follow the assignment sheet when it differs from the default.

One edge case catches students with certain surnames. A writer named Page would produce a header that reads “Page 1,” which looks like a label. The MLA Style Center suggests adding a first initial, so the header reads C. Page 1.

How to format the title under the heading

Double-space once after the date line, then center the title. Write it in title case, not in capitals. Do not bold, italicize, underline, or put the title in quotation marks. If your title names another work, style that part the way you would in your text, so a book title is italic and a poem title takes quotation marks. Double-space again before the first line of the paper, with no extra blank lines.

MLA heading example

This is how the top of page one looks. The labels in the table below are for your reference only and do not belong in your paper.

Part of the example	What it shows
Okafor 1	The running header: surname, a space, page number, flush right.
Four left-aligned lines	The heading: name, instructor, course, date in day-month-year form.
Centered title	Title case, no styling, with only the book title in italics.
First paragraph	Starts on the next double-spaced line, indented half an inch.

Common MLA heading mistakes

Mistake	How to fix it
Date written month first, as in November 7, 2026	Reorder to 7 November 2026, with no comma.
Bold, underlined, or quoted title	Remove the styling. Only titles of other works inside your title get italics or quotation marks.
Heading repeated on every page	Keep the heading on page one only. The running header is what repeats.
Page number alone, with no surname	Add your last name before the number.
“p. 1” or “- 1 -” in the header	Use the plain number only.
Single spacing or extra blank lines	Set the whole page to double spacing and delete the blank lines.
Centered heading block	Left-align the four lines. Only the title is centered.

When to use an MLA title page

Do not add a title page unless your instructor requests one or the paper is a group project. If you do use one, list your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and the date on separate left-aligned lines at the top. Leave a few blank lines and center the title about halfway down the page. You can build the page with our MLA title page generator, then check it against your assignment. For the works cited page that follows your paper, our MLA citation generator formats each entry for you.

Two points trip people up once a title page exists. First, the MLA Style Center says you can leave the heading off page one of the essay when a cover page carries it, though you should confirm with your instructor. Second, do not number the title page, and number the first page of the essay as 1. Both MLA answers are labelled as eighth-edition content, so treat them as the default and defer to your instructor if the assignment says otherwise.

MLA first-page heading vs. title page

Feature	Heading on page one	Separate title page
When to use it	Default for a single-author paper	Instructor asks, or group project
Where the title sits	Centered under the date, followed by the text	Centered about halfway down its own page
Page numbering	Running header starts on page one	Title page unnumbered, essay starts at 1
Text starts	Same page as the title	On the next page

Fix MLA header problems in Word and Google Docs

Automatic numbering is the usual cause of a wrong header. Use these fixes when the software gets in the way.

Problem	Fix
Title page shows a 1 and the essay starts on 2	Turn on Different First Page for the header. In Word, set the page number to start at 0 so the essay’s first page reads 1.
Number sits on the left or in the middle	Click inside the header and choose right alignment.
Surname is missing	Type your last name and a space before inserting the page number field.
Header is too close to or far from the top edge	Set the header distance from the top to 0.5 inch in the page setup options.
Heading appears on page two	You typed it in the header area. Delete it there and type it as ordinary text on page one.

Why guides disagree on the MLA heading

You will find sources that call the first-page block a “header,” sources that call it a “heading,” and sources that put the title on a separate page. These differences come from three places. MLA’s own wording is “running head” for the repeating line, and many tutorials shorten it to “header.” Older eighth-edition answers from the MLA Style Center still circulate. And instructors may set their own rules. When any of these conflict, the order of authority is simple: your assignment sheet first, the MLA Handbook second, a tutorial last.

MLA heading for a group project

A group paper has several authors, so it takes a title page instead of the single-author heading. List each author on a separate line, then the instructor, course, and date, and center the title halfway down the page. Start the paper itself on the next page. MLA does not set a rule for which surname goes in the running header of a group paper, so ask your instructor and follow the answer.

Frequently asked questions

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